“In Focus n° 3: Sana’a and Rapid Urbanization in some Short Stories by Muḥammad al‑Gharbī ‘Amrān”

This article presents a few short stories by the famous Yemeni writer Mu/hammad al-Gharbî ‘Amrân; and it offers some socio-economic information on Yemen in order to illustrate these tales that are set in Sana'a on the threshold of the 21st century. The author only describes new features of the expanding metropolis, as he highlights various drawbacks of rapid urbanization, such as air pollution and landscape alteration; and, above all, social fragmentation caused by rural-urban migration. Combined with longstanding gender and racial segregation, the recent collapse of traditional familial and communal networks leads to solitude in a populous city like Sana'a: this is the paradox that ‘Amrân highlights in most of his stories. In other tales, instead, he focuses on beggary, showing how free market economy has increased socio-economic inequalities in Yemen.