A tribesman from Shabwa governorate to Yemen Times: “I have plans to ‘kidnap’ 5,000 more tourists!” [Archives:2001/09/Last Page]

Yasser Mohamed 
Yemen Times 
In an extraordinary statement to Yemen Times, Abdullah Saleh Al-Hammami, a tribesman from Wadi Hammam in Shabwa openly said that he intends to ‘kidnap’ 5,000 or more tourists in the coming months and hold them captive in his hometown in Shabwa Governorate for a certain period of time. 
“I am planning to kidnap and take these tourists to desert areas in Shabwa and Hadhramout. I have all the means to abduct these tourists and take them where I want. This is not a threat, but rather a plan that I will implement soon, for a reason that I have in mind.” 
“I have already ‘kidnapped’ a group of tourists and did indeed take them as hostages to a desert area near Mareb, and you are the first newspaper to know that I did this. I ‘kidnapped’ them and transported them to the hideout using my pickup TOYOTA vehicle. I even took some photos of the hostages while they were held in the deserted area in Mareb.” he added. 
Indeed, Abdullah Al-Hammami ‘kidnapped’ a group of tourists (21 tourists) for one night on Friday and took them to Mareb. But it was rather a delightful sort of kidnapping in an atmosphere of joy and happiness. 
In a trip sponsored by Yemen Times, the group was willingly ‘kidnapped’ and taken by Abdullah and his gangs in an convoy of TOYOTA vehicles to the desert area in Mareb. Yemen Times was able to capture the moments of joy of the lucky tourists minute by minute and get their impressions about the wonderful kidnapping, which turned out to be a delightful tourist ‘desert’ trip. 
“Wonderful”, “spectacular”, “magical”, “fantastic”, “unique”, etc. were among the words that the tourists used to describe the desert trip that they would never forget all their lives.    Abdullah Al-Hammami, the organizer of the trip and the owner of “Yellow Sand” tourism agency, thanked Yemen Times for its sponsorship of the event and said, “Yellow Sand is the first agency of its kind in Yemen in the field of desert tourism. This particular type of tourism involves eating, hunting, and living as a Bedouin in all aspects. Desert tourism has been promoted in many Gulf states, and it is about time we have it in Yemen. After all, Yemen enjoys what many Gulf countries don’t. It has marvelous, vast deserts and friendly Bedouins in many places still living the same way the did for centuries. It has fabulous tourist attractions, such as the Temple of Queen Sheba, which also lies in a deserted area. Desert tourism also involves skating on sand, training in shooting, driving 4-WD vehicles, barbecuing ‘tribal’ style, gathering around a fire, and a lot of joyful activities.” 
From the satisfaction and smiles on the faces of the tourists that witnessed a delightful night on the golden sand in Mareb we can see how successful this tourism could be. 
“Not only are such activities enjoyable and interesting for western tourists and tourists from all over the world, but they are also secure and safe as we have the widest communication network that ensures that tourists would not only enjoy a safe and secure trip, but that shows them the true life of tribes and Bedouins and takes them to many fascinating places.” Al-Hammami said.      He added, “Yemeni tribes are known to be friendly, generous, and polite. It is unfair to think about them as violent and unfriendly. We should not show them that we are afraid of or hesitant to meet them. We should get closer to them and learn their ways of life, their environments, and make friendships with them. I can tell you that desert tourism has a great potential to grow and prosper in Yemen.”
On the security issue, Yemen Times interviewed Brigadier General Ahmed Barab’ima, the Security Manager of oil companies in Shabwa and Mareb governorates who said, “I believe that this is the best time for desert tourism. We have the best conditions to make sure everything goes smoothly so as all tourists could enjoy a secure and safe trip and stay in the desert. Such projects, such as what “Yellow Sand” is doing is going to mark a tremendous success for tourism in Yemen. We are no doubt able to see how well organized and efficient the agency’s team is. They already have good coordination with our units, and they are trying to show the great benefits in meeting, talking to, and living the life of Bedouins in the splendid deserts of Yemen. All the events that happened in the past regarding kidnappings were only because of the needs of the tribes etc., and things have become quite stable lately. 
I have a feeling that tourism in these particular areas will be a major source of revenue for the tribes in these areas that always welcome tourists from all over the world to live their life and enjoy the beauty of the desert. The Mareb region in particular is more stable now as many tribesmen have been employed in different sectors in the area, and this new development in tourism could build confidence between tourists, tourism agencies and tribesmen, and could potentially minimize if not diminish kidnappings in the future.” 
On the other hand, Sheikh Abdulhakeem bin Ajjaj Al-Nahdi, a prominent sheikh in the Mareb area openly said, “Desert tourism is an excellent idea, particularly for Yemen. I personally could feel this from the number of requests that we receive for sand skating, desert picnicking, etc. Many workers in the foreign oil companies here and their relatives and friends enjoy such activities, and I believe it has a prosperous future ahead of it.”At the end of the night, the group of tourists who enjoyed their time in Mareb, were safely taken back to their hotel after they had expressed their delight and appreciation to Yemen Times and Yellow Sand Agency, which promised to attract and ‘kidnap’ more tourists to enjoy such a unique experience that they will never forget. It is refreshing to see how Bedouins could reverse the views on tribes with such a noble effort that could indeed, diminish ‘true’ kidnapping incidents all together. Could this be the start of revolutionizing tourism in Yemen on a different scale and in a different dimension? Could Al-Hammami indeed be able to attract 5,000 tourists annually to enjoy such a fine tourist experience. Let’s wait and see!   


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