Yemeni smiths craft daggers from missile pieces
355 views · Published 14 October 2018 · 1:40 · Indexed 4 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(9 Oct 2018) Thousands of deadly airstrikes are pounding Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition which is fighting Houthi rebels but killing thousands of civilians. In most cases, jets drop US-made munitions. While some bury their dead, others rush to the sites of the airstrikes to collect the valuable fragments of the missiles. Over fire and with hammers, Yemeni blacksmiths turn the fragments into daggers or Jambiyya. The daggers are curved sword like hooks and they are part of the Yemeni traditional attire. The blade is made of steel and the shape of the hilt often refers to the region or the tribe of its bearer. The price also depends on whether the hilt is made out of wood, buffalo horn, or Rhinoceros horns. The most expensive Jambiyya is the one with a horn hilt, of thousands of dollars. Ali Ghomari, a Yemeni blacksmith, told the Associated Press at his hometown, Abs: "As a result of the strike or the missiles which land next to us, we then pick part of remains of these shrapnel and beat them on fire and make from them the knives and we make from them the daggers and the white weapon, al-Janabi," he said. It's not the first time Yemenis used remains of the war in making daggers. In 1960s, Ghomari recalls that his father used Egyptian tank treads and mortar shells in making daggers. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/4a052b864499c5ad2e0a46fe07b67d39
