Socotra is a unique island. An island that remained isolated from the world until 2002, when
a small airport was built for the first time. With its landscape, Socotra has stimulated over the
centuries the imagination of many travelers with its peculiar umbrella-shaped trees: the Socotra
Dragon Trees. According to one of the old local stories, the first seed of Dragon Tree, sprouted
in the exact spot where two brothers - Darsa and Samha - chose to fight to death. A story that
kinda reminds us of Cain and Abel in the Bible. In Arabic, this peculiar kind of tree is known as
the blood of the two brothers. For centuries the islanders have used the reddish sap of this tree
as an ointment with magical properties, and it is no coincidence that the dragon tree has become
over time the most recognizable symbol of Socotra Island, an island endowed with a biodiversity more
alien than terrestrial. Socotra is an island blessed with more than 700 endemic species of
flora and fauna, unique in their kind, and thanks to which in 2008 UNESCO appointed the island a
World Heritage Site to be preserved and protected. Nature is the true master of Socotra, a beauty
that has always inspired me to get interested in the events of this island, so much so that
I hope one day to be able to visit it, although I don't see that as feasible thing at the moment
bizarre plants, untouched and tremendously fascinating shores, and unspoiled highlands.
For many, Socotra is a piece of paradise, but for others it's just a barren land to be exploited.
Located in the Indian Ocean, in a position which makes it geographically part of the
African continent, Socotra is closer to Somalia than to Yemen: from the Somali coast, the island
is about two hundred and forty kilomiters away, while from the Yemeni coast it is more than
double. This distance has contributed in large part to the isolation and sense of mystery that
Arab, Persian and African sailors felt about such a remote island. The archipelago of Socotra
is formed by three other small strips of land, Abd Al Kuri, Darsa and Samha.
The 60,000 inhabitants living on the island have always relied on fishing and on the
cultivation of date palms, and despite belonging politically to Yemen since 1990, the islanders,
half Shiite and half Sunni, boast their own culture and a different language, Socotri,
a Semitic language even older than Arabic and whose origin is still an arcane mystery. this
day Socotra finds itself embroiled in a civil war that has been ravaging Yemen since 2015. Socotra
became the epicenter of a power struggle between the Houthi rebels and the Central Government,
but it became also the place of another secondary conflict: the one between the United Arab Emirates
and the Yemeni government of Mansur Hadi. The situation in Yemen has been tragic for over
six years, to be exact since Hadi was forced by Shiite rebels belonging to the Ansar Allah group,
better known as Houthi, to resign from its presidency, abandon the capital San'a and leave
it under the control of the rebels. The war in Yemen is better known as a proxy war, a conflict
where the real actors are quite different from those facing each other on the battlefield: under
the surface Yemen is actually disputed on one side by the Saudis, supported by the rest of the gulf
countries and the US, which approved the official government of Hadi. On the other side there's
Iran, which in historical contrast to the Saudi monarchy, supports the rebellion of the Houthis,
seeing it as a possibility to expand its sphere of influence directly in the Arabian peninsula. We'll
talk more about the war in Yemen in another video. Known as "the jewel of the Gulf of Aden," Socotra
is situated off the Horn of Africa, overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the
Red Sea to both the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The attentions surrounding Socotra are many:
Every day, more than three million oil barrels travel from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.
Ships on this route travel west across the Arabian Sea into the Gulf of Aden, then turn north,
entering the Red Sea through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb passage before going up to the Suez
Canal. The Socotra Archipelago occupies a critical position on the route to Bab el-Mandeb. Socotra's
central location also makes it an ideal launching point for interdicting pirates and smugglers.
It protects the trade routes and all the fishing communities along the Horn of Africa and the
southern coast of Yemen. From Iran to Somalia, and from Eritrea to Qatar and India, for years,
international and regional powers have struggled to establish bases around the Horn of Africa. To
have a strategic advantage over all these nations is the United Arab Emirates, which since 2018,
has maintained a military presence on the island to support the STC, the Southern Transitional
Council, an entity whose purpose is to achieve the separation of South Yemen from the rest of the
nation. The Emirates' presence has only increased divisions on the island: Socotra's governor,
Ramzi Mahrous, has always rejected the presence of the STC, being in his eyes a clear threat to
his figure; on the other hand, however, many islander are polarized on the choice to adopt:
to support the Transitional Council of the South, and therefore the Arab Emirates,
or to refuse the interference of a foreign country in the island's affairs. Separated from food and
fuel supplies since the outbreak of the War, the Island was left at the mercy of its own fate:
The absence of Houthis on the island couldn't grant a casus belli to intervene militarily,
and so the Emirates - with the initial support of the Saudis - used the excuse of humanitarian
aid to set foot on the island and secure the support of part of the population.
