Yemen: German doctor on the dramatic situation caused by the war and Corona

In response to pressure from the international community, Saudi Arabia announced in the spring that it would temporarily refrain from conducting further airstrikes in Yemen for humanitarian reasons. In fact, the bombardment continued unabated. Between March and July alone, the Yemen Data Project recorded 1,078 airstrikes. At least 142 of these are at civilian targets such as residential areas, schools, and hospitals.

Tankred Stöbe currently works for MSF in Yemen. He was the first German doctor in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic. Before the interview, he wrote by email that he had landed in Aden the day before and “when I wanted to go out the door for the first time during the inspection of the clinic in the afternoon, a shooting started outside …”

SPIEGEL: Mr. Stöbe, how has the situation developed at your location?

Stöbe: We continue to hear shots regularly, the war is very close.

SPIEGEL: What does that mean?

Stöbe: The front runs only about 50 kilometers from our hospital. We treat the victims of the bombings every day, almost every second patient comes with gunshot wounds. This density of serious war wounds, I have never experienced that at MSF in all these years.

SPIEGEL: Saudi Arabia and its allies have been conducting airstrikes in Yemen since 2015. The situation there has long been regarded as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. And then came Corona. How has the virus affected the situation in the country?

Stöbe: There are no reliable figures on the extent of the pandemic in Yemen. But the pandemic has definitely exacerbated the situation for the people here. About 20 million Yemenis depend on food aid. Important ports have already been destroyed, and if air traffic is paralyzed, it is a threat to the lives of many people.

SPIEGEL: This certainly applies to healthcare as well. How has the pandemic affected the area?

Stöbe: In fact, it has become much more difficult for us to get employees and medical supplies in the country. Even with me, I wasn’t sure until the end if all the flights would leave and I would actually get here in the end. At the same time, the population depends on our help. Also because hospitals and medical institutions have been repeatedly attacked in recent years.

SPIEGEL: Most people are even more likely to die of hunger, diarrhea, or shelling. Is the coronavirus overrated in crisis areas?

Stöbe: Of course, as long as the bombs fall, the virus can only play a minor role. At the same time, the population is extremely vulnerable. In fact, Yemen has one of the highest death rates in the world from Covid-19 diseases. We are talking about 30 percent. That is ten times more than in Germany. I’ve only seen something like this before with Ebola. Despite receiving oxygen, patients are suffocated inside.

SPIEGEL: During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, he may have had a decisive influence on the German response to the crisis. At that time you were president of the German section of Doctors Without Borders and one day you received a call from Angela Merkel. What did you tell the Chancellor on the phone back then?

Stöbe: I only spoke about the situation at the scene and made it clear that we couldn’t wait any longer. A few days later, help from the federal government began.

SPIEGEL: If you could talk to Angela Merkel about Yemen now, what would you say to her?

Stöbe: That we cannot look the other way. The longer a conflict lasts, the more difficult the solution becomes. I’ve learned it from all my missions. The cycle of violence turns every day. Political groups become armed gangs, movements split, and fronts disintegrate. At the same time, more and more outside actors are getting involved and trying to use instability to expand their own power. The longer the war lasts, the more actors find ways to profit from the conflict. We are at a point in Yemen where apparently the parties to the conflict can no longer find a solution on their own. More international pressure is needed.

SPIEGEL: So far, all attempts at international mediation in Yemen have failed.

Stöbe: Of course, peace talks do not necessarily lead to immediate peace. But all peace is preceded by negotiations. Where there is no longer negotiation, there can be no peace.

SPIEGEL: What role does Germany play?

Stöbe: Germany has more political weight in the world than perhaps we are aware. As the most important economic nation in Europe, what we do has an impact far beyond our borders. During the refugee crisis in particular, the country assumed an exemplary role and also gained much recognition in the Arab world. The federal government should use this weight in negotiations. I think that Germany could play a bigger role in a possible conflict resolution in Yemen.