'More than a million' children indoctrinated in Houthi summer camps

Ideologically extreme summer camps in Sana’a and other governorates in Yemen under Houthi control host at least hundreds of thousands of children annually. While the exact number of attendees is disputed, Houthi sources speak about 430,000 children under the age of 14 and more than 1 million under the age of 18 this year alone. The Houthis use these camps to measure and enhance their approval among the next generation of Yemenis. These camps also provide an opportunity for the Houthis to recruit children into their ranks.

Dahan Al-Same’i, an employee in Yemen’s health sector who resides in Sana’a, told The Media Line that the Houthi-appointed community supervisor asked him to enroll his children in one of these summer camps. Despite being against the idea, Al-Same’i was pressured to register his three children, ages 8 to 14.

According to Al-Same’i, when they returned home after the first day of camp, they had memorized the slogan of the Houthi movement: “God is the greatest, death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory to Islam.”

“They were being taught some lesson about the Holy Quran and some religion concepts,” Al-Same’i said, adding that these lessons were bundled with others, including “military and combat concepts in an attempt to try and change the children’s view of the Houthis and their beliefs.”

“This is another war, and we will not see its results until years from now when there’s an army defending this group and ready to die in defense of its ideology,” lamented Al-Same’i, adding that this is “a disaster for childhood.” READ MORE