On a Cleaner Yemen for all Times [Archives:2000/21/Focus]
COMMON SENSE
By: Hassan Al-Haifi
“What is this, did we land in the wrong airport?” said the weary traveler as he got on the taxi headed for Sana’a.
The taxi driver explained, as he loaded the luggage on the luggage wrack on top of the car: “Welcome Emigrant, this is really your country brother, make no mistake about it!”
As he started the trip towards the city, the passengers were all looking left and right in complete wonder at what their eyes were beholding. Another passenger, dressed in a suit and tie said: “Look driver, I hope you are not on the wrong road to Sana’a. The road I remember had all these plastic bags littering the road and all you could see was filth wherever you turned. What happened to the trash and the ugliness that awaited you as you headed for Sana’a?”The driver went through the routine report he had to give his passengers these days on the trek to Sana’a from the airport: “On the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Unification of our beloved country, the government carried out a campaign to show the world leaders, who will be coming to celebrate our national holiday that Yemen really can be clean and shiny!”Another passenger sitting in the back seat of the Peugeot Station Wagon said: “I really think that is insulting! The government can only find the reason for cleaning the streets of our capital city, when there are many guests from overseas coming. Are not the Yemeni people also entitled to have clean streets all year round, whether there is an anniversary celebration or not? Or, is it that our government is only embarrassed at what foreigners would say if our streets are filthy?”Back to the First Passenger: “I really must take pictures of what my eyes are beholding, after all this scene may not be repeated again, after the holiday fuss is over.””Don’t you dare pull out that camera now?” The driver stated rather cautiously continuing, “With the security blanket thrown over us these days your camera is bound to be confiscated in the next checkpoint if you were seen photographing any of the road sights.””But why?” Said the eager camera freak, “I can go through all of Europe and take pictures anywhere I like without anyone hassling me about what I am photographing.””Look pal”, said another passenger, who did not seem to be a passenger coming from overseas, but rather on one of his continuous back and forth rides from the airport, surveying the mood of travelers for some government agency, trying to get the feel of what people are saying about the latest government quick polish job, “We have a lot of important guests coming for this holiday and all security measures must be taken to make sure that our guests are not hassled by any security snags, whatsoever.”The snapshot fanatic wanted to hear explanations that are more logical: Look this is a shutter release not a trigger of a gun! So, how is it that my camera is going to be of any danger to our guests”Back to the surveyor again: “Look security measures are security measures and if you like your camera so much, I would suggest you put it away!”The camera freak got the message and replaced the camera in the camera bag that contained all the photography paraphernalia.
The man in the suit got back in the conversation: “Just what is it exactly that got all this work going on at one time in a surprisingly well coordinated manner? I have never seen so much humming and buzzing in our streets and all this fancy dressing being put on our floors and walls. Look at all that painting and whitewashing that is going on.”
A passenger who has not said anything finally gathered up enough nerves to say: “I am just wondering if this is not just a fly by night make up job that every woman goes through on the night she is going to see her husband! At night you see her all painted up and glamorous and the next morning, she is the same old hag again!”Why do you say that?” said the surveyor, it just goes to show you that people will never be grateful for what their government does for them.”The driver wanted to keep the drive to Sana’a as peaceful as possible: “Look you guys, make up job or not it is still refreshing to see that our government can be effective when it wants to be”.
The man in the suit had an important observation to make: “I have got to hand it to our President. Only he can make such clockwork precision happen in Yemen and only he can motivate all this humdrum activity that is bound to make a lasting impression among our visitors. It goes to show you that Ali Abdullah Saleh still remains as the dynamic driving force he has developed into. Thank God, he always steps in when he sees the underlings below start to neglect their duties and responsibilities to the people of Yemen, who forget that they should be doing all this without having to wait for the President to step in to teach them what they should be doing behind those fancy desks they have.”The driver came back in agreement: “The President is in a sense acting as coach and executive director for all those government officials that always have to await orders before they can do anything meaningful for the people of their country. I am sure that without the President’s personal attention to every detail involved in this campaign these officials would be doing nothing except wait for the next situation that will put them before the TV camera lens again, while they sit and chat about their inability to get things done.”The surveyor also added his views: “There are times when the President realizes that the people await some action from him to shake up these officials who somehow fail to show any initiative in completing the tasks that should be really common routine work for them. The President gives all the officials in the government a chance to show some spirit as they carry out their duties, but when the public mood becomes unbearable against such officials, the President has no choice but to step in and show them: ‘Hey you guys, have you forgotten what you are there for?’ Indeed he is to be credited for all the leadership he conveys especially when things are on the downslide”The Camera Freak comes back again, “Come to think of it, I am sure that if the President knew that people are barred from taking pictures because of the ‘security risks’ involved, he is bound to see that nowadays there is no security danger posed by a camera lens of a citizen anymore, because now the minutest detail on earth can be photographed by satellites from outer space. Besides how can a simple Yemeni emigrant like me coming home from abroad every two years or so pose any risks to the country I love and cherish. Besides, taking pictures now is a good opportunity to portray Yemen as it really should be portrayed: clean and shining. So, there is no logic behind the camera shyness shown by our security officials. But anyway, I will still have my memories of what I am seeing now, to tell all those people overseas that, hey! our country now rivals Singapore for its meticulous cleanliness, and if you go back to Yemen now, you might still be able to see some of the clean streets and tiled sidewalks.
“You see what I mean?” said the passenger who made the make-up comment, “I am not sure anybody is convinced that this can continue once the guest leaders leave the airport of Sana’a after the celebration is over. I hope that the President will insist on the government officials that this is the way it has to be all the year round, celebration or no celebration, guests or no guests.”
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