I’ve mentioned this memory of mine before as something that was instrumental to my development but this video caused me to reminisce on it.

During a visit to Iran while I was a child, my family took me to an amusement park. At one point when waiting in line for an attraction, we spotted a group of young men, younger than I am today if I were to guess, who were given permission to bypass the line.

They all wore beige military uniforms and all had an amputation of sorts, a missing arm, a missing leg, parts of the hand. They were also covered in bandages and multiple used crutches to walk.

My mother then explained to me that they were from the front lines of Yemen, and were being given a few privileges due to coming back from the war, which by this point would not have ended until years later.

The thing I remember about those young men more than anything else, is the fact they were all smiling. Not just polite small smiles for the sake of cordiality, but real bright and wide smiles. These men who were missing limbs and had to hobble everywhere they went as if they were scrap put together haphazardly smiled more genuinely and cheerfully than I think I’ve ever seen in my life. I couldn’t understand a word they said but their demonor was enough to tell me how polite they were as well when conversing with the staff and passersby.

That was my first impression with people from Yemen and with the physical remnants of the Saudi genocide against them. It’s stuck with me all these years later and I can never really forget it, nor would I want to.

The Saudi genocide of Yemen has become a mainstream conflict that most politically engaged people are at least somewhat aware of. I’m glad that more and more people are aware of the Yemeni plight and many people have expressed their condemnation to the Saudi regime. However, I’ll admit that I feel a little frustrated at times, because so many people treat the experience of Yemenis as just another part of geopolitics and don’t go deeper to understand the nature of the Yemeni people.

They are a brave and wonderful people, who deserve more than every bounty of the world. If there were a place that holds the heart of the world it would in Yemen.

I will never forget those young men and their smiles. Till the day I die, their image will remain on my head.

Of all the nations in that region, Yemen is the one I’m most excited to see liberated from imperialists. And Yemen is the reason why I see the Arab monarchs as a threat that must be destroyed after the zionists for any justice to exist in the region.