• Project: LOTH
• Original Title: LEAVES OF THE HORN
• Created by: Till Rudolph/ textimbild köln
• Client: CORSO FILM
• Creation Date: 19. Nov. 2018
• Revision Date: 28. Nov. 2018
• Media File: FINAL_KHAT
2018_10_22_PLAYOUT_h264_reduced.mov
• Format: 25 fps
• Offset: 09:59:50:00
• Pre-roll: 00:00:00:00
SPEAKER
Addictive leaves.
Profitable leaves.
FARMER
My father passed on
his knowledge to me.
We inherited it
from our ancestors.
SPEAKER
Leaves that provoke
fights.
FARMER
Without khat we'd
be eating ash.
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
It's banned in the
US and the rest of Europe but Khat is still legal here. In fact it's used,
chewed, by up to 90,000 people in the UK.
CHILD
Bye, daddy!
ABUKAR AWALE
Bye!
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
Some say, it's
highly intoxicating and tomorrow the government's drug advisors will recommend
whether or not it should be made illegal.
But the Somali
community – the biggest khat-users – is divided over whether to back a ban
which would criminalise users over night...
ANTI-KHAT-DEMONSTRANT
Stop the khat!
CHANTING WOMAN
Khat is a drug!
FEMALE ANTI-KHAT-DEMONSTRATORS
Make it illegal!
CHANTING WOMAN
Khat is a drug!
FEMALE
ANTI-KHAT-DEMONSTRATORS
Make it illegal!
CHANTING WOMAN
Khat is a drug!
FEMALE
ANTI-KHAT-DEMONSTRATORS
Make it illegal!
CHANTING WOMAN
Khat is a drug!
MALE REPORTER
Can you explain why
you are demonstrating today?
ABUKAR AWALE
We are
demonstrating to ask the British government to ban khat in line with the rest
of European countries, in line with the rest of the western world. We're not
asking the British government to ban alcohol, we are asking simply (to ban) a
drug that has devastated and destroyed my country. And it's funny, because the
second largest importer in the world is the UK.
SPEAKER
Abukar Awale is a
former Somali refugee who lives in London. Since 2007 he has been campaigning
across the United Kingdom in order to convince the British government to make
khat illegal in the country. So far, without much success.
ABUKAR AWALE
I got a call now
from a big coach full of people. They are on their way.
Obviously it's a
working day, so that also affects ...
I guess I'm just
trying to justify why I am not getting too many people ...
WOMAN
Awale, it's
self-evident: this is a dangerous drug! You don't have to prove it! It's
something which is obvious to everybody.
ABUKAR AWALE
Yeah.
WOMAN
And if people do
not turn up, it's because ...
ABUKAR AWALE
I mean, I
appreciate it and I'm grateful. And I know the majority of the community wants
this drug to be banned. But ...
It just makes me
upset because there are critics, there are people who will say: "You know
what? Look at him! He made all this noise and the community doesn't agree with
him." They will use this as an evidence. And there are people who are
making money of it.
SPEAKER
London is the main
hub in Europe for the trade of khat from the Horn of Africa. Abukar thinks if
he wants to stop this trade, he has to start form here.
ABUKAR AWALE
They can ignore me.
They can say: "This African boy will go away, eventually he will get
tired." But they don't know ho determined I am. Anyone who thinks I will
go away or I will give up – he has to think twice. I have got the support of
the community, I have people who are backing me, and I have me.
MALE NEWS REPORTER
The nation-wide
sweep netted 25 tons, more than 10 million dollars worth of khat.
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
There are concerns
that it may be used to fund terrorist operations overseas.
[10:04:32:02]
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
A load
of drug has been seized at the airport in Zurich two weeks ago
[10:04:36:01]
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
four
and a half tons imported from Kenya.
[10:04:40:23]
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
The
leaves were well hidden in packages of tea.
