I don’t want grants.
I want 70% of my country people to own homes, with water, electricity and sanitation.
I want 12 years of formal education to be a child’s right, and I want parents who deny their children this right be prosecuted.
I want my country people to build their homes with their own hands. To pave their own roads and grow their own crops.
I want to be a citizen protected under a constitution, and when someone threatens any of my rights I will be able to quote this constitution. Because only then will no-one be able to take away my rights.
I don’t want to be regarded as a second class citizen because of my genetic composition.
I want mothers to be able to protect their children from abusive fathers. After all, they did spend nine months making them.
What do you want?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
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I just want to ask you, if Saudis are really willing to do labor work and all the labor jobs. (like what you said on your list of wants)
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you want expats who do the labor for this country to go away.
Thing is, some Saudis does not want to take low level jobs like laborers, salesmen and such.
Because if all of them does want a job (any job at all), they can easily get one.
This is a land of opportunity for a lot of expats because all the jobs your fellow countyrmen doesn't want, its what expats get.
I think your wish that your people to build their own homes and roads with their own hands is too unreachable.
Until then, I don't think the King and the government will give your list of WANTS a chance.
"I don’t want to be regarded as a second class citizen because of my genetic composition."
ReplyDeleteI heart this sentence VERY MUCH
I want to be able to do whatever I need to without having to go back to a guardian about it.
ReplyDeleteI want to be able to follow the Islamic rules I see as being true without people harassing me for it.
I do not want to be judged and stereotyped according to the Hejab I choose to wear.
I want to feel happy about a rainy day.
I want to SPEAK out and be HEARD.
I want no gifts from the ruler. I want OUR money, OUR airports, OUR streets, OUR cities, OUR schools, & OUR hospitals to be given to us as a right. (OUR = The Peoples')
I like the grant, very very much.
ReplyDeleteI want the people who have the opportunity no other nationality in the world has to realize how awesome it is and to bring its fruit back home.
I want to wake up in a house made for the weather with minimal assistance from an AC.
I then want to eat my locally grown breakfast with the money I spent going to farmers and grocers, not headquarters of marketing departments (I'm not 100% sure the last thing happens very often).
I'd then like to throw on my locally designed adorably creative conservative ethnic outfit on, made by the hands of a well-paid well-fed happy human being, and walk outside happily giving salams to the neighbors.
On the way, the streets would be clean because everyone knows keeping them safe is a form of sadaqa and the kids are too busy on the big ecologically conservative playgrounds and in schools to loiter around anyway.
A car would drive by with kids on the way to their school, and all of them would be safely in the back wearing seat-belts.
I'd stop off at the bagala, filled with healthy and unhealthy things alike and has a delivery bike out front, to be greeted with respectful salams and not even consider that someone could be eyeing me sleazily. Because it's 7am. I mean, really.
Living in your country, what strikes me as ironic, but at the same time I give you guys credit is that:
ReplyDeleteThe youth try and imitate the west and by learning english, the few intellectual, ambitious group - such as yourself, are a few steps back in terms of trying to balance between a muslim identity and this new culture of globalization.
We who've lived and grown up in the US and other western countries have seen literally the trends you yourself have written about on your blog and are experiencing. It's striking to me because I read some of your posts and it's funny to me that i can read them and can guess and then say "yup been there, and the next step is.."
We know where this heads, because the cycle is the same.
1. Blind assimilation of the west.
2. Realization of it's vices.
3. An attempt to balance between a clash of ideologies and cultures and try to rectify.
4. Taking the good and realizing to leave the bad.
5. Realizing the good was there all along, but thanking the west for making you come to this realization - and ridding yourself of the baggage that western capitalistic "democratic" idealism ingrained in you.
It's a cycle that no doubt is repeating itself in this new culture of saudi youth that i've seen, those that learned english and are using it as a tool to educate themselves [and not just a tool to pick up girls or guys when they go overseas :)]
It's again, just ironic to see this all playing out in front of our eyes, knowing where you guys are going to go next.
All of these vices within saudi arabia I've narrowed down to what you posted just now - and it's because true belief and true islam is not being implemented.
Like one of the american islamic scholars mentioned
"what's worse is not seeing these people's Fake Shar'iah being implemented... but rather their Fake Shar'iah being enforced on the poor."
Islam honestly has ALL the good of what you mentioned, and it is that constitution that has all of of what you ask for and more.
It's the lack of education about it that is a detriment to people that they think they need to turn to the other - when they simply need to look deeper and they'll FIND what this so called "good" is in other ideologies - already within Islam.
And most of all - the fake implementation of it causes people to hate it and not look really..
Nice blog. Just wanted to add my insights.