TOO MANY AMERICANS DON’T KNOW ABOUT YEMEN
Journalist Jennifer Steil’s peaceful life came tumbling down when she was held at gunpoint while six months pregnant.
Jennifer Steil was six months pregnant last summer when she was held at gunpoint while hiking with friends outside Yemen’s capital city Sana’a. Last April her fiancé Tim Torlot, the British ambassador to Yemen, survived a suicide attack directly targeting him. Torlot, Steil and their infant daughter were quickly evacuated.
Steil first traveled to Yemen in 2006 to teach a three-week journalism class to reporters at the Yemen Observer. Excited about the chance to continue introducing a free-speech model of journalism to her eager reporters, Steil extended her stay for a year. Living in Yemen, Steil had to confront being a single American women in a secluded Muslim country. Toward the end of her unorthodox year, Steil met the married British ambassador, and the two began a relationship. Once Torlot began divorce proceedings, Steil again traveled to Yemen–this time moving into Torlot’s ambassadorial residence.
But now, after attacks on both Steil and Torlot, the family’s future remains uncertain. While Torlot will return to his position in Yemen, Steil and their daughter, Theadora, will not be allowed to return. Yet despite the volatile situation, Steil says she still loves Yemen and is devastated not to be able to return to the country whose friendly population, rich culture and vibrant history have been the only home she and Torlot have shared.
Steil, Torlot and their daughter have been in the United States to promote Steil’s new memoir The Women Who Fell From The Sky: An American Journalist In Yemen. She writes about the challenges of being a female editor at a newspaper in Sana’a and weaves narratives about her hardworking female staff in between descriptions of the lush country. Steil also writes candidly about her whirlwind romance with Torlot, who was married when they met in Yemen, in a country where adultery is against the law.
“We are overwhelmingly sad. I can’t believe I can’t go back,” Steil said, adding they had just finished their daughter’s nursery before the attack. “[Now], Thea has no bed, no changing table. We’re homeless.”
“Tim is incredibly professional. He is completely fine with going back … he loves Yemen,” she said. “He feels safe because he has an amazing team. He has dealt with the whole thing and his main concern is being there for his staff.”
ForbesWoman sat down to talk with Steil about her life, book and future plans. Excerpts from their conversation follow:
Forbes: What are some of the biggest misconceptions Americans have about Yemenis?
What was interesting was how they very easily distinguished between me and the Bush administration (which we both loathed). Many Yemenis I met would love to come to America. A lot dream of going to school here. I personally didn’t feel any anti-Americanism. It was more interesting to them that I was a single woman without children in a country where most women my age are grandmothers.
Did you worry about your safety while you were living in Yemen?
During my first year I didn’t worry at all about my safety. But after the bombing of the Spanish tourists up in Marib, it occurred to me the country wasn’t entirely safe. Then last summer I was held at gunpoint while six and a half months pregnant. I had been hiking with four other women and our bodyguards. We had stopped to picnic when we noticed that a group of local Yemenis had approached our guards. This wasn’t immediately worrying as we figured they were friendly and our guards were sharing their lunch. But then we heard shouting and looked up to see that one of the men was pointing an AK-47 directly at us–and had cocked the gun. They refused to allow us and our guards to leave. I was the only one of us who spoke Arabic, so my bodyguard introduced me to the leader of the men, the man who had pointed a gun at me. He wouldn’t return my greeting, which is a serious breach of Yemeni etiquette.
I tried to say I was a friend, but he wasn’t having any of it. When he began shouting at my guard I backed away and borrowed someone’s phone to call [my fiancé], Tim. I put him on the phone with my guard. I began having cramps, which made me realize I had to calm down or I would risk going into premature labor. I concentrated on breathing.
The guards and Tim were finally able to reach the Minister of the Interior, who assured the men holding us hostage that we were not spies. Finally, we were allowed to leave, but we still had about a 40 minute walk until we got back to the street where Tim’s armored cars were waiting for me.
By the time we left Yemen the following spring, there was little I could do that I enjoyed. That’s really tragic. I don’t know what it will take to turn Yemen around.
How did you feel being evacuated from Yemen? Relief? Sadness? Something else?
Just awful. I couldn’t say goodbye to Zuhra [a female Yemeni journalist that Steil has mentored for the past four years and profiled in the book]. She is pregnant and has typhoid; because it is so contagious, I couldn’t meet her in person.
How did people in Yemen react to your relationship with your fiancé and your daughter’s birth?
They’ve been wonderfully supportive. As soon as I moved in [to the British ambassador’s residence], everyone accepted [Tim] as my husband, knowing that the West does things a bit differently. [Steil and Torlot plan to marry after his divorce is finalized.]
When I was pregnant, our Yemeni bodyguard would always say, “Insha’Allah [God willing], you will have a boy.” We gave up trying to explain that we knew it would be a girl and we were very happy about it.
Everyone has been overjoyed with Thea. Finally, I’m doing what they think women are supposed to do, albeit later in life. [Steil is 41 years old.] When we left, our household staff was crying–we were all crying. They had fallen in love with Thea.
Why was it important for you to write about your time in Yemen?
Most Americans don’t know where Yemen is or what language [Yemenis] speak. The only time Yemen ever makes the news is when there are terrorist attacks. We are overwhelmingly sad to leave Yemen. It is the most hospitable place I have ever been; for example, I would be introduced to someone and they would say, “Hello, my name is Mohammed. Would you like to come over for lunch on Friday?” Once you went to their house for lunch once, they would want you to come back each week.
Yemen is a country perfectly suited for tourism. It has stunning scenery, UNESCO historical sites, good food and hospitable people. The main problem is security and that it lacks the infrastructure needed. It could be such an amazing place for tourists, but the government needs to work at it.
How can America improve its relationship with the Middle East?
The U.S. needs to focus less on military needs and more on development aid. Yemenis need to experience Westerners helping them get water and build schools. I understand it is hard with security, but development and education are the only things that will change Yemen’s attitude toward the United States.