[10:04:47:14]
HEINZ WIDMER
So
this is a package of tea from Kenya
[10:04:54:14]
HEINZ WIDMER
but
when you open it you can see
[10:04:57:12]
HEINZ WIDMER
there
is this drug very well hidden.
[10:05:02:21]
SPEAKER IN NEWS
FEATURE
Khat
was almost unknown in Switzerland so far
[10:05:05:09]
SPEAKER IN NEWS
FEATURE
to the
point that the Ministry of Health can’t provide any record about it.
[10:05:09:14]
SPEAKER IN NEWS
FEATURE
This is the biggest khat
seizure ever recorded worldwide
[10:05:12:22]
SPEAKER IN NEWS FEATURE
four
and a half tons of drug. Target?
[10:05:15:12]
SPEAKER IN NEWS
FEATURE
USA,
Europe and partly also here in Switzerland.
[10:05:18:17]
HEINZ
WIDMER
In
Frankfurt they already found a total of eight tons, in Seul they seized 1,2
tons
[10:05:24:23]
HEINZ
WIDMER
these
are some of the most important places for the planes coming from Nairobi.
MUSTAFA YUYE
Look at that, look!
You're calling this khat? Take that shit away!
KHAT-VENDOR
I came a long way
down here. This is really good stuff. Why are you doing this?
MUSTAFA YUYE
We are not taking
it. Tell him to go.
SPEAKER
This is Mustafa
Yuye, one of the main khat wholesale traders of Awoday.
MUSTAFA YUYE
Now it's too late.
He fucked up his
load, it wasn't us.
I don't care.
It's too late, I
told you.
It's not my
business.
Our loads are
ready?
Also the ones from
downstairs?
Hurry up and send
them out.
MUSTAFA YUYE
We are too slow
tonight. That's not good.
MUSTAFA YUYE
This place is
called Awoday. All the khat produced in the east of Ethiopia is brought here
and traded to the rest of the world.
From here, I reach
out to the rest of Ethiopia, to Somalia and the whole Horn of Africa. Even to
the refugee camps in the Somali desert, and to the people who migrated to the
rest of the world.
We smuggle as far
as to China and London.
MUSTAFA YUYE
I grew up as a
shepherd in a village nearby.
My elder brother
was the first to come here.
At home there was
no work, so I followed him soon.
MUSTAFA YUYE
I remember, when I
first arrived here, there was nothing.
No buildings, no
roads.
At the beginning I
had to carry khat for other traders. That was very hard for me as a young boy.
MUSTAFA YUYE
I started from nothing.
Today people are
working in buildings I've built.
The market has
become huge.
MUSTAFA YUYE
Before me, Awoday
was nothing like that.
It was me who
started all this.
MAN WITH PUPLE
SHIRT
For fuck's sake, we
need to start packing!
SAFI MUSA
We need to start
packing up!
We need to start
now!
MUSTAFA YUYE
The khat fuels the
market by itself.
Workers chew it to
work faster, drivers chew it to drive faster.
This plant loses
its power within less than 48 hours. It has to be sold and chewed before that.
SPEAKER
This is a warehouse
in South London.
SPEAKER
This is a warehouse
in South London. 70 tons of khat are delivered here every week via Heathrow
airport. The leaves are picked by local traders and delivered throughout the
United Kingdom.
Some traders travel
on to sell the leaves illegally in other countries.
FEMALE NEWS
REPORTER
The government's
official drug advisors have rejected calls to ban the herbal stimulant khat.
London has become one of the main centres for distributing it around the world.
Anti-khat campaigners believe it may contribute to mental health problems, but
the drugs council said, there was insufficient evidence to prove this.
ABUKAR AWALE
We are
disappointed. We are not happy with the decision because we believe there's
enough evidence of medical and social harm, there has been deaths of young men
because of legal khat. I think in that sense, Britain will be a smuggling hub,
it's not good for the country. With the current climate, I don't think it's a
good move. We should be aligned with the rest of western world.
