Armies of Liberation

YO

According to the al-Afif Cultural Foundation, it is estimated that about 70 to 80 percent of Yemenis between the ages of 16 and 50 years have chewed Qat on at least one occasion. It has also been estimated that Yemenis spend about 14.6 million man-hours a day chewing Qat. This wasted time could be used in more productive ways, such as engaging in work, extracurricular activities, studying or exercising.

The report, published on the WHO’s website, indicates that nearly 90 percent of adult males chew Qat daily for three to four hours, and that more than 50 percent of females engage in this serious habit.

According to WHO reports, Qat production seriously damages the already weak Yemeni economy. Many farmers replace coffee and other useful crops with Qat trees as they yield far larger profits. More than 90,000 Qat trees were planted on Yemeni farms during the 30 years from 1970 to 2000, the report said. It is also found that about 60 percent of areas that could be used to grow cash crops are being used to cultivate Qat, which consumes huge quantities of Yemen’s already limited underground water.

(Read on …)

Yemen Observer

Qat chewers are on a steady rise in Yemen, especially amongst young people, where qat chewers constitute 70 percent of men and more than 30 percent of women, said Mansour al-Hawshabi, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.

Al-Hawshabi reported this rise during the opening of a workshop on policies for qat in Yemen, which took place in Sana’a on Sunday. “Qat occupies large areas of agricultural land at the expense of many crops, particularly important cereals,” he said.

The prevalence of qat is considered a significant obstacle to lifting the productivity of other crops. Qat plantations are expanding by 4-6 thousand hectares annually, which demand more than 30 percent of the total water resources allocated to agriculture.

Various surveys and studies show that 85 percent of qat cultivation is concentrated in five governorates: Amran, Dhamar, Sana’a, Hajja and Ibb. “Qat does not just pose agricultural and environmental problems, but it is a significant risk to the health of people especially when using pesticides indiscriminately,” said al-Hawshabi.

Qat has become a dilemma facing the expansion of food crops to provide food security, said Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. “It is draining more than 30 percent of the water devoted to agriculture.”

“The spending on qat plants is a priority to people who put it above necessary expenses such as food, education and other important needs,” he said. “The risk indicators of qat have become clear and specific to all and we must sharpen our determination and efforts to address the problem of qat as a major challenge facing agriculture in Yemen.”

The cultivation of qat in Yemen rose from 136,138 hectares in 2006 to 141,163 hectares last year, and its production rose from 147, 444 tons to 156, 290 tons during the same period.

Qat’s popularity in Yemen has led to its excessive cultivation, depleting the country’s agricultural resources. It is estimated that production increases by about 10 to 15 percent every year. Water consumption is so high that groundwater levels in the Sana’a basins are diminishing and are expected to dry out in just a little over 10 years from now.

40 year old guy teaching three teen-agers how to use a hand grenade in Sana’a blows himself up, killing one of the teen agrers and wounding two others.

Saba describes it as a friendly Qat session.

26 September Net

SANA’A, (26 September Net0 - A hand grenade exploded in Sana’a on Friday, killing at least two people and wound two others.

Security sources in the capital Sana’a said to 26 September Net that the first victim Foa’ad Saleh Al-Bahloli, the bomb’s owner, aged 40, had taught Ibrahim Hasan Al-Masmari, the second victim, aged 18, how to separate, install and use the bomb in one of Qaa Al-Alifi’s maqi’ils (divan for qat chewing) in the capital Sana’a.

The sources added that the two injured others, Salah Hasan Abdullah, aged 20, and Yousif Hamoud, aged 15, who were among the attendees in the maqi’il, had been wounded on the left shoulders as a result of the bomb’s shatters and be hospitalized to Al-Jumhori hospital.

Yemen Observer

Farmers are still involved in cultivating qat trees instead of other crops.
Still popular, qat chews provide an important forum for debate and dialogue in Yemen. Nearly every Yemeni chews; even old age and toothlessness fail to stop some. Taking a closer look at the agricultural, social, community, and health effects that this plant has on qat chewers will help us understand why it is so dangerous to Yemenis.

Qat is scientifically known as Catha edulis, a medium-sized shrub or tree known for its leaves, which release stimulating substances (amphetamines) when chewed. The qat plant is known by a variety of names, such as khat and gat in Yemen, chat in Ethiopia, jaad in Somalia, and miraa in Kenya and Tanzania. Although there are still minor disputes about where qat originated, today there is little argument about its common use in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in Yemen. According to the al-Afif Cultural Foundation, it is estimated that about 70 to 80 percent of Yemenis between the ages of 16 and 50 years have chewed qat on at least one occasion. It has also been estimated that Yemenis spend about 14.6 million person-hours per day chewing qat. This is time that could be utilized in more productive ways such as engaging in work, extracurricular activities, studying or exercising.

