Where is the Yemeni revolution today?

They’d had enough. They’d had enough of the wars; they’d had enough of the corruption; they’d had enough of the forced destiny and having to look past their leader to find any hope on the horizon of their country reaching its full potential. In 2011, the people of the poorest Arab country began to protest against the rule of one of the richest dictators in modern history.

The Yemeni revolution of 2011 brought people from all political and religious backgrounds together as one nation to tackle corruption and make a bid for democracy. Taking part in the protests were students, women’s rights groups, socialists, Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, people who simply wanted freedom and, of course, the Houthis, who are now allied with the aforementioned dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The then president put up a fight before stepping down. Protesters faced police brutality in the streets when demonstrating; many were arrested and killed; some disappeared altogether. Saleh attempted to reach a deal which would have resulted in parliamentary elections being held in March 2012, with him leaving office a couple of months earlier in January, but the opposition wanted nothing of such a deal. They wanted Saleh out and wanted Yemeni politics to return to its rightful owners, the people of Yemen.

Read: Key areas in the Yemen conflict

After over a year of protests, Saleh stepped down in February 2012 under a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal that granted him immunity, meaning that he was able to stay in Yemen, remain as leader of the GPC party and live in security without being held accountable on charges of corruption during his 33 years of rule. At the same time, Yemen would have had the chance to have new leadership and its people would have been able to take the country back to the “Happy Arabia” they all treasured. The only problem was that the next incumbent, President Hadi, was elected in a one-man poll and won 99.8 per cent of the votes.

So far, Hadi’s leadership has been weak and, arguably, it was his government’s lack of initiative to block the Houthi takeover that allowed it to happen. Corruption was not being addressed sufficiently and the Houthis seized this as an opportunity to gain popularity and trust by making the government accountable. Fuel prices were the main catalyst for their grab for legitimacy, as they were at the forefront of protests for the return of fuel subsidies in the summer of 2014. Some saw through their intentions and understood that they wanted to take over the country. The fact that the Yemeni political system lacked core strength paved the way for the Houthi-led coup when the militias took over Sana’a in the same year.

During the takeover, there was a debate within the Western media about whether or not the Houthis were backed by, or backing, Saleh despite the fact that many Yemenis insisted that what was happening was indeed a coup. The Houthis managed to convince those who were listening to them that they truly had the country’s interest at heart. As they expanded their dominance beyond Sana’a, they became increasingly violent. People were kidnapped and assassinated, and the Houthis thought that they could away with it because the previous Saudi monarch had little interest in interfering in Yemen. When King Salman came to the throne in Riyadh, the Houthis were viewed as an Iranian proxy; a subsequent change in policy meant that the Saudis regarded the rapid and violent Houthi expansion as a threat to their own national security. This developed into the Saudi-led coalition going into Yemen to defeat the Houthis militarily.

Since the start of the coalition’s military operation, Yemen has faced a worsening humanitarian crisis. The civilian infrastructure has deteriorated under coalition air strikes and shelling on the ground by Houthi and Saleh forces. The latter have used hospitals, schools and other civilian buildings as arms depots; both the Houthis and Saleh are well known for using human shields. The city in which the Yemeni revolution emerged, Taiz, is now under a siege by Houthi militias and Saleh forces and their hospitals cannot get medical supplies.

Also read: Understanding the silence behind the war on Taiz

In 2011, there was hope. The Yemenis were protesting for their rights and freedom. They were protesting for the self-determination that every single human being is entitled to. They wanted freedom and they wanted a leader to be proud of, who would be determined to bring back the light of Yemen’s ancient history.

Today, in 2016, they’re still fighting. Saleh may have stepped down, but he has not given up. As the days pass, it is clearer than ever that if Saleh cannot return to rule Yemen, he will stop at nothing to destroy it altogether.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.