Asking To Hold An AK In Aden, Yemen: Brilliant
- Konrad Tillman
- Jun 14
- 3 min read
Intro
While I might review business and first-class products around the world like plenty of other bloggers, I am also not one to sit in a hotel all day or go sightseeing the whole time I am in a new location. I like to get immersed in culture, probably do something reckless, and act as if I can solve world peace (hint, I cannot at the moment).
Well, here is a story, and one I think you will probably like 😅.
The Experience
After seeing most of Aden in the previous three days, my guide asked me, "Do you want a picture with a gun". Naturally, as an idotic adrenaline seeker, of course I said yes. And while guns are now illegal to own in Aden without a permit, my guide said that the military will often just hand out their gun for a picture.
Driving through many checkpoints and getting denied while politely asking, we were about to give up until we saw a technical truck on the side of the road with 4 members of the military chewing Khat.
We made our way over there, expecting to be told no, but were astonished when the guide said, "he said yes". Perfect!
Parking the car, the military man said to me "Where are you from". I responded with, "America, my friend". He said, "I love America", as he proceeded to drape his AK across my shoulder. Huh, when in Rome, or more like Yemen. Yala Habibi 😅.
And then he just gave me his pistol. Huh?? Can I just say, the level of trust he must have had in me to give me his AK and sidearm to an American in Yemen is next level, and it shows the generosity of the people here. Truly. I was blown away so much I asked if we could take a picture together.
Just as I gave him back his very light AK (I hadn't held one in a while), he said, "Do you want to take a picture on the machine gun in the truck? It is not allowed, so be quick". Ummmm, do I want to take a picture pretending to shoot a machine gun off the back of a technical in Yemen? Do I want to? Do I? YEAHHHH.
At the end of it, I was a little confused. He just gave me a fistbump and said thank you. No ulterior motive, no nothing.
Moral Of The Story
There are no final thoughts to this topic, but I just wanted to share with you all what I think the moral of the story is: trust. It is so easy to view others in the world as people looking to take advantage of you. While I have many faults in life, one of my biggest traits is going into a situation trusting someone fully, until they break it. Not the other way around.
For this kind man to trust an American with a loaded sidearm and an AK showed me that we need more trust in this world. So whether that be with a friend, a colleague, or a military man in Yemen, be open. Inshallah ❤️
Yemen Series:
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