Over the past several months, the political crisis in Yemen has escalated dramatically: A capital city occupied by the Houthis, a rebel movement whose slogan includes the words, “Death to America. Death to Israel.” An airstrike campaign against them, led by Saudi Arabia. A president who has fled the country. A U.S. embassy closed.

It’s a chaotic mix that has catapulted Yemen into the international spotlight.

But one thing has at times been missing from media narratives on Yemen: reporters on the ground capturing voices from those caught in the middle of the crisis.

That’s where Safa Al Ahmad comes in.

Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Al Ahmad has been reporting on Yemen since 2010. A winner of an Association for International Broadcasting Award, she was one of only a few journalists reporting from inside the country for a Western news organization as the crisis escalated.

In fact, Al Ahmad began filming in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, just two weeks after the Houthis had taken over — and she negotiated extremely rare access to the rebels as they advanced.

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