Bread made from leaves and wild seeds
INGREDENTS:
- Leaves from wild-growing plants (e.g., grape leaves, which are more accessible)
- Seeds from wild plants gathered from the surrounding areas
- Water (if available)
- Salt (optional, if available)
PREPARATION:
- Gather the ingredients: Collect the available leaves from wild plants and seeds. Grape leaves are often used in Yemen because they are resilient and can be found even in harsh conditions.
- Grinding the seeds: If possible, grind the seeds into flour or small pieces, which can be mixed with water to form a dough.
- Forming the bread: Shape the mixture of leaves and seeds into dough, which can be baked or fried if fire is available. In difficult circumstances, the bread is baked on stones or in ashes, without any fat.
- Eating: The bread is eaten without any additional ingredients, as access to vegetables, meat, or other supplements is impossible.
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.