The UAE has helped reunite two Yemenite Jewish families with their relatives whom they hadn’t seen for 21 years, WAM, the Emirate News Agency reported Monday.
One family, with 15 members, was reunited in Abu Dhabi on Sunday after UAE authorities had paid for their flights from Yemen and London.
Yitzhak Fayez, 35, told WAM that he had not seen his grandparents and uncle since he was a child, after moving to the UK from Yemen. Fayez’s grandfather, grandmother, and uncle were flown in from Yemen, as he and 11 family members, including five great-grandchildren, flew in from London.
“The last time I saw them was as a child,” he said. “Today they are meeting their great-grandchildren for the first time,” and added: “Today, the UAE made my family’s dream come true after we had lost hope to be reunited, after 21 years of separation.”
The family members were kept apart due to the security situation in Yemen and financial difficulties.
Fayez’s mother, Losa Fayez, said that the reunion put an end to 21 years of suffering. Soliman Fayez, the grandfather, and Sham’a Soliman, the grandmother, said they were elated over the family reunion in Abu Dhabi, describing the moment as one that will forever remain indelible in their memory.
A second family, the Salem family, was also reunited on Sunday after being apart for 15 years.
Haron Salem along with his wife and two children were flown in from Yemen to meet their relative who lives in Abu Dhabi. “Words cannot express how grateful we are to the UAE,” Salem said. “We are very happy being here reunited with our family member. The UAE is truly the homeland of love, tolerance, and peace.”
In this context, it should be noted that on July 17, 2020, French authorities launched an investigation into the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for complicity in acts of torture citing the UAE’s involvement in the Yemen civil war. Six Yemeni citizens had filed a complaint with a judge specializing in crimes against humanity in Paris.