US citizens found themselves lacking US support as the conflict in Yemen continued. Their own government seems to have abandoned them, apparently believing that it had done its due-diligence by merely warning a few of them to leave, as more Americans are lifted from the warzone by Russian planes.
While it continues to say it’s too risky to evacuate its own, one American told RT of his disbelief at his government’s lack of effort to get his family to safety. A Russian rescue plane on Friday reunited them at New York’s JFK Airport.
“I really got lucky with Russia. It was a three-hour notice, I was contacted by them and they said they will provide a plane,” Khaled Alamari told RT in the arrivals hall. He describes the trauma his children had faced amid the constant fighting and explosions; one of his daughters had lost nearly half her body weight, the Yemeni-American adds.
The US State Department says it has been issuing guidelines for US citizens stuck in Yemen on how to leave the war-torn country, but the Americans evacuated by Russian planes say they haven’t heard a word.
Meanwhile, the online help system (seriously, you reckon that all the Americans in YEMEN have access to 24/7 internet??) the US government has set up is being lauded by spokeswoman Marie Harf, a woman who seems to believe that the US government can do no wrong, advises the stranded people to sign up and “stay in touch” for news through email and text messages.
Alamari’s relatives are among some 1,700 already rescued, citizens from some 20 countries, on nine flights.
His family was supposed to fly home just before the bombings began. But all flights were canceled, leading Alamari to contact the State Department. Dude, that’s a BAD mistake… I mean look at what happened when Warren Weinstein asked for their help… You’re just lucky they didn’t tell the Saudis you were supporting the Houthis…
“If you leave, it’ll be at your own risk. If you stay, it’ll be at your own risk,” he said, quoting the answer. “This is the most powerful country in the world…”
Alamari’s father says he was turned away by international officials at the Yemeni airport on five separate occasions. “Every day we tried to get out. There was fighting. People were dying in the streets.”
Another stranded civilian who spoke to RT by phone was on his way to the airport when an airstrike demolished the road in front of him, in effect blocking his only path to the capital, Sanaa. Several others died in the explosion.
“The bomb hit the road between Ibb and Sana… right at the exit to Sanaa. Now, I’m cut off,”Talal Hameed says, adding that they were “not contacted by any US officials or organizations. Only RT contacted me and the other Americans.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry says it could continue the evacuation, if needed. With hundreds already taken out of the warzone, many remain stranded.
On Wednesday these 20 Americans on Russia-bound flights from Yemen told RT that they had had to resort to help from private organizations and foreign governments in order to flee the country.
Meanwhile, people marooned in Yemen have been sending text messages to RT, revealing the extent of their desperation. No one even mentioned anything about the alleged US government online help system Harf was oh-so proud of.
On April 21, the Saudi-led coalition said it wrapped up Decisive Storm, which, by UN estimates, claimed the lives of over 550 civilians. It seems the US is only good at sanctioning the countries that are willing to help its citizens, while selling bombs to tyrannical countries that don’t seem to care whom they kill in Yemen. It is ironic that an American citizen’s best friend in crisis is the enemy of his government.
It seems that a number of US citizens have decided that they have had enough of this inaction, and are suing the US Government. Watch the RT video below:
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Source: RT
See Russia isnt bad.