One evening, I was sitting in a cafe at the Wave Muscat and watched people. I had my eyes on a red Ferrari that cruised past. But I was not the only who was looking at it. Seconds after it disappeared around a corner, I noticed a man in shabby clothes rummaging the bins. This time, I was the only one looking at him. There is no envy about a man who is going through hard times looking for something to salvage.
Unlike drivers of super sports cars, the poor don’t attract attention at all. Every meal of the day is a battle for them. The rich have battles of their own too, like what car to buy and where to spend their holidays.
If you think there are no desperate people in Oman struggling to put food in their mouths, then you are looking at the wrong places. The people of Oman are part of a proud society.
As a matter of fact, some are too proud to admit that their stomachs constantly rumble with hunger. It has always been that way but with the social media applications available to all, the poor are ‘exposed’ whether they like it or not.
However, Oman has many remote villages and for some villagers, too remote to enjoy the connection of electricity or water supply. The real tragedy is that they are too isolated for the food supply chain to get to them.
If you need any evidence of that, just drive to those areas and see for yourself but you might need a four-wheel drive to get there.
I considered myself ‘lucky’ when I managed to get to one of those places. They toil in a piece of land growing their food. Carrots and water melons don’t just pop out of the land when you are hungry.
They watch them grow and between crop harvesting, their meals are dried dates and milk. Even the goats and sheep are malnourished there. They dare not slaughter them for meat because the animals provide them with an essential part of their diet.
Places like the Wave Muscat is a showcase for both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’.
Some of us spend every evening having coffee, smoking sheesha or having a hearty meal, very much oblivious of those who can only manage a meal a day.
Like my grandmother used to say, “money down the drain” when you eat outside. But we make excuses that we need to ‘chill out’ after a long day at the office. Yes, we do and I personally do that almost every day without a thought for those who cannot.
When I was 15, I was fascinated by the socialistic governments. China was a role model to me on how you can spread wealth to all. At least the theory was right but then later on, I realised it was hard to put into practice. Capitalism won the battle of economic idealism and created a deep division between the sheesha smokers in cafés and the bin rummagers in the streets.
Personally, I don’t have anything against people with money to burn as long as they occasionally take a trip to the deep rural areas to see how others live at the other side of the country. If they go there, they should take their children with them so they can learn something about life.
I am not going through saying what kind of legacy we should leave behind for our children to follow but what we do in the cafés is not the only heritage they need to know.
saleh al shaibany
saleh_shaibany@yahoo.com
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