FEMALE
LIVE-REPORTER
Lovely. Okay. Thank
you very much.
ABUKAR AWALE
Thank you very
much.
FEMALE
LIVE-REPORTER
Thank you.
ABUKAR AWALE
Is it going to be
on?
FEMALE
LIVE-REPORTER
Yes, yeah, tonight.
ABUKAR AWALE
Thanks a lot!
ABUKAR AWALE
Where am I?
Where was I?
(SPEAKER
The government’s
advisors don’t agree with Abukar. But his own experience in Somalia seems to
speak clear to him.)
ABUKAR AWALE
Oh my God! Unbelievable!
I can't believe it.
I swear to God.
No ban, no
regulation.
No ban, no fucking
nothing.
FRIEND OF ABUKAR
AWALE
Fuck it, we will
take them to court.
We'll appeal to the
European Court.
ABUKAR AWALE
Seven years! Seven
years of campaigning! 72.000 petitioners! All this evidence of harm we gave
them. They say no. You know why? You know why? It's not about evidence. It's
about power and money and people who are lobbying aggressively to make sure
this drug remains (in the) UK. They don't care about little Somalians. Who
cares?
SPEAKER
What is so special
about this plant? How can a plant affect the destiny of an entire population?
ABUKAR AWALE
I am a survivor of
a sinking ship in the middle of the sea.
And when I was
chewing khat I was there and it is dark and I am on board. That ship is
sinking. And somehow, suddenly I find myself (on) dry land where everything is
okay. But I know that ship is still there and it is full of people, and the
ship is going down. So it's my moral obligation to scream and shout and call
for help. And this is what I am going to do for the rest of my life, I think. I
have to.
SPEAKER
Somaliland is a
mostly desert streak of land stretching from the highlands of Ethiopia to the
shores of the Indian Ocean. Formerly a part of Somalia, at the peak of the
civil war in 1991, Somaliland declared their independence from the rest of the
country. Since then, they have acted as a de-facto independent state.
Today, Somalia is
still torn by violence and instability, while people in Somaliland enjoy relative
peace. Even so, Somaliland's independence hasn't been officially recognised by
the UN. As a consequence of this and of the recurrent droughts that affect the
region, many Somalilanders live in extreme poverty.
ABDIRISAK
He's mentally ill.
Hello.
BEGGER
Brother, give me
something, please.
ABDIRISAK
I don't have any
money.
BEGGER
Give me some khat
then.
Come on!
ABDIRISAK
I shouldn't ...
BEGGER
Come on, just a
couple of twigs.
ABDIRISAK
Just one.
BEGGER
Come on, one more.
Thanks, brother.
ABDIRISAK
No worries.
ABDIRISAK
He's mentally ill.
Sometimes you have
to ...
ABDIRISAK
Salam Aleykum.
WOMAN AT ENTRANCE
Are you looking for
the kid?
ABDIRISAK
Yes.
WOMAN AT ENTRANCE
This way.
ABDIRISAK
How are you?
What's his name?
SITTING WOMAN
Mohamed.
ABDIRISAK
How are you,
Mohamed?
SPEAKER
This is Abdirisak
Warsame. He is a social worker trained in psychiatry and runs the mental
hospital of Hargeisa, Somaliland's capital city. He travels to little villages
in difficult areas looking for mentally ill people to help.
ABDIRISAK
He's really sick,
you know.
You should take him
to a hospital.
WOMAN WITH RED
HEADSCARF
We tried to bring
him to different doctors. But no one would take us. We can't afford the
treatment. There is nothing we can do for him.
So we keep him
here. We don't even have money to take him into town.
We used to live
near the coast. We lost all our animals due to the drought. So we decided to
leave and to come here.
ONE-EYED WOMAN
We have lost everything
and nobody would help us.
But when the khat
trucks drive by, people run after them at once.
ABDIRISAK
Even with the
drought, khat still gets here?
WOMAN WITH RED
HEADSCARF
Sure.
