In Yemen, Eid does not arrive as a passing occasion, but as a long prayer for peace; a plea that echoes in hearts before homes, that all forms of injustice and violations may be lifted from this land, and that the voices of Yemenis may find their resonance in the world.In this geography burdened by war, Eid does not appear merely as rituals or observances, but as a rare human moment in which resistance to forgetting is revealed, and in which the insistence remains that everyone deserves a dignified and safe life, and that rights are not a deferred luxury, but a necessity that cannot be relinquished. In every destroyed home, and in every street bearing the traces of pain, Eid remains a poem of hope written in tears and read with longing.Despite all the losses the country has endured, Eid comes as a long prayer for peace and for holding on to life. Between the Eid takbirs and mothers’ prayers, hope remains that a day will come when Yemen regains its wellbeing, and its people celebrate Eids no longer accompanied by fear or loss, but by the dignity and justice they deserve.Mwatana for Human Rights extends its warm greetings to all Yemeni women and men on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, wishing that it may return to all in prosperity, peace, and security.Mwatana also calls on all parties to the conflict in the country to make the occasion of Eid al-Adha a motive to begin a new page toward achieving peace, resolving the roots of division, and working to ease the burdens that have weighed heavily on Yemenis as a result of the protracted war and the consequences of years of conflict. Foremost among these steps is the release of all those arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared into the unknown, as well as taking the initiative to clear minefields and open roads and crossings, so that the one homeland may be reunited with itself, and so that Eid may have meaning.On this occasion, Mwatana will not forget to say: Eid Mubarak…To every displaced person enduring exile in the scorching heat of June, exposed in the open wilderness of displacement.To every bereaved mother crushed by the burning pain of loss for a son who was killed or a father who remains detained; to every sister without a visitor; to every family without a breadwinner; to every sigh of abandonment and every chest heavy with suppressed grief.To all the girls and boys whose innocent dreams vanished with one last step onto a treacherous landmine.To every Yemeni family to whom Eid has arrived with empty hands and empty bowls.To every child’s smile as they walk proudly in a new shirt, with the splendor of sultans.To every employee whose hands were once full.To every father who did not sleep last night, staring helplessly at his children—with neither Eid clothes nor a sacrifice to offer.To all those who will spend this day, Eid day, in the loneliness of prison, guilty of nothing except that someone chose to arbitrarily detain or forcibly disappear them.To every wife standing within reach of longing, finding no comfort but tears for an absent loved one who has yet to return.For the whole country… for all people: an Eid Mubarak worthy of you.
