The Saudi woman put her SR1 million ($300,000) ring on the side of the hotel bathtub and forgot about it. It was that simple — a ring worth a fortune was absentmindedly left in the bathroom and its owner walked away, only to remember later that she had forgot it.
Luckily for her and for the hotel, the ring was found and returned to its owner. The hotel management was so happy at finding the ring that they compensated the woman for the hardships she had endured.
It was a gesture intended to assure hotel guests that the management cares very much indeed for those who are able to adorn their fingers with rings worth SR1 million.
That woman forgot her expensive ring just as you or I would leave an SR1 cigarette lighter on a restaurant table or forget to put a toothbrush in our suitcase.
The woman’s ring is equal to the entire monthly salaries of 800 female teachers in Saudi private schools.
It is equal to the monthly salaries of 1,000 young Saudis working in any of the city’s private telephone cabins.
The cost of the ring could easily buy full meals for 100,000 hungry people in Africa.
The ring would also equal the pocket money I was given at secondary school if I lived for another 3,000 years.
Each time I recall the story of the lady with the ring, I get a terrible headache. Reaching for a Panadol, I have to tell myself that that money could have bought medicine to help thousands of people overcome excruciating physical pain.
How could anyone carrying SR1 million simply forget where they had put the money? It is as if all those 800 teachers simply forgot to collect their paychecks at the end of the month.
It is as if those 1,000 youths forgot they had worked for 30 days and that it was payday.
It is as if the 100,000 hungry Africans forgot they were hungry and so needed no food.
It is as if I were still attending secondary school, waiting for another 3,000 years so I could graduate and go to college.
It is as if the headache had been eradicated and that no one was any longer in need of painkillers.
Arab News Opinion 29 July 2003
