Visitors to Saudi Arabia are often taken aback by the casual indifference to the presence of trash all around. Trash in the airports, trash on the roads, trash on the sidewalks and trash just about everywhere. Were it not for the armies of municipal workers, who feverishly follow us to pick up the mess we leave behind, the country would be overwhelmed and buried under trash. And it is not long before many who arrive join the bandwagon become equally lax in disposing of garbage.
Whoever we may be or wherever we may reside, the city we live in is our address to the world. And it does not matter if we are Saudi or an expatriate, Asian or a European, young or old. We all are components of a larger force that makes up the metropolis we live in. And yet, I am becoming increasingly alarmed that the city I live in has been getting progressively messier and dirtier. More so, perhaps, because such apparent eyesores conflict so dramatically with the routine announcements by officials as to how vastly improved the city has become.
The civic sense that should be developed through the populace seems to be vanishing in the face of other priorities such as making a living or sending enough money home. And one of the losers in this game of life is the duty of each and every one of us to ensure that we keep our surroundings neat and clean. The enormous load of refuse we discard on our streets every day is simply such a heavy load for the municipal cleaners to deal with.
To drive home the point, a European diplomat wrote to me: “I drive every day a short distance from my house to office. The dirt, along with objects blowing in the wind, is incredible. Somehow it looks to me that the best efforts of the city administration cannot deal anymore with the refuse on the streets.
‘Spirited effort’
“I fear for the next rain, for it will not be the mass of water or the missing drainage facilities that will be the cause of floods, but the garbage blocking the inlets of the drainage system. Could not a national weekend for cleaning up Jeddah be advertised and promoted with the simple message: ‘The inhabitants of each house, each block, just clean in front, behind and at the sides of your dwelling, up to the middle border of the next house/block’.
“With a joint and spirited effort, many streets and alleys could be freed immediately from these ‘flying’ objects and Jeddah could become a little bit more hospitable for its residents ... I am a guest here. If I do not like it, I can leave the country. Still, so long as I am here, I feel something [for the city]. Seriously, it pains me to see all this refuse. With a little effort it could be much different.”
Such words, coming from an individual who has a few years at best in the city before his next assignment moves him out, should give enough reason to others to sit up and take note. Very few indulge in littering out of ignorance. And it is mostly out of sheer laziness that we fail to make sure trash is disposed of in appropriate containers. Litter, including empty soda cans, is flung out of speeding vehicles onto sidewalks or on the roads. Paper and plastic are dumped just about everywhere except in the nearest garbage can.
Our religion places great emphasis on cleanliness and purification in both the physical and spiritual sense. Unfortunately, in much of the Muslim world, the proper disposal of trash is of secondary importance. The attention to hygiene is a call that no other religion has initiated in such detail. Islam insists on hygiene to the point of it being mandatory for the fulfilment of one’s duties. The ablution before every prayer is a case in point. The message and spirit behind the concept of cleanliness is much beyond the superficial concept of conventional cleanliness. That means following practices that contribute towards a clean society. While a father can teach his children the importance of keeping the neighbourhood and the city clean, it must be led by example. A parent who carelessly dumps trash out of their car window while driving is often observed by their offspring, who in turn will do the same one day. An employer or a fellow worker not committed to this civic sense can inadvertently influence others towards bad habits.
The city of Jeddah is home to many people. And it doesn’t matter whether one is a Saudi, Pakistani, Indian, British or Nigerian. Let us all take pride as residents — no matter how temporary our stay may be.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him at twitter.com/@talmaeena.
