Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

Okaz Arabic daily is organizing Social Responsibility Meet at regular intervals. This meet gives an opportunity for the invited guests, including writers and other prominent figures, to have an interaction with some ministers and senior government officials on major topics and current issues. I was one among those who were invited to attend such a meet, and that was with the Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen.



I interposed a question into the discussion by saying: I worked with the diplomatic corps and lived in eight foreign cities. But I couldn’t recollect any incident when I found it was difficult to get enough quantity of water or dispense with sewage. What attached me then to the issue of water in any way was only the bill that I regularly received by the end of every month and that I cleared without any failure.



However, after my retirement and settling down in Jeddah, the first problem that I encountered was to get a water tanker. More difficult than this was the problem of dispensing with sewage. O minister, when do we get rid of these two problems? The minister replied that the resolution of such problems was on the way.



I was not satisfied with the minister’s reply but I was convinced that he had not given any reply other than this at that time. Anyhow, I wished that what I had said would help move the stagnant water… I was not the only person who complained about the difficulty to get water and address the running sewage problem. But anyhow there are some people who are not at all accessible to the water network. They always rely on water tankers that are not available at all time. This forces some people to resort to black market. On some occasions, it may be difficult to get water even through this way.



When I returned home which is not far away from the Okaz premises after taking part in the Meet the Minister program, I encountered with the same problem — there was no water in the tank of our building. Hence, it was indispensable for me to set out in search of water and get it as life without water is impossible. As usual, we deputed our building’s guard to go to a water station in order to bring in a tanker. But the acute shortage of water in many districts resulted in long queues in front of the water station. It was extremely difficult for the non-Saudi guards and drivers to get a water tanker coupon. They had to wait for long hours in queues designated for them. As for Saudis, they had separate queues where they need not wait for a long time unlike in the case of foreigners. I don’t know who did give the water station officials the power to segregate between Saudis and foreigners with regard to distribution of water tanker coupons even though water is essential for all. The expatriate guards or drivers approach the water station to get water for all residents of the building, including Saudis and foreigners.

Those who suffer from the delay in getting water coupon by a guard or driver include not only foreigners but Saudis also. Apart from this, the situation would force the Saudi building owner to leave his job and other engagements and go to water station in order to obtain a tanker coupon. In case the building owner was not available, then his Saudi wife would be forced to go to the water station and stand in the queue to get a coupon. Dividing those who approach the water station to get a coupon into two sections and treating them differently is inhuman and unacceptable. This creates inconvenience and suffering to both Saudis and expatriates in addition to a breeding ground for a flourishing black market. Perhaps, those Saudis who are not in a position to go to water stations in order to get a tanker coupon would ask their guards or drivers to bring in water tanker irrespective of prices.



This would result in flourishing of black market with a steep hike in the price of water and that would be quite unaffordable for people with a limited income. This happens in the case of water that is essential not only for  human beings but also for animals and plants as the Holy Qur’an says: “(We) made from water every living thing.”



The most difficult thing is how to address the problem of sewage, which has become a headache for Jeddah city. I still recall that 50 years ago when Jeddah was more or less a small city or a large village, we saw some sanitary drainage works here and there but later with the expansion of the city, such works were stopped for unknown reasons. When we asked about this, it was said that the chief of the municipality, who was also a prominent engineer, decided that Jeddah’s soil needed not such a sanitation system.



But the ground realities showed that the city of Jeddah, like any other cities in the world, needs a flawless sanitation system. But implementation of the system was at a snail’s pace and was also flawed. There were widespread rumors about large-scale corruption with the involvement of senior officials. Like others, I have had to face difficulties with regard to water woes that sometimes deepen. When water reaches our home through the pipeline, we face the other problem — running sewage. We have then to wait for our African brothers to come with their yellow tankers and drain sewage tanks. The cost of these tankers has been doubled two times over the past seven years.



Nearly five years ago, drainage works in the city had almost been completed and for this, streets were closed for some time. But, we are still waiting to see the fulfillment of the promises that the problem will be solved shortly. The drainage pipes are yet to be put into operation. This situation evoked in me the verse of an old poet: “I will keep patience until the patience itself knows that my patience is stronger than that of it.”

— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi  diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asia affairs. He can be contacted at alghamdi@hotmail.com.