A father helps his son to try a jacket during a charitable initiative ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
SANAA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- As U.S. airstrikes continue across Yemen, including the heavily populated capital, Sanaa, a local initiative has offered a fleeting moment of solace to the city's residents enduring nearly a decade of war.
At a sports venue in central Sanaa, a charity exhibition organized by the Zakat Authority and funded by local benefactors distributed Eid al-Fitr clothing to thousands of children from vulnerable households. The pre-Eid distribution, aiming to outfit 75,000 people, primarily children from 15,000 families, lined the venue's halls with vibrant garments, a stark contrast to the hardship outside.
"This project is about dignity," said Yahya Ahmed Al-Qadi, head of the initiative's finance committee. "For orphans, the disabled, and families who cannot afford basic necessities, these clothes are a reminder they are not forgotten."
"The world sees Yemen only through war," Al-Qadi added. "Here, today, we choose to see hope."
For 12-year-old Samah Ali, a new dress offered a semblance of normalcy. "Without it, I'd stay home instead of celebrating with friends," she said. Her father, Ali Salman, a day laborer, struggled to contain his emotions as he described the impossibility of purchasing clothes for his four children. "With the meager wage I earn, my daughter would never have new clothes," he said.
The stories echoed throughout the venue. Eleven-year-old Yazan Al-Kaboudi, sporting a new suit, was brought by his unemployed and desperate father. Mohsen Al-Mashriqi, a father of three, carried bags of garments. "This war has taken everything. But today, my children have something to smile about," he said.
Yemen's crisis, designated the world's worst humanitarian disaster by the United Nations, has deepened since 2014, when Houthi forces seized control of northern regions, including Sanaa, triggering a Saudi-led coalition intervention. A U.S.-backed blockade and relentless fighting have devastated the economy, leaving 21 million reliant on aid.
Tensions have escalated in recent months as Houthi forces launched attacks on Israeli-linked ships in solidarity with Gaza, prompting the Trump administration to resume in March airstrikes across Yemen.
On Wednesday, as families browsed the exhibition, explosions from a U.S. strike on a nearby Houthi-linked site, later confirmed by officials, rocked the neighborhood. Panicked children sought refuge in their parents' arms, and screams filled the air.
"We thought the next bomb would hit us," said a volunteer, who requested anonymity, adding that several women and children were injured in the blast. ■
A father measures out a dress for his daughter during a charitable initiative ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
A girl holds her new dress during a charitable initiative ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
A girl carries new clothes during a charitable initiative ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
