New Orleans keeps marching, rallies for Yemen

Despite the onset of Carnival season, New Orleanians have not stopped marching for Palestine. And on the cold night of Jan. 16, several dozen gathered outside the Hale Boggs Federal Building to rally for Yemen.

The action was called by New Orleans for Palestine, NOLA Freedom Forum, Tulane Students for Palestine, Freedom Road Socialist Organization New Orleans, New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, and Students for a Democratic Society.

The crowd chanted, “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around!” and “Hands off Yemen!” 

All of us who participated support the heroic actions of the Yemeni resistance, who have struck real blows against the Zionist regime and its genocidal campaign in Gaza.

When Gaza called, Yemen answered – despite the fact that some 377,000 Yemeni people have died in war over the past few years, with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia being primarily responsible.

The blood from those deaths is on the hands of Biden, Trump, Obama, and company. So when Biden orchestrated the retaliatory bombing of Ansar Allah (“Houthi movement”) forces on Jan. 11, he wasn’t doing anything new. In fact, it was all too predictable. 

Washington continually brutalizes Yemen, one of the poorest countries on Earth – poor because of imperialism. The governments of the U.S., Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands – the coalition of imperialist forces that carried out last week’s attacks – are a bunch of rotten cowards.

The Yemeni people, on the other hand, are heroes. They will not be deterred. For our part, we, in the belly of the beast, must also vow to keep fighting until both Palestine and Yemen are free.