Day Tripper
A recent article in Time magazine referred to Yemen as the “latest haven for al-Qaeda” where foreign hostages are taken regularly, and often killed, by the two-thirds of the country run by local tribes and separatist groups, to be used as bargaining chips with the central government. The mostly Sunni-run governing body blames Shi’ite rebels for the killings and has stepped up its ongoing military campaign that started in 2004. Thousands have died in the fighting and tens of thousands have been displaced. Some are even comparing the situation to Sudan’s actions in Darfur. There are Somali pirates reaking havoc up and down the coast, an alarming decline in life-dependent oil production, poverty galore, almost zero education, and more guns then HALO 3.
The most intriguing problem in Yemen, however, is the severe water shortage, due to a national addiction to khat, a bush whose leaves contain a compound with effects similar to amphetamines. “Khat-heads” chew the leaves, storing a wad in one cheek while it slowly breaks down and enters the bloodstream. About 25% of women and NINETY percent of men chew khat. Most of Yemen’s fertile land is devoted to growing the potent plant, using up to a third of its water supply, which is extremely limited to begin with. Apparently there is no end in sight. Adel al-Shojaa, professor of political science and head of an anti-khat organization, describes a typical day in Yemen:
“You sit up discussing all your problems and you think you’ve solved everything, but in fact you haven’t done anything in the past four hours because you’ve just been chewing khat, and all your problems actually got worse. All the decisions you’ve made are bad because you made them while on khat.”
It’s like the whole country is at college.
