Yemen Aid Project Fully Operational
News flash, April 1, 2008:
Very few Americans had even heard of this tiny Persian Gulf country before that fateful day in October 2000. That’s when suicide bombers rammed a boat loaded with explosives into the USS Cole and blasted a gaping hole in the side of the ship.
You could say that the US kept assistance to the Yemenis on ice for a few years after the Cole incident. But lately more and more Washington insiders have come to recognize how strategically important this tiny nation is to the War on Terror. Over the past few months our government has quietly initiated an ambitious new program which seeks to partner Yemeni citrus growers with young entrepreneurs.
Yemeni citizens have seen it all before. One farmer near the town of Meringue had this to say: “This barren land can be unforgiving, so help from the US sounds like cool refreshment on a hot summer day. But the Americans launched a similar initiative long ago. They came in and treated us like little children, as though we didn’t understand the basics of a commercial enterprise. Then they put the squeeze on us whenever we failed to meet their expectations. I think I speak for everyone when I say the whole thing left me with a sour taste in my mouth.”
Special Ambassador Armstrong Meyer spoke optimistically about the plan. “Look, anybody can put up a stand on the sidewalk and sell to the people passing by. This program will allow Yemeni citizens to save money for school and learn business skills at the same time.”
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