The establishment of an integrated historical archive will help in understanding the past along with designing better future strategies, whether in the political, economic, or military fields.

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Ali Abdulelah Sallam (South24 Center) 

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The city of Aden constitutes a pivotal role in South Yemen as it has witnessed deep political and social transformations since 2015 and earlier. After becoming the capital of the Internationally-Recognized Government, Aden has become a main axis of the political forces who take it as the headquarters of their anti-Houthi actions. However, the lack of documented historical reference of previous political, military, and economic events makes it hard to obtain the lessons needed for drafting effective future policies.

The Impact of Neglecting Historical Documentation 

Yemen has for long witnessed internal conflict and repeated wars without documenting them in a methodical way. This has led to a lack of historical knowledge among the new generations. For example, the NDF (National Democratic Front) Rebellion in North Yemen(1978-1982) is still unknown to many people. There are no available sources showing how it began, the warring parties, its economic impact, or the political measures taken at that time.

The current influential forces in Yemen are the same ones that had engaged in these conflicts. They have not bothered to contribute to the documentation of the experience or in delivering useful lessons for the incoming generations. Instead of focusing on archiving and documentation, the competing parties have been obsessed in embellishing their political projects through polarizing the influential figures, leading to the loss of many historical facts. In several countries, the documentation of political, economic, and military events is necessary to understand future transformations and avoid repeating mistakes.

The Scandinavian welfare model experience is one of the successful patterns that can be benefited from in the field of documentation and strategic planning as it has relied on a neoliberal approach which employs the past lessons to enhance their political and economic stability. In 2015, the Institute of Economic Affairs, which is one of the most influential British think tanks that impacts decision making, issued a book that discusses the so-called “unexceptional nature of the Scandinavian experience”. The book focused on analyzing the reasons behind the success of the “welfare state” pattern in Northern Europe through an economic perspective based on the ideas of Nobel prize-winning British economist Friedrich von Hayek. According to this analysis, the success of the North European states wasn’t a result of the modern welfare policies but attributed to rooted economic traditions prior to the era of the social welfare state. This reflects the importance of documentation and the use of historical experiences in building successful development patterns.

On the other hand, the Middle East, including Yemen, hasn’t enjoyed the advantage of having specialized centers to document wars and crises, making these nations prone to the recurrence of conflicts without benefiting from previous lessons.

Political, Economic, and Military Impacts

Politically, the lack of historical reference has weakened national cohesion and the absence of clear decision-making vision. For example, the negotiations and understandings prior to signing of the unity agreement between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1990 weren't accurately documented. Despite the establishment of negotiation committees at that time, the final agreement was just a one-and-a-half-page short document which lacked essential details about the rights of both parties and the basis of the united state. 

In comparison, the German unification of 1990 was a different pattern based on deep studies, continuous meetings, and clear agreements that included 1,800 pages. This has contributed to achieving a full integration between the two German states. In contrast, the lack of documentation in Yemen has been one of the reasons behind the weakness of the state and its collapse within a few years of the unity. 

Economically, the lack of documentation has led to the loss of the economic heritage of Aden although it was a prominent commercial center since the British colonization. The city has a rich history of industries and economic facilities that flourished during the previous decades. However, most of these achievements haven't been documented or exploited as a base to build a modern economy. As a result, important factories and facilities turned into mere stories told by the elderly people without any accurate data contributing to the restoration of Aden's role as a vital economic center. 

The lack of accurate documentation of past production, exports, and investments has made it difficult for decision-makers to develop economic policies based on a solid historical foundation. This has weakened the ability of the state to effectively make use of its resources. 

Militarily, there has been no real effort to create a reliable historical record of the wars witnessed by South Yemen, whether during the British colonization era or after independence. None of the major battles, weapons, and war tactics  have been documented. Consequently, this has led to the loss of war experience that could be used by military planners in the future. 

Over the post-independence phases, South Yemen witnessed repeated internal conflicts, whether among social groups or different local forces. Nonetheless, no clear reference was built to allow the current generations to understand these disputes. History has even been used as a pretext tool by each political party.

The STC's Opportunity for Documenting History

In light of the lack of a comprehensive documentation of the political, economic, and military events in South Yemen, there is a need for a national project to collect and archive this history away from political biases. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) is considered the biggest entity running the South affairs. This allows it to establish a documentation center providing an accurate reference about historical events to the next generations. 

The establishment of an integrated historical archive will help in understanding the past along with designing better future strategies, whether in the political, economic, or military fields. Documentation transparency and staying away from distorted narratives constitute the path to build a comprehensive vision of South Yemen's past. This contributes to achieving sustainable political and economic stability. 

The lack of historical reference in South Yemen has negatively impacted the fields of politics, economy, and war. This has caused the recurrence of crises without benefiting from the past lessons. While developed countries make use of documenting their experiences to make a positive transformation, Yemen still lacks this culture, making it prone to reproducing the same mistakes. Therefore, adopting a national project to document the history of South Yemen is necessary for a more stable and prosperous future.