They found the opportunity in 2015, when in the space of a few days Socotra ended up being hit by
two tropical cyclones that brought destruction and further misery to the population that had
already been living on less than a dollar a day for decades. Masquerading it as a large-scale
humanitarian intervention by the Red Crescent, Abu Dhabi deployed over 5,000 troops to the
island without the coordination or approval of either the Yemeni government or the governor
of Socotra. In 2018, the United Arab Emirates under the guise of training local Yemeni forces
in Socotra reportedly began to weave a series of personal interests on the island: First of all,
they did it to strengthen military connections with all their bases along the Horn of Africa,
such as the Berbera base in Somaliland, the Assab naval base in Eritrea, and other military barracks
in Puntland, in Somalia. From a strategic point of view, Socotra provides a vital link between these
regions and would allow the Emirate navy to conduct important security operations:
in terms of contrasting piracy, the island has long been a docking base for many of the Somali
pirates who operate far and wide along the Horn of Africa as far as the Omani coast. A
stable presence would also allow the emirates, and implicitly the Saudis, to keep out Iranian boats
that transport arms and supplies to the Houthi rebels. In a proxy war against Iran, all of this
would strengthen Saudi Arabia. In this conflict, Socotra would serve as an excellent support base
from which to launch rockets against the Houthis in Yemen. The fact that the Emirates use Socotra
as a military base is still a matter of debate, given the logistical problems of the island,
such as those dictated by the climate and monsoons which, for six months of the year,
make operations in the area very difficult. The interest of the United Arab Emirates in Socotra
has been interpreted as a challenge by Saudi Arabia: by occupying the island, the Emirates
are trying to block the expansion and the regional domination of Saudi Arabia in the entire region,
consolidating their presence in the triangle that at its vertices touches Aden, Socotra and
the small island of Barim. And so, the reasons that led Abu Dhabi to be guaranteed a 99-year
concession by President Hadi would be mainly economic: Controlling Socotra would mean acquiring
a large slice of the monopoly in the traffic of oil and gas that passes through Bab El Mandeb,
a move made in total autonomy and in contrast with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. With the occupation
of Socotra, the Emirates would also be able to acquire kilometers and kilometers of Indian Ocean,
through the strengthening of an Exclusive Economic Zone in the territorial waters around the island.
For the Saudis, the Emirates are an alliance of convenience. It's not by chance that the Emirates
are planning to annex Socotra by organizing a referendum in order to make the islanders decide
whether to become officially part of the Emirates or remain at the mercy of the uncertainty of war;
Feeling neglected by Hadi's central government, the Socotrians had no choice but to welcome
Abu Dhabi's investments. The Emiratis have not only built basic infrastructure, such as roads,
hospitals and schools, but they have also paid the salaries of doctors, policemen and bureaucrats,
creating new opportunities, for a total of 5,000 new jobs. After 2 weeks in May 2018, the Emirati
troops abandoned the island, they got replaced by Saudi troops but they still left behind officials
who are working for the Khalifa Foundation of Abu Dhabi, a government-sponsored charity. For
Governor Mahrus, however, such charitable organizations would conceal a more devious
objective: that is, to buy the loyalty of Socotra residents, and allow UAE traders and investors to
conduct business on the island under their cover. These organizations would facilitate the purchase
of land to wealthy Emiratis, despite the presence of a government decree prohibiting the sale of
any land on the island. Many of these lots would belong to protected coastal areas, in which the
construction of buildings, and changes to the landscape are prohibited; yet, when buying land
with prices ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars, Emiratis have never
hidden their goals of building private houses and tourist resorts. Emirates, and no longer Yemen,
seem to have become the headquarter of the island: witness to this are the Emirates companies which
have weekly flights between Hadiboh, capital of Socotra, and Abu Dhabi. The Emiratis are also
aware that Socotra may become a great catalyst for tourism. Before the civil war, the island operated
a particular kind of ecotourism, respectful of the environment, which granted a small number of visas
per year, especially to scientists to facilitate their study of Socotra's ecosystem. All of this
may disappear with the Emirati occupation and with their plans to favor luxury resorts all
over the island, just like they already did in Dubai with their artificial archipelagos.
I might say that the objective is very simple: to transform Socotra into a Dubai 2.0. To do so,
Socotra's deputy governor for environment and development, Abduljameel Mohammed,
as well as Emirati companies have reportedly already begun excavating several sections of
the island's national park in preparation for a series of five-star resorts. Leaving aside
the contradictions of seeing five-star hotels in villages still destroyed by monsoons and poverty,
all this has raised a lot of criticism in the island: as reported by local sources, the Emirates
didn't obtain any permission from Yemen to start their construction projects. In addition to this,
some reports highlighted that several endangered species - both plants and animals - have been
taken from the island and resettled in the Emirates. Many Socotrians saw this move as not
only a violation of the island's identity but also as an offense against their environment,
something made possible by the position of supremacy enjoyed by Emirati officials there.
The possibility of the island being used as a new destination for vacationing
has raised concerns related to pollution of a fragile ecosystem. And maybe this is
the saddest element of the story. Also, the fact that the Emirates, several months later,
sent troops on the Island, again
doesn't bode well.
Abu Dhabi does not seem willing to leave the bone - which is metaphorically the island - in the
hands of the Saudis. Because this is what it’s all about: a bone, an island that is at risk of being
stripped of all its beauty for mere geopolitical and economic plots. Yemeni journalist Mohammed
al-Rumim earlier this year said, "The UAE is not a friend of Socotra. They're only interested in
colonizing it." The Emirates have always denied the accusations of neo-colonialism. But what seems
more and more certain is that the Emirates intend to keep their presence on the island
with or without Yemeni approval. On the one hand this allows the Emirates to avoid open conflicts
with the Arabs and other competitors, such as Israel which seems to have an intelligence base
on the island, on the other hand it relegates the islanders to pawns in a geopolitical chess game
whose outcome could prove catastrophic for their traditional lifestyle
and for the island they call home. Only time will tell which side will prevail. They say that time
is a gentleman. I have serious doubts that it will be so in this case. Thanks to everyone
for listening and keeping me company until the end. See you in the next video. Bye.