ONE-EYED WOMAN
Every day.
ONE-EYED WOMAN
Khat is all people
think about. They don't take care of each other.
People don't take
care of the sick or the weak anymore.
Surely, some people
are making money from it, but for people like us it just makes things worse.
ABDIRISAK
You are right. It's
the truth.
ABUKAR AWALE
When I came to this
country in 1997, the UK itself was a dream.
In fact, to leave
the civil war and to have the opportunity to come here ...
My aim and my dream
was to go somewhere and to be somebody, to educate myself.
I remember the
first day I arrived in London I was so happy.
I took pictures,
send them back home and said: "I made it!"
ABUKAR AWALE
I've never planned
to become a drug addict. But I think God has his own plans and his own ways of
doing things. And because I was seeking advice (at) places called
"marfish", where Somali men sit (and chew khat). These people were
here before me. That's how I got to know khat. When I went there just to ask:
"How do you get by? Where do you seek help?", that's where I have
been offered khat.
ABUKAR AWALE
I have to be
honest, in the beginning it was a bit of fun. Chewing all night and sleeping
all day. But before I (knew), weeks and months and years passed and before I
(knew), it was out of my control. The only thing I knew was this circle of
life: Waking up (at) 4 o'clock in the afternoon, your bones are aching, you've
got a headache, you are moody, you are angry. And in order for you to function
again, to feel talkative again, to feel confident again, to tell yourself,
"everything's going to be okay", you have to chew again. And when you
chew it makes you (feel) a bit better and you are planning, you say:
"Tomorrow I am going to do (this), tomorrow, I am going to do that."
But eventually it's
the same circle. Tomorrow nothing happens and tomorrow when you wake up you
have the same challenges.
NURSE
Take this tablet.
ABDIRISAK
Do we only have
these tablets?
NURSE
Yes, that is all
that is left.
ABDIRISAK
Really?
NURSE
Yes.
ABDIRISAK
There is a new
patient.
MAN WITH WHITE
SHIRT
Yes, one. He came
this morning with his mother. They are waiting for you. Let's go.
WOMAN WITH BLACK
HEADSCARF
It all started
during the war. They bombed our house repeatedly. We used to live in a small
village.
ABDIRISAK
I understand.
WOMAN WITH BLACK
HEADSCARF
That's it. We had
to hide all the time. We used to camp in the bushes. He was just a kid. But
they tortured him. They used to come at night and ask him: "Where is your
mother? Where is your sister?"
ABDIRISAK
You have to
understand that the traumas caused by the war and the abuse of khat are often
related. Since he went through terrible experiences during the war, he thinks
that chewing khat can help him forget them.
(Does his brother
also chew?)
WOMAN WITH BLACK
HEADSCARF
Yes, since he moved
to London. He started chewing there.
ABDIRISAK
In London?
WOMAN WITH BLACK
HEADSCARF
Yes, in London.
WOMAN WITH BLACK
HEADSCARF
These are our two
big problems: war and khat.
SPEAKER
With the end of the
Cold War approaching, its effects were to be felt in Africa too.
As the regime of
Siad Barre in Somalia gradually lost ground to rebel movements, the whole
country, including Somaliland, slowly fell in the hands of local clans.
Sensing its end,
the regime bombarded the rebel strongholds of Somaliland.
The bombing of Hargeisa
caused un unknown number of victims, possibly between 50,000 and 200,000.
Many more were
injured or displaced. Only few buildings were left standing.
ABDIRISAK
It's that house
with the blue door and the blue windows.
Somebody else is
living there.
But the house is
like it was when I was a child. It was just like that. You can see it.
Life ... But life
continues. Thanks to God.
ABDIRISAK
It was in the middle
of the night when they pushed in our doors forcedly as they were doing with
other houses.
One of the soldiers
took his gun and he grasped my shirt. Here. And he took me to the toilet in our
house. He asked me to sit so that he can shoot me and kill me.
