The Eclipse: Fear in Yemen & Joy in the Rest of the World [Archives:1999/33/Last Page]

It happened at 3:00 p.m last Wednesday. Yemenis were so frightened of what they thought could be a disaster on their health. The exaggerated many repeated warnings on TV, radio, and written press, add to that the illiteracy and simplicity of the Yemeni people made them feel that they should stay under the blankets all evening. I walked along the street in the cloudy afternoon to see that the roads and streets of the capital city of Sanaa were all abandoned as if an evil spirit would go down to earth and capture the souls of the people who weren’t in their shelters. 
At the same time, people in modern countries such as France, Britain, and even in Lebanon were all waiting in anticipation of the wonderful moments of the eclipse. They all had their protecting glasses on them and were ready to view the spectacular view of the historical moments of the final eclipse in the twentieth century. But in Yemen, fear and worry of diseases and blindness were controlling the public. 
Any way, even though most of us were not able to see it directly, the eclipse did take place. However, the partial eclipse was not so evident in Sanaa because of the cloudy weather and because it only covered around 50% of the sun. After the eclipse was over, people started going back to the streets, asking each other “have you noticed the eclipse?” The best answer was saying, “I only saw it on TV.” 
The historical and magical moments witnessed in the streets of Paris and Bucharest were full of fear and worries in Yemen. The main reason for that is illiteracy. What a pity! 
This event had shown me that we still have a long way to go before we can enjoy the beautiful scenery of an eclipse -after wearing the protection glasses- in one of the green parks of Sanaa, instead of hiding in our homes under our blankets! 
By the Editor
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