'Unaffordable' Vending Machine
“I think really important to have that awareness of what other people will be going through, like people just like you when you take costs for granted and things that you can't afford. And to think that someone like literally cannot afford to buy eggs or milk.”
“If that is the prices that they have to pay for everyday items, absolutely ridiculous, isn't it? You know, I mean three or four of those items, there's a week shopping for us in cost and that's a whole family. So, to be honest, shocked, absolutely shocked.”
“Well, like obviously I come from a working-class family in a working-class home, so I understand like money struggles. I understand, like how much goes into bills and weekly shops and to think that if those were the prices in our shops today, I would be struggling, I would be starving and it's just awful to think people are going through that every day.”
Though the shop shelves are full, almost ten million people in Yemen are suffering from extreme hunger. Conflict has tipped the nation into an economic tailspin, destroyed livelihoods and driven food prices up beyond the reach of ordinary Yemenis.
IWM installed an ‘unaffordable’ vending machine at Manchester Piccadilly, displaying familiar products with price tags that reflect the financial situation in Yemen - here’s how members of the public reacted to the installation.
Find out more about how the humanitarian crisis in Yemen has affected its people at Yemen: Inside a Crisis at IWM North (17 May 2019 -26 January 2020)
