In Yemen, Gas Shortage Will Make You Stronger

Remember how Yemenis endlessly complained about the lack of electricity and how if they were ever to be granted a single wish, it won't be health, wealth or superman's stealth, it would simply be that of having a stable and uninterrupted supply of electricity. Unfortunately, with the wishing well dried up and genie of the lamp evacuated out of Yemen for security reasons, wish granting was left to the Yemeni government. The wise government was swift to express its incredulous disappoint with the naïveté of the people and their silly and preposterous wish. A wish that "even if attainable in fairytales, it would require nothing short of divine intervention", the government stated and put end to any and all hopes for electricity.

The government did so counting on the resilience of the people and in an effort to prepare them for the worse. God forbid should the nation one day and suddenly find itself faced with recurrent electricity blackouts. And it worked; people have accepted fate, trained well and armed with personal home electricity generators, now live happily with no need of state provided electricity. No more complaints but from a handful of rowdy troublemakers who are most likely communists still demanding a state wide national electricity grid from the wise government.

The government, happy with its public training program to toughen the nation, is now raising the bar and cutting off gas supply. Gas that is essential for cars commuting to work, home, and elsewhere. Especially so critical for the home generators providing alternative electricity supply where state could only provide but for a few hours a day. People complained and even threatened to overthrow the government, but in the end complied and accepted fate, just like they did with the electricity. They queued in long long lines for gas where it was randomly made available in limited quantities and in same manner abruptly cut off for unknown periods of time.

People said that the hunt for gas is a tenuous exersize. Finding an open gas station is a challenge as all are extendedly closed for lack of gas and only open for brief periods of time when the government delivers very limited quantities to them. Even then, luckily stumbling upon an open gas station isn't the hard part, queuing for hours was. Fortunately though, I was one of those privileged pricks whom had a driver to do the queuing for me. But he went on leave as any employee eventually would. And so today I had the pleasure of spending 4.5hrs in a ridiculously long car queue for gas. Queue was of 3 lanes that squeezed into two lanes at certain bottlenecks and approximately 1.5KM long. Queue jammed street leading to the gas station to point where most than not, only a few inches were between cars and pavement, even less bumper to bumper or car side to other.

I initially had queued for a little less than an hour at the gas station on my block but by time I was about 10 cars away from pump, they were already out of gas. So like every other guy in this car queue, after cursing everything and everybody and a quick run through the seven stages of grief, I diligently sped to the main gas station in capital. That gas station, owned and operated by the state petroleum company, 'never shuts down or runs out of gas', so was told, but additionally warned that I shouldn't be discouraged by long queue. Meh, I thought to myself, with my car running on fumes and lack of other options, I didn't care if queue was the length of the Great Wall of China as long as it meant getting gas in the end.

However, arriving at station, I was somewhat taken aback by huge car jam. More so by clearly agitated soldiers violently pushing back and rejecting mob armed with jerrycans demanding gas for their generators. A soldier jumped on trunk of army car and yelled, "We have our orders, no gas is to be pumped into jerrycans, barrels, or the like. Listen to me, you may be telling the truth when saying you need it for your generators, but we have caught many whom buy gas here just to resell in black market. Cars only". Angry mob frenzied by faulty logic of ban responded with, "Damn you and your stupid government, we could as easily queue with car then empty fuel tank and sell if that was the intention. If you won't allow the pumping of gas into jerrycans, then either fix the electricity or we will return to queue with our empty generators".

Gas tank for my home generator was half full, will join the jerrycans riot another day, I reckoned as I slowly drove in opposite direction to find start of queue. Picked up speed as start of line seemed a bit far. Still driving, at full speed now, squinting in disbelief at monstrous queue with no end in sight. By time I found queue line, 2.5km from station, I was hysterically banging on wheel with "what kind of a sick joke is this!", and "what the heck is this government, if any exists, is doing!", and loudly so.