ABDIRISAK
My mother also
begged him not to kill me but to take everything else in the house. So
fortunately nothing happened to me during that night.
But you can imagine
what kind of, you know, psychological challenge (that was).
ABDIRISAK
It was (the)
darkest and most tragic day in my life.
As a young boy who
is living in Berbera who has been attacked by his soldiers who were supposed to
defend him.
ABDIRISAK
The war left scars
in our souls here.
You know, that's
why you can see a lot of mentally ill people around.
That's why you can
see a lot of people chewing a lot of khat to (help them) forget the experiences
of war.
You know, this is a
sort of chain. (Many) people experienced the war. Now, there is no war, the
employment rate is very low and, you know, the poverty is high. So to let them
forget all these experiences, they go to chew.
ABDIRISAK
(Although) khat is
not causing the problem, it's adding fuel to the fire.
MUSTAFA ACHMED
It is common sense
that khat is causing us problems.
MUSTAFA ACHMED
The good thing
about it is the revenue we get from its trade.
Only if our
government gets international recognition, we will be able to find other
sources of revenue.
MUSTAFA ACHMED
The khat companies
are our best tax payers. The revenue is used for different purposes. For
example, security, it is given to the military. It is also used for
development, the construction of roads and government buildings. The whole
system is running thanks to this money.
ABDULKARIM MAGGIORE
Let's take one of
those Somali mothers for example. She has never chewed khat in her life. She
has a child, without a father. She is selling the khat and is able to feed her
kid. She can buy books, a bed and clothes.
If we stop the
khat, how would these people survive?
Then, it'd be
better I kill them with a bullet. It'd be better.
MAN MIT WHITE CAP
We have been
growing coffee for more than 820 years. But, generation after generation, our
life has deteriorated.
We don't benefit
from this coffee.
MAN WITH WHITE HEADSCARF
We have no food to
eat. Our community is starving.
SPEAKER IN NEWS
FEATURE
All of these
farmers know nothing but coffee. They've grown little else for generations. But
the International Coffee Organisation which regulated prices collapsed over a
decade ago, leaving coffee farmers at the mercy of the big buyers.
MAN MIT MOUSTACHE
More than 50% of
the coffee market is dominated by five or four multinational corporations.
MARK PENDERGRAST
From 1962 to 1989,
the United States agreed to belong to sort of an OPEC of coffee. It was called
the "International Coffee Agreement".
We did that for
political reasons. We were afraid that if we allow the price of coffee to go
too low, Latin America and Africa would go communist.
And then in 1989,
when the cold war was ending, we backed out of it. And the price of coffee
collapsed for the next four years under the cost of production. It was
horrible. It still is horrible.
ABUKAR AWALE
Effrah from London.
Effrah, Selam Aleykum!
EFFRAH
Thanks, Abukar. I
always follow your programme.
ABUKAR AWALE
Tell me, what
question do you have?
EFFRAH
Abukar, I've tried
everything you said, but in vain.
My husband keeps
chewing everyday.
Please help me,
what can I do to make him stop?
ABUKAR AWALE
I wouldn't want to
recommend how I stopped myself. I wouldn't want to say to everybody: "Oh,
try (it) that way, maybe you will stop like me."
Because my story
is, that I have been stabbed five times.
ABUKAR AWALE
While I was
chewing, another khat-user came to me and we had a little fight.
ABUKAR AWALE
Right there I had
to think in the hospital when I saw my body bleeding and how I looked like ...
I had to think and
say: "Look, maybe next time I will not be so lucky. Maybe ... Maybe I have
just been given a second chance in life."
ABUKAR AWALE
Thanks for all the
support from all the Somali women following us.
Without your
support none of this would be possible.
We must keep
campaigning, every little help is very much needed.
If it is God's will,
sooner or later we will win.
Now let's move on
to the next caller.
ABUKAR AWALE
I get calls from
everywhere.
