Facing Qat Damage Society holds festivalQat does not make life [Archives:2004/749/Local News]

Taiz Bureau
The Qat Combating Association held a carnival at Taiz Cultural Center on Thursday June 17 under the title, “Qat does not make life”.
The carnival consisted of speeches, several musical and theatrical activities in addition to reviewing some of the activities of the organizing association.
Mr. Shokry Al-Gharesi, President of the association and Director General of Ghee and Soap Company pointed out in his address that the efforts of the association during the past six years, since its foundation, continue to encourage students and all segments of society to quit chewing qat. The ultimate goal of the association is realise the slogan, “Yemen without Qat”.
The association has targeted more than 70 thousand students and distributed more than 200 thousand related brochures and it continue to create public awareness of the negative consequences of chewing Qat.
The association focuses some of its attention on delivering lectures at mosques, organizing discussion rings, sports centers and other social gathering places continuously and on a weekly basis. The association regularly organizes sports events and various sports tournaments such as tennis and football as well as marathons to divert the attention of youths away from qat sessions.
Mr. Al-Gharesi demanded that the state must create and find other alternatives to the farmers growing and planting qat, as well as to establish recreational facilities for the youths to spend their afternoons in, such as public parks and sports centers, at least in accordance with the recommendations of the April 2002 National Conference on Qat.
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