While I am sure many noted my outburst, majority simply ignored me and driver in adjacent lane forced himself to an uneasy smile with half a nod under a persistent glare of mine of, "what, don't tell me you are okay with this nonsense". Realizing I just made a fool out of myself, I slowly rolled up my tinted glass as I shamefully sank into my chair to wallow in disgrace and contemplate daunting task ahead. Now a bit calm, I reasoned that my tantrum didn't garner the subconsciously wished for public reaction due to either my audience, admittedly few, being still half asleep and not wanting to join in a 'let's see who can dis the government the most' this early in the morning, or that they saw me as a spoiled child when they've all have graciously accepted fate and dealing with it; my ego went with the obviously logical reason, the being the former.

Don't get me wrong, I am not being a drama queen here, I have been in longer car queues and traffic jams before. For those whom have had such bad fortune, they know well what I speak of when saying that there is a huge difference between a 1:00hr and a 1:05hr queue (the extra 5minutes is an eternity of waiting). For those whom haven't yet (yes, it is inevitable, you will one day be stuck in one, no escaping it), it's the extra 5minutes at occupied lavatory door on plane after an hour of struggling to hold your water and finally frantically running through aisle cursing your stupidity for notion it would eventually evaporate through your sweat glands if held long enough. Oh, while on that, here's fun fact, only way to relieve yourself while in queue is/was the empty plastic bottle you had in backseat but threw out of window yesterday amidst pleas of environmentally conscious friend begging you to at least throw in garbage can and not onto street. Haha, hippie karma.

Anyway, at 1:05 hrs into this hellish queue you try and take glass half full with a "yup yup, a self pat on back, I can do this" while ignoring voice in head saying you are an oblivious idiot. You shut it out and shift focus to the now one thousand and one mile long queue pondering if it was intentional to locate gas station on top of hill so that poor fellows like me can see full length of line from all way down here while contemplating suicide.

Doubt and desperation further sunk in by realizing that queue is barely moving and efforts to stay calm futile because of these things happening in the following sequence: frantic honking (a musical performed by a choir of a thousand angry drivers and their cars), engines start, most colorful words and curses sworn at top voice urging driver ahead to quickly crawl forward and close two meters gap left by advance of queue, roaring engines, pedal to metal, full throttle, almost instantaneously apply brakes with enough force and strength just a tad bit short off leg going through floor Flintstones style to prevent hitting car ahead, pray driver behind you has good brakes, new tires and enough control of nervous system/leg on pedal not to rear end you, sigh of relief, shut down engine, repeat.

Dosing off or leaving your car are not an option throughout the aforementioned nerve wrecking exercise. So what happens if a car breaks down, or as more likely and logically expected from citywide gas shortage, car basically runs out of gas while in queue and engine simply dies? A horrifying scenario! God have mercy on driver of a car holding up line, I thought, and further prayed to Optimus Prime and all the Transformer gods that they lend their strength to the engines in queue. Turns out tempting fate through heresy only gets you smitten by the real and only God; the car in front me broke down.

I froze in mortified disbelief. I should go bumper to bumper pushing car ahead, I thought, while brain racing with how much it would cost to repair bumper afterwards, heck he needs help and that's all that matters I decided. I snapped out of it and quickly opened door, sharply caught breath as almost put dint in door of car queuing too darn close in lane next to mine, sighed in relief and rushed to the poor fellow's aid to appease mob surely ripping him apart by now.

- "Do you have a rope?", a guy coming from behind me through narrow aisle between car lanes asked as I dismounted.

- It irritated me, I'm in a hurry, I need to save somebody's life, so rudely brushed off with, "What! No, sorry, no rope". Conscious of decency red flag, turned back around and followed with, "Why do you need a rope anyway?".

- "The car in front of you won't start for some reason so the driver ahead of him offered to tow him through queue. But both drivers don't have any rope and we (referring to other drivers in proximity) are trying to find them some. Oh well, if we can't find any, I guess we (there he goes again with the collective of we!) will have to push the poor guy's car all the way to the station". Turns out he is a driver of a car from lane next to ours and trying to be a good Samaritan.

- Still though, are you insane, I almost screamed back, but luckily words uttered were, "ah, that's a very far gas station!".

