This is one of those diversity is strength reports from Europe. Since we know Europe is ahead of us in its reverence for multiculturalism, take heed.
From AFP news:
UITHOORN, Netherlands — A small Dutch city less than 20 kilometres from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport has become the hub of Europe’s sales of khat, a plant chewed for its stimulant qualities, soon to be banned in the Netherlands.
In a discreet warehouse tucked away in the city of Uithoorn, around a hundred Somalis and Yemenis were haggling over the latest delivery: a tonne of khat.
“The arrival of the delivery varies daily, depending on the flight from Kenya,” said a khat importer of the plant which drug authorities say produces a natural amphetamine when chewed.
The men sit around and chew the stuff, talk politics, and get high in the welfare capitols of Europe (especially as this report points out, in Scandinavia).
Residents of this ‘khat market’ city have had it.
Three khat deliveries a day, weighing about a tonne each, are taken to Uithoorn by truck from Amsterdam-Schiphol airport, 15 kilometres (nine miles) to the northwest. From Uithoorn it is sold to wholesale dealers and then resold throughout Europe.
But 15 of the European Union’s 27 states and Norway have already listed khat as an illegal narcotic and the Netherlands too announced earlier this month it would ban khat.
Local businesses have also complained about the commotion at the “khat market,” one of the reasons for the Dutch decision.
“Some days there may be more than 200 cars in the street,” sighed Uithoorn mayor Dagmar Oudhoorn.
Residents are tired, she said, adding “there is a real fear of crime and traffic problems.”
[…..]
Two-thirds of the khat at Uithoorn were exported illegally from the Netherlands, mainly to Scandinavia, the Somali importer told AFP.
The Somali khat “importer” goes on to wonder why the Dutch are so intolerant, but brushes it off with a promise to find another way to get his khat and make his illicit drug money when the Dutch ban goes into effect.
We’ve written about khat in the US from time to time. It is here too. This is our khat archive (Minnesota, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and more!).
Note to readers: I’ve been meaning to mention that on the many days lately that I don’t get time to post here, I can always be sure my reader numbers stay up because hundreds of people search every day for posts here on Somalis—Somalis in Minnesota, Somalis in Maine, Somali numbers, Somalis in Canada, why so many Somalis and so forth. See what I mean, go to the right hand side bar and look at “Top Posts” to see what old posts everyone is reading.