Aden – Colonisation

British Postcard Captain J S Rundel

Initially, British efforts were largely focused on capitalising on Aden as a centre for trade. It’s close proximity with the horn of Africa and valuable commodities in Yemen such as coffee opened the door to opportunity which left Aden prosperous.

South Shields, Holborn (c) South Tyneside Libraries

During the 129 years that the British occupied Aden, a delicate political dance was enacted between the British authorities the Ottoman Empire, the Imamate and local tribal leaders. Yemen itself went through large periods of drought famine and difficult living conditions which pushed labourers from all across Yemen to leave their homes and seek work on the ships of both of British and other European governments who docked in Aden. The methods and systems to secure employment were riddled with bribery and corruption. Lawless states “the supply of labour was controlled and organised by a system of brokers or labour contractors. Each major employer at Aden had his chief broker often referred to as muqaddems or serangs, who in turn employed several sub-muqaddems who recruited the men and were responsible for paying their wages, finding accommodation for them and making sure they were fed.” ¹⁸

List of ships – crew list for Londonbrook

Impact on Yemenis

Opinions on the impact of colonization on Yemen are subjective. There are some, such as Saeed Ghaleb who enjoyed life under colonial rule and formed a lifelong bond with his employer. Others, see things differently. Abdul Galil Shaif Kasim’s father came from Sha’ib and said:

‘24 hours from Sha’ib to Aden by car, who accepts that? whilst the British brought rule, order and administration, the Yemeni people were not able to develop as Yemenis for example, in 129 years there were only 4 schools for 14 million people’²⁰

The consequences of such depravation on the local population were such that most were (and still are) forced to seek employment outside of Yemen whilst local resources such as fish and honey were capitalized on by the British occupation.

He states that ‘in 1962, the British promised the UN that they would given 60 million pounds to Aden in damages for the impact of their colonial rule and retracted upon the promise leaving the NLF  and FLOSY (National Liberation Front/ Front of the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen) to fight among themselves’.

Colonial Violence & Racism

Violence and racism were hallmarks of the British occupation of Aden and whilst the Yemenis were suffering at the hands of brutal colonial rule in Aden, they were also in South Shields facing active calls from a large part of the local population for their deportation and having their rights progressively restricted by the implementation of legislation after legislation.

“Credible source material shows South Yemenis placed by British soldiers in concentration camps behind barbed wire ²²”

“Amnesty International’s report of 1966 detailed that the British had used torture in Aden including removing detainees’ clothes and interrogating them naked, hitting their genitals, stubbing out cigarettes on their skin, making them sit on poles directed at the anus and sleep deprivation ²³

“The idea of having good roads and services does not mean they (the colonisers) were good ” – Abdul Galil Al-Shaibi

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12964331/Mad-Mitch-British-Empire-Yemen-Aden.html

Britain exits Aden – 1967

Yemeni aspirations for self-rule and an end to 129 years of colonisation could not be supressed by Mad Mitch or military intervention.

By the time of British withdrawal many South Arabian soldiers and policemen were openly aiding the insurgents. In one example on 20th June 1967, the South Arabian Police attacked British forces in locations across Aden provoked by rumours of a British attack on a South Arabian Army bases

Despite hoping for a long, drawn out withdrawal and hoping to continue having influence, Adeni attacks on British forces continued and the National Liberation Front continued to seize more and more control.

The Federal government ceased to exist in September and High Commissioner Trevelyan sought negotiations with the nationalist groups over Britain’s inevitable withdrawal. Yet attacks on British forces by the NLF continued, forcing the quickening of the evacuation. Trevelyan, and therefore British government, left Aden from RAF Khormaksar on 28 November 1967.