The decision by Jeddah Municipality to allocate special walls for youth to scratch their drawings and words is most welcome. I hope the municipality would seek the advice of specialists, including psychiatrists and sociologists, in any studies it intends to conduct on the phenomenon and possible solutions.
The drawings are no longer confined to walls of public buildings and recreation facilities along the Corniche that are reserved for families but have extended to cemeteries in a stark attack on the sanctity of the dead. These nasty drawings and words are an offense to the public taste and youth should be told to direct their energy into something more useful for them and their society.
There are many reasons behind the youth resorting to graffiti to express themselves. Family, education and social institutions should bear the major share of responsibility. These institutions were unable to absorb the excess energy of youth and direct them to produce something more meaningful. Add to this the fact that the youth do not heed the rules set by society and resort to this kind of activity to vent their frustration, anger and despair.
It is not enough to say we reject this type of behavior. There has to be solutions to this and other problems. Writing and drawing on walls could become a creative activity that helps preserve individual virtues, remind people of the noble goals sought by every one and discourages undesirable behavior. What we see now is writings and drawings that portray our youth as perverted people who show little or no respect to the values or norms.
It has been reported that the municipality removed graffiti writings from 1,500 sites all over the city and has wiped out scores of e-mail addresses put by youth on public places reserved for women. Still hundreds of sites remain untouched and this demands the municipality work closely with the public to address the problem. Setting a special telephone number to receive advise from the public would ensure a much wider participation.
3 August 2002
