Wherever it may be, the city we live in is our address to the world. And it does not matter if we are a Saudi or an expatriate, an Asian or a European or young or old. We are all components in the dynamics that make up the metropolis we live in.

It is with a tinge of alarm that I sense that Jeddah, the city I live in, has been getting progressively messier and dirtier. Perhaps because such apparent eyesores conflict so dramatically with the routine announcements by our city officials about how vastly improved out town has become.

The civic sense that should be developed in the populace is vanishing in the face of other priorities, such as making a living or sending enough money home. And one of the losers is the duty of each and every one of us in ensuring that we keep our city clean. The enormous load of refuse we discard on our streets and roads every day seems to simply be a load too heavy for the overwhelmed Asian municipal cleaners to deal with.

To drive home the point, I drive every day on a short distance of road from my house to the office. The dirt along with the flying plastic bags these days blowing in the wind is incredible. Somehow it looks to me like the best efforts of the city’s administration can no longer deal with the refuse deposited on the streets.

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 existing drainage canals. A national weekend of cleaning up Jeddah should be advertised and promoted with the simple message: The inhabitants of each house, each block, should just clean in front, behind and at the sides of their 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 for a while. And then perhaps the cleaning department may be able to cope with the accumulating litter. I live here. If I do not like it, I cannot give up and leave the country. So long as I am here, I feel something. Seriously it pains me to see all this refuse, when; with a little effort it could be much different.

While it is indeed a novel and workable idea, it will not absolve those that persist in making this city dirty. Very few do it out of ignorance. It’s more like there’s someone around the corner who will soon pick up their trash. Their laziness is why trash is not bagged and put in appropriate containers. Litter, including empty soda cans, is flung out of speeding vehicle windows and onto sidewalks or is dropped along the way as people wander about the city. Paper or plastics, you can be sure it is thrown out and just about everywhere except the nearest garbage can.

All faiths stress the importance of cleanliness in our manner of living. That means following those practices that contribute to a clean society. While a father can preach to his children the importance of keeping neighborhoods and cities clean, he must lead by example. A father who carelessly dumps trash out of his car window while driving and without giving it a further thought is often observed by his offspring, who one day will do the same. An employer or a fellow worker not committed to this civic duty can inadvertently influence others to develop bad habits.

This city is our home, our environment. And to take pride in it, we must ensure that we commit ourselves to the promotion and actual act of cleaning up. And that applies to all of us who are residents of this metropolis.

— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena