Media

'Madri' campaign lays bare Houthis' desperation, loss of popular support

Asked by the Houthis to feign ignorance about the group's losses, Yemenis have turned the tables with a flood of satirical social media posts.

A satirical exam circulating on social media mocks the Houthis' 'madri' gag order. Questions challenge the group's Iranian allegiance, misuse of public revenues and responsibility for destruction while in hiding. The required answer: "madri" (I don't know).
A satirical exam circulating on social media mocks the Houthis' 'madri' gag order. Questions challenge the group's Iranian allegiance, misuse of public revenues and responsibility for destruction while in hiding. The required answer: "madri" (I don't know).

By Faisal Abu Bakr |

ADEN -- A campaign launched by the Houthis to coerce Yemenis to respond "madri" ("I don't know") when questioned about US strike locations has backfired on the Iran-backed group, according to multiple sources.

The so-called "Madri campaign" comes as the Houthis attempt to control any information that might reveal their losses of leadership and equipment.

As the Houthis become increasingly paranoid about information leaks, they have been arresting anyone who approaches or photographs strike sites.

They also have been accusing Yemenis who engage in benign activities such as checking their phones during strikes or discussing strike sites on social media with espionage.

While the "Madri campaign" seeks to instill fear and compliance, it has been met with derision from the populace, who are fed up with the Houthis.

Social media has been awash with satirical videos, with comedian Mohammed al-Hawari sarcastically answering "madri" to questions about who looted public sector salaries and committed violations -- with clear reference to the Houthis.

Behind the mockery, however, a darker reality is unfolding, according to Judge Ishraq al-Maqtari, who serves on the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights in Yemen.

Repression and abandonment

The Houthis have intensified their crackdown across al-Hodeidah and Saada since December with a campaign of arbitrary arrests, al-Maqtari told Al-Fassel.

The Iran-backed group has detained people for "suspicious activities" such as taking phone calls from relatives in government-controlled areas, she said.

Even poverty-stricken fishing and farming communities in al-Hodeidah's Salif, al-Tuhayta and Bayt al-Faqih districts have not been spared, al-Maqtari said.

She noted that large numbers of detainees from al-Hodeidah have been transferred to Houthi security and intelligence prisons in Sanaa.

"Al-Hodeidah has become hell with restricted movement, roads turned into military zones, repression and arrests," compounding the suffering of province residents, political analyst Abdul Malik al-Yousfi told Al-Fassel.

He accused the Houthis of hiding weapons in private homes and setting up missile platforms on farmland, putting civilian lives and livelihoods at risk.

Meanwhile, Houthi leaders have disappeared from view, abandoning the people they govern to their fate, in an exodus that reflects "the state of terror and fear they are experiencing after the US strikes," al-Yousfi said.

Do you like this article?


Comment Policy

Captcha *

Yes

Somewhat useful

May Allah grant them victory over the infidels

Thanks

Thanks

They left the people who rule them to their fate.

Yes

Yes, I like it

Comment removed for violating comments policy.

Take this blow

Thanks

Regardless of the fact that you hate the Houthis and that you are their enemy, it is shameful, disgraceful and disgraceful to be a Muslim and mock other Muslims, and even brag and boast about what the West is doing to you to satisfy your anger against those you hate. Isn't this what is called hypocrisy and immorality? Isn't it despicable and unmanly to be with countries that enslave you and humiliate you as a Muslim, while you know them to be infidel countries, and yet you hypocritically say, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"? Do you think that you have remained a Muslim or that you have left Islam and are destined for Hell? Don't you support infidels? You support them with praise and take pride in their actions as if they were your fathers or grandfathers. Do you think that because you breathe and live in luxury, that Allah is unaware of your words and actions, that you are safe from Allah's wrath and punishment, and that what you are doing is the right thing? It is only a few days, and you will find yourself facing a difficult reckoning. What will you say to your Lord on that day? Or are you one of those who do not fear God, do not fear Him, and do not give weight to the Hereafterو God forbid....

Yes, we bless the wiping of the Houthis from the face of the earth and all who embrace the Shiite sect because they are apostates from Islam. Haven't you seen or heard what the Shiites have done in Syria in terms of killing, displacement, and disappearance? Or are your eyesight weak and your memory fails when you hear about the evils of the Shiites? They mobilized all the Shiites of the earth against the Syrians, and God was watching them. Haven't you heard the words of the buried hypocrite Hassan Nasrallah? What did he boast about and say that the road to Jerusalem passes through Aleppo? How can he support these infidel Gypsies? May God's curse be upon his impure soul...
Until Israel came and buried him underground, its hands safe...
If you are a Houthi, repent to God and seize the opportunity of what remains of your life, so that God may forgive you. And if you are a Sunni, seek refuge in God from the accursed Satan and return to your senses.

Varying and useful articles

Joining the Public Security Service

Thanks

It's very nice

Excellent

Comment removed for violating comments policy.

God, Syria and Bashar

Excellent

I like this work

Good

The entire report is based on speculation from people who aren't present in the areas where events take place. They're all either outside Yemen or in areas controlled by the legitimate government. These speculations are full of contradictions, as for example sayiىg that the Houthis are arresting people, preventing them from approaching the bombing sites, and taking them to prison; in contrast, they come back and say that the Houthis have disappeared from sight and left people to face their fate. This means that the Houthis fled and left the situation to chance. We want to know the truth, and it's not difficult to communicate with people who are present in the area of ​​the events if you want to report events as they are, not as you want them to be.

Beauties

Comment removed for violating comments policy.

By God, the Houthis and those who follow them are scum