Al-Houthi in the Trap... Neither Sanaa nor Saada Can Help Him

A space for reflection

We say this in the Yemeni dialect: “What good is Tehran to you, now that you have become the shadow of shadows, O deluded one?”

You have forgotten the famous Yemeni proverb: “He who eats with two spoons chokes.” This is the fate of the traitor and his greed, which ultimately leads to his ruin. We remind you, O Houthi, of another Yemeni proverb, which you in Saada know well because it fits you so perfectly: “The thief is from the house, and the farmer from the channel.” We also remind you of the saying: “Vinegar worms are both in it and of it,” meaning that corruption and betrayal stem from the person himself or from those close to him. Another saying goes: “Only the axe’s wooden handle can cut down the tree.” And finally, we say to you, O Houthi: “He who betrays is betrayed.” And we conclude with: “If you sell your companion for an onion, the buyer will sell you for its peel.”

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And you, O Houthis, for the sake of a cheap gain, will be betrayed and humiliated by those you followed, and in an even worse manner.

Here we remind you of historical events from the time of Saif bin Dhi Yazan in the sixth century CE (570–575), which ended with the expulsion of the Abyssinians from Yemen, but brought Yemen under the influence of the Sassanian Persian Empire. Consequences followed upon Yemen, because they plunged their country into the grip of a deceitful Persian occupation.

The Persians imposed an annual tribute and political subordination on Saif bin Dhi Yazan. At that point, Saif bin Dhi Yazan uttered his famous and expressive historical remark: “We have replaced one master with another.”

The story of Saif bin Dhi Yazan ended with his assassination by his own guards, as part of a Persian conspiracy. Thus is betrayal. Yemen did not gain freedom from Persian subordination until the Islamic conquest, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Today, as we turn the pages of history, we find events that resemble one another. Hence the saying: “History repeats itself.” We are now awaiting the end of the “Saif” era of the Houthis, 1,452 years after the assassination of Saif bin Dhi Yazan in 574 CE at the hands of the Persians. In the end, we say: The Yemeni folk proverbs have proven true.

A Kuwaiti writer