(ANS - Sana'a) - The situation in Yemen is becoming more and more untenable every day. 80% of the country population, over 20 million people, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to reports from international organizations. The Salesian missionaries, once again, remain close to the people, especially "the poor, who, as always, are the ones who suffer the most," they say.

"There is a shortage of electricity. Some days we get power for three or four hours.  The infrastructure has been destroyed by bombing. There are shortages of medicines, water, food ..." This is the testimony of the Salesian missionaries who have chosen to remain in Yemen to be close to the people they serve.

Cities such as Aden and Taiz are being devastated and the situation is really complicated. "In Aden heavy fighting is taking place and there is a great shortage of the most basic goods. Life there is really miserable," the missionaries say. And to make things worse, "there seems to be an epidemic of dengue and about 5,000 people are affected. Some have died." The most likely cause is the lack of cleaning, the stagnant water that lies everywhere, and the dead bodies that remain for days in the streets.

In Aden, moreover, two of the three churches served by the Salesians were looted and partially destroyed. "They broke the images and have taken what little there was of value ... but these are just the buildings. We care about the people who are trying to survive," the Salesians say in their report to the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid.

"Millions of people are living in real misery ... constantly in fear of the bombing ... many are maimed or are victims of serious wounds. The psychological damage to children and young people is impossible to calculate."

Despite international efforts, the peace talks in Geneva have failed, and the bombing continues.

Published 02/07/2015