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What is that? The sky is in flames. The thundering sound of shotguns, rifles and bombs are echoing all over the district! Is it a maneuver? Is it the nightmare of another civil war? I have rubbed my eyes a little to see whether I am dreaming or awake! Am I in a village in the suburb in Taiz or in the south of Lebanon? I started asking about the heart of the matter. I was told that it was just a wedding ceremony. I couldn't believe it. Do you know why? The bullets and other sorts of ammunition fired into the air were numberless. The nearest approximate estimate would be in the tens of thousands.

People, especially in the villages, like to hold their wedding parties during the Eid holidays. This is because they exploit the gathering of people coming from different cities in order to double their rapture and happiness. In the villages, the way of celebrating such occasions is a little different from that in the city. When the bride is being brought to the bridegroom's house, bullets are fired into the air, irrespective of the people being in cars or on foot, all along the way. The father of the bride comes the next day with many people firing plenty of bullets. Some people come and congratulate the bride and share in these unforgettable moments in similar fashion.

But, the most remarkable trend currently becoming popular with people in some villages is the blasting of bombs during wedding festivals. Missiles and tanks might be used in the next phase: During the night, the flashes of gunfire can be clearly seen where bullets are flying in all directions. Of what value is all this? Is it really for fun? Some people do it to show off, since they think that it brings them some fame. Therefore, it has become a must for those who deem themselves as someone.

One really feels shocked at the sight of such a great number of people carrying guns and moving in hordes. The result is that many innocent people become targets to stray bullets. Many unwary passerby's are hit and become crippled for life or die. Of course, the practice of shooting guns is not restricted to wedding ceremonies during Eid, but is common throughout the year. I talked with many people about this practice and found that many of them were very unhappy and annoyed by it. Because, in this way, plenty of money is wasted where people get nothing in return. But, if there is some kind of awareness, this money can be utilized in implementing some projects of social value. Many needy people deserve some help.

It should be mentioned that this practice has become commonly widespread after the civil war of 1994, wherein many people had lots of weapons and ammunition, since they could be bought easily at bargain prices.
There is a more serious dimension of this problem. The existence of many armed people has made it tempting for trotting brigands to seek the gun: The final and easy way of finishing and solving all sorts of disputes, even trivial, between people. This is particularly a more attractive proposition with the growing economic hardships that people are facing nowadays. They are now easily irritated and short-tempered. Hence, any kind of misunderstanding might lead to flaring of nerves, gunshots, then murder. The result is many victimized people, and thus, the law of the jungle prevails.

Of course, the absence of authority of the government is an important factor in the deteriorating state of security and safety in such regions. In some places, after the authority had failed in bringing some outlaws, murderers and other evil-doers to justice, it resorted to reconciling with them. The irony is that they are now helping the authority in solving the problems of the people in spite of the fact that they themselves preview the law. This irresponsible practice has encouraged other people to walk in the same steps as the outlaws.
Moreover, the state of lawlessness and absence of penalty has given rise to the spread of the hated social practice of blood revenge and retaliation.

Recently, in one area of the suburb of Taiz, a person murdered another in the evening because of some conflict between them. The murderer fled to another city, but after some mediation he was brought to the security office of that district. He was imprisoned for some days, then was sent with 1 soldier to the city of Taiz for further investigations. The son of the murdered man, only 13 years old, rode in the same car. On the way he shot the murderer of his father in the head and ran away while his brothers, who were guarding the place, started firing their guns.
This disorder and chaos is indeed due to the relative ease with which guns and other weapons can be procured. Can the government show us its muscles , demilitarize the civilian population and free it from the shadow of the guns? I truly hope so!

By Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi,
Taiz

There are two ways to see Yemen. One can either take a long and arduous journey covering the country's majestic mountains, arid and inhospitable deserts, beautiful lush wadis, and enchanting costs. Or one can read Dr. Scott Kennedy's beautifully illustrated Yemen: A Pictorial Tour, due to be released on 22 May - the 8th anniversary of Yemen's unification. This book, which took two years from conception to completion, is a labor of love painstakingly photographed and edited by Dr. Kennedy and his wife.

Dr. Scott Kennedy, 43, has been living in Yemen with his wife Norah and four children for the last five years, working as the US Embassy's official doctor. His work also covers the UAE, Oman, Eritrea and Djibouti. Raised in the oasis of Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi while his parents worked as doctors, Dr. Kennedy is certainly no stranger to this part of the world. He did his schooling in India and Pakistan where started his life-long passion of bird-watching and bird-photography.

"I first came to Yemen as a tourist in 1981, fell in love with the old city, and decided to come back later," said Dr. Kennedy. Yemen presented him with a unique opportunity to observe and photograph its endemic and migrant bird population. "I have done the photographs for Yemeni birds, which were published on Yemeni stamps about a year and a half ago," he indicated.
"It takes a long time and hard work with bird-photography. If you do not have the eyes of the bird in focus, you have to go throughout the picture. This is one of the rules about it. You have to shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and you definitely have to be by yourself to do because you do not want to scare the birds away."

Ms. Norah Kennedy said: "I got involved with the book's writing and research on Yemen. We wrote half and half. I also helped in keeping the kids quiet, while he tried to get the perfect shot. Our children are very young so they sometimes get very excited with photography."Dr. Kennedy also collaborated with his friends Richard Porter and Derek Harvey to do school books for the schools in Yemen. Armed with his trusty camera with its 1000 mm lens and his bird-blind, a special camouflaged tent with holes for the camera, Dr. Kennedy made extensive tours the width and breadth of Yemen, including the sometimes inaccessible Socotra Island, in pursuit of his cherished hobby. "It is very important not to disturb the birds' habitat while photographing them," he cautioned.

However, bird-photography is not just a hobby for the conservation-oriented Dr. Kennedy. "It is crucial to get the local people to appreciate their country's natural wealth. Farmers in Tihama, for example, must understand that the Hubarah is a valuable bird, and not to kill and eat it. Other endangered birds and animals in Yemen include the Arabian bustard and Arabian leopard."

Having collected a big wealth of excellent photographs not only of birds, but also of people and architecture from almost all parts of Yemen, Dr. Kennedy got in touch with Mr. Ian Fairservice, the Managing Partner and Group Editor of Motivate Publishing in Dubai, UAE.
"I think it is the first photographic book on Yemen that includes both north and south, with heavy emphasis on the natural wild life from the Arabian leopard which is going extinct to the bird life. The former US ambassador to Yemen, Mr. David Newton wrote the introduction to the book and emphasized this point," announced Mr. Fairservice.

He added: "We have this first book - Dubai: a Pictorial Tour - in a new series we are developing. So we thought that a book on Yemen will lend itself ideally to our planned series. We were very excited about combining the natural beauty of the country with some very interesting background and historical information. I thought if we had just done a book about birds, it would have had a limited audience."

Yemen: A Pictorial Tour hard-back book consists of 144 pages illustrated with 150 top-quality color photographs depicting various aspects of Yemeni life, architecture, and flora and fauna. It is written in the "posh" British English, as opposed to American English. The book's publication is sponsored by Mr. Haytham Al-Aaini and his group of companies, which "gave marvelous support." Dr. Kennedy's activities also extend to working with the public health sector in Yemen. "A Physicians-for-Peace team of volunteers, including myself, is working with the Ministry of Health right now to develop a burn-care unit at the Republican Hospital. We are also trying to help in other areas such as cardiology, preventative medicine, and birth-spacing."

Adel J. Moqbil, Yemen Times