- "Well we can't just push him out of queue", he responded with a smile and dramatic gesture at three lane queue that filled street pavement to pavement with no shoulder or space to park car at.

- I gazed ahead and came back to him with a grin, "look there (pointing ahead), seems there's an exit some 300meters further, I guess we will at least have to push him that far and get some exercise doing so uphill, haha".

- He ignored where I was pointed at and my awkward sense of humor effectively slapping smile from his face to be replaced by a scornful and judgmental glare intensely fixed on me, "in case you haven't noticed, he is driving a taxi cab, which means his livelihood depends on getting this gas". Assertively adding, "it's fine if you don't want to help, but nobody will push him out of queue, and I will push alone if I have too and all the way to the gas station".

- With all eyes on me of now small crowd (other drivers and passengers) gathered at scene, I frantically tried to offer back an explanation of daunting task and my willingness to help whatever way I can but was overwhelmed by mob cheering the Samaritan with "well said", "we will ALL push him along", and "will push his car up Sumara (extremely high and steep mountain in Yemen) and all the way to Aden if we have to".

Outgunned, outnumbered, and dignity wiped the floor with, I should've ran back to my car shamed and disgraced. But I didn't. I was giddy. I stood there grinning like a fool while taking in whole scene and relishing experience of what just happened; this is a most genuine and heartwarming humane moment that I was extremely lucky to witness. The guy who boosted the Sumara comment took my glee for ridicule and jestingly tested, "what, you don't think we can push his car up Sumara mountain", to which I almost too eagerly, seeing a chance to redeem myself, responded with, "are you kidding me, with these spirits, you could push Sumara itself and all the way to Aden".

The remainder of the three and half hours waiting in queue went by too fast. Yes, too fast that I almost wished gas station was moved a few miles further down the road. Why? Well because queue took a life of its own, a microorganism made of complete strangers of different ages from all walks of life, social standings, political views and affiliations yet moved in sync with the weakest link and acted with heavenly bliss. Think I am exaggerating, well at one point I noticed my car in queue had made it adjacent to a grocery shop and thought people must be thirsty in this blistering sun so ran and bought a few bottles of water and distributed to drivers in proximity. Happy with myself, quickly got back to my car and found an ice cream cup left by a stranger on my dashboard; whoever he was, he didn't care to make a show of it or my personal acknowledgment of gift for that matter, he just felt like people would appreciate it and did so.

It was too good to be true. Well, not too surreal and childlike of be good do good momentary utopia. There were incidents here and there, albeit few, where bumpers more than just kissed, and even then, while drivers of both cars would exit their vehicles in a fury, other drivers would do so quicker to break up fight and call for cooler heads to prevail.

Only time I saw real contempt and drivers frenzied to point of ripping a man's limbs apart was when an opportunistic car drove from side street trying to cut half into queue. All hell broke loose then, and understandably so from driver whom have followed rules and queued for hours, only to be cut off by an opportunistic violating intruder. Even in that, there was still a silver lighting, the driver went berserk was not alone, he was joined by and more often beaten to clenching throat of intruding driver by a now informally established band of brothers (other drivers in his proximity) seemingly sworn to protect and keep queue in order.

Funny how such a band of misfits at one point turned away a Sheikh's car packed with men armed to teeth whom tried to force their way in mid queue by menacingly waving their guns and incoherently swearing death threats.

I ended up towing the car behind me which broke down halfway through and using a piece of rope that was bought by another driver from shop adjacent to queue, offered to us free of charge, with a big smile, and a, "we are all in this together and need to help each other". 

The driver of the car I was about to tow insisted he pay for rope but other driver comically acting insulted rejected with, "I help you today, and Allah will send you or some other complete stranger to help me and those whom I love in my movement of need tomorrow". 

Beautiful, I thought to myself, absolutely and positively spirit lifting. This is the true face of Yemen, this is what Yemenis are made of, this is why I love Yemen, this is why despite all the hardships, the terrorists, and all that is wrong with Yemen, I have always been and will always be proud to be a Yemeni