In Pictures
Aden, Yemen – In this coastal city long accustomed to sweltering, humid summers, the absence of electricity can reshape an entire day.
asserted
absence → accustom → day
When the power cuts out, fans and air conditioners fall silent.
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fans → cut → ?
Sleep becomes difficult.
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Sleep → become → ?
Students race to finish their homework before darkness arrives.
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darkness → race → homework
Children spill onto the streets while young men drift towards the sea in search of moving air and cooler waters.
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men → spill → air
Inside hospitals, where treatment cannot be postponed until the lights come back on, electricity carries a different weight altogether.
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electricity → postpone → weight
Yemen’s power crisis predates the current war.
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crisis → predate → war
Even before the conflict, only about 55 percent of the population had access to electricity from all sources, which is among the lowest rates in the Middle East and North Africa.
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which → have → East
Since 2015, damage to infrastructure, fuel shortages and ageing generation and distribution systems have left supplies even more fragile.
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damage → age → supplies
In Aden, power stations continue to face repeated shutdowns, leaving residents without electricity for long periods.
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stations → continue → periods
Insurance premium increases on tankers carrying fuel to Aden have also reportedly made the crisis worse.
uncertain
increases → carry → crisis
An assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published this year said Aden was receiving just two to six hours of electricity a day as structural weaknesses and fuel shortages caused frequent outages.
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weaknesses → publish → outages
As the sun sets over the city, a second part of the day begins.
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part → set → day
Homes and businesses slip into darkness, punctuated only by small lights powered by batteries and solar systems.
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Homes → slip → batteries
Residents often do not know how long the latest blackout will last, or how long the power will stay on once it comes back.
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it → know → ?
During the summer, when temperatures in Aden climb towards 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), the consequences are hard to escape.
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consequences → climb → degrees
Residents in the city interviewed in the middle of the year said their homes had become almost unbearable during the prolonged power cuts that plague the city.
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that → interview → city
The heat does not always disappear when the sun goes down.
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sun → disappear → ?
“Sometimes the power comes back while we are asleep, so we wake up to use it.
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we → come → it
Our lives have become tied to when electricity comes and goes,” one resident said.
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resident → tie → ?
For her family, an outage is measured not just in hours but in problems.
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outage → measure → problems
Children are unable to sleep, food spoils in warm refrigerators and housework must wait.
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housework → sleep → refrigerators
When the heat inside becomes too much, Youssef heads for the coast.
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Youssef → become → coast
The sea, he said, is no longer just a place of recreation but a refuge from the unbearable heat of the city.
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he → say → city
“When the electricity is off for hours, it is very difficult to stay inside,” he said.
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he → stay → hours
“There is no fan and no air conditioning, and the humidity makes the heat worse, so we come to the sea.”
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we → be → sea
Towards the end of the day, young men and families gather along the waterfront.
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men → gather → waterfront
Some swim.
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Some → swim → ?
Others simply sit beside the water and wait for the city to cool.
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city → sit → water
But the sea cannot solve Aden’s electricity crisis.
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sea → solve → crisis
Hours later, Youssef returns home and sometimes finds the house exactly as he left it.
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he → return → it
“Sometimes we get back and the power is still out, and we start waiting all over again,” he said.
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he → get → ?
For children like Mohammed, Saeed and Abdullah, blackouts have changed where childhood takes place.
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childhood → change → place
When their homes become too hot, they move into the street, running between houses or sitting with other children until late.
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they → become → children
“It gets hot inside the house, so we come down and play in the street,” one of the boys said.
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one → get → boys
“We play football or sit with our friends.
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We → play → friends
It is part of the life they have grown up with.
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they → grow → life
The effects follow them into the classroom.
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effects → follow → classroom
In Aden, the United Nations Development Programme documented more than 7,000 students and teachers struggling in dark, stifling classrooms during power cuts.
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Programme → document → cuts
The installation of solar systems at eight schools and an education office has helped.
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installation → help → schools
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
