Social media users were outraged after a young Yemeni man set fire to his body to protest the authorities' confiscation of his goods while working as a street vendor in Aden.
Shabakat (2023/6/21) followed the details of this story, which dates back to the Yemeni authorities in Aden carrying out a campaign to remove distorted appearances and encroachment on sidewalks, after warning street vendors and imposing fees on them in order to preserve the civilized appearance of the city.
But Wazer Abdo Ali, a street clothes vendor in Aden's Sheikh Othman district, was unable to pay the new fees imposed by the authorities, so the municipality confiscated and burned his goods for not paying the new fees.
As a result of the oppression felt by the young man, he went to the front of the local council building in Sheikh Othman, poured a quantity of gasoline on his body, and set himself on fire in protest against what the municipality did to his goods, and the people around him tried to put out the flames burning in his body.
According to Aden Al-Ghad newspaper, the fire caused great damage to the body of the young man, who was transferred to the "Doctors Without Borders" hospital for treatment and saving his life, while Yemeni activists published videos documenting the young man's condition from inside the hospital, where he shows third-degree burns in most parts of his body.
Activists' anger
Commenting on the incident, activist Miri Ali criticized the authorities' handling of street vendors, writing, "Who is this manager who burns the merchant's goods? And by what right? "He goes to treat the conditions of the city (like) electricity, water, high prices, exchange rates, and eventually comes to the merchant and steals or burns his goods."
In turn, the tweeter Mona Ali considered that the incident proves the lack of mercy among officials, and said, "In something scary, that mercy disappeared from the people, I mean one holding a position comes to a poor person who is strong with the gunmen who hold a poor rug and work hard for himself and burn it in front of his eyes. (This) is tyranny and injustice."
Abdul Mawla had another opinion: "Sheikh Othman and all of Aden are crowded with shops and stalls to the point of suffocating the roads."
Activist Farouk Ali commented, "This is a human being with blood and soul, if we do not do justice to him, God will take revenge on all of us for our silence."
Tweeter Youssef Al-Hamoudi commented, "God is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs against every oppressor. Enough of the money he imposes on them, not and he usually (and also) paralyzes (takes) goods and burns them."
According to local media, the governor of Aden directed the director of the security department to immediately investigate the incident of a citizen setting himself on fire in front of the local authority building in Sheikh Othman district.
Sheikh Othman Wissam Muawiyah, director general of the local authority, issued a statement saying, "We announce our full response to the decision of the governor of the capital to assign the director of security of Aden to investigate the incident of a vendor burning himself in front of the local authority building. I abide by all the results of the investigation and announce that I will suspend myself from work until the investigation is completed."