Dubai
I am a resident of Dubai’s International City and would like to raise an issue that I have come across on many instances. There is a community garden between the buildings in the Spain Cluster. This is supposed to be used by the residents for a leisurely walk or just to relax for a bit. However, people are using it as their personal laundry room.
I have seen people place their laundry over the plants or trees so it can dry under the sun. I was appalled by this sight. Do we behave like this in our homes, too? I surely hope not. Then why do we have to behave in this manner outside? We must consider the community as our home, too and must behave or act like responsible inhabitants.
The other issue that I have noticed is something very common. Many people either place empty plastic bottles or cans close to the plants or throw them into the bushes in the garden area. Even though the authorities have placed trash bins at every few hundred metres, this practice of littering continues. There is a trash can next to this garden, but people do not use it.
It seems that we are only good at blaming the authorities for the lack of cleanliness in a particular area. Are they solely responsible for keeping the community clean? We, as residents, should share the responsibility and at least keep the areas that we live in clean, without waiting for the authorities to penalise us for our actions. I hope someday people’s mindsets will change.
— The reader is based in Dubai.
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