Furthermore, Dr. Ali al-Zubaidi, a researcher, has estimated that the amount of money spent on qat has increased from YR14.6 billion in 1990 to YR41.2 billion in 1995, and this figure continues to grow. Researchers have also estimated that families spend about 17 percent of their income on qat, although the real amount of money may be greater. One of the most serious economic side effects of the habit is the cost for consumers who lie at the lower end of the economic scale. The daily expense of qat can lead to less money being available for food and other basic family needs.

(Read on …)

Two words on narco-terrorism: private docks.

National Post
Terrorist groups may be funding their activities through khat, an illegal stimulant smuggled daily into Canada, says a newly released intelligence report.

The report by the Canadian government’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre says “some part of the proceeds involved in the global khat trade possibly finances terrorism.”

Khat is an illicit drug that is wildly popular among Somali-Canadians. It originates in East Africa and the Middle East, regions that “are ‘of concern’ from a terrorism viewpoint,” the report says.

“Given that a number of terrorist organizations around the world finance their activities through the drug trade, and that much of the khat trade occurs in and emanates from a region of the world closely identified with terrorism, it is possible that some parts of the proceeds involved may end up in the hands of terrorists or their sympathizers.”

(Read on …)

I hate this statistic, IRIN:

WFP says child malnutrition rates in Yemen are among the highest in the world SANAA, 11 December 2007 (IRIN) - An international report has said child malnutrition remains a concern in Yemen as nearly one-third of children aged 2-5 are severely stunted.

Entitled Yemen Poverty Assessment, the report was released in Yemen on 3 December. Prepared by Yemen’s government, the World Bank, and UN Development Programme (UNDP), it said poverty was associated with the prevalence of severe stunting and underweight among Yemeni children. It said data on severe stunting showed a greater disparity between urban and rural children than other types of malnutrition.

Ali al-Mudhwahi, director of the family health department at the Ministry of Health, told IRIN the stunting rate stood at 53.1 percent, wasting at 12.5 percent, and underweight accounted for 45.6 percent. These three indicators, he said, were used for measuring the malnutrition status for children under five. “There are 4.1 million children under five in Yemen,” he said.

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), child malnutrition rates in Yemen are amongst the highest in the world, with infant and under-five mortality rates estimated at 76 and 102 per 1,000 live births, respectively.

Qat

(Read on …)

Yemen Times

Most Yemeni women don’t know the negative medical effects of chewing qat, especially for pregnant women who chew qat, where both mother and child face health problems. Numerous studies and campaigns call upon Yemeni society, especially women, to reduce the increasing phenomenon of female qat chewers.

(Read on …)

What should that number actually be, one million

YT

Yemen Times

Official statistics indicate that 136,138 hectares are cultivated with qat, an increase from 123,933 hectares in 2005. 260 million qat trees have been planted.

Agricultural office statistics also show that coffee cultivation declined from 33,545 hectares in 2002 to 32,260 hectares due to qat cultivation. Money spent to purchase qat increased to $1.2 billion annually, according to agricultural statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Qat cultivation threatens Yemen with drought due to a huge depletion of groundwater supplies, 800 million cubic meters of which are used for qat irrigation, bringing Sana’a into jeopardy. 4,000 water wells are used for qat, reducing groundwater reserves by 3 to 6 meters annually, which could lead to a drought disaster in the country.

The Globalist

Yemen is home to a unique landscape that boasts a moderate climate, fertile valleys, towering mountains and a culture that is nothing if not unique. So attractive is Yemen that, upon its discovery by the Romans, it was given the name Arabia Felix — the “blessed Arabia.”

Over the past two millennia, Yemen has developed a less positive reputation amongst foreigners. Today Westerners are more likely to identify Yemen with the 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole or as the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden — rather than recognizing its unique culture and landscape.

(Read on …)

Yemen Observer

World Bank Country Manager, Sana’a, Yemen
Qat (Catha edulis) plays a major economic role in the Yemeni economy. It accounts for around 6 percent of GDP, 10 percent of consumption, one-third of agricultural GDP, and provides employment for one in every seven working Yemeni. As the predominant cash crop, the income it generates plays a vital role in rural economies. But it also depletes scarce water resources and has crowded out production of essential food crops and agriculture exports.

Until the 1960s, qat chewing was an occasional pastime, mainly for the rich. Now, it is chewed several days a week by a large segment of Yemen’s population. Widespread qat consumption has grave consequences: its use is linked to widespread child malnutrition and household food insecurity since spending on it pre-empts expenditures on basic foods and essential medicines. The adverse health effects of qat are many and include high blood-pressure, under-weight children (when pregnant women chew qat), cancer (from consuming pesticide residues), and dental diseases. Consumers spend, on average, nearly 10 percent of their income on it, and the physical act of using the drug requires several hours in a day. The culture of spending extended afternoon hours chewing qat is inimical to the development of a productive work force, with as much as one-quarter of usable working hours allocated to qat chewing.

(Read on …)