海角大神

In most regards, it was a typical Yemeni wedding. Traditional music swelled and guests performed centuries-old dances. But there was a聽conspicuous 鈥� leafy green聽鈥撀燼bsence.

The activist groom told his guests that聽khat, a leaf chewed in Yemen as a stimulant and social lubricant, wasn't welcome at his wedding.聽As the presence of no less than six camera crews from local and international television channels suggested, a khat-free wedding literally marked a newsworthy event.

In contrast to alcohol or harder drugs, khat is largely seen as a religiously acceptable indulgence in this conservative Muslim society. Many Yemenis will argue it lacks the negative social effects of whiskey or marijuana.聽But regardless of Yemeni society鈥檚 general toleration of the nation鈥檚 collective habit, a clamor is growing that the plant is a curse that needs to be addressed.聽

The warnings are years聽鈥撀爄f not decades聽鈥撀爋ld. Academics have raised issue with the plant鈥檚 environmental, societal, and economic effects; even former president Ali Abdullah Saleh聽鈥撀燼 committed chewer himself聽鈥撀爈aunched a brief initiative aimed at stemming its use in 1999. In recent months, a grassroots campaign has placed nearly unprecedented attention on 办丑补迟鈥檚 negative effects on Yemen.

鈥淚 think of聽khat聽as [a key part of] Yemen鈥檚 social fabric. But while it maintains a degree of social cohesion, there are many drawbacks,鈥� said Abdulaziz al-Saqqaf, a youth activist who occasionally chews. 鈥淲ithin a decade Sanaa will be the first world capital to run out of water聽鈥撀燼nd that鈥檚 due to聽khat.鈥�

Between 1970 and 2000, the amount of land set aside for khat farming increased by nearly 1200 percent. In addition to taking up valuable arable land, the cultivation of the thirsty plant聽鈥撀爓hich takes up nearly 40 percent of Yemen鈥檚 water resources聽鈥撀爄s contributing to a growing water crisis that threatens to suck the country dry.

Farmers who switch from cultivating fruits and vegetables to growing khat are driven by the high profits and strong demand for the crop.聽While the World Health Organization does not regard聽khat聽as seriously addictive, social pressures and psychological dependence mean that聽even impoverished Yemenis funnel cash into the leafy narcotic. Many families devote more money to聽khat聽than than they do to food.聽

Twitter campaign

The latest anti-khat campaign began on Twitter by聽Hind al-Eryani, a Yemeni blogger based in Beirut. But the online effort has rapidly spiraled into an initiative on the ground that鈥檚 been taken up by a number of activists, largely pulled from Yemen鈥檚 educated middle-class.

A diverse group of politicians here have thrown their support behind the campaign, while a number of prominent businessmen have offered financial backing. But even if it has kicked up surprising steam, the campaign continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges in curbing the consumption of a plant many Yemenis see as innocuous.

As many as 80 percent of Yemenis chew the plant on a regular basis, and in much of the country, khat is nearly impossible to escape. It has been seen as a key accompaniment to nearly every social event聽鈥撀爁rom family gatherings to kidnapping negotiations聽鈥撀爁or centuries. Many Yemenis see a taste for khat as key element of the national identity.

Each day, at the dawn of the early afternoon, the workday largely ends as Yemenis flood markets to buy the day鈥檚 ration of the leaf. By three o鈥檆lock, it鈥檚 a struggle to avoid 办丑补迟鈥檚 telltale cheek-bulge聽鈥撀爓hether it is being chewed to alleviate a storekeeper鈥檚 boredom or to loosen inhibitions at high-level political and business meetings.

And while the initiative has garnered a great deal of attention among Yemen鈥檚 urban elite, Yemen鈥檚 rural majority will be key to any real attempts to wean the country off of its national addiction. In the countryside khat is both a recreational habit and an economic lifeblood.

But activists say they are aware of the long road ahead and remain optimistic that their work could eventually yield lasting effects.

鈥淓ven just to reach this point was a challenge,鈥� says Baraa Shiban, the khat-free wedding鈥檚 groom, noting that members of his family initially threatened to boycott the event due to the ban on the plant. 鈥淏ut I believe the youth can make a real change here.鈥