A drug and indolence
U.S. News senior writer Kevin Whitelaw recently visited Yemen, an impoverished Muslim nation on the Arabian Peninsula that became a surprising U.S. ally in the wake of September 11. The Yemeni government has made some impressive strides when it comes to fighting terrorism, despite a few serious lapses like an embarassing prison break last month when 23 al Qaeda prisoners escaped through a tunnel. But now, Yemen is facing questions about its own crisis, as mounting poverty, declining oil resources, and suffocating corruption combine to threaten the nation's democratic progress–and perhaps its very existence. Whitelaw spent time with Yemenis from all walks of life – those in government, security, business, and education, along with a few of Yemen's legion of unemployed.
Khat is truly a national obsession in Yemen. Men with large wads of the mildly narcotic leaf stuffed in their cheeks can be seen every afternoon in coffee shops, on street corners, even driving taxis, all around the country. Every Yemeni house has a special room built expressly for the men to sit in and chew. Outside the capital, khat vendors peddle their wares from small, rusted-metal stalls perched on stilts along major roads. In fact, so many people buy and chew khat that, on the six-hour drive from Sana to Aden, cars pass by vast fields choked with the cheap plastic bags vendors sell their khat in.
"Business is always good," says Mohammed Hukali, a khat dealer in the village of Shibam, an hour outside of Sana. Hukali sells some $300 a day of khat, which is a fair amount of money in this impoverished nation. In fact, many Yemeni men admit that they spend a third of their meager incomes on khat.
"My pension is OK, but I chew khat and smoke," says one retired soldier.
There is something democratic about khat–men from all walks of life can sit together and speak quite freely. Yet the appeal is somewhat mystifying for most westerners. The leaf (illegal in most western countries) is only a mild narcotic, somewhat akin to two strong espressos. But in a place where alcohol is forbidden (outside of luxury hotels) and other social outlets are limited, it is an excuse for men to gather socially.
There are, however, many negative effects. Although khat is a stimulant, it also creates a tremendous lethargy–in fact, many Yemenis spend the bulk of their afternoon chewing.
"Khat is the biggest disease in Yemen," says Mohammed ba-Mashmoos, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Aden. "It has a real impact on the resources of the people." Some experts believe it has stunted development and made many Yemenis less industrious than they used to be. It also consumes the country's precious water resources.
"Yemen used to grow and export coffee," says Mashmoos. "Now, you find khat trees instead of coffee trees because it is a fast cash crop."