Nearly eight years ago, I warned about a generation of Yemeni children growing up under Houthi rule. At a time when some were still hoping that people in Saada, northern Yemen, would rise against the group, I questioned what would become of an entire generation raised under its control.

Today, that warning carries a devastating weight. Children born under Houthi rule are now being recruited to fight. Schools and summer camps have been used for indoctrination and military training, exposing young people to recruitment when they should be receiving an education and building a future. These practices were documented by the United Nations Panel of Experts on Yemen and the US Department of Labor.

A childhood consumed by fear cannot simply be restored when the guns fall silent. The damage reaches into education, livelihoods, relationships, and the ability to imagine a life beyond war. UNICEF describes the profound effects of disrupted schooling on children’s learning, emotional development, and mental health.

This is why waiting for an uprising against the Houthis has never been a sufficient strategy. People living under coercion face consequences that distant observers do not. Silence under repression cannot be treated as consent, nor can survival be mistaken for allegiance.

But the consequences of allowing Houthi power to grow extend far beyond the people living under its control. The recent attacks across Aden, Hadramout, Shabwa, and Saudi Arabia show how urgently........

© Al Jazeera