Category: Yemen

There’s an article in the latest Yemen Observer (

) entitled “Smuggling threatens Yemen’s economic health.” It’s silly on a lot of different levels… The biggest one being that somehow people buying things without the government’s cut is going to do something bad to the economy. Actually, the article makes it quite clear that the smuggled items are less expensive and have more profit in them, how is that going to mess up the economy? If the government had it’s way, things would cost more and people would make less money selling them. In other words, they would be poorer… It’s unclear what exact goods the article is discussing. The text talks about some expired food, weapons, and maybe some medicines, but the picture in the article shows radios and other consumer electronics. I can imagine that there could be a safety issue with the first three, but radios? What really gets me is the implication that there are import duties placed on medicines. This is a common practice in many poor countries as it is a good source of revenue. A better name for an import duty is an import tax. People pay more money on things that they buy without any benefit coming to them for the extra cost. It always bothers me when a government acts in a profit maximizing way…

I got a laugh out of one official’s statement that the import duties had been reduced by 5% therefore there is no reason to smuggle items into the country. I was happy to see that the article does mention that Yemen is trying to be more trade friendly. It pointed out that local manufacturers used to be more protected from outside competition and that it resulted in low quality products at high prices. Ironically, by protecting local producers, the government aided the now widespread distrust of things made in Yemen. I have never heard of a country with such a low opinion of its own products. The article doesn’t say what the current tax is, but I’m assuming that it’s still high enough to make smuggling profitable since it is still going on. Another possibility is that the import tax is really low, but the bribes you have to pay customs officials may still be really high. Bribes are expected in just about every government transaction here and the customs officials are notorious in this regard.

The solution? Get rid of import taxes! Not only will this free up customs people to look for things that are actually dangerous (like weapons to supply an ongoing insurrection in the north), but most importantly, people will pay less and there will be more competition for those consumers.

Isaac

yemen middle east economics

In the latest issue of the Yemen times

, there is an article about a guy (and his family) who is threatening to commit suicide in front of the capital if something isn’t done about his situation. What terrible thing has happened to him? He went to school with the President’s son, keep in mind that in most Arab countries president is code for “king”. There isn’t much doubt that the son will inherit the presidency, with fair and free elections no doubt… Anyway, the son apparently told him that he would get him a job with the national airline and a place to stay. Neither have materialized in 3 or 4 years. So this guy writes his former classmate and the Yemen times saying that he will kill himself if something isn’t done soon to alleviate his suffering. He also has the temerity to complain about corruption in the judicial system concerning some sort of inheritance issue. Where does someone get the balls to complain about corruption while at the same time threaten to kill oneself if his personal contact in the government doesn’t come through for him? The sad thing is that it really doesn’t surprise me, I can imagine most of the people that I’ve met here think like that (minus the killing oneself part). Why isn’t the government doing something for me? Corruption is out of hand, if I could only figure out how to make it work for me… I don’t know what is more frustrating, the hypocrisy, or the infantilism shown by people towards the government. At some point people have to realize that

A) They are not 4 years old anymore and should not whine about not getting handouts (current 4 year olds are excepted from this of course) and
B) Even if the government were to do something for them, they would inevitably screw it up and/or make someone else worse off.

Things do suck here, I understand. I understand about being desperate and asking for help. But to go to the organization (?) that has the greatest responsibility for making this place awful for help seems really backwards to me. Here, one has to succeed despite the government, if you succeed because of it, you’re just taking money from someone else and putting it in your pocket. The same could be said for any government but here it is much worse. The corruption is so transparent here, it is easy to see the money go from your pocket into someone else, sometimes it’s done right in front of you. If this society is to succeed, they will have to do what every other successful society does, value and expect to stand on one’s own two feet and not depend on the government. Of course the government is not about to get out of the way, the prince has to ascend to the throne one day….

Isaac

yemen middle east economics corruption

I went to the “Red” restaurant again today. I had been sitting for about 5 or 6 minutes when someone asked if I was American. I always answer in the affirmative and I’ve only gotten positive reactions. One time, a crazy homeless man wandered into the internet cafe I was using and asked if I was an American. When I said yes, he yelled for joy and started to scream that America was the best, praise be to Allah for bringing an American to Yemen, etc. He was ushered out, but he kept up his outburst outside until something else caught his attention… Anyway, the guy in the restaurant asked if I knew how to get a visa to visit the US. As I’ve mentioned before, this is the number one question I get. I have no idea how to do that, maybe I should find out so that I can stop disappointing people.:-) His daughter is a permanent resident in the US, but he is still having trouble getting a visa. Many people have told me that they were turned down even for tourist visas with no explanation given. We all know the reason, State doesn’t want to risk letting a terrorist through, so unless you’ve got ironclad character references, you don’t get to go…

As I was trying to flag down a dabob (a local mini bus) a guy pulled into the parking space next to me and told me that he hated this country. Yesterday I would have agreed with him, but today for whatever reason, I was in a better mood. He started to explain how the people were “bad” and that the country sucks. Of course he was in a Mercedes and speaking in English, so I bet he’s been to other places and has a decent frame of reference. I flagged down my dabob before we got very far in the conversation…

The meal was pretty good, it was different than the usual stuff I get because it had white rice! Now that may not sound like a big deal, but I do like rice a lot. Almost all of the rice here is cooked with cardamon (they put this in their tea too) and cloves. It tastes really exotic the first couple of times, but I got tired of it really quick. This restaurant is supposed to be a Syrian one, maybe that’s why I like it more than the others.:-)

Isaac

Everyone knows that Yemen is riddled with corruption. It isn’t alone, most countries in it’s condition have the same problem. The parliament is in the process of convening a panel (30 people strong) to combat corruption. Everyone is pretty cynical about it, after all, the people in parliament aren’t exactly innocent bystanders. I have a little hope though, one of the panel’s main goals is to get rid of so called legal corruption. Apparently there are a variety of posts and laws that have at their basis the idea that someone in the government will take money from people and put it in their pocket. As you might imagine, the people that have these posts and take advantage of these laws are going to fight any attempt to get rid of their privilege. One guy who was supposed to be in charge of anti corruption efforts was removed after he let it be known that government posts should not be things to be handed down to sons. A bunch of sheiks objected and had him removed from office.

