I was first introduced to the concept of ‘qat’ on my first visit to Yemen. We were travelling with family, and my father was approached by a rather enthusiastic taxi driver. As he drove around at fantastic speeds, he explained he was chewing qat and he hadn’t slept for two days. I was quite worried.
Locally, in Birmingham, the habit has been picked up again. My understanding is that the socialising habits of choice are now to chew qat, have shisha and strong coffee all at the same time. It is Halaaaaal, they proclaim, as they are off their heads.
Qat has a horrendous social impact, like any drug. Wikipedia says that 17% of income on average could be spent on Qat.
There have been calls to reduce or stop chewing Qat, but to date they have had little impact. In 1999, the President of the Republic of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Salih, declared that he was going to cut back his Qat chewing to only two days a week. In its place, he intended to participate in more sporting activities and learn how to use a computer. The President’s declaration had little impact.
lolqats below…
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It’s ubiquitous in Sana’a. I was there in 2002 (gosh I heart Yemen though). I was too afraid to try it because a) general haramness of using mind-altering drugs w/o prescription b) I’m already on mind-altering drugs with prescription and they sure don’t list whether qat is contraindicated on the product leaflet – didn’t want to risk it.
Dear Musab Bora,
Your writing is delightfully amusing. Just thought I’d let you know I posted a link to your blog on MetaFilter, in case you wanted to have a look or join in the conversation:
http://www.metafilter.com/74373/oh-hai
Best wishes,
Nicky
this leaves me wanting to try it. i need the energy