Humanitarian wedding and new hope.. The Red Cross recounts the scenes of the exchange of 900 detainees in Yemen
English - Wednesday 19 April 2023 الساعة 08:22 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive monitoring:
Three employees of the International Committee of the International Red Cross (ICRC) recounted the scenes of the three days of the prisoner exchange process between the legitimate government and the terrorist Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen, which included 900 detainees from both sides through six airports: Aden, Abha, Riyadh, Marib, Mocha and Sana'a. Among them are the former Minister of Defense, Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi, Major General Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of the former president, and the four journalists sentenced to death.
Behind the scenes details were given by Bashir Omar, the committee's spokesman in Libya. Who was in Aden, Alaa Nayel, the committee's spokeswoman in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, who was present at Abha airport, and Ali Abdullah, the committee's protection representative, through a space on the committee's official account on Twitter.
Human wedding
Bashir Omar described the exchange process as a "humanitarian wedding". Referring to the feelings of joy mixed with tears that appeared on the released detainees, especially those whose detention periods amounted to more than six years.
Omar reviewed the stories of detainees he spoke with during the launch of the three-day exchange process, pointing out the similarity of the stories of many detainees, most of whom were detained about their children during their growth period and had no role in their development.
He added, "There is a detainee who told me that he was kidnapped and his wife is still pregnant with his child, who is now seven years old, which is the period of detention."
Touching story
Omar indicated that the story that affected him the most was the story of a detainee who was unable to move and used a wheelchair and his health condition was poor, explaining that this detainee expressed to him his regret because he would return to his children and family after six years of detention while he was in such a bad condition.
Omar quoted the detainee as saying, "My condition is bad and my health is deteriorating, and I cannot cover the expenses of my treatment, so how will I be able to support my family? I think there is no difference between my presence or my absence."
Hope to build a new life
Alaa Nayel also referred to the manifestations of joy that accompanied the exchange process, and said that she saw many tears of joy for this moment, which they considered impossible, and added: "A detainee was talking about his mother and how much he misses her, and another told us about his plans... his future... and he talked to us about hope." To build a new life," stressing that this process is based on the hope of building a new life for the released.
Alaa Nayel thanked the Yemeni and Saudi Red Crescent for their assistance in the exchange process, and expressed her gratitude to the authorities, who took a beautiful humanitarian initiative by releasing 104 detainees and returning them to their families.
What happens after the exchange ends?!
The human stories that Ali Abdullah encountered did not differ from what Bashir and Alaa narrated. Abdullah spoke about the committee's dealings with the released, and said that the committee took their home addresses and phone numbers of their families to check on them after they got off the plane and received them from the competent authorities.
He added that the committee will continue to communicate with them and see their conditions, and may carry out field visits to the homes of some residents in areas where communications do not work.
Alaa and Abdullah affirmed, in their response to a listener's question, that the committee will continue its efforts to complete the release of all detainees held by all parties, indicating that this matter is also linked to the extent of the response of the conflicting parties in Yemen.
