Qat

Yours
Dark Angel

I read the article on Qat and I like to reply to Miss. A. Mohammed
 
Qat does not mean everything in my life or in the life of the many Yemenis I know. The Yemenis who do eat Qat are mainly elders or immigrants from the Yemen, but as for us youths then sorry, but you made an assumption there. I myself don’t eat Qat; the many friends I know who are Yemenis don’t eat Qat.

If men who don’t eat Qat ‘become outcasts’ then it is due to their lack of confidence or because they are not fluent in Arabic. They need to go out more instead of fixing their cars or playing on their Nintendos. That’s what mosques, cafes and Community Centres are for. Yemeni people do not outcaste any Yemeni. We respect the individual if he eats Qat or not.Yemeni people are very active within their communities. They have worked hard through the age of steel works and invested in their communities and their families so their children could flourish and finish their degrees. The next generation would not have a bright future in England if our fathers just spent money on Qat. 

Qat is not the opium of the Yemeni Community and nor will it ever be. If it was we wouldn’t be marching through England against the war in Afghanistan! We wouldn’t be a thriving community with so much to give! I see my community hard at work and they have done so much in such little time. The elders deserve more recognition and credit. I, not just as a Yemeni but as a Muslim took what you said as insult.