By Hajer Mitchell

And so the day nears when I will once again stand on Yemeni ground. Thanks be to God for the wonders of our minds, since mine is slowly bringing back all that I thought I had lost over the past two years while away from Sana'a in America. I am reminded that even though I visited Yemen for only eight very short months, it was, sincerely, long enough to make my heart question just where home is. While in Yemen, not one day passed without many prayers of thanks to be alive. I wanted for nothing nor did I miss the U.S.; I'm not sure if that was due to the awesome mental stimulation that took place each moment I remained, or the generosity and humble warmth of the Yemeni people.

Being a photographer, I captured many memories on film. I thought I would be able to bottle a small amount of Yemen in my photos and video tapes, taking the sights and sounds of such wonder back to my family and friends in Michigan. How completely na•ve of me. It is only now that I know I will revisit Yemen, God willing, that my senses have reawakened and I yearn for the taste of Sana'a once again.
Never, in all of my life, has the night air held such power as that of the scent from the blooming trees in Sana'a known as Atar al-Layl, or Perfume of the Night. When the sun goes down, tiny blossoms open, emitting such a sweet subtlety, and the night air is fragranced with fresh, delicate nectar. Even if I could write as descriptively as Edgar Allen Poe, the only way to fully understand, would be to stand on the streets of Sana'a, eyes closed, breathing slowly É deeply É deliberately. Only then could it be assumed, this is how heaven feels when it enters the soul.

The sounds of Sana'a Qadeema may be taken for granted Ð but only by those who have never left the city. For anyone who has traveled away from Sana'a must miss the clanking and clattering of its city life, the surrounding sounds of the neighborhood mosques, the honking of motorists making their way though the narrow streets, crowds of men and children clapping, laughing, dancing during the many nighttime weddings. The harmony of the people lies here in the heart of the souq. How should I have filmed such music? As God wishes, we are limited in our inventions. Perhaps visually I could collect, but what kind of experience is possible without the exchange of interaction with the environment? It could be, at best, a dry flatness.

I was lucky enough to have had gracious hosts who took me on long day trips. Within hours of Sana'a I saw the greenest valleys of Ibb, the desert sand dunes of Lahj, the seascapes of Al Baraka and Khor Maksar, the wondrous mountain ranges of Haraz in Manakha, a beautiful cloud-like mist whisk through Mahweet, flocks of pink flamingos take flight in Aden, hundreds upon hundreds of palm trees in Khokha, houses scattered on a mountain side displaying such a show of lights after sundown in Sana'a, lizards Ð with one half blue and the other half red, mountain water reservoirs, hot springs, fruits, flowers, art, all unlike any I have experienced, and the list never ends.

I tasted fruits and vegetables I had never seen before. A melon that has a clean, fresh, lemony flavor, an apple-like fruit, safarjal, that grabs the wetness from the tongue and mouth but yet itself is juicy. So many different kinds of breads! Thin, rufflely shavings of bread called miloweh. Khubiz Tawah, a thin, dense, flat bread made heavy with oil. Sabayah, layers upon layers of filo-like dough, soaked in ghee, baked and doused in honey! Sahawig, samboosa, shafoot, even aseed and salta. Sabhan Allah, the flavours of Yemen.

Some of my favorite memories? Drinking tea and smoking argyle with friends on the gulf shoreline of Aden late into the evening; bargaining with shop owners to get a cheaper price; eating foul in the early morning in Souq al Mileh; waking up for Fijr prayer to the sound of the many adthans; sharing conversation and a special brew of quishr and spices with Umi Fatimeh; driving the Land Cruiser in the village and shocking all the men; Laylat al-Qadr in al Aqil mosque when I became overwhelmed with feelings and began to cry uncontrollably Ð and the sisters who came to me in support though I was a stranger; searching for candles and then matches when the lights went out; the neighborhood boys fetching a water truck for us when we ran out; eating fish with my hands in Shibami Makbaza; the camel pulling the hayride during the Eid al Kabir in Aden; my weekly trips to Wadi Thahar to watch the men dance Bara'a style; long walks in Sana'a Qadeema at night; the Cave and Al Mankal restaurants; and though it may sound scandalous Ñ the one kiss from my fiancŽe.

I choose to live in America because I am American. Each of our cultures is deeply ingrained within us. Even when we are open to others' traditions, we are usually most comfortable with our own. Though I could accept many of the Yemeni ways in Yemen, I could not accept Yemen not accepting some of my American ways. So I returned to Michigan where I now reside and plan my vacations around Yemen. I may live in the United States of America, but I dream of Sana'a.
 
 

In the globalizing world we are living in, the role of media and information has become extremely important. We in Yemen are beginning to feel this power. The latest such thing was when the final concluding statements of the Emerging Democracies Forum included as part of the Sanaa Declaration the sentence: "providing for private ownership of media and ensuring the impartiality of state-owned media through independent boards or other means." We are slowly realizing that the media is in fact an extremely strong source of power. For it is more powerful than the leader of the most powerful country, Mr. Bill Clinton, the President of the United States. We all noticed how the media gave him lots of trouble. Was he able to do something about it? The answer is "No, the media was too powerful". Being part of this changing world, Yemen is also witnessing the growth of this power. As more newspapers, more media organs, and in the near future privately owned TV channels and radios will be founded for the first time in Yemen, media's power increase. Media can be so useful when directed in the right direction. For example, when controlled by the private sector, it can investigate corrupt officials and expose them to the public through TV. Media can expose the wrongdoing of officials, businessmen, or anyone abusing the law. It can at the same time praise and highlight people with good deeds to the public.

However, to be more logical, media cannot play its assigned role in Yemen as it does everywhere else in the world. Yemen is a country living with traditional concepts that cannot be controlled easily. Take for example, if a media organ reports that a tribal sheik was corrupt in some way or another and had received bribes, etc. the tribe will not let this go. The least that could happen is that the tribe could storm the media organ's location, and force the editor to apologize for what has been said, even though the organ only said the truth. Trying to enforce the use of modern tools in a traditional society is quite challenging. Democracy as a whole cannot be implemented unless there is some commitment from the government to have everyone respect the law and abide to it. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to have a democratic country with free media.

As the fourth arm of the government, until recently, media was not respected enough. The reason for that is very simple, there was no free media. The only media organs available then were the governmental newspapers, Radio, and TV channels. But today, things have begun to change. Private newspapers are now open to criticize, report, and investigate many things the government doesn't want to be shown to the public. The breakdown, the storming, the closing, and the trial of so many newspapers only indicates that they have become quite strong organs that are doing their job of being watchdogs keeping an eye on the news events, and the mismanagement of some sectors in community. Now that the government is committed to implementing the law that enables private media, they have no excuse for delay.

Soon, the parliament is expected to issue a law permitting the privatization of media, just like any other business (schools, hospitals, companies, etc.) For the people who underestimate the power of media I say be careful, the media is coming, the free media is coming.

Walid Al-Saqqaf,
Yemen Times