Since January 12, I have been running Anti-Qat campaigns from overseas. I didn't get the opportunity to observe and get a first hand experience of what the youth working for our cause go through when campaigning at government facilities. I didn't get to see how those youth in Taiz and Hodeidah campaigned in schools, running activities educating young students on the harms of Qat. I didn't get to experience these activities first hand and all I got to see was just end result video clips which those courageous youth recorded. It has been a joy all along. But I have always felt it incomplete. However, today, it was different.
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| very clean wedding!YES! |
A qat-free wedding! And I'm not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best days of my life. Even though it was a male-only celebration, but I wanted to see with my own eyes what a wedding hall would look like without the mess of Qat. I wanted to see beautiful smiles on my fellow Yemenis' faces replacing the ugly looking qat in their mouths. I wanted to see them enjoying and celebrating the way these things were meant to be.
Much to my joy, I saw such a dream coming true. Contrary to what many thought, 800 people gathered to celebrate in a qat-free environment with nothing but joy and smiles filling their faces.
I came late to the hall in order not to draw attention being a female in a male-only wedding. Luckily I was accompanied by another female friend who encouraged me to go and see things with my own eyes. Joyous and happy of seeing a dream coming true, I decided to stay till the end of the celebration even though my friend had to leave long before that.
It was an extremely beautiful day. I saw a real joy in people's faces. My extreme happiness made me see things even more beautiful.
It is indeed an unforgettable day of my life.
It is also one step in the long road that me and many courageous Yemenis decided to walk through. A road to a Yemen without Qat
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| Me and the groom Baraa |
