- Title: Life is all "horror and fear" for Yemeni youth struggling with mental illness
- Date: 31st December 2019
- Summary: HAJJAH, YEMEN (FILE - AUGUST 31, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAMP FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WITH CLUTCHES AROUND CAMP VARIOUS OF AMPUTATED WOMAN AT TENT AMPUTATED WOMAN WALKING OUT OF TENT
- Embargoed: 14th January 2020 12:18
- Keywords: Houthis ICRC Mental health in Yemen Saudi-led coalition Unrest in Yemen Yemen Yemen war
- Location: SANAA, ADEN, AL-DHALEA, AND HAJJAH, YEMEN
- City: SANAA, ADEN, AL-DHALEA, AND HAJJAH, YEMEN
- Country: Yemen
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA004BCB3JH1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Yemeni boy is lamenting the loss of the good old days when he used to enjoy the company of his parents. Now, 15-year-old Fadhal al-Gahtani is among many Yemeni youth who struggle with mental health problems after four years of war.
He currently lives with nearly 500 children in a Sanaa orphanage after he was separated from his parents, as he tries to heal the wounds of the past.
Living in rural city of Ibb with limited access to education, Gahtani was forced to leave his parents and hometown to receive proper education at the capital Sanaa.
There, he joined an orphanage to continue his education.
For quite sometime, he could not pass his exams. Haunted by the memories of the parents he cannot reunite with, he would leave his classroom to cry.
For Yemeni youth Moataz Mosleh and Haroon Mohammed in the Yemeni city of Aden, the sound of gunfire and shelling haunts them everyday.
At some point, Mosleh's psychological state kept him at home. He stopped eating and did not pay attention to his looks. Even his guitar could not console him.
"Widespread conflict, severe economic decline, food insecurity and the collapse of essential public services continue to take an enormous toll on the population's physical and mental health," ICRC said.
One in five people in war zones suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, the World Health Organisation said in June, with many suffering severe forms of these mental illnesses.
The findings highlight the long-term impact of war-induced crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, the UN's health agency said, and the numbers are significantly higher than in peacetime populations, where around one in 14 people suffer from a form of mental illness.
In 2016, the number of ongoing armed conflicts reached an all-time high of 53 in 37 countries and 12 percent of the world's people are living in an active war zone, according to United Nations figures. Since World War II, almost 69 million people globally have been forced to flee war and violence.
(Production: Mai Shams El-Din) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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