A Voice from Yemen

By ABC Sydney, Ben Millington

Yemen was once the home of the Queen of Sheba, the land of milk and honey, the place where the wise men collected frankincense and myrrh, and most simply, the place that makes God smile.
Sadly this image has taken a bit of a battering in recent times. Terrorism, Al Qaeda, kidnappings and tribal wars are what grab the headlines these days.

In 2009 I was lucky enough to visit Sana'a, the beautiful, world heritage listed capital of Yemen. Aside from the stunning architecture, I found warm friendly people and a hospitable culture unlike any other in the Gulf. I was welcomed into homes, attended a wedding party and was greeted by smiling faces in every street, shop and market.

The man who helped open this window was Kais Al Kalisi (pictured), a local tourism operator who I spent several nights with chewing qat leaves and talking about life and politics. At the time Kais talked about his dream for a democratic government and an end to corruption, now he is acting.

Inspired by recent revolutions in Egypt and Libya, Yemenis are protesting around the country in anti-government demonstrations. The last few days have seen bloody clashes and dozens killed as government forces reportedly opened fire on protesters.

Kais has been among the protesters and I spoke to him last night.

"It was a real blood bath," he says.

"We did not expect the government to be too tough to us, we were a peaceful demonstration showing we want the government to step down.

"We were faced suddenly by the republican army which was shooting us, like hunting birds. It was a massacre."

It was a sobering conversation, which ended with Kais saying he was inspired by the fact that countries like Australia were reporting on the situation. I was humbled, and hung up thinking about a unique country on the other side of the world, but with very complex problems and very real people living with them.

Listen to the full interview: