Israel’s weekend bombing of a Yemeni port city is a new escalation of the war in Gaza. It took place in a strategic location, the entrance to the Red Sea. This is where a large part of La Reunion’s imports usually pass through.
Indeed, almost three quarters come from Europe, and around half from France. Most are transported by boat. The shortest route between Europe and La Reunion Island passes through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, between the coasts of Africa and Arabia.
In this region, one of the deadliest conflicts in the world has been taking place for several years in Yemen. The attack on Gaza by the Israeli army on October 7 had significant repercussions in this region. The struggle of the Palestinian people against Israeli colonialism has many supporters there. This is particularly the case of the Houthis who control a large part of Yemen and must face a coalition equipped with weapons supplied by the West. They decided to come to the aid of the Palestinians by striking the center of Israeli power.

Israel takes war from Gaza to the Red Sea

Last Friday, a drone flying from Yemen hit a building near the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel. At the head of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the colonialists in power in Israel suffered humiliation. To take revenge, they gave the order to bomb a Yemeni port located nearly 2,000 kilometers south of Palestine.
This raid by the Israeli air force makes the entrance to the Red Sea a place where Israeli bombers operate. The extension of Israel’s war in Gaza to this region has repercussions. It causes additional insecurity for maritime traffic.
Since the launch of the Israeli offensive against Gaza, boats have been sailing under the threat of being a potential target of attacks. This led to diversions to avoid this region. This forces boats to circumnavigate the entire African continent. The cost of shipping is increasing.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and at the start of the war in Ukraine, speculators took advantage of the situation to increase their profits. The consequence was the lasting inflation which affects La Reunion Island and which makes the situation increasingly difficult every day for the majority of the population.
The Israeli bombing risks being used by speculators in the same way.

La Reunion at the heart of one of the most dynamic regions in the world

This demonstrates once again the fragility of La Reunion Island in the face of events taking place thousands of kilometers away and over which the Reunionese cannot have influence.
However, among our neighbors, Europeans are no longer the primary suppliers of imported products. China has become the leading economic partner of the African continent. Furthermore, African countries are organizing themselves to increase trade between them. Ultimately, they will therefore be able to completely do without imports from Europe if necessary.
Trade between La Reunion and the countries of its region is negligible.
However, the Indian Ocean is once again becoming the center of gravity of the world economy, with the development of Asia and Africa. In the heart of this region, our island turns its back on its environment in favor of an almost exclusive commercial relationship with Europe, inherited from the colonial period.
Strengthening exchanges with our neighbors and being part of the reorganization of the world will allow La Reunion Island to free itself from the consequences of events as distant as the war in Gaza or Ukraine. This also requires a change in mentalities, with the awareness that the Reunionese can find solutions in their environment to challenge the neocolonialism dominating their economy.

M.M.