It was a cool day. We didn't always get temperatures like this in Jeddah; at least not before 5 p.m. I felt like taking a walk with my son. After walking for 5 minutes, I got a bad smell. Right there across the street, there was a small stream rich in sewage. I had to carry my son to cross this little stream. Another 5 minutes and we came across another "poop-rich" stream. There we went again! Carrying and skipping. When we came across the fourth stream, that was it. I decided to go back home. It was horrible. You couldn't walk for 10 minutes without having to come across an over-flooded sewage tank. I thought this only happened in my neighbourhood until when I went to visit some folks in Bawadi District. Oh my! Same case scenario.
It is a pity that in a neighbourhood with well-constructed buildings and roads, you frequently come across sewage flowing in the streets. It is not only a problem for pedestrians; even drivers do try to avoid getting into sewage running across the street. Once my in-law was trying to avoid a pool of sewage, and I was like, "Oh come on! Does it really matter? The car stays outside anyway." He said, "No way. I can't let my tires get into people's poop."
Naturally, people were worried when Jeddah was flooded by the rains in 2009. They were very worried that the giant sewage lake that was close to Jeddah may flood the city. But what about sewage seeping out at our doorsteps on normal uneventful days? One would wonder why some buildings have sewage seeping out of their tanks onto the street for about one week and nobody is doing anything. This was what I noticed during the last holidays in the month of August. There were so many sewage streams in my neighbourhood and people were just going about their normal activities. Was it because everybody was busy with the festivities? Or was it because the stench didn't bother people so much anymore? Come to think of it, how could anyone stand the stench from sewage?...Can you? I can't.
Hello Dear Readers,
It has been nearly 4 months since I last posted on this blog. Al hamdulillah! I am back and ready to start posting again.
We went through a hard time trying to look for another kafeel (sponsor). The point is that we had 2 weeks to get a new sponsor or get an exit visa. Phew! I remember when my husband got that sms. We were having one of those conversations and wondering whether his sponsor would call him soon to give him a deadline. We stopped laughing about the whole thing when his phone beeped. And lo! It was written in black and white. He had 2 weeks to get another sponsor and start the transfer process or his sponsor would issue him an exit visa.
Our greatest ordeal was finding another sponsor who would accept an emergency transfer. The second was to pay 12,000 SAR (this is not the usual fee for transfers). We had a few disappointments from a few people who accepted to become his (my husband's) sponsor. Along the line they disappeared leaving us in the middle of our despair. Finally, we found someone who was willing to go ahead with the transfer. Al hamdulillah, he wanted to do everything on his own. That meant going through the normal and lengthy procedure of transfers. The guy who asked us to pay 12,000 SAR would have sapped us of our funds because the usual fee was 2,000 SAR for first-time transfers. Apparently, he was the type who did things under the table and behind closed doors. We accepted to work with the new sponsor, who took his time in doing everything. Going through the normal channel meant that we risked not meeting the deadline set up by the former sponsor, but we had to do it if we wanted to go the legal way. As the days passed, we kept praying that his former sponsor would not call to remind him of the deadline. Every time there was a development during the transfer process, my husband always made sure that he informed his former sponsor. Two weeks became 4 months, and today we have a new sponsor. Needless to say that his former sponsor exercised great patience because he was willing to give us more time and in doing so he was putting himself in a situation that did not suit really him.
Finally, we can start making plans to leave Saudi Arabia in a smooth way and not like we are being shooed out of the country. I am thankful that this whole thing is over, and we do not live with the worry that at one moment or the other someone might call us to tell us that they were going to issue us an exit visa.
