In the besieged city of Taiz, Yousef Farhan’s family has run out of choices at mealtime.
asserted
family → besiege → mealtime
“The whole day, we either eat rice or beans, whether in the morning or in the evening,” the 39-year-old father of four told Al Jazeera.
asserted
father → eat → Jazeera
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Shelling forced the family from their home years ago, and they have lived in a school in Taiz’s Wadi al-Qadi zone ever since.
asserted
they → defuse → zone
Farhan used to sell cucumbers from a small cart in front of the school, earning between 4,000 and 5,000 Yemeni riyals (roughly $2.50 to $3.20) a day.
asserted
Farhan → use → riyals
The money was never steady, but it bought a gas cylinder each month and, now and then, a meal with some variety.
asserted
it → buy → variety
Then the siege closed the school, and his trade went with it.
asserted
trade → close → it
The family now cooks over firewood.
asserted
family → cook → firewood
“With the suspension of the school due to the shelling and the siege, my source of income stopped, and I was unable to find alternative work since the siege caused many people’s jobs to come to a halt,” he said.
asserted
he → stop → halt
His children, aged five months to five years, depend on whatever he can find.
asserted
he → age → whatever
So do his sister and her child, who joined him after their neighbourhood came under fire.
asserted
neighbourhood → do → fire
The city has been cut off since early October, when it lost both of its land routes.
asserted
it → cut → routes
The Houthis took the town of al-Turbah by October 4, severing the Taiz-Al-Turbah-Aden Road, the main artery for goods.
asserted
Houthis → take → goods
A day earlier, forces loyal to the internationally recognised government closed the eastern al-Houban crossing into Houthi-held territory, citing attempted Houthi incursions.
asserted
forces → recognise → incursions
On October 20, the United Nations warned that road closures and lack of security were blocking vital supplies.
asserted
closures → warn → supplies
Prices of the food and fuel still available had more than doubled, and Taiz’s water production had dropped by half.
asserted
production → double → half
Across Taiz, families like Farhan’s are working out what to eat and whether they can afford to cook it.
asserted
they → work → it
The map below shows the main Taiz-Al-Turbah-Aden Road and three other routes out of the city, all now closed.
asserted
all → show → city
One day at a time
For weeks, 40-year-old Sayyun Burhan has looked no further ahead than tomorrow.
asserted
Burhan → look → tomorrow
“We barely live day-to-day, waiting to see how the next day will pass,” she said.
asserted
she → live → day
Work is no longer available at the local store where Sayyun’s husband was employed, and his failing health makes it harder for him to find anything else.
asserted
him → employ → anything
Meanwhile, the family still needs money for rent, food, water and cooking gas.
asserted
family → need → rent
Across the city, the cost of water delivered by tankers has roughly tripled since the fighting escalated, according to UN officials.
uncertain
fighting → deliver → officials
The strain reaches beyond the kitchen.
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strain → reach → kitchen
For Burhan’s children, the siege means missed lessons and long days inside, as she is afraid to let them out.
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she → mean → them
“They have been deprived of schooling and play,” she said.
asserted
she → deprive → schooling
Keeping both children safe and fed is becoming harder.
asserted
Keeping → keep → children
A city running on fumes
Fuel is behind many of Taiz’s civilian emergencies.
asserted
Fuel → run → emergencies
Diesel keeps water pumps working, hospital generators running and ambulances moving.
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ambulances → keep → ?
Petrol enables people can get to work, and patients to treatment.
asserted
people → enable → treatment
Cooking gas lets families and restaurants prepare food.
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families → cook → food
But the city’s fuel stations have been closed since October 5.
asserted
stations → close → October
Prices gathered by Al Jazeera in Taiz show how sharply fuel costs have risen.
asserted
costs → gather → Taiz
A 20-litre (5.3-gallon) container of petrol now costs 120,000 riyals ($77), four times last year’s price of 30,000 riyals ($19).
asserted
container → cost → riyals
The price of 20 litres of diesel has nearly doubled, from 46,000 riyals ($29) to 90,000 riyals ($58).
asserted
price → double → riyals
A cooking gas cylinder has risen from 11,400 riyals ($7) to 40,000 riyals ($26).
asserted
cylinder → cook → riyals
Bus fares have risen from 200 riyals (13 cents) to 500 riyals (32 cents), an increase of 150 percent.
asserted
fares → rise → percent
Every ride now takes a bigger share of household budgets already stretched by rising food prices.
asserted
ride → take → prices
For Farhan, the move to firewood shows how far his family’s spending power has fallen.
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power → show → firewood
He once managed with a gas cylinder each month.
asserted
He → manage → cylinder
Now, even a pot of rice or beans depends on what he can burn.
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he → depend → what
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
