ورحل في ظل ظروف يمنية هي أحوج ما تكون اليه | زيد بن علي الوزير

He departed at a time when Yemen needed him most by Zaid al-Wazir

 

وصمت القلم – زيد بن علي الوزير

مال أحبابه خليلا خليلا * وتولى اللدات إلا قليلا

نسلوا أمس من غبار الليالي* ومضى وحده يحث الرحيلا

جاء الخبر صاعقا بأن “ابراهيم مثنى”،- وهو في عمره الباكر- قد ترجل عن صهوة حصانه، واغمد قلمه الراشد، ورحل في ظل ظروف يمنية هي أحوج ما تكون اليه، وفقده الشباب الثائر في معركة مصير محتدم.

مضى مخلفا عطرا سائلا يستروحه طلاب التصحيح في كل مكان، ونوار يستضيئون به في رحلة البناء الصحيح، وإذا كانت “اليمن” قد فقدته في وقت هي  أحوج ما يكونون إليه مناضلا وقورا  ومجادلا صلبا، وانسانيا ذا أفق رحيب، فإنه باق في ذاكرة قوى التغيير منهجا قويما يطبقونه، ومثالا عاليا يحتذونه، وعلما خفاقا يرفعونه.

أي إنسان كان وهو ابن الرابعة والعشرين من عمره؟! وأي انسان سيكون عندما يعيش زمنا أطول؟!، استطيع أن أقول بكل صدق: لقد عمل “إبراهيم” في الأربع وعشرين سنه ما سيعمله غيره لعشرات السنين، يدل على ذلك ما ترك من صدى تردد في الصحف العالمية ، واسى رجعته الصحف المحلية، وتغريدات “الفيس بوك” و “تويتر. لقد تجاوز ذكر “إبراهيم” حدود بلده، وفاض اسمه كما تفيض خاشعات صوفي عميق التفكير في الرحاب الفساح، وليس بمستنكر أن يحمل ابن الرابعة والعشرين هموم بلده وانسانيته فكثير من الناس كان نبوغهم مبكرا، وتركوا تراثا رائعا. وقد كان “إبراهيم” من هؤلاء النوابغ. وبقدر ما كان الابتهاج بنجاحه،  كان الحزن عليه غائرا، وكل من خبر “ابراهيم” وعرفه أكبره، ومن صادقه ائتمنه، فبكاه كل من عرفه، بل بكى على “اليمن” لفقد هذا الفارس الشاب.

وفي مثل هذا الموقف الحزين الأليم اراني ألوذ بحديث “نبي الله” عندما فقد “ابراهيم” تسلية للقلب الموجع- (إن العين لتدمع، وإن القلب ليحزن، ولا نقول إلا ما يرضي الرب، وإني على فراقك  يا إبراهيم لمحزون),

poking fun at foreign journalists

Ibrahim loved to poke fun at his foreign journalists friends who lived in Yemen. One example is the meme he created below: 

 

the little precious boy I knew | Nadwa al-Dawsari

Much missed and much loved. This is the little precious boy I knew, the little man who grew to be an outstanding young leader, who changed the lives of so many people around him and inspired the WORLD. You left us too soon Ibrahim

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a family friend who knew Ibrahim since he was 6 years old

 

 

on Change Square | Tom Finn

In the beginning of Yemen’s 2011 uprising, Ibrahim answered these questions via email from journalist Tom Finn 

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your email and I apologize for my late reply. I spent the night in the square yesterday and I didn’t access internet for the last 40 hours. The answers to your questions is below.

Regards,
Ibrahim

What is your daily routine like now compared to how it was before this all started?

My daily routine profoundly changed since the uprising started and I am spend hours everyday in the change square. The cultural diversity there is outstanding I enjoy participating in the different events and activities that take place there everyday. As non qat chewer I was struggling to fill my leisure time but currently the change square is providing me with ndless options to maintain a rich and fruitful time

Where and how did you learn to do what you’re doing? Are you following the model of Egypt? 

