Hiiraan Online

by Ismail Guled
Thursday, July 31, 2008

“With the help of God we will overrun the Ethiopian King’s capital and turn it into fields of Khat”.

One might think above statement comes from an over confident member of today’s Al Shabab but in fact it was made by a certain King Sa’adoun of Zeila 600 odd years ago.

The Awdalian King was clearly trying to humiliate his foe by planting such deplorable crop on his enemy’s hallowed land. Somalis kept this image of Khat as a despicable weed well into the 1960s and 70s when `khat unn’ (“Khat eater”) was a derogatory term used to denote a certain type of a useless loafer; an urban decadent; a street urchin; a no gooder.

If Khat chewers were frowned upon Khat sellers were seen as the lowliest of the low; a veritable pond life. And that was the male Khat sellers. Female traders were assumed to be involved in acts of depravity and debauchery of unspeakable magnitude.

But then two things happened in the 1960s Hargeisa that were to transform Somali society’s view of Khat and khat chewers forever.

The first image makeover of Khat occurred when the town’s emerging class of artists and musicians adopted the green weed as their favourite poison. This gave the hitherto despised tea time activity of Khat chewing a subversive, underground, hedonistic image. In other words it became cool. Balwo Lyricists claimed the drug made their creative juices flow. Dhexyar(Violin) players said it heightened their auditory senses. Singers and performers waxed lyrical about the wonders it did for their vocal textures and body dexterity.

All of a sudden Khat was being openly chewed by civil servants, teachers, coppers, moneyed `adhiles(livestock traders)’ and aspiring pop stars.

Khat chewing was no longer a clandestine activity associated with the dregs of society but it was hardly mainstream practise either. Just because some famous singers and their hangers on chewed the disgusting stuff did not make it attractive to the average camel herder or conservative market trader.

But then came a masterstroke of publicity that was to firmly establish Khat as perfectly respectable social activity in every household and camel shed from Hargeisa to Hobyo. Some anonymous advertising genius came up with a story that khat was chewed by Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) companions to help them memorise the Quran.

He called it `qutul awliya’; or Sustenance of the Saints’ a highly evocative tag in the Somalis’ sub conscious mind.

It seems no one raised an eyebrow about this depiction of the esteemed companions of the prophet as drug addicts. What a slur! 

Instead it was as if a green light has been turned on in the collective psyche of the whole Somali race. The nation shrugged its shoulders; dug its communal backside firmly into the Somali dirt and got on with the business of chewing the now semi holy oily leaf.  

All the research shows that every Khat chewer spends at least $1 a day on his or her drug habit in a country where most people survive on less than a dollar a day. For most addicted men, and that is probably well over 70% of the male population, the daily Khat fix comes before feeding their families or even having a meal themselves. The call of the Amphetamine must be obeyed at all costs.

Mothers and wives who object to the wasting of the meagre family income often get assaulted or divorced or both. Children ashamed of tattered or dirty uniforms miss school because the household income could not stretch to packet of washing powder and a bundle of Khat.

The Khat trade fuels corruption as soldiers, coppers, teachers and clerks alike look for illicit income to fund their habits. Villainous politicians and thuggish warlords ply fallen traditional elders with daily bag loads of Khat to gain their support for their nefarious political projects. Penniless young addicts with guns rob all and sundry to buy half a bundle with their mates. The dirty money gained from this evil trade partially fuels the endless civil war raging in this corpse of a nation for the last 20 years.

It plays havoc with people’s health too. It is well known Khat causes insomnia, paranoia; depression and eventually Psychosis. It is alleged that some public health experts at WHO believe Somalia has the highest number of mentally ill people on earth. The very act of Khat chewing leads to spreading of infectious diseases like TB because chewing is largely a communal activity where groups of men sit together in often filthy, smoke filled rooms and share not only rancid air but pass around unwashed cups of tea and water which accompany the chewing ritual. Almost all chewers are heavy smokers too which means cancer and emphysema needlessly kill thousands each year. 

Some also whisper that Khat causes disturbing sexual perversions that no one dares talk about opnely.

Yet remarkably some still insist this is a harmless recreational or cultural past time. Not one member of the current Somali leadership in Somaliland, Puntland or the TFG condemns this evil drug. On the contrary some abuse the stuff themselves and appear as red eyed and zany as the rest of their citizens. The Islamic Courts Union to their credit did try to do something about it in their short time in power but even they appeared rather half-hearted about banning it outright. 

Khat grows in the Ethiopian and Kenyan highlands and gets airlifted to almost every town, village and hamlet across the nation. Interestingly Khat chewing never took hold in either of the two producing countries perhaps because their populations have other pastimes including of course alcohol consumption. As a result both countries see the narcotic as harmless foreign exchange earner for their cash starved farmers.

That is extremely short sighted. Khat significantly contributes to the anarchy in Somalia which in turn affects them directly in the form of refugees, illegal arms smuggling and terrorism.  Lawlessness is always contagious.

Moreover with food prices skyrocketing on world markets, Khat farmers could be easily encouraged to plant wheat or fruits or even coffee instead. They will probably earn more than they do from Khat. 

Somaliland is perhaps best placed to act against this drug which poses a clear and present danger to its very existence. It should start with prohibiting army personnel, police, teachers and MPs from chewing the stuff. Adverts against Khat chewing could be published on newspapers and shown on TV. School children could be educated about the harm Khat does to their development and learning. Mothers could be warned that Khat users are potential child abusers.

Organisations like UNICEF and WHO could assist in the campaign against the vicious weed.

WHO could also put pressure on Ethiopia and Kenya to eradicate Khat production. The EU and USAID could assist farmers with the conversion to producing edible crops. It could be done. All that is needed is vision, political courage and modicum of competence. Sadly these are not readily available commodities in Somaliland or Somalia.