Litter was everywhere. It was as if a dumper truck had simply spewed its contents into the street. Random men were lazing about in whatever shade they could find – inside doorways, under trees, besides walls – all of them chewing khat, the ubiquitous drug of choice for men along the horn of Africa. For thousands of years, from the wilds of Yemen to the northern reaches of Kenya, millions of East African men (and sometimes women) had been chewing away on lumps of green leaves to get their stimulation. From what I could see, the men of Djibouti loved it, for all were munching away on the government-approved euphoria, cheeks bulging, teeth stained green. Every morning, fresh lorry loads arrived from neighbouring Ethiopia, which was then distributed among local khat sellers, who sold
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