Well, what happened in Yemen was a spontaneous reaction ignited by the events in Tunisia and Egypt but also based on years of rights demands and civil society activities. Best practices and lessons are learned from Egypt but the Yemeni uprising have its own local features that greatly distinguishes it from other regional contexts and create its uniqueness

What is the basis for your demands?
The demands are simply based on basic human rights giving every person the right of equality, freedom and justice.

Are you worried that this could get hijacked by other groups inside the country?
The problem in Yemen is not with individuals or groups but rather with the absence of the rule of law and effective institutions. The main goal of the revolution is creating the right processes leading to the creation of institutions and forming a viable social contract assuring equality to everyone. So I am not worried about hijacking the great ongoing efforts but rather in sustaining it to achieve the core goals and demands of the protesters.

In one sentence some up your strategy?
Spreading mass awareness, providing a clear vision and maintaining a continuous effort.

As protesters how do you organize yourselves?
The organizing approaches evolved quickly since the protests started with dozens in February to a more sophisticated mechanisms are managing hundreds of thousands of people staying in the change square now. Generally speaking there are many committees, everyone of them taking care of one aspect like security, medication and others. It mainly consist of young volunteers and activists spending extraordinary effort to run these committees in the best possible way.

Tell the readers something they didn’t know about Yemen’s protesters.
The protest areas in Yemen has turned into cultural hubs reflecting the great diversity of the country. Tens of thousands of the protesters attend cultural events, lectures, art galleries, music and theater shows performed by other protesters. This cultural phenomena is unprecedented and highly influencing the society and positively restructuring its social norms

pursuing his thirst for knowledge | Abigail Fielding-Smith

One of my favourite memories of Ibrahim’s humour is at my house in Beirut where I had to shame-facedly tell dinner guests that I might have accidentally put a bit of cockroach powder in the stew.   People were helping carry stuff out to the living room when it was ready to serve, and Ibrahim brought out salt, pepper and, totally deadpan, a cylinder of cockroach poison.

Mainly though I just remember the many many times he went out of his way to help me.  He read endless drafts of a magazine piece I once wrote, picking up on all the factual errors and wrong analyses.  And I remember going to Aden with him on my last trip to Yemen, and watching him interact with the people there pouring out their grievances.  He was quiet, empathetic, engaged – I could sense that people respected him –  but always objective in his analysis.  On the way back from that trip we got to Aden airport late at night only to find that our flight was several hours delayed.  I sprawled across the plastic chairs trying to get some sleep.  Ibrahim immediately plugged headphones in to his ipad and fired up an LSE lecture from his U-Tunes selection.  I keep going back to that image of him cheerfully settling down for several hours in an overheated airport, pursuing his thirst for knowledge.

Calling for Change in Yemen

Radio documentary from BBC about Change Square that features Ibrahim

Calling for Change in Yemen

 

New Yorker writes about Ibrahim

A YOUNG POLITICIAN’S DEATH IN YEMEN

By Natalia Antelava 

“Excuse me, ma’am, you have to follow me,” a voice behind me said, polite but threatening, as I grabbed my bag off the luggage carousel. I froze. The last time I’d flown into Sana’a International Airport to cover the uprising in Yemen for the BBC, security services had held and deported a colleague who arrived with me. Now, I thought, it was my turn.

A second later, I heard a familiar chuckle, and I turned around to see a delighted grin on the face of Ibrahim Mothana. “You are not even supposed to be in Yemen!” I said. He had returned from his trip early, he said, and used an expired student I.D. card to bluff his way through the heavy airport security into the grubby Sana’a arrivals hall, where he stood looking extremely pleased. “I thought I’d surprise you,” he said.

Ibrahim, a Yemeni political activist and writer, surprised endlessly—with his brilliance, encyclopedic knowledge, eloquent arguments, generous spirit, tirelessness, and elaborate pranks. But the biggest surprise came on September 5th, when, at the age of twenty-four, he died, from what his family said were natural causes, at his home in Sana’a.

