Al-Ja'ashins Seek Freedom from their Sheikh, Camp in Media Women Forum

Around 90 people from Al-Sabyayin, Al-Ja'ashin area, off Ibb, camped this week in the Media Women Forum's front yard after they received no response to their protest which was held earlier in front of the parliament against the injustice of their tribal sheikh, Mohammed Ahmed Mansour.

The Al-Ja'ashin people suffered from the Sheikh Mansour's high amount of Zakat [the obligatory amount of money stated in Islam]. People pay 10,000 YR when they are supposed to pay hundreds only, said Al-Ja'ashin. The due taxes are supposed to be paid to the government whereas Sheikh Mansour forced people to pay it to him. When Al-Ja'ashin paid their taxes to governmental institutions, Sheikh Mansour terrified them by taking all their properties like cows, goats, and donkeys. Besides all of that, he put some of them in his private jails.

"It is unique that country men start practicing peaceful protest," said Rahma Hugaira, the president of MWF. MWF will send a direct letter to the president calling him to join Al-Sabyayin area to the republic of Yemen.

MWF offered them food as a personal gesture, but they offered them the camp as part of their work. Also, they would provide them with many training courses to make them fully aware of their rights and the best ways to demand them.

The dark-skinned, ragged and tough people received more people fleeing from their village. They were in the camp that has only its floor to host them. They get out to the sun to get some warmth. "Friday night was so cold," they said.

Hood, the National Organization for Defending rights and freedoms, called all the charitable societies to provide those people with food, blankets and all sorts of help to their camp.

Al-Ja'ashin made lots of unfruitful protests in front of the local authorities in Ibb.

Then, they traveled to Sana'a to protest at night in front of HOOD, and then made a protest at the early morning in front of the parliament.

Al-Ja'ashins held paper boards written on them "President, your poet [because Sheikh Mansour is believed to be the President's poet] praises you and kicks us out."

Al-Ja'ashins expressed themselves through their sarcastic comments and talks. One of these is that Al-Ja'ashin people want to join the Yemeni revolution and to get rid of the Sheikhs' authority. Abdu Mohamed Ghaleb, 25-year-old was holding one of these angry signs and was laughing so bitterly all the time. His eyes were glittering whenever he spoke one of his sarcastic comments against the Sheikh. "The literary man [Sheikh Mansour] took the cow and milk." The Sheikh took his cow, the only source of making his family living, said Ghaleb," all of this just to pay him the Zakat [the taxes]." Also they dubbed their situation as "Al-Ja'ashin Siege," in comparison to Gaza Siege.

Mahyoub Ali, was hit by one of the followers of the Sheikh because he asked them to drop out the taxes from him. "I am so poor, I do not have money," said Ali. Ali's eye is noticeably swollen and like all the Al-Ja'ashin his clothes are ragged and his hands are tough.

The conflict between Al-Ja'ashin and Sheikh Mansour is not recent, elderly people of the villages said that they suffered from the Sheikh almost 40 years ago.

"I know him. My father died out of his injustice that he even ordered over the government," said Abdu Qayed Abdullah, 65.

The conflict in Al-Ja'ashin was not new. Last year, people of Al-Ja'ashin district from Aal-Sifah and Al-Ri'ash were the first people to speak up against Sheikh Mansour. The local authorities in Ibb denied their identity and said that they are used by the opposition for political motivations. A parliamentary committee was established then to investigate their complaints. The committee went to Ibb and could not investigate because of the governor's lack of cooperation. The case caught much attention by media and society, and it ended only when President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued an order to the prosecution to investigate the case. Then, Al-Ja'ashin from Al-Re'ash and Al-Sifah went to Ibb. So far, they have no more problems. Sheikh Mansour and his followers denied the whole accusations and considered them as politically motivated attempts to degrade Sheikh Mansour.

"We want to be as free as them [Al-Ja'ashin from Al-Rash and Al-Sifah]," said Hashim Hamoud Abdullah Mohammed, 23, a worker. "My neighbor there paid 500 YR whereas I have to pay YR 70,000."

Some attendees during Al-Ja'ashin protest considered the peaceful protest as a kind of weakness and they [Al-Ja'ashin] have to take their rights by force.

This protest was dubbed "Al-Ja'ashin 2," by Khaled Al-Anesi, the Executive Director of Hood. "This is normal when the problem is not solved from the roots."

However, Sheikh Mansour has denied all the accusations.

"They [the protestors] are bunch of liars who came from Marib or other governorates," said sheikh Mansour to Yemen Post. Sheikh Mansour believed that the whole issue of Al-Ja'ashin was made by the Opposing political parties who have no respect to the president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh, prime minister or others.