We need a change in Yemen. People are fed up with the suffering of hardship and injustice they have to deal with every day in their own country. For many Yemeni citizens, it has become far easier to emigrate and live in other countries than staying in their own land. Being a citizen in Yemen is like a bird in a cage deprived from the simplest dreams of life. Year after year, hope turns to disappointment and people’s daily dialogue barely goes on without complaining of their economical situations.

“Citizen,” this word which means a lot to its holders in Western countries, is often linked to the poor man with limited resources in many of the Arab countries. Our home country has proven to us day after day, and year after year, that connections and money are the engine and the only weapon with which a person can achieve his/her dreams, whether simple or big.

So we need a change. But in order not to confuse things, let us pause for a moment to reflect on the meaning of the change that we want.  Does it mean a change of the president? Or a change in the regime? And if we mean to change the regime, what do we mean by the regime? Are we talking about changing people or changing the system? Do we mean a change of high officials or do we mean a change to the military institutions that control many resources of the country? The most important question is why do we want a change? If we change the current regime suddenly, as happened in Tunisia and Egypt, are we ready with alternatives that will achieve the goals of the change we desire?

Things need to change. But don’t we also need to change the paradigms and behaviors of the people as well? The regime that has been sitting on the throne of power for the last 33 years did not come from a vacuum, but rather came from the good of our people through their multiple elections in the past. I do not know why people would keep electing officials that don’t do them justice. It might be ignorance or it might be because of the absence of confidence in the presence of a better alternative, as people might think the current regime is the best of the worst. Some might question the validity of all previous elections and that our current system was based on forgery and fraud, but the reality says otherwise. I cannot disbelieve my eyes nor my ears, which have witnessed the millions of citizens who kept electing the current regime year after year of their own will. 

We definitely need to see a change, but the people also must admit past political mistakes and take full responsibility for choices they made and for contributing to the overall corruption when they select a new system and regime. Unfortunately, in every place you go in Yemen, you see a form of corruption. Everywhere you go, you can sense a form of corruption among the people. There is always dishonesty, disorganization, racism, a waste of precious time in qat gatherings, insincerity in one’s work, etc. You can see corruption almost everywhere even in religious, judicial, educational, and health institutions. Is it then the fault of the regime alone?

We absolutely need a change, but people demanding change need to be aware of those who want to use the youth revolutions as a bridge to achieve their own hidden agenda.  The Yemeni unity was born to stay and those who advocate the separation of Yemen may go fly a kite. Yemenis, north and south, are one nation, and for a change to head in the right direction, it means to advocate for more unity in the region and not the opposite. People need to also be aware of those corrupted hypocritical people who might appear on the surface claiming that they support the change and they try to incite people on the streets to fight while they are sitting in their luxurious homes enjoying watching bloodshed until they can get into power later. People also need not to forget that while calling for a change, it must be done peacefully, and when people go out to speak up demanding freedom, and an end to the corruption, they must be treated with dignity and not faced with violence. It is the duty of the security forces and the regime to protect its own people and defend them under any circumstances.

We need a change, and I am not sure our government is fully aware of that yet. But the regime that was trusted by the people multiple times must understand that people can no longer  tolerate the false promises, and whomever believes that he/she cannot perform his/her duties as an elected official must give up their seats with dignity before they are removed.

We need a change. All political parties and especially those who enjoy saying “no” to everything whether right or wrong need to act in a civilized and democratic way for the sake of the homeland interest first and foremost. It is in everybody’s interest to accept each other and to work peacefully and positively towards the public interest. Being affiliated with one party doesn’t mean that you have to be in power at any price. It is always up to the people to select whomever they trust and once their decision is made, all parties should continue to work together towards the greater cause of advancing the country and its citizens. 

We need a change, but we must have the best alternative regime ready to take over once the current regime is over so that we can avoid more chaos and disorder in the country. It is wise for all political parties to start raising reliable, honest, strong political leaders who can gain the confidence of the people through their proven capability to lead the country out of its current political and economical situation. Those leaders need to have the necessary skills and passion to serve the citizens more than anything else. The good news is that no one has to start from scratch. There is a lot that can be leveraged from other democratic nations such as the United States which has gone through many civil movements until it become the great country it is today.

One more thing: The tribal system in Yemen must change. This system has had its day and it is absolutely no longer suitable at this day and age. People need a just system with a solid constitution and law that is fully respected by all, rich and poor —a system that promotes justice, freedom, equality, ethics and high values that guarantee a life full of dignity for its people.

To end, we must look at the big picture when demanding a major change. Vision, goals, and the  mechanism of making the change happen must be so clearly defined. We have to believe that change must come from within all of us: officials, political parties and citizens. 

May peace be upon our beloved home country and its people.

The writer lives in Dearborn. MI.