Riot in the Backyard

There was a riot under our porch last week. In the morning we saw cops demolish a house with a bulldozer. We got it on video. Things got hectic for a minute but we had to leave for work. The last I saw, riot cops were pushing people away from the rubble.

When we were driving back from Basateen around 4:30 in the afternoon, we turned onto our street and saw men rolling tires set on fire out into the middle of the road. We quickly backed up and went around another way. The black, acrid smoke from the tires looked like it might be engulfing our apartment building but I wanted to get home. The alternative was to wait things out at our supervisor's apartment. We would've had to sit in our sweaty clothes and make conversation. Walking through a riot to get home seemed like the better option. It was a little uncomfortable walking past a bunch of Yemeni police with AKs, tires burning, rocks flying, but we got home alright.

We made these videos from our back porch. The first is the morning house demolition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O6opms5OdM .
The second is the afternoon clash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XOD_T8yPIY

- Michael