Fighting the Desert
This week has been a prime example of why people think of the Middle East as a dirty, dusty place.
We have had sandstorms moving in, covering everything in their path. People here try to fight the desert by sweeping and washing their walkways every day, but it is a losing battle. By the end of each day, dust and sand encrust everything anyway. And on the bad days, like yesterday, the city is blotted out and encased in a seeming wall of sand, rendering useless any effort at keeping the desert at bay.
Mother Nature proves on a daily basis that she will win, no matter the effort put forth by us insignificant people. We are but gnats to her, and if she wants sand on your doorstep, there will be sand on your doorstep.
It does depress me a bit to see the amount of water used to push the sands back, especially in a region where water is a scarce commodity and is becoming more so every year. I often think it's unnecessary to try to fight back, why not let nature do what she will and accept that living in the desert means living with sand? When I first moved to the Middle East, I thought the practice of washing the sidewalks was ridiculous. It's a sidewalk, of course it's going to be dirty. But after one day of fierce sandstorms, I can see why the people here use such a precious resource to fight this losing battle.
It's a matter of pride. Just as we water our lawns to keep them green and thick, and wash our cars every week to keep them shiny, people here wash their driveways and patios to enjoy the cleaner side of life.
I remember living on the ground floor in Egypt, and the massive amount of sand that would find its way through the cracks in my windows and doors. Half of my living room would be covered in sand after a mediocre sandstorm. I'd hire a cleaning crew to come in after the really nasty storms.
When I'm in the States I get questions about living in the Middle East. What's it like? What are the people like? And usually, I enjoy talking to people, answering their questions and dispelling myths about our neighbors across the ocean. But some questions come across as quite ignorant and bother me to the point of frustration. One I've heard on several occasions pertains to the cleanliness of the people here. Some Americans seem to think that Middle Easterners are a dirty people.
This is so absolutely untrue. If anything, as a people they are cleaner than we are. Those who can afford it clean more often than we do- their houses, their cars, and themselves. I think this misunderstanding stems from the tourist trade. Many tourists traveling through the region come into contact with the touts, hawkers, tour guides and other workers that are attracted to the tourist industry. Many of these people live day to day, and often cannot afford to bathe everyday. But this is out of necessity due to a lack of resources, not preference.
If guests are coming into a home, even the poorest Middle Easterner will ensure their house is spotless before company arrives. I don't know many people in the States who follow this practice. We'll reshuffle the clutter and wipe down the obvious surfaces, but we tend to overlook the nooks and crannies. We value cleanliness, but it's rare that our homes are as consistently deep cleaned as the homes I have been to in this region. And we have the money and the means to ensure our homes are impeccable. We also don't have the constant fight to tame the elements.
Watching people here literally wash away yesterday's dirt has stopped being a ridiculous annoyance and has instead transformed itself into a symbol of pride and hospitality.
