General Overview and Comparative Insight

Yemenimp

Ahmed Saif Hashed

The “Proletariat” School was established for the children of nomadic Bedouins during the presidency of Salmeen, who was dedicated to educating these children. Efforts were made to gather them from distant deserts and remote areas to provide them with support, integrating them into the public education system, and caring for them throughout their various stages of study.

The “Proletariat” School is situated in an area that lies midway between the Lahj and Aden governorates, administratively and educationally belonging to Lahj. It featured a boarding section funded by the state, which provided housing and food for all students free of charge.

I attended secondary school at the “Proletariat” School, where the term “proletariat” was initially difficult for tongues unaccustomed to it. Over time, however, we came to memorize this term as we would our own names. It became a source of pride, belonging, and even boastfulness, particularly due to its significance. It specifically referred to the working class, which, according to socialist political consciousness and Marxist culture, was seen as the primary agent of change in capitalist societies, transitioning towards socialism and communism. The working class was regarded as the most revolutionary segment of society, tasked with the mission of overthrowing the capitalist system worldwide.

* * *

When I joined this school in 1979, I perhaps felt a sense of estrangement, or a state that was different from what I was accustomed to. Gradually, however, this feeling faded away. Most of the students at this school, if not all, came from the rural areas of Lahj Governorate—Radfan, Al-Dha’la, Tor Al-Bahah, and Yafee. I cannot recall anyone from the north except for Mohammed Abdulmalik from “Murabeha Al-Qabetah” and Ali Badi from “Anes Dhammar.” In contrast, the nearby Red Star School welcomed a large number of students from the central regions and the northern areas in general.

Not long after, the “Proletariat” School was converted into a military camp known as the Fifth Brigade. Forty years after those days, during this ongoing war, many public schools have been destroyed, with several transformed into military barracks and detention centers. Some are even being demolished and expanded for commercial projects.

In terms of quality, education has become weak, fragile, regressive, and distorted. Moreover, parents are forced to pay fees that exceed the financial capabilities of many guardians. A significant number of students are dropping out of school, while some are even being recruited from schools, often underage, as child soldiers. The authorities, regardless of their names, have abandoned the duty of providing free education, favoring private institutions that also suffer from misery and fragility.

More disturbingly, teachers in this cursed war have been working without pay for many schools for the seventh consecutive year. In some cases, their salaries have been reduced to almost nothing, with incentives insufficient to cover a single meal for a teacher alone, without considering their families. Yet, even this meager incentive is begrudged to them, reflecting the contempt of these dreadful authorities.

Today’s authorities seek teachers who have no families, no households, and even no stomachs—teachers who do not eat, drink, or have needs! They want wretched, submissive, and compliant teachers who work without compensation. Authorities want teachers who can survive on air, and they would even wish to restrict that if it could be sold. If a hungry and oppressed teacher protests against such conditions, they seize their services merely for claiming their rights!

We are being driven, forcibly and violently, into a state more degrading and humiliating than the first era of slavery—a time more catastrophic than any that has come before. We are living in a situation reminiscent of a period marked by a horrific and overwhelming cultural regression.

* * *