Born in in Yemen, Mai Noman is a London-based BBC journalist who has been trying to focus the world’s attention on the deadly conflict in her home country. “No matter how many times we go on TV and radio and write about it online, people don’t know — or care — about what’s going on in Yemen,” says the journalist.
So she decided to do something about it, and produced “Guess my country,” a two-minute video for BBC Stories which is getting a lot of attention on social media. The video, which is narrated by political analyst Hisham al-Omeisy, contrasts the cultural riches of Yemen with the brutality and hardship of the ongoing civil war.
The video asks: “What country has mud-brick skyscrapers, the world’s best flatbread and could also be the birthplace of coffee? It’s the same place that is enduring a brutal civil war that’s killed more than 10,000 people.”
“I thought if we can’t engage people with the devasting effect this war has had on 27 million people, then why don’t we show Yemen in a different light,” says Ms. Noman. “There are so many amazing things about this place, things that Yemenis are all so proud of.”