Several people have asked me what I thought Yemen needed to do to get out of poverty. Well, it’s no secret that the countries that engage in free trade, allow foreign capital to come in, and have as little a government footprint (as a percentage of GDP) do the best. Of course implementing those things straight away here would be a disaster. The corruption is just too deep. This is similar to Russia’s problems… Economists refer to the government’s protection of private property (and other rights) and it’s ability to police itself as “The rule of Law.” I heard on another podcast that free trade and commerce assumes a respect for justice. That’s true, but it also goes the other way, you can’t have free trade without justice. How to get to that point is a troubling problem. I think that a free press would help, but many here do not support the idea of a free press. They feel that incidents like the Mohammed cartoons “prove” that the press can’t be totally free. Hmm, maybe that’s the answer, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the culture here was a power (and hence corruption) enabler and a freedom hater. What kind of legislation can change a culture? None, parliament will find that it can’t fight this problem with laws, something else has to change, but I don’t know what.

Isaac

yemen middle east economics corruption

I’ve been thinking about buying some real souvenirs from this place. Not the chintzy made for tourists stuff, but actual cultural artifacts. I have some of the handmade clothing from Zabeed and now I’m looking for something else. The obvious thing would be to get a Jambiya, the curved dagger that is worn by men here. I might get one, but I object to them on several different levels. The first one is that they aren’t actual knives at all. There is a blade, but it is a complete afterthought. They are typically flimsy, Indian made things that look like blades but can’t hold a very good edge. Even if they could, the shape of the blade makes it all but useless. All of the value is in the handle. A Jambiya is purely for looks and status, nothing else. In that vein, a friend of mine once commented on how funny it was that some men throw their jacket over the handle of their knife (it is always worn in the front, right in the center) making it look as though they are walking around with giant erections. “They wish” was my only comment but it occurred to me that that is the entire purpose of the Jambiya, a mine is bigger than yours because I have more status… The whole thing is slightly repugnant,,,

Then there’s the cost. You can buy ones made for tourists for the equivalent of 15 or 20 bucks. Those are made in India mostly and to those of us in the country for any length of time, they look silly. The best ones to get are the older ones. Black rhino horn handles are the most desirable and most expensive. I find them incredibly dull, if I were to get one, I would get an older one with a metal handle. These are not worn by people with “high” status like sheiks or judges, but they are much nicer looking. They usually have all sorts of elaborate metal work done to them and they look quite lovely. The same goes for the scabbard. Good versions of these will run between $300-$1200 depending on who the previous owner was, how old it is, and the level of craftsmanship involved. The new ones are typically made of bone, but if I were to get a new one, I would get one with an agate handle. I’m not sure how much they cost…

I might get a jambiya, nothing says “Yemen” quite as much as one. I am leaning more towards picking up some art. There are several galleries in the main souk and there are some decent things in there. I was looking at some prints, they run about $50 a piece unframed. Some of them are quite striking, and they are about 16×20 inches, so it’s a lot of bang for the buck. Today I saw some really interesting mixed media images. They are original pieces, not prints. They are also quite “precious” as they are around 5×7 inches. Framed, they are going for $200 a piece. I’m torn, I like all of the things I’ve mentioned, but I could only get one of the original pieces I think. On the other hand, for the same amount of money I could have 4 prints… Hmmm. Decisions decisions. Being small has the advantage of being easy to get home… I’ll figure it out pretty soon I think.

Isaac

I was attempting to explain to Abdul Summit the problems that affect the American public school system. I was concentrating on the differences between the well to do neighborhoods and the poorer, mostly inner city schools. As I told him about the poor areas in the US, he interrupted me with the one word question, “Poor?!” I had difficulty saying “Poor for America”, not because I didn’t know how to say it in Arabic, but because of the look he was giving me. Once again, I felt foolish talking about the “problems” in America. If there’s one thing that this trip has taught me, it is how good we have it in the US and how much people want what we have. I have probably been asked 25 or 30 times if I knew a way for someone to get a work visa for the US. I honestly don’t, but even if i did, I have a feeling that it would be a long shot coming from Yemen. Oh well, hopefully we won’t have any more conversations comparing the US with here in class…

Isaac

economics yemen middle east america usa

Walking home from my unsuccesful bout with my website, I was struck at how beautiful the old city is at night. Everyone should see this at some point in their life.

Isaac

Actually, I think her name is Mikko, but her accent is so strong it’s tough to tell. Her students call her Mike… She’s from Japan and she’ll be in Yemen for two years! If that’s not crazy enough, she’s here as a table tennis instructor for women! There’s a push to get more women involved in sports here. One of the big problems is the lack of facilities here. The women can’t play in the same buildings as the guys since they’ll be out of “uniform” (don’t get me started on that…). Anyway, she’s been brought over to coach the girls in the finer aspects of table tennis. I used to play quite a bit back in college, but I haven’t played much since. It was fun, but I don’t think I’d be much of an opponent based on how far my pool game has slipped, LOL.

Isaac

آلي آلعكة

Isaac