Mapping the siege of Yemen’s Taiz, and the price families are paying

Taiz, Yemen – In the besieged city of Taiz, Yousef Farhan’s family has run out of choices at mealtime. “The whole day, we either eat rice or beans, whether in the morning or in the evening,” the 39-year-old father of four told Al Jazeera. Shelling forced the family from their home years ago, and they have lived in a school in the southwestern Yemeni city ever since. Farhan used to sell cucumbers from a small cart in front of the school, earning between 4,000 and 5,000 Yemeni riyals (roughly $2.50 to $3.20) a day. The money was never steady, but it bought a gas cylinder each month and, now and then, a meal with some variety. Then the siege closed the school, and his trade went with it. The family now cooks over firewood.