Some of them call
me to say: "Fuck off!" Simple. "Fuck off! This is my business.
It is not for you to tell me how I should live my life. Fuck off!"
I say: "Yeah,
thank you! Thank you for the call. That was a nice caller. Yeah, next
call."
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Anyhow!
What we have for
you today is information on a new hospital.
It's a maternity
hospital for women giving birth. It is called "Assad".
For all women
experiencing difficult pregnancies and back pain.
Okay, you can stop
here. This is where I always buy it. Stop! That's it. There is my friend.
SPEAKER
This is Khalif Muse
Samatar.
He is a poet who
lives in Dadaab since its foundation in 1992.
MALE VOICE
Khalif! Tell her a
poem!
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
You are the most
beautiful woman of all,
you are as
beautiful as a newborn camel.
You are as
beautiful as an oasis in the desert
and everybody is
looking for you.
You are tall and
you have a slim waist,
you are like a gem.
I respect you and
when I have enough money
I will marry you
and buy you a Landcruiser.
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
You don't have to
buy anything for me.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
No? Why not? Don't
worry!
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
You earn your money
and I earn mine.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Look, I am a loyal
customer. I'm always buying my khat here.
Do you want to hear
another poem?
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
No, no.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
My name is Khalif
Muse Samatar, also known as "Small Nose", "Anyhow",
"Ivory Coast" or "Singapore".
I am a poet and I
can make you happy with anything you need.
Where is my change?
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
I was 12 years old
when my hometown was attacked.
Many people were
killed, including my mother. I had no other choice but to leave my hometown.
I travelled for
years and finally ended up in Dadaab. Here, I set up a group of artists called
"Somali Star".
We tour the camp
and talk to people about the problems with tribalism and with coming from a
war-torn-country, and the problems of living in the refugee camp.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Ismahan, your
future husband is the luckiest man in the world.
Dressed in bright
colours, you are the most beautiful girl in the camp.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
How is it going
here?
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF 2
Not good. They have
not given us any maize or rice for two years. They even refuse to hand out salt
and porridge.
We are living on
nothing at the moment.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Have you talked to
the NGOs about this?
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
Little Nose, they
already know this. They shouldn't just leave us here. When you go to talk to them,
they don't even open the door.
And the fathers
don't care if their children or women are hungry. They just buy khat! But
people are hungry here!
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Well, if they are
buying khat instead of food, that is a huge problem.
We will talk to
these NGOs. And you tell the fathers to stop buying khat.
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
But you know I
cannot take it away from them. They will say, "If the elders chew, why
should we stop?"
If we cannot even
get old people like you to stop doing it ... (IMITATES TOOTHLESS CHEWING) ...
how should we convince the younger ones?
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
The love for khat
burns so hot,
hotter than the
glowing tip of a cigarette.
And when you find
the leaves on the floor,
they will make you
even higher.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
This poem is about
falling in love with a woman while you are high on khat. It is almost the same.
Because if you don't have money, you can't have either.
WOMAN WITH PURPLE
HEADSCARF
Look, those who
want to quit chewing will quit.
Those who can't do
it will keep on chewing.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
It is a jail
without roof and no one can escape.
Can a man be
forgotten in jail?
Yes, he can be
forgotten.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Nobody knows how
many people are living here. Officials say 300,000, maybe 400,000.
But I am telling
you, we are many more.
These people
include former generals, professors, pilots, an men who have worked on ships.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
We live in an
open-air prison.
Why? Because the
world has closed its doors on us.
And nobody has any
idea what is going on here.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
You are the first
journalists I have seen in a long time. Nobody cares about the refugees or even
talks to them.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Now the khat has
become our first topic of conversation:
"Is the khat
good today?"
"Is the khat
bad today?"
"Are the
leaves soft today?"
"Are the
leaves hard today?"
This is all we talk
about instead of rebuilding our country.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
I dream about
living in Rome or Switzerland.
