People of the Jizan region may not be able to chew qat again with the expected destruction of over three million qat trees, said Prince Mohammed Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Jizan, in an exclusive interview. Chewing the leaves of this cursed tree has impaired the wheel of development in the region, he said. The forbidden tree has caused the region to lag behind in development as compared to other regions in the country, steering away vital projects the citizens could have enjoyed had the cursed tree not been there, he said. Throughout the places where qat is grown, people with low and middle income would spend large amount of it to buy qat, leaving their families with only bits for food, education, and health. “The people of Jizan have developed an awareness of the bad effects of qat, indicating that there is a proposal before the Council of Ministers to completely cut off the tree from the region and develop mountainous areas where qat is grown into promising produce farms,” he said. The Council is yet to take a decision on the proposal. Qat classified as a drug Qat is classified as a highly addictive stimulant that contains the chemical cathinone, which is a narcotic with addictive properties and has no known medicinal benefits. Countries, like the US, are now taking anti-qat measures. Earlier this year, the United States Embassy in Yemen reportedly introduced a new provision for Yemenis seeking permanent residence in the US to lay off their bundles of qat if they want to live in America. There are more than 40 million qat trees in Yemen, according to the Combating Qat Damage Association's survey conducted in 2006. Qat is strictly illegal in Saudi Arabia with punishment that may go up to 25 years in jail for smuggling qat. Prince Mohammed said that the owners of qat farms proposed to be destroyed will be compensated, calling for a national awareness campaign of the forbidden tree. Although many qat farms were destroyed in Faifa, home of the qat tree in Jizan region, because of rising awareness, some people still cherish the tree as part of their traditional rituals, he said. Invest in Jizan Investment in Jizan is starting to pick up steam. It remained sluggish because of the negative image of the region that had plunged it into decades of debilitating economy despite its strategic location as a border city with Yemen, tourist attractions, and panoramic view of the Horn of Africa, he said. “There is also a plan to start a new airport in Farasan Island to boost tourism in that beautiful archipelago,” he said. With all its human and natural resources, investment opportunities are promising in Jizan and there are many public and private projects in the making, he added. In addition to its wealth of seafood, Jizan is the bread basket of the Kingdom with fertile soil, good for growing wheat that would help cover a big chunk of the Kingdom's demand of flour, in addition to sweet mango, he said. “The King asked us to prepare a 10-year development plan during his last visit to Jizan. He laid the foundation stone of 40,000 residential lands, in addition to the Economic City,” he said. The problem of the shortage of flights to and from Jizan will be solved by starting a new airport between Sabia and Jizan instead of the current airport in the center of the city. Border issue Security personnel have a lot of work to do to foil the illegal infiltration and smuggling activities through the long border line with Yemen, he said. The border is known for being the gateway for human, arms, and qat smuggling. When the final border markers have been finalized between the Kingdom and Yemen, the problems of smuggling will decrease, he said. - Okaz __
