Think Out Loud

‘Hunger Ward’ depicts the effects of war and famine on children in Yemen

By Allison Frost (OPB)
March 18, 2021 6:30 p.m.

Broadcast: Thursday, March 18

A very thin girl wears a white dress and smiles while sitting on a bed.

A young girl sits for a photo in a theraputic feeding center in Yemen depicted in the film "Hunger Ward," from Portland filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald.

Screen shot from "Hunger Ward"

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Portland filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald’s newest short documentary, “Hunger Ward” follows a doctor and nurse who work in two of the biggest therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen. Their job is to try to save starving children. The United Nations calls Yemen “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” Six years of civil war have led to mass starvation and cut off food aid to much of the country. In his first foreign policy address last month, President Joe Biden said the U.S. would end its support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen, who are fighting Houthi rebels backed by Iran. “Hunger Ward” is the third in Fitzgerald’s trilogy focused on the Middle East and has been nominated for an Oscar. We talk with him about the film and what he and his crew experienced in their time in Yemen.

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