The Unsolved Melancholy

A mother of two daughters, Muna, finally heard a noise. She took the babies to their room to figure out what was making the noise. She realized someone was knocking the door with his or her feet so hard. Before she headed to the door to see who was knocking, she went to the kitchen to pick up her safety knife. “Open the God damn door or I’ll break it myself,” said the infuriated person behind the door.

Muna stood in front of the door for a moment, thinking about what if that noise, which she assumed to be a man, could force itself inside the house, rape her and take all she has. It was midnight and screaming wouldn’t help because the neighbours were asleep. There is no 911 to dial because that is not how the system works in Somaliland- unrecognized independent country in the northern side of Somalia. She had no choice because no matter what she thought about doing, that man will his way in. She quickly went back to her bedroom, hid the knife beneath her pillow, just in case he pushed her to the room. She opened the door, letting the furious man get inside.

“Hey, darling! It is cold outside and you kept me waiting?” said the intoxicated, raging man, closing the door behind him. Muna was not able to figure out who was knocking the door because chewing khat gave him a deeper a voice. She was thrilled to see her husband back and started to catch her breath. “Hey, I thought you were not coming home tonight. What happened to you? Where were you all night?” she asks her husband, waiting for an answer that he cannot give her. He grabbed her and forced her to the bedroom; forcing his body on her while throwing punches at her.

Her husband, who was later sent to jail for his horrendous actions, and many other Somalis are the victims of an addictive drug, khat, in Somaliland. That night, her husband was sitting with his friends in a Maqaaxi, a small house made out of old clothes where 80% of men in Somaliland spend a quality amount of time, chewing khat, “The Somali Marijuana,” as most Somalis call it. Khat is a green plant that is mostly imported from Ethiopia. Due to the lack of jobs in Somaliland, chewing khat is what young people believe to be the “Camal la aan”, meaning “the alternative” to working. They leave their homes early in the morning, sit in a Maqaaxi, and go back to their homes at midnight inebriated. During that time, they do nothing beside chew khat, smoke, and waste time. Hassan Muse, a phenomenal reporter discussed in his article, Negative effects of qat threaten next generation of Somali, the difficulties and the hardships a 25year -old Mohmad Abdi Sardeye faced. He was a resident of Garowe, a city in the northwest of Somalia where he spent most of his life. “I started to chew [khat] when I graduated from high school. Youth have no jobs to keep them occupied. Only a few work, while the rest hang around the streets. I use it to pass time until I find work." Many people like Mohamed Abdi are naive about the effects khat has on their health, but they do it to “kill time” or as many of them say, “Wakhtigaan ku dilayaa!”

Chewing khat shuts down the user’s brain and makes him hallucinate frequently. It gives you the power to harm people and destroy marriages. It also harms your health rapidly. According to the Department of Oral Pathology and Oral Medicine’s research, “the mechanical and chemical irritation may result in the development of mucosal white lesions and dark pigmentation.” Khat chewing may reduce aspects related to risk of “gingival and periodontal inflammation”, a non destructive disease that affects the alveolar bone, “but it appears to be associated with attachment loss at the site of chewing.”  Chewing khat triggers some internal and external teeth stains which later lead to discoloration of teeth and triggers tooth decay. It induces a state of euphoria, elation and takes away your memory. According to SomalilandPress, an extensively read newspaper in Somaliland, report that 5-10% of the families in Somaliland lost their marriages due to khat issues. Men come back home late and high, then rape and beat their wives and children, destroy their houses or end up hurting themselves. Therefore, most people are concerned about the damages khat does to the future of this country. The more men chew khat and not help Somaliland get a better future, the less opportunities for Somaliland to get its recognition.  

Despite the harms khat does to the health of its victims, destroys marriages and threatens the future of Somaliland, the entire economy of the country depends on it. According to SomalilandPress, “khat does a bustling trade estimated at well over $50 million annually.” However, it further discussed how “55% of young men and women aged 20 years and younger use khat, even as they attend high school.” Selling, buying, using khat is legal in Somaliland. However, even though Somaliland gets millions of dollars from exporting khat to UK, Yemen and other countries, most of its youth are either in jail or in hospitals. There are no available jobs for them so they end up robbing people or shops then later go to jail or chew khat all day and night then later taken by an ambulance. Throughout the last ten years, over 50% of the youth in Somaliland are victimized by khat.

Khat is problematic to the Somaliland government.  If the government averts people from chewing khat by creating laws that will make it illegal or stop importing it from Ethiopia, the economy will decline and many people will lose their jobs but if it lets people chew khat, more young people will be addicted to it and problems and chaos will occur regularly. Since 1960, when Somaliland got its independence from Somalia, Somaliland is trying to sustain its economy, peace, and the government’s capability in governing the country. However, dealing with khat is more challenging than anticipated.

 Khat is a struggle that is hard to overcome and many single or widow mothers tend to suffer from it a lot. Losing her husband just because he spent the night chewing khat, pushed Muna to live and move to the streets. She didn’t have a job. Her husband was the only hope she had but now that she lost him, she had to take her babies and beg for money in the streets. She went to a court to fight not for her survival but for her babies’ survival. She went to the only court she thought would help and begged the judge to release her husband or sign her money so she and her babies can survive while he is gone to prison. After the case was closed, most people were angered by the judge’s decision; leaving the hapless mother with no choice but to go back to the streets.  She left court with tears falling off her eyes, just wishing if khat could one day be forbidden from the country. She went back to the streets to continue fighting for the survival of her babies. With khat around, the economy will boom but a lot of people will lose loved once, houses, marriages, jobs, and even surviving in the country will be an ordeal. The existence and the future of this country depend on the choice the government will make; banning khat from the country or letting its people struggle and fight for survival.

Bibliography

Gorsky, Meir. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 15 9 2004. 12 11 2013 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2669459/>.

Hussein, Hassan Muse. http://sabahionline.com/. 29 9 2012. 10 11 2013 <http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2012/10/29/feature-01>.

somalilandpress. 11 5 2009. 10 11 2013 <http://somalilandpress.com/somalilands-addict-economy-khat-drains-struggling-economy-7319>.