Sonntag, 17. Juni 2007
WHEN A PLANT CONTROLS A NATION
artpol, 15:35h
„Nations rise and fall in the quest to gain control of nature. But in Yemen, it seems to be the reverse. Here, the nation is controlled a single plant.“ (Nicholas Seeley)
Wandering around the city at about three o’clock in the afternoon, one may discover what it means, when a single plant controls a nation. Looking inside the shops or even in the shadowy corners in the streets, you’ll see men hanging around, a plastic bag with green leaves in front of them, picking the leaves from the branch, putting them in their mouths and forming the characteristic (nut-size or even apple-size) chipmunk-bulge with their cheek.
Taxi drivers stop working; sit in their cars and chew, other men who just bought some, walk back home with a smile I rarely saw before. Doubtless, this has to be qat.
I’ve heard a lot about it, but never expected it to be that widely spread around the population.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, despite exporting both oil and coffee. Internally, its largest and most vibrant industry is the cultivation, transportation and sale of qat. But as incredibly popular as the plant is, there is a growing movement against it, primarily among educated, upper class Yemenis – a movement that shows the potential to become a major social and class issue.
For some people qat causes degraded moral stature, unproductiveness and destroys the health and social welfare. For others it is a charming social pastime, which brings vivacity and liveliness without the harmful health effects of tobacco, the addiction of coffee, or the negative social qualities of alcohol and hashish.
„Yemenis are easy people“, one informant said „they’re not in to hard drugs like the returned Yemeni workers from Saudi-Arabia“. Therefore it can be seen as protecting the people from using alcohol and hard drugs.
According to another source, qat is expected to give energy and encourage thinking besides that it does not destroy the mind.
Well, to be able to write about something in a proper way, one should get first hand information. In this case it means that I have to try qat myself.
I had absolutely no experience in recognizing good quality and the technique chewing it properly. I bought third class stuff from sellers in the street and locked myself in and got started. After three hours of chewing, I felt absolutely nothing. I swallowed the half of it, my pupils grew to the size of a cent coin and I had real problems to fall asleep. The next morning, waking up with a very bad stomach-ache and tired as hell, I wondered myself why my thinking wasn’t encouraged and my mind seemed to be physically and psychically destroyed.
I had to try out more, it the sense of a German proverb, at least a third time.
Luckily I got invited into a real qat-session. When I arrived at my colleague’s house, I was totally surprised and understood that chewing qat is not an individual but a social activity. About 15 chewers gathered in a mafraj, a large room with big windows and Arabic-style seating. Among others there were a well-respected shaykh from a well-known family, a seven digits man (millionaire), the cultural minister of Yemen, and some other traders as well as people who wanted to gather information. We chatted and chew from five to ten and I got finally the feeling I was waiting for. I understood, what it was about. Qat doesn’t make you high like you would expect from marihuana or cocaine or drunk like alcohol. When you’re on qat, everything seems to be a little easier.
Every society has its drugs of choice. Is spending your resources on qat really worse than buying alcohol, cigarettes, or a 3€ cup of coffee?
Wandering around the city at about three o’clock in the afternoon, one may discover what it means, when a single plant controls a nation. Looking inside the shops or even in the shadowy corners in the streets, you’ll see men hanging around, a plastic bag with green leaves in front of them, picking the leaves from the branch, putting them in their mouths and forming the characteristic (nut-size or even apple-size) chipmunk-bulge with their cheek.
Taxi drivers stop working; sit in their cars and chew, other men who just bought some, walk back home with a smile I rarely saw before. Doubtless, this has to be qat.
I’ve heard a lot about it, but never expected it to be that widely spread around the population.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world, despite exporting both oil and coffee. Internally, its largest and most vibrant industry is the cultivation, transportation and sale of qat. But as incredibly popular as the plant is, there is a growing movement against it, primarily among educated, upper class Yemenis – a movement that shows the potential to become a major social and class issue.
For some people qat causes degraded moral stature, unproductiveness and destroys the health and social welfare. For others it is a charming social pastime, which brings vivacity and liveliness without the harmful health effects of tobacco, the addiction of coffee, or the negative social qualities of alcohol and hashish.
„Yemenis are easy people“, one informant said „they’re not in to hard drugs like the returned Yemeni workers from Saudi-Arabia“. Therefore it can be seen as protecting the people from using alcohol and hard drugs.
According to another source, qat is expected to give energy and encourage thinking besides that it does not destroy the mind.
Well, to be able to write about something in a proper way, one should get first hand information. In this case it means that I have to try qat myself.
I had absolutely no experience in recognizing good quality and the technique chewing it properly. I bought third class stuff from sellers in the street and locked myself in and got started. After three hours of chewing, I felt absolutely nothing. I swallowed the half of it, my pupils grew to the size of a cent coin and I had real problems to fall asleep. The next morning, waking up with a very bad stomach-ache and tired as hell, I wondered myself why my thinking wasn’t encouraged and my mind seemed to be physically and psychically destroyed.
I had to try out more, it the sense of a German proverb, at least a third time.
Luckily I got invited into a real qat-session. When I arrived at my colleague’s house, I was totally surprised and understood that chewing qat is not an individual but a social activity. About 15 chewers gathered in a mafraj, a large room with big windows and Arabic-style seating. Among others there were a well-respected shaykh from a well-known family, a seven digits man (millionaire), the cultural minister of Yemen, and some other traders as well as people who wanted to gather information. We chatted and chew from five to ten and I got finally the feeling I was waiting for. I understood, what it was about. Qat doesn’t make you high like you would expect from marihuana or cocaine or drunk like alcohol. When you’re on qat, everything seems to be a little easier.
Every society has its drugs of choice. Is spending your resources on qat really worse than buying alcohol, cigarettes, or a 3€ cup of coffee?
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