Awarded by “AWTAD” Anti-Corruption Organization, Yemeni journalist Noura Al-Thafiri has been named “Person of the Year” for Integrity and Anti-Corruption in the Media Category. This recognition celebrates the impact of her ARIJ-supported investigation “Time Bombs: Generators threaten inhabitants of Old Sanaa and its landmarks“.
This investigation reveals that in the old city of Sana’a there are 11 electricity stations, which are owned by merchants and “influential” people, and which fail to meet the most basic requirements of public safety. All that happens within a system of negligence and overlapping of powers between eight government agencies. The result is that residents face the risk of death, injury and material loss, from explosions or fires that could happen at any moment. Such dangers also increase the likelihood that Sana’a could lose its global status because of the increasing disfigurement of the city, which has caused it to be listed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Electricity generators and fuel tanks have become “time bombs” inside Old Sana’a.
