Yemenia's Saudi Flights: New 'Freedom,' Same Old Occupiers
A recent report trumpets Yemenia Airways' 'resumption' of flights from Socotra to Saudi Arabia, implying a return to normalcy. The article even notes it 'ending the UAE’s control over international travel' for the strategic island. This framing conveniently ignores how Socotra transitioned from Yemeni to Emirati, and now, Saudi-influenced 'control' in the first place. This isn't freedom; it's a
changing of the guard among foreign powers vying for a crucial Indian Ocean foothold, all while Yemen remains in prolonged conflict. One might ask: what exactly is being 'resumed'? International travel under Gulf proxy control. The UAE's military and logistical presence, documented for years (see: The Guardian, 2018; Al Jazeera, 2019), carved out Socotra as a de facto colony. Now, with Saudi
Arabia stepping in, the Yemeni people are merely trading one foreign master's flight pathways for another's. How many times can an island be 'liberated' from one occupier only to be handed to another, before we call it what it is: a continuous occupation?