For ordinary Yemenis, there is a kind of "leaves" that are a necessity of life, and they can skip eating, but they cannot chew leaves.
The leaf chewed by Yemenis is called "Khat", and the locals call it "Chatgrass", which seems harmless to humans and animals is actually an addictive soft drug.
Because it contains ingredients that can quickly promote the body's secretion of dopamine, eating it will give people an extremely comfortable feeling.
It is precisely because of the desire to enjoy this "refreshment" that Yemenis have become inextricably dependent on chatti.
According to incomplete statistics, about 70%-80% of Yemenis aged 15-50 consume this chat.
In Yemen, from government officials to ordinary people, no matter what class of social interaction, all are inseparable from chatgrass.
Some families will also set up a separate grass-chewing room at home specifically for gathering people to chew grass, and wealthy families will decorate this room with great elaboration.
Chewing grass has become a special form of hospitality for Yemenis, and it is considered impolite if someone gives you a bundle of chatt grass and you refuse to eat it.
Not only is the Chat grass "corroding" the body of Yemenis, but the harm to the country has also penetrated into all aspects.
Fathers who chew chatter grass for a long time do not hesitate to let their sons be infected with "drug addiction" from an early age due to nervous disorders and herd mentality, even if it affects the normal development of the next generation.
The consequence of the whole people chewing leaves is that the work efficiency is low, so that people are unwilling to work and produce, which in turn causes huge waste.
When there is demand, there is a market, and farmers have abandoned growing food in favor of Khat trees due to the national leaf chewing, resulting in very little land for crops in Yemen, and the large number of Khat plantations consuming nearly 60% of fresh water.
When the only rich land began to desertify, the food problem became a huge problem that Yemenis had to face.
Although it has become difficult to eat, the supply of Chatter grass still exceeds the supply, Yemenis often import Chatt grass from Ethiopia, and the massive outflow of capital has also dragged down the entire Yemeni economy.
As early as 2009, Time Magazine, one of the three major current affairs weekly magazines in the United States, asked Yemen by name: "Do you want to chew yourself to death"?
In response to this matter, the Yemeni government has also tried to introduce some policies against chatgrass, but the results have not been satisfactory.
Although it is a small leaf, it has become a serious threat to the country of Yemen.
No one can save a self-depraved person, can they?
Self-awareness is probably the only way for Yemenis to "stop addiction".
