Why are glassy red eyes and swollen cheeks everywhere in Yemen? The story of khat
Many countries and cultures have their own traditions, including when it comes to relaxation. But often, this boils down to indulging in substances with excessive effects — sometimes to the point of causing societal stagnation and national problems. We all know these stories: the well-known issue of vodka overuse in Russia, or the widespread alcohol problems in many European nations. The American opioid crisis — claiming over 100,000 lives each year (!) — also falls into this category and is a topic of its own.
Today, however, we’re talking about a different part of the world, where such local crises are not often mentioned. We are going to Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world — a country suffering not only from war between pro-Saudi and pro-Iranian forces (a conflict that has lasted nearly a decade) but also from another problem. One you’ll notice if you get close to almost any adult man in the country.
Maybe you’ve even seen it in war photos from Yemen? Whether it’s Houthi rebels, fighters loyal to ousted president Mansour Hadi, or those working with the UAE on southern operations, they all have one striking physical feature in common: a distorted, puffed-out, “bulging” cheek. Sometimes the left, sometimes the right — there’s no rule — but it’s very noticeable and specific to Yemen.
What’s going on with their cheeks? Why are they “puffed up”? They’re holding something in their mouths — something clearly important to them. That something is called khat (or qat). What is khat? It’s a plant. Not just any plant, of course — but a stimulant that grows in the eastern and southern parts of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Khat is chewed and held in the mouth for a long time, forming a “ball,” which creates the bulging cheek. The plant slowly releases its active substances into the body through the saliva.
Khat is a small shrub, and its young leaves contain alkaloids similar in effect to amphetamines.
Chewing khat is popular throughout the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa — but in Yemen… in Yemen, it’s on a whole different level. Yemen is a country completely dependent on khat. To what extent? Enormously. Data shows that up to 90% of men regularly chew khat, and about 25% of women do too.
The situation is so extreme that if you arrive in the ancient capital Sana’a, or virtually anywhere else in the country, you’ll see people everywhere with bulging cheeks from chewing.
That’s how it’s consumed: a large amount is kept in the mouth, and as the plant mixes with saliva, the substances enter the bloodstream.
And although it might seem strange to foreigners, in Yemen khat is like coffee or alcohol in the West — a social lubricant. A key factor is that khat is not banned in Islam, unlike alcohol. So in a way, khat becomes “alcohol for Muslims.”
Unsurprisingly, Yemenis love khat and can’t imagine life without it. It’s a powerful plant with drug-like effects — it suppresses hunger and increases focus, making it especially popular among students preparing for exams (which often leads to lifelong addiction).
There are all kinds of stories about khat’s powers. Unsurprisingly, it’s also believed to be effective against impotence.
The main form of socializing in Yemen is the evening khat ceremony. Men gather in salons where they chew khat for hours. They discuss current events, important and trivial matters alike, but the main purpose is to relax and enjoy the buzz as khat kicks in.
If you picture these scenes, you might see familiar parallels, right? Like societies where people gather in pubs during the evening — except that their “poison” is alcohol, which is banned in Yemen, so they’ve turned to khat instead.
But the situation in Yemen is critical. Imagine a society where 90% of men are regularly intoxicated — that would inevitably lead to disaster.
It’s hard to say which drug is more harmful to society. Alcohol, although widely advertised in the West as part of social life, is dangerous because it’s addictive. Anyone who has faced alcoholism knows it’s a devastating disease.
Khat, though legal, is also highly addictive and brings a host of other negative effects. Experts say this plant is destroying Yemen — the country is essentially chewing itself to death.
One bag of khat costs around $5, enough for a day’s use. But $5 is a huge amount in a country where 45% of people live below the poverty line. Government data shows that many families spend more on khat than on food. But again, this isn’t unheard of even in other cultures, if you tally up spending on alcohol and cigarettes.
People “on khat” simply aren’t able to think clearly, which adds to the country’s problems beyond war and poverty. A population that’s constantly “high” can’t effectively fight for its future, no matter what side they’re on.
But the worst part of the khat crisis is how it’s destroying Yemen’s land, resources, and finances.
The plant is grown in the hilly areas outside Sana’a, and nearly every irrigated field is planted with khat. Unlike coffee — which Yemenis claim to have cultivated earlier — khat is easier to grow and harvest. And while it doesn’t bring instant riches like opium in Afghanistan or coca in Colombia, it provides more stable income than vegetables — which is why nearly all arable land is now dedicated to khat. But khat requires a lot of water — and Yemen has very little!
Khat fields are typically irrigated twice a month, consuming about 30% of the country’s entire water supply — mostly drawn from ancient underground aquifers that replenish very slowly due to sparse rainfall. The recent explosion in khat cultivation has lowered the water table to the point of irreversible depletion. Pumping desalinated water from coastal plants is far too expensive for such a poor nation. Yemen is in real danger of becoming the first country in the world to run out of water.
Yes, foreign influence is to blame — especially the Saudi military intervention — but one of the culprits is undeniably khat, which has enslaved the country.
Was it always like this? Are Yemenis simply generational khat addicts?
Absolutely not. What we’re seeing today is a modern crisis. Yes, khat has been consumed for ages, but it used to be a luxury of the wealthy. Over the past few decades, the entire population has become addicted, with some children becoming regular users as early as age 12.
When afternoon comes in Yemen, it seems that nearly everyone yearns for marathon khat-chewing sessions — their eyes turn red and glassy from the amphetamine-like high, and their cheeks swell with the growing mass of freshly picked leaves stuffed inside.
And what does the future hold? Will Yemen ever “get off” khat? Maybe one day, but that day is nowhere in sight. This is a country that has suffered immensely and continues to suffer. For many, khat is the only escape — the only thing that keeps them going, even though it actually drags them down.
But by now, it has become an integral part of daily life in Yemen — its presence is overwhelming. One striking detail: during recent years of war between the Houthis and government loyalists, even as fierce battles raged and trench warfare was waged in some areas, an unofficial ceasefire would often take place on the Yemeni front lines every day from noon to around 4 PM. Fighters on both sides would stop… and everyone knew why.
It wasn’t uncommon for them to even cross into enemy trenches to buy khat if they ran out!
And for those few hours, there would be peace, calm — khat would rule, and everything else became secondary. And as long as challenges like these persist — as long as the two leading powers of the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia and Iran, clash over Yemen’s back, as long as American drones can suddenly appear and blow up a market or a wedding, as long as Al-Qaeda and ISIS loom nearby…
As long as life is this unimaginably hard, khat will continue to rule — unchallenged.
About the Author
