SANA'A // Many families in Yemen are not worrying about the political crisis in the country. They are too hungry to care.
The violence spawned by the once-peaceful protests has left many people scrambling to feed their families and find work. The fighting has ruined an already weak economy. Prices are rising, businesses are closing and jobs are disappearing.
More than 800 local companies in Sana'a alone have closed, a ministry of trade official said yesterday. At least 21 foreign businesses and embassies have closed, according to the foreign ministry.
Since May, the price of petroleum has risen 160 per cent while the cost of home cooking gas quadrupled. Heat and flour costs doubled over the past month, forcing some families to resort to begging.
Government price controls have disappeared, prices are soaring and there is little hope anyone will contain them any time soon.
Sameera Goba, a widow and a mother of four, said: "People are poor and unemployed." She complains that her children are eating only two light meals a day: "We couldn't afford food goods on normal days, so how are we expected to live today?"
Farmers complain that the rising cost of fruits and vegetables is not their fault. They blame the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh for cutting off electricity.
Ali Jubari, a farmer in Dhammar province, said: "We don't have refrigerators to store the goods so the food goes to waste. We are losing as well. The economic crisis is on everyone."
Mr Jubari said that without electricity, farmers decided to transport the crops immediately but that tactic failed.
"There was no diesel or petroleum in the country to ship the crops to major cities, and when we found diesel it was being sold for three times the original price," Mr Jubari said. "It's not our fault. The people should blame the government for trying to starve its people."
The Chamber of Commerce Union in Yemen announced on Saturday that the country was facing a food shortage. It estimates that the country will run out of food in three weeks.
"The food shortage in Yemen will have catastrophic results and people could risk dying from hunger if a solution is not reached immediately," a statement from the union said. "People cannot live with prices increasing nearly 200 per cent in two months. The international community must interfere to save the millions suffering in Yemen."
The union also warned that the banking industry is losing millions of dollars each day and that at least four Yemeni banks risk closing if the chaos continues.
Citizens complain about the rising prices but merchants say they are being charged more for goods and must pass on the increases. Abdullah Kaff, a store owner, said the government is selling wares to them at a high price. "Residents want to fight us because they think we are raising the prices. When we complain to the police station, they [police officers] ask us for money to solve the problem. The government is not here to serve us," Mr Kaff said.
Abdul Basit Kumaim, the general manager at the ministry of trade, admits that hundreds of companies have closed and thousands of people are now unemployed, but he blames opponents of the government. He said the government is desperately trying to solve the economic problems and insisted that the government is not intentionally creating these problems. "Yes, prices did increase but it's not the government's fault. The opposition are causing unrest in the country and this forces prices to increase and business to close down."
Business owners said they had closed not only for economic reasons, but security reasons as well.
Yahya Madwami, a travel agent, said that his company employed 90 people three months ago, and now his office had shut.
"People are not coming in Yemen anymore and Yemenis can't get visas to leave the country. We were forced to lay off employees at the start," Mr Madwami said. He said that gradually he cut the workforce until he was forced to close his business. "Our business thrives on tourism. But Yemen now is lawless and people travel to relax and not to get killed."
Fatima al Areki lost two sons last week in fighting in Taiz. They were her only source of income. She cries and remembers when her sons insisted on going to Freedom Square, hoping for a better future.
"They would not come home for days, and when they called they tell me that they will be remembered in history as revolutionist," Mrs Areki said. "They came home one day before being killed, gave me some money and kissed me on the head. They told me that they smell victory."
Her sons, Ahmed and Mansoor, were 19 and 22 years old. Mrs Areki said: "Their innocence was killed in cold blood by the Saleh regime."
For many Yemenis, the political crises is the least of their worries. "I am forced to live in the streets and the government insists that Yemen is stable. I want a chance to live, with or without President Saleh in power."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company%20Profile
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Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.