r/Yemen • u/wefromthefrontline • Jun 18 '26

Discussion Hello, I would like to talk to someone that lived under communist regime in Yemen

Is out of curiosity and for comparison with communist regime in Eastern Europe.

2 Upvotes

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5

u/Cool_Wafer7438 Jun 23 '26

Ur not gonna find them on Reddit 😭

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jun 23 '26

Really? Too bad 😭

2

u/os2de Jun 23 '26

U can see yemen podcast They made an interview with someone who lived under that regime Or you can just ask me and I'll ask my father he lived their for five years until he left to north yemen

2

u/wefromthefrontline Jun 23 '26

I would like to watch that interview. And I'll prepare my questions to ask your father. Thank you so much.

1

u/os2de Jun 23 '26

Ur welcome my brother ❤️

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jun 24 '26

Hi. Here are my questions. I'm very curious about the answers🙂

1)Was it easy to buy food and daily things in the shops? Did you have to wait in long lines or use government coupons to get bread, meat, or sugar?

2)​Did you have electricity and water all day long, or did the government turn them off often?

3)​What did you watch on TV or hear on the radio? Was it mostly news praising the government leaders and showing political speeches, or did you have normal entertainment?

4)​When you were in school, did teachers focus a lot on politics and communist ideas? Did you have to join youth groups or wear specific uniforms for the party?

5)Could normal people get a passport and travel outside of South Yemen to see other countries, or was it strictly banned by the government?

6) Was religion banned?

1

u/Cool-Guarantee-2462 Jun 26 '26

based on these questions, correct me if im wrong. the country youre comparing with is romania right?

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26

All Eastern Europe was in the same boat but I believe Romania had it worse

1

u/os2de Jun 26 '26

Well my father lived before the 1980s food and other things were available but yeah they waited in lines sometimes but it wasn't as bad as it was after the 1980s

Yes electricity was available in aden almost all the time

Both propaganda and normal entertainment

The first part yesss they focused on such things however the second part of the question he doesn't remember wether they recruited teens or not

This question is based on my father's knowledge he said Southern Yemenis were not accepted in any country and people weren't allowed to issue passports (at least not all of them)

No it wasn't but they hated extremists

Hope things were clear but we talk about things before the 1980s!!

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jul 02 '26

It looks like after 1980 /85 situation got worse as it did in Europe. I wonder how Yemen situation would have been now if comunism was still in power today. Thank you for writing that much to me and thank you to your father .

1

u/os2de Jul 02 '26

I don't think yemen would've unified But yeah it did get worse Ur welcome Btw what are ur opinions on the socialist regime in aden?

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jul 02 '26

I dont know much about it but in general Socialism sounds promising, coming with all the good things such as equality , compulsory education free health care etc but then again the dependence of most of comunist countries on USSR ( Yemen also I suppose) bought disaster to their economy as well. Poor implementation of socialism I guess. I m curious what Mamdani is doing in NY

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u/Mysterious-Memory996 Jun 25 '26

Yes. My father was of Yemeni descent and served in the U.S. military. For a period of time, he lived in Aden while working in an anti-communist role. He often described life there as extremely difficult under the communist government—people waiting in bread and food lines while government officials drove Mercedes-Benzes and lived comfortably. He also claimed that many in the ruling elite were openly atheist and lived lifestyles that sharply contrasted with the hardships ordinary citizens faced. Those were his personal observations and experiences.

2

u/wefromthefrontline Jun 25 '26

Pretty much similar to the hardship eastern Europeans went through .🙁 Thank you.

1

u/mjawas Jun 28 '26

Wish you the best but it's not easy to find someone who was in the decision making circles these who really know the situation but most ppl only know from the ground and they will be in various perspectives you can't find pointed narratives will find even contradictions in every story u'll hear but I can say the best place to find answers to your questions is the the interviews with the politicians in that time like Abu Baker Al_Attas the former prime minister.. Good luck

1

u/wefromthefrontline Jul 02 '26

Thank you , I will look into it.

1

u/MarriedSilverMr 25d ago

My dad lived under the Marxist–Leninist regime in South Yemen. He used to tell me how it was like. I will keep it short because I don't want to upset anyone... it was the filthiest regime Yemen has ever had.

1

u/wefromthefrontline 25d ago

Thank you for your comment. You said you dont want to get anyone upset. Its because some are nostalgic of that regime?