Hadrami people exert efforts to fight qat
The Source: www.yementimes.com - 05/01/2010
Home \
Local News
In cooperation with the World Band, a specialized committee in charge of following up on an anti-qat project in Hadramout held last month a meeting to discuss the agreement signed recently between local authority and the WB to fight qat consumption in Hadramout, The Yemen Time has learned. The meeting stressed the role that could be played by the elite to enlighten people on health dangers of qat consumption and on stopping qat trade. The meeting stressed on making qat markets far away of the cities, in a bid to stop entirely its trade.
These moves will be accompanied by efforts to seek alternatives to young people like clubs and training centers to spend their time in ways benefiting them.
World Bank’s Qat Consultant Qahtan al-Asbahi said this move, which started in Hadramout last October and November, falls under the organization’s program shared with the Yemeni government to combat qat addiction.“Our program aims at reducing qat consumption. We started it in governorates of Hadramout and Aden where people consume qat but do not grow it,” said al-Asbahi. Then we will move to other governorates to continue our program. “We found considerable reaction from the people.” Over why the campaign started in Hadramout, al-Asbahi said the governorate does not produce qat and is agricultural so that it is easy to hold anti-qat consumption campaigns. Cultivating qat in the governorate is not successful because it is flat land with does not exceed 800 meters above sea level while qat is grown only in areas above 800 meters.
With failed tries to grow qat in Hadramout, it was easy to carry out the anti-qat camping in this governorate besides; In addition, that most of the people are not qat addicted.
Regarding alternatives the World Bank provides to young people in Hadramout, al-Asbahi said the organization helps promoting cultural activities. “We in the World Bank help and support spreading cultural programs, night programs and sport contests. We provide USD 6000 to every activity.”The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrgation and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation share the anti-qat program with the World Bank, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Abdul-Malik al-Thawr.The program is divided into two parts, the production and consumption, he explained. The ministry is responsible on combating the production while the World Bank is responsible on carrying out anti-qat consumption campaigns. The anti- qat program falls under the project of preserving ground water, given that qat consumes 30 percent of ground water. Under this prospect, we categorize water into two kinds, green water (rain water) and blue water (ground water). Our focus is to protect blue water against exhaustion and we do not have problem with farmers using green water, said al-Thawr. Carrying out such activities in the governorate came as respond to a message of Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi to enlighten People on the dangerous effects of qat consumption, said Mohammad Saeed ba-Qatmi, Assistant Deputy Governor of Hadramout, the Head of Anti-Qat Committee. The campaign aimed at making the city clean by forcing all people selling qat in streets out of the city. Selling qat inside the city has damaged its good image before visitors.
By forcing people selling qat out of the city, this will lead to reduce demand for qat because the young man or the man who wants to buy qat from the market will find it difficult to go out of the city and return to chew qat. Step by step, the people will give up this bad habit willingly (chewing qat) has spread recently, mostly among young people. “Tens days ago, we started carrying out enlightenment projects supported by the World Bank. We intend to publish encyclopedias on the dangers of qat in cooperation with media,” said ba-Qatmi. Over other alternatives to be provided to the people to occupy their spare time, the Head of Anti-Qat Committee said, there is action plan with local authority to create clubs, enlightenment parks, internet coffeehouse and holding forums and theaters to help people forget qat. Hadramout is considered the vastest agricultural valley in Yemen and riches ground for water. It is famous of producing dates, honey and wheat, besides vegetables. Hadrami people are the less in the country who chew qat due to the spread of specific culture that people who chew qat and smoke are considered unrespectable. The governorate does not grow qat but traders bring the plant from the governorates of Dhale’a, al-Baidha’ and Dhamar.Qat cultivation is spread on 140.000 hectare of Yemeni agricultural lands. Every hector generates annual revenues of YR, 2,64 million in the best cases. But expansion of qat trees comes on the account of other important strategic corps like coffee besides vegetables and fruits.
|