Ramadan in the “Era of Subjugation”: How the Saleh Regime Transformed the “Blessing of Ramadan” into a Season of Crises and Daggers in the People’s Side

The collective memory of Yemenis regarding the holy month of Ramadan during the rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh is a record burdened with “systematic crises.” The citizen’s suffering in obtaining gas and electricity was not the result of chance or technical inadequacy, but rather a “policy of subjugation” managed from political and military operations rooms. For decades, the regime deliberately transformed this spiritual month into a season of “economic exhaustion,” using basic commodities as tools of political pressure and financial blackmail. This forced the Yemeni citizen to spend his days in queues of “begging for services” instead of devoting himself to worship and national awareness, in a scene that embodies the pinnacle of subjugation and institutional corruption.

A close examination of the economic and service indicators during that era reveals a “direct correlation” between the approach of Ramadan and the increased pace of deliberate sabotage of the energy system and the disappearance of petroleum products. Reports from the Central Organization for Control and Auditing (which were prohibited from publication at the time) indicated an artificially created supply gap exceeding 45% of actual market demand. This gap was not due to a lack of production in the Safer or Masila oil fields, but rather to the systematic withholding of quantities by smuggling networks and influential figures within the Presidential Palace. The aim was to revitalize the black market and maximize profits at the expense of the poor and needy.

The Gas and Fuel Trilogy: From Official Monopoly to the Black Market

Data from the distribution sector of the Yemeni Gas Company during the last decade of Saleh’s rule confirms that the shortage of domestic gas began to escalate 15 days before Ramadan, reaching its peak in the first week of the month with a deficit exceeding 50%. Although domestic production of liquefied gas covered the daily needs of the provinces, the regime deliberately reduced the official quotas allocated to gas stations, diverting them to warehouses controlled by tribal and military power centers. This allowed cylinders to be sold later at prices up to 300% higher than the official rate, a blatant act of plundering citizens’ savings.

Furthermore, the diesel and gasoline crisis was orchestrated through a charade of tribal roadblocks on the Marib-Sanaa highway. These roadblocks were often carried out under the protection of military personnel affiliated with regime figures. These crises were designed to cripple the transportation sector, automatically driving up the prices of food and vegetables in the markets by 20% to 35%. According to testimonies from former officials, the missing quantities were sold at sea or smuggled through unofficial ports to finance the political and partisan activities of the ruling party at the time.

Field reports from the capital and major provinces documented long lines of cars stretching for kilometers in front of gas stations, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade completely absent from any oversight role. The ministry merely issued explanatory statements blaming “saboteurs,” who were in reality tools of the regime. This bitter reality led to a complete paralysis of domestic trade during Ramadan and a significant drop in purchasing power, pushing thousands of families to the brink of starvation. Meanwhile, influential figures amassed enormous wealth from the price difference between the subsidized rate and the organized black market rate.

A deeper analysis of this pattern reveals that the regime was using the “fuel crisis” as a cover to push through dubious import deals at preferential prices through shell companies based abroad and owned by the Saleh family and their cronies. These deals cost the public treasury hundreds of millions of dollars annually under the guise of “emergency imports to address the Ramadan crisis.” This money could have been used to build new refineries or massive power plants, but the regime preferred to perpetuate the cycle of corruption to ensure the loyalty of power centers that thrived on the people’s suffering.

“Systematic Darkness”: Electricity as a Tool of Collective Punishment

Under Saleh, the electricity system became a weapon of collective punishment wielded against Yemenis with every sunset prayer during Ramadan. The Ministry of Electricity recorded record-breaking power outages, reaching up to 20 hours a day in some years. The problem wasn’t technical; it was political sabotage. The power transmission lines between Marib and Sana’a were subjected to organized attacks in areas under the military control of the Republican Guard and the First Armored Division. Not a single saboteur was ever apprehended. Instead, the state “arbitrated” the attackers and paid them money, thus encouraging the phenomenon to become an annual occurrence.

Economically, this deliberate blackout caused disasters for small businesses and households. Estimates suggest that losses from spoiled food and electrical appliances in homes during Ramadan exceeded $150 million annually. The power outages also forced citizens and businesses to resort to generators and rented power, another lucrative business run by influential figures within the regime who held exclusive franchises for these generators. This confirms that the blackout was an economically viable product for the authorities, just like the oil crises.

On a psychological and social level, the power cuts during Suhoor and Iftar were intended to create a state of widespread despair and demoralize the population, conveying the message that the state was incapable of providing even the most basic services, and therefore, the existing reality should be accepted without protest. This policy disrupted Ramadan life, mosques, and religious gatherings, diverting Yemenis’ attention from major national issues to the struggle for basic necessities like “finding a candle” or “securing a liter of diesel” to run a small generator. This explains why these crises have persisted for decades without fundamental solutions, despite Yemen’s abundant natural gas resources.

“Chains of Corruption”: Price Manipulation and Monopoly of Basic Commodities

The crises were not limited to energy.