Boiled Animal Skins
In crisis situations, such as the war in Yemen or conflicts in Africa, communities turn to animal skins, typically from dead animals, as a last resort. The skins are boiled for a long time to soften their tough texture and make them more digestible. They are often boiled in water, if available, without any spices or seasonings. While animal skins provide little nutritional value, they are consumed in the hope of providing at least some minimal energy in the face of hunger.
Ingredients:
- Animal skins (often from dead goats or sheep)
- Water
- Salt (if available)
Preparation:
- Preparing the skins: Thoroughly clean the animal skins, removing any remaining fat or fur. In war-torn conditions, appropriate tools may be scarce, so this process is often simple.
- Boiling: In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add the skins to the boiling water and cook for several hours until they become soft. The water helps to soften the tough texture of the skins, but long boiling is essential to make them edible.
- Optional: If you have salt, add it to the water to improve the taste. In normal conditions, animal skins might be used for other purposes, but in crisis, this is the only available food.
- Serving: Once cooked, the skins can be eaten warm. Their nutritional value is very limited, and this dish is mainly consumed to fill the stomach and ease hunger, without providing essential nutrients.
When analyzing modern food crises caused by human actions, the food crisis in Yemen stands out as the most scandalous. It is a humanitarian disaster rooted deeply in political conflict, armed actions, and deliberate blockades of food and humanitarian aid deliveries.
The armed conflict in Yemen began in 2015, and since then, the war has led to the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure, including farmland, ports, transport routes, and food warehouses. Naval and air blockades, particularly those imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, have prevented the import of food and medicine. These intentional actions have turned starvation into a weapon of war.
In Yemen, food and humanitarian aid are often used as tools in the conflict. Supply blockades and obstacles faced by humanitarian organizations have cut many communities off from basic life necessities. This deliberate tactic is aimed at pressuring the war’s opponents at the expense of millions of innocent people.
Yemen is recognized by the UN as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Over 16 million people suffer from a lack of access to adequate food. The country experiences extreme malnutrition, particularly among children, with hundreds of thousands at risk of dying from hunger.
One of the most shocking aspects of this crisis is that Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, a region rich in oil resources, home to some of the wealthiest countries in the world. Despite this, Yemen is mired in poverty, and its population suffers from the conflict, which has economic benefits for the key players involved.
The Yemeni crisis is an example of the deliberate and calculated use of starvation as a political weapon in a modern conflict. While technology and global logistics could easily alleviate the crisis, intentional blocking of aid and destructive actions are causing people to die from hunger, representing a blatant violation of human rights. This crisis highlights how destructive war can be when basic humanitarian principles are ignored.
