Mohammed Al-Jaidi's children display good watermelons in hope to sell them in the city of Midi in Hajjah province, Yemen, Oct. 12, 2020. Most of the watermelon crop has ripened and then rotted in the fields of the besieged coastal city of Midi in northern Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed ALwafi/Xinhua)
HAJJAH, Yemen, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Most of the watermelon crop has ripened and then rotted in the fields of the besieged coastal city of Midi in northern Yemen.
Farmers cannot cross the roads to the other markets in neighboring cities to sell their crops due to the escalation of fighting between the government forces and Houthi militia.
The Houthi militia, which controls a large part of the northern Hajjah province, has tightened the siege on Midi for more than two years, in an attempt to retake it from the hands of the government forces.
The continuing siege and shelling have forced most of the residents to flee the city, fearing for their lives.
"We have suffered from the siege for more than two years, and we cannot go to other markets in neighboring cities to sell our crops. This is the second year in a row that we are losing our watermelon crop," said farmer Mohammed Al-Jaidi.
"More than 10,000 watermelons had rotted since the beginning of this harvest ... this is a catastrophe," the 63-year-old farmer told Xinhua.
This crop is the only livelihood of al-Jaidi's 22-member family.
Yemen's civil war ignited in late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The six-year-long war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, mostly civilians, displaced 4 million, destroyed the country's economy and pushed over 20 million to the brink of famine.
The conflict in Yemen has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.
Hajjah before the war was one of the largest agricultural regions in the country, producing various types of fruits and vegetables and was a vital economic engine in driving development, but now it is in ruins.
Like Al-Jaidi, fruit farmer Ahmed Mtanbek is also very frustrated by the siege.
"Our hopes turned into a nightmare," the 55-year-old Mtanbek told Xinhua. "We have no choice but to leave mounds of harvested watermelons on the ground until they rot. "
As for Al-Jaidi, he says he and his family will continue to struggle to overcome all challenges to avoid more losses as possible.
"Our situation is getting worse, we want a solution. They have to reopen roads and allow people to live, to go, to sell and buy," Al-Jaidi cried.
Al-Jaidi's elder son Mohammed Mohammed Al-Jaidi collects the good watermelons and displays them on the side of the farm to try to sell them and buy food for his big family.
"It is a great pain when we do not find a safe road to sell our crops," the son told Xinhua. Enditem
