Water Crisis, a call for all! [Archives:2008/1159/Community]
By: Maged Thabet Al-kholidy
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The shortage of water firstly appeared as a problem in some cities. Gradually, it has become a crisis that threatens not only cities but also villages. No body knows what would be later in the future. And no body finds a real practical solution though a lot of money is spent for seminars and researches to solve it radically.
It is the beginning of summer season nowadays. Rains fall heavily sometimes every day. Water runs fast in the streets to finally reach into drains or to the seas. Meanwhile, the authorities, people, and local and international organizations cry for the shortage of water.
At the time of rain, people enjoy standing by windows to see the view, saying “Masha'a Allah” for the currents that run through streets and roads. They say “Masha'a Allah” as a religious duty.
Suddenly they start curse the authorities or the people concerned like the Ministry of Sanctions and Water because there is a shortage of water to be for daily use. They sometimes abuse. but finally they surrender and go to buy water, or bring it from other sources.
Many times this happens. Many times it rains. But the situation remains the same. Neither the people take it as something vital for their lives, nor does the government try to find other permanent solutions or at least to direct the people to save the water of rains for home use.
The government is wrong. It knows itself and I am sure that it knows well that it is wrong. It consists of a group of people who also cry for the shortage of water. It is true that some of them do not care because they have their own sources of water for their daily use, but they can do nothing for children and generations to come who may not have any source of water in the future.
Keeping this in mind wakes up every one of us to think about a solution tomorrow and days after. We, as individuals, can not construct water stations. However, we can do something, but actually many things to keep ourselves away from such a crisis.
Exploiting the water of rains can offer us a lot. It will not prevent us from the beautiful scenes as people may think. It, on the other hand, can offer us somehow sufficient water for our daily use.
In the villages, dams can be built to save water. The rains of summer can fill such dams which will provide water not only for the summer, but also for the whole year.
The dams are also used as a means to feed wells. The rain currents do nothing for such wells because they run into improper places. So, dams can provide water for the daily use and as feeding sources for wells in general.
Some people may laugh at this idea on the claim that the cost of such dams is higher than the cost of buying water from the available sources. They are right. I confess. The dams require many things to be built. But they would ensure a better tomorrow for the people' lives.
People can not build dams in the cities. They, however, can exploit the water of rains by specializing tanks into which pipes can be connected from the roofs. Keeping the roof clean will make the rains fall into the tanks and it can be used if not for drinking, for many other daily uses.
Through such dams and tanks, people will save a lot of water. They will not need to buy any more. They, moreover, will not keep worrying about this problem which threatens the whole country with dryness.
A more practical solution is also to economize in using water. Our prophet Mohammed (PBUH) says to us: “don't overuse water even if you are on banks of a current river”. Saving water, thus, is a religious duty that all of us must respect in all the ways.
Keeping these points in mind will widen our awareness to think more and more about useful and practical solutions. The only thing required from people as well as responsible authorities is to take the matter seriously in a way that promises a better tomorrow for us and generations to come.
Majed Thabet Al-kholidy is a writer from Taiz, currently doing his M.A. at English Dep, Taiz Uni. He is an ex-editor of English Journal of the University.
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