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Despite conflict, demand for qat still strong in Yemen
[ARABNEWS] Civil war may be tearing Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... apart but every afternoon combatants set aside the struggle for the country's future to stuff their cheeks with wads of the narcotic green leaf, qat. The national pastime of chewing qat is one of the few certainties in a nation jolted by From lunchtime to sunset prayers, shelling inevitably dies down and fighters from both sides put aside their Kalashnikovs to enjoy the buzz. Craving for the mild stimulant has kept the qat trade going strong in an economy otherwise devastated by war. Farmers rise to cut it, traders brave bombs to transport it and addicts scrape empty pockets to scoop up a bag of the soft green leaves chewed daily by millions of Yemenis. It costs between 2 to 14 dollars a bag, depending on the quality. Three weeks of war aimed at stemming the advance of Iranian-allied Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... rebels have only increased Yemenis' desire for the relaxing escape provided by qat. Mohammed Azal, a government employee rendered idle by battles in the southern city of Aden, strolled through an abandoned street chewing on the bitter morsels and storing them into a wad bulging inside his cheek. "In a war situation like this, with the stress and kabooms, qat is the one thing in our day that can give us a bit of peace and comfort," he slurred. One in every seven working Yemenis is employed in producing and distributing qat, making it the largest single source of rural income and the second largest source of employment in the country after the agriculture and herding sector, exceeding even the public sector, according to the World Bank. Offices and banks have closed, depriving residents of cash, but the qat souks still bustle with loud bargaining as war rages. Qat is one of the only commodities still flowing into the city, as fighting has struck water and power infrastructure while scaring off suppliers of milk and meat. Posted by: Fred 2015-04-16 |
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