(READ FULL ARTICLE HERE) 

At a young age, he was able to make a difference for Yemen | Afrah Nasser

From Afrah’s blog

Ibrahim Mothana, a Yemeni political and social activist, and one of the most prominent outspoken writers who has extensively written on the impact of US drone strikes in Yemen, died today after a sudden cause of death in his home. He was 24. 

At a very young age, he was able to make a huge difference for Yemen that no one else could have ever done. At 24 years old, he was named by Action on Armed Violence among the 100 most influential people in armed violence reduction, due to his diligent and brilliant efforts in addressing the intensifying air strikes campaign by the CIA’s drone strikes in Yemen. Last April, he was invited to testify before a US Senate sub-committee examining the legality and wisdom of the drone campaign, which he was not able to do and later published his written testimony.

In Yemen’s contemporary history, Mothana was among the few Yemeni natives speaking in English who confronted the international community; reforming dozens of misconceptions about the country’s politics and general status. He has well-represented Yemen in tens of international arenas, while official politicians failed to. He had so many dreams for Yemen and was looking for a progressive political situation in Yemen. Hence, he co-founded the newly established political party, Al-Watan Party after Yemen’s 2011 uprising. 

Mothana was in the process of several projects besides managing the Al-Watan party’s matters. He was almost done with writing his first book – not clear if it’d be published soon or not. Also, he was in the process of conducting an innovative project in cooperation with Lund University in Sweden, with a focus on Yemen’s coming elections next year. 

In 2010, he became the youngest member of the Advisory Committee of the Arab Thought foundation based of his background as a young writer and community worker. He was also one of the British Council’s Global Changemakers youth who were exerting great impact in their communities. 

Mothana truly believed that he had the responsibility to make a change for his community and he has stated that in his piece published on the Global Changemakers website, “I realise now that I am not in this position to represent my own views but also the millions of young people under the age of 25 living in the Arab world. I am responsible for making the voices of young people heard and helping create solutions for the problems they face within the Arab region. I agree with the words of Albert Pike: ‘What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal’.”

It’s a huge loss!! 

I try to hold my tears while blogging this because I knew Ibrahim Mothana very well. He was a friend, a brother and one of my best role models. I’m still in a disbelief that we no longer have him in this world! 

I pull myself together and continue to blog because Mothana must be immortalized. We must remind Yemen’s youth and the coming generations of this exceptional young activist who made Yemen proud with all his great accomplishments. He was and will always be such an inspiration.

Ibrahim Mothana died but his legacy shall live for ever! Rest in peace my dear friend, Ibrahim!

Remembering Ibrahim Mothana | La Voix du Yémen

By Benjamin Wiacek (بلال)

See original article here.

For some, he was a prominent Youth activist, a very talented writer or a brilliant speaker. For others, he was a great thinker and the co-founder of a political party. He was all of that for many others, and even more. He was the most generous person we ever met, he was a true friend to all of us, a person that pushed us forward, that inspired us, a person that we all admired for who he was, for what he did and for what he was dreaming to achieve. But Death always calls the greatest ones first… Ibrahim died last Thursday at the age of 24.

While each one of us can only count a few real good friends, Ibrahim was a close friend to dozens of people. His generosity, his friendliness, his humor, his spirit, his intelligence, his kindness, his open mind, his warmth, and numerous other qualities made him an amazing person that we were all honored to meet. He devoted his life to Yemen, acting and hoping for a better future, he inspired many and gave all of us the strength and the hope to believe that change was possible. He was a model and a mentor for many and his departure may look like the end of every hope.

I miss you already my dear friend and it is hard to imagine that you will not be there anymore, that you will not please us with your presence, that you will not prank us and that we will not be able to turn to you for advice…

But Ibrahim lived his too short life to its full potential and even beyond. The best way for us to honor his memory, and I think this is what he would have wished, is to follow his example and to fight for our dreams. Despite the sadness and the pain, despite all the tears and his absence, we must never forget him and what he has done. He will continue to live within our minds, our hearts and our souls, and for that we will make sure that what he dreamed of can one day become reality…

Rest in Peace Ibrahim, I know our paths will cross again one day.

Benjamin