In France and many other European countries, during the grape harvest season, the entire country is mobilized to pick the fruit. Thousands of students and other young people volunteer for the work each year; by doing so, they learn, experience and are trained for future volunteer work that benefits society as a whole. The noble idea, and the value, of dedicating part of your time and energy to serving others is thus planted in young people at an early age.

In Lebanon scouts join hands with farmers during the apple-picking season in a national effort aimed at reducing the farmers’ economic burden. Volunteer workers help to overcome the problem of high labor costs.

Here in the Kingdom, with the date harvest season now approaching, we should learn more about the date palm that has been part and parcel of Arab lives throughout history. The following story will illustrate my point. A young child accompanied his father to a date plantation outside Riyadh and innocently asked his father whether the tree they were standing near was the mother or father of the farm. Such total detachment from the environment which surrounds us should make us change the way we view voluntary work and have us glorify its social value, especially among urban communities.

Each scorching summer that comes sees the best years of our young people burn away. These are the years of vigor and energy and should not be wasted in doing nothing. Parents may one day wake up and see their children pursuing unsatisfactory courses in their lives. To prevent these things, there is a need for the energy of these young people to be channeled into useful activities — useful activities such as much-needed volunteer work. Offices should be opened to receive and direct these young men and women, many of whom are willing to help in areas where they are needed.

I wonder what has kept us from developing the idea of volunteer work into a human value given its importance to both the individual and the community. Was it because the affluent communities of the boom years produced people totally dependent on others, relying on the state to educate, employ and provide them with medical treatment and other services free of charge? And asking them to do absolutely nothing in return? Has the relationship between the individual and community become so loose that the individual views his or her presence as temporary and are no longer interested in society’s concerns and aspirations? Or is it because the relevant authorities have until now not taken the matter seriously while voluntary work remains a distant hope left to committees buried in ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’?

17 July 2002