That's what I see
when I am chewing and I like it.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
Is Chelsea playing?
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
We don't have
documents. We can't go nowhere. If we were allowed to go to the cities we could
look for work and earn our living.
We have been here
for 27 years and nobody gives a shit about it.
MAN WITH PURPLE
SHIRT
If I could decide,
I wouldn't go to London, but to Manchester.
Because I am a big
fan of Manchester United.
MANN MIT LILA
T-SHIRT
You see, many young
men are going for the long journey.
Some drown in the
sea, others disappear.
Do you think, they
would try to do that if they had a job here?
Why are they taking
that risk of dying in the sea?
In Somalia the
ground is oozing with blood.
The soil is
exhausted, you can't grow anything anymore.
It is soaked with
the blood of the people.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
When I am chewing
khat I am in a fairytale. I forget my loneliness. I don't care about it
anymore, it is forgotten.
Sometimes I sing:
(SINGS)
You go into a
fantasy world but when you leave it you start asking yourself: "What the
hell am I doing here. What has become of me?"
Within two days I'd
go crazy, believe me.
KHALIF MUSE SAMATAR
I would start
wondering about my life and realize that I have no future.
SAFI MUSA
We always work
during the night.
I start working at
sunset and finish in the early morning.
Me and everyone
else in this room.
SPEAKER
This is Safi Musa.
One of the khat workers of Awoday.
SAFI MUSA
I have been working
here for fifteen years now.
I don't think that
anybody in the world should live a life like this.
SAFI MUSA
But I keep on
working and endure my suffering.
I chew khat to
forget all of this. It helps me to release the tension and to forget how tired
I am. In fact, that's why all of us are chewing khat.
SAFI MUSA
Because we all live
of the work of our bodies.
Every night is the
same.
Not only for me but
for everyone in Awoday.
SAFI MUSA
The reason why we
end up like this is that in a place like this hunger hunts you down.
There is nothing
else to do, so we are forced to do it.
MALE VOICE 2
If we could do
something else then we would.
SAFI MUSA
It isn't a matter
of choice that we work in the khat business.
SPEAKER
After ten years of
campaigning, Abukar finally reaches his goal.
The government of
the United Kingdom halted all khat imports form the Horn of Africa declaring
the plant illegal.
ABUKAR AWALE
Salam Aleykum! We
did it!
MAN WITH BLUE
KEYCHAIN
That's an
unprecedented change in legislation in the United Kingdom. But it's
community-lead change. The government has been talking about this, consulting,
since 2005. But I think from the cheers that you gave when Abukar walked in I
think we all know who's made it happen.
ABUKAR AWALE
Let me tell you, if
you think our fight is over because we won this battle in England, well, then
you got it completely wrong.
This victory is
only the beginning! The streets of Somalia will be shaken by this earthquake.
If a young refugee
has managed to change the law of a country that is not his, imagine what I can
do in my homeland with the help of my own people and what change we can bring
about!
ABUKAR AWALE
Remember to make
your voice be heard. This is only the beginning.
As long as the Horn
of Africa doesn't tremble, we have not succeeded.
This victory is for
all the mothers out there! Take it!
SPEAKER
Banning khat in
Europe might help people in migrant communities such as the one Abukar
represents.
But what about the
ones we left in the Horn Africa?
Is this a victory
also for them?
All the khat that
was sold in Europe before the ban is now sold mainly in Somalia and Somaliland.
More work for those
like Abdirisak, who try to keep things together in these difficult places.
SPEAKER
Abukar, after his victory
in London, has brought his campaign to his homeland Somalia too. So far, he’s
had little or no success.
SPEAKER
In Dadaab, nothing
has changed for Khalif. He does what he can, putting his wisdom to work to make
life less unpleasant for the other refugees.
SPEAKER
In Awoday, the UK
ban has had little effect for Safi Musa. He keeps on working in the trade,
without much else to look forward to, while the khat trade runs on and on,
relentlessly.