Deaths mar Yemen's 2011 revolt anniversary

Two people have been killed in clashes in Yemen during rallies marking the 2011 uprising that led to the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. 

          The dominant trend that one might notice upon searching for news about the Middle East is that “things are bad over there.” Considering that we can’t even see the anniversary of an uprising pass by without some deaths to go along with it, it is tempting to agree with the above assumption. And yet, we hold fast to optimism, as the article is quick to point out that “thousands of people marched peacefully in the capital,” ushering the killings to a darkened corner where they can be forgotten in light of Yemen’s great accomplishment in 2011. I don’t mean to sound overly cynical here. I wholeheartedly believe that the uprising and subsequent (though still pending) rewriting of the constitution are fine accomplishments, and no region is without an occasional mob induced death anyway.

          Yemen doesn’t seem to be brought up in conversations about Middle Eastern politics very often, which is strange considering that their progress is so respectable. Granted, the country is still plagued by crippling economic troubles, internal divisions and separatist movements (such as the ones that claimed two lives so recently), but it is surprising that their desire for change does not appeal more strongly to our western love of democracy and justice. I suppose we just have larger, more pressing concerns in the form of Iran, Israel, and Afghanistan.