Yemen: A Life-Threatening Message to Blogger Afrah Nasser

This post is part of our Yemen Protests 2011 special coverage.

When protests first started in Yemen in January, President Ali Abdullah Saleh promised not to run for re-election in 2013 as an attempt to quiet angry protesters. However, this concession did not please anti-government protestors who have been asking for the immediate resignation of Ali-Abdullah Saleh and the fall of his 32-year regime. The government then turned to force, deploying thugs, live bullets, and possibly nerve gas to bring an end to a series of mass protests that have swept the country.

Afrah Nasser

Afrah Nasser

Yemeni blogger, Afrah Nasser, lives near the anti-government protest area in the capital Sana’a and has been uploading photos and posts calling for revolution. Nasser is also a journalist at the Yemen Observer Newspaper.

She received the following life-threatening message on Facebook on March 13 and decided to post it on her blog the next day, “so the entire world reads it“. The original message was in Arabic and she translated to English:

يبدوبان بانالكلام والتعامل معك بالطيب لا ينفع , رغم الجلسات التي تمت بينك وبين الــــ ؟؟؟؟!! كانت توحي بطيبه واحترام وذوق الطرف الاخر لكن مايتضح هو بانك لاترغبين بالعيش في امن وامان مع امك المسكينه التي تعبت وضحت من اجلكي انتي واختكي المغتربه ,قدمت كل التنازلات الشخصيه من اجل الحفاظ على ابنتيها الوحيدتان وتربيتهن وتعليمهن حتى اصبح كل من حولها يحسدونها على هذا الشي ,لكن يبدو بان المقوله المشهوره لاتريد ان تفارقكي(العرق دساس “نـ….. ر” ) اتمني بان تكون الاستاذه القديرة/ @#$% هي قدوتكي في الحياه فلا تخالفيها واسمعي كل كلامها فهيا اعلم منكي بالتعامل مع الاخرين ولااضن بان هناك شخص اخر يعرف مصلحتك ويخاف عليكي اكثر من امك… كم اتمنى بان تكون هذة الام هي امي فسوف احاول اسعادها ولو بعمري …….

على العموم سيتم تجاهل كل الماضي ليس لاجل شي وانما لاجل تلك الام المسكينه المناظله التي لايتم مكافاتها بمثل هذة المكافه وهي حرمانها من احد افراد اسرتها بكل هذة السهوله مقابل طيشكي لانريد ان نفقدها كل تعب السنين الماضيه.

اتمنى بان رسالتي قد وصلت اليكي يابنت اليمن …..
اصحي اصحييييييييييييييييييييييييي فلا تكوني وامكي واختكي ضحيت طيشكي يامتعلمه

The Message received by Afrah Nasser, a Yemni Journalist.

It seems that peaceful discussion with you won’t work out. Even though the meetings you had with ???!!! that seemed nice and respectful and that the other party was kind to you, you see to keep on not wanting to live in peace and security with your poor mother who worked hard and scarified a lot for you and your sister’s sake; your sister who is abroad. Your mother did many personal sacrifices to provide decent education for you and your sister and make you decent educated people that every one envies her about. However, it seems the saying “ ……” applies to you. I wish that Mrs. @#$% is your role model in life; so don’t disagree with her and listen to all her orders because she knows better than you do and knows better how to treat people than you do and I don’t think there is any other person knows what’s better for you than your mother. Gosh! I wish this lady to be my mother so I could whatever it takes to make her happy.

Anyways, the past will be forgotten, not for the sake of anything but only for the sake of your poor mother who fought a lot for you and you awarded her with this award; that’s to deprive her easily of one of her family member because of your irresponsibility and recklessness. We don’t want her to lose all what she earned for the past years.
I wish you receive my message…..

Wake up, waaaaaaaaaaake up! Don’t make your mother and your sister pay the price of your recklessness, you educated lady!

Afrah's followers on both twitter and her blog were shocked and they expressed their support and solidarity.
WomanfromYemen tweets:

@Afrahnasser oh my God!!!! they are trying to use fear tactics to scare you. we are with you to support you.

Muna (@ArabsUnite) tweets:

@Afrahnasser OMG. We are with u, supporting u hope u stay safe, strong and make sure u keep proof as @WomanfromYemen said..

Amal says:

من انتم؟؟ من انتم ؟ يا من تهددون حاملي الاخبار !
هذا هو الجبن بعينه .. ومن ارسل هذه الرسالة سيجر خيبته ورائة عندما يسقط الطاغية وسيسقط اعوانه تباعاً!!

يالي فاكر نفسك رجال وبترسل هذه الرسالة .. شوف الرجال الحقيقيين في ساحات التغير !

Who are you?? Who are you?? Threatening reporters!! This is cowardliness… And the one who sent this message will be extremely disappointed when the dictator and his followers fall… You think you're a man for sending a message like this.. The real men are at Al-Taghyeer square

Mohammed Al_Shaheri posted this comment on Afrah's blog:

الشعب كله مهدد لكن والله لن يزيدنا هذا إلا إصرار وأصبري يا أختي فما هي إلا أيام معدودة فالنظام يلفظ أنفاسه الأخيرة

The whole people is threatened, but I swear that this will only makes us more determined. Be patient sister, only few days remain until the fall of the regime.

He ends his comment with a piece of advice for Afrah:

ونصيحة يا أختي أبقي قريبة من مظمات المجتمع المدني حتى إذا ما حاول أي شخص أن يمسك بسوء فلن يستطيع وسيردعه الخوف فهم لن يقوموا بأي شيء يهيج الشارع في ظل الأوضاع الراهنة

A piece of advice sister: stay close to the organisations of civil society, because in case someone tries to hurt you he will not be able to do it and fear will stop him. Regarding the current events, they will not do anything that will enrage the streets.

Afrah (@Afrahnasser) tweets:

الحقيقة تزعج الكثير من المواليين .. سحقا لهم .. لن يسكت صوت الحق ابدا

The truth bothers many supporters..Screw them.. the voice of the truth will never be silent

This post is part of our Yemen Protests 2011 special coverage.

3 comments

  • Mohammed Al-Mansari

    This is ridiculous. Keep going towards what you believe in! We will win at the end.

  • اننا نعانى من سيطرة القوى المتخلفة على السلطة والثروة وتحالفت مع قوى الفساد والارهاب فى العالم ولهذا استخدمت ضدنا كل اساليب حرب الابادة ولكن اردادة شعبنا فى الجنوب كانت اقوى بفعل التربية الاخلاقية التى عمدت فى نظام بعد ثورة اكتوبر63م والذى افضى الى التخلص من الامية ونشر القانون بين عامة الشعب —

  • […] may be noted here that Yemeni blogger and journalist received threats for her role in the […]

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