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Story August 29, 2008

Yemen's House of Peace

Country:

Yemen

Author:

Ginny Hill
Grantee

English

The poorest nation in the Arab world struggles with high population growth, 40% unemployment and a...

Ginny Hill
Grantee

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Sheikh AbdulRahman al-Marwani hands out House of Peace buttons/badges in the gun souq in Dhammar. Tactile and charismatic, the Sheikh works the crowd like a natural leader. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman has two wives and several children of his own – but he’s become a surrogate father figure to several young House of Peace volunteers who lost their own dads in revenge killings. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

This gun trader is selling box-fresh Chinese AK-47s and well-worn second-hand rifles from Brazil, Belgium, Germany and Hungary. There’s a Colt AR15 – “property of the US government“ – on the shelves in his cubby-hole lock-up shop. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

A poster of the Dome of the Rock in al-Aqsa Mosque - in the holy city of al-Quds (Jerusalem) - has been tacked up as a sales backdrop for these new and used hand guns. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

Bullets: four for a dollar. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

Aides and policemen wait for lunch in a local official’s house. They’ve left their weapons outside the door in a gesture of respect for the Sheikh. Estimates of the number of guns in circulation in Yemen vary wildly – from nine million to 50 million. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

Sheikh Abdul Rahman schmoozes a local official in Dhammar. Yemen’s state structures are flimsy and the justice system is unreliable. After a revenge killing, guns are often held in trust by an agreed mediator until the case is settled. Image by Ginny Hill. Yemen, 2008.

Tribal violence claims hundreds of lives every year in Yemen. The House of Peace encourages non-violent solutions to land disputes and 'love' crimes – violations of marriage arrangements that offend Yemen's conservative social code.

It's dangerous work. House of Peace members have died during mediation efforts, attempting to diffuse armed stand-offs.

But Sheikh AbdulRahman al-Marwani, the organization's director, also attends lengthy discussion forums with rival groups and arranges theatre workshops to spread the message of reconciliation.

The House of Peace is a rare example of effective civil society in Yemen. Its logo – a rifle with a red line through it, like a no-smoking sign – is emblazoned on water bottles, road signs and even spare-wheel covers throughout the country.

Photographs taken by Ginny Hill