Posted in: Yemen Observer
Interviewed By: Raghda Gamal
Article Date: Feb 3, 2009
Susanne Sporrer and Klaus Heymach are two German journalists who visited Yemen for the first time in February 2005 to work as freelance journalists. They lived in Yemen for a year, and upon returning to Germany decided to write a book about their experiences in the country. The real driving force behind their desire to write a book about Yemen is their many stories and experiences from Yemen. The authors hope to share their encounters with ordinary Yemeni’s, and feel their stories may surprise those who know little about the country. The stories they have accumulated are to substantial and personal to be published in newspapers, so they decided to write their book, which was published in November 2008. The book was written in German, though the German House in Sana’a is working on translating it into Arabic.
Yemen Observer (YO): - Can you tell our readers why you decided to write about Yemen?
Susanne Sporrer (SS): - When we arrived in Yemen for the first time, we did not have any plans to write about the country. We came to Yemen to study Arabic and to work as freelance journalists for German newspapers. However, we came across a number of stories about Yemen which were unsuitable for newspapers. These include stories about living in old Sana’a, and our relationships with neighbors. For example, we wrote a chapter about renting our house in the Old City, and the differences between living in Sana’a and in Germany. Usually journalists visit a country to write a story or get the news in five or six days, leaving soon after. However we took our time, trying to really get to know the people living around us.
Klaus Heymach (KH): - The publishing house was keen to publish a book about Yemen, especially one dealing with the daily life of people in Yemen. Foreigners are fascinated by Yemen, however many fear visiting the country, so at the very least they would like to read about it. We hope our book will help people overcome this fear, and develop a different perspective of Yemen grounded in the real-life experiences of others.
YO: - Can we say that this is the message you are trying to convey through your book?
SS: - We attempted to provide a better look at Yemeni morality; as the standard European view of Yemen is a very traditional country with completely alien values. Yes, Yemen is very different and conservative, but we wanted to show that all manner of people can be found in the country, and Yemeni people are generally open-minded
KH: - There are a number of renowned and talented poets in the country, as well as several strong Yemeni women’s rights activists. Our aim was to show what exists behind the headlines, because as journalists we know the media shows only kidnappings, violence, and poverty when discussing Yemen. To this end, we spoke with poor men to show they live normal lives; they go out to meet their friends, and they are interested in poetry as well as music.
YO: - What is the overall theme of the book?
SS: - The theme of the book is daily life in Yemen.
KH: - The book includes more than twenty chapters, which are based on the people we have met and the stories we have covered. However unlike our newspaper articles, the book provides far more detail.
SS: - Yes, more detail and more personal views - when you cover a story as a journalist, you don’t generally write about how you feel, or how you meet the person with whom you are speaking. There are chapters about how Yemeni women are often forced to marry men who do not interest them, or another about Sufi schools in the country. We have even written about the problems facing the staff at the Yemen Observer when they published the cartoon images of the prophet.
YO: - What were the challenges you faced in writing the book?
SS: - The challenges we faced generally involved the language barrier. We thought since we had traveled to China in the past without speaking Chinese and managed, we could do the same in Yemen. However, being unable to speak Arabic made the entire experience very difficult, and challenged many of our pre-existing ideas about Yemen. At first, I didn’t feel comfortable because of the way people looked at me. I was also concerned about what I should wear, but after the initial shock, we discovered that in Yemen you will always meet someone willing to help, or better yet solve your problems.
KH: - Another challenge we faced in writing the book was the need to write longer texts than we are accustomed to as journalists. Normally, we would write 500 word articles, but one chapter was probably longer than any story we had written for newspapers.
YO: - You wrote chapter by chapter together, why did you do this?
SS: - I had somewhat different experiences than Klaus, and so as a result I wrote about different issues than Klaus. For instance, sometimes I would meet women, while he couldn’t. Similarly, he went to Sufi schools in Tarem which I could not visit. This combination of experiences which we were unable to share makes for a more interesting book, and made us an even stronger team for this piece of work.
KH: - Of course, we shared our different experiences with one another, for instance, my Qat chews, and the social atmosphere I experienced when talking to people and enjoying the music.
YO: - Sounds like you enjoyedYemen? KH: - Of course!
SS: - Our first visit was one year, though we feel one year is not enough to learn everything we needed to know, so we returned back to gather more stories.
YO: - What attracts you the most to Yemen?
KH: - I would say the easy access to the people, including their hospitality and open-mindedness. What fascinated me the most was how open people were with invitations for lunch, tea or Qat chews- especially compared to western countries.
SS: - I agree. When we visited al-Mahweet for the first time, someone invited us into his home the moment we got out of the taxi. I do not believe this will happen anywhere except Yemen.
YO: - Your book is called “Post Box Sana’a”. Why did you choose this name?
KH: - There are no postmen in Yemen, and during our time here we needed a post box of our own. The headline is meant to explain some of the hardships we faced in paying our bills and managing the electricity meter.
SS: - Yes, those things are very different in Germany.
YO: - What was your reaction when you heard about the kidnapping of Germans in Yemen?
SS: - When we first arrived in Yemen, there had not been any kidnappings in three years, and so we told our parents and friends the country was safe and they should not worry. Yet, as the kidnappings became more frequent, we began to cover them for our stories.
KH: - The problem is that in the German media, the difference between Islam and terrorism are not explained. Terrorism generally involves violence over issues between terrorist organizations and the country’s government. We never worried for our safety in Yemen, though we do know that events such as this can be very dangerous, but they remain different from the kidnappings which occur in Iraq and Afghanistan.
SS: - This does not mean that the situation has not changed, as now we no longer travel to villages outside of Sana’a.
YO: - So this hasn’t changed your positive perceptions of Yemen?
SS: - No, but the situation has changed because now there are more frequent terrorist attacks
KH: - Still, you have to be realistic- you are more likely to be killed in a car accident than a terrorist attack.
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