You Can Surely Run Away From Camphone, but Not Technology

I wonder if I am the only individual in this society who is always 10 steps behind the times. I never quite know what is required of me in terms of being a good responsible citizen. In order to “behave” it is important to subjugate myself to the rules of the land and this is where I inadvertently find myself failing again and again. This is not as a result of my naturally subversive disposition, but rather because I am usually unaware of the presence of several laws until I unwittingly break them.

I am rather confounded by just how and by whom these laws are formulated, where they are documented and how on earth simple souls like myself are supposed to know what they constitute. There has been a great deal of hue and cry about the regulations governing the use of camera phones and until recently I was entirely clueless as to the fact that such contraptions were illegal in this country.

As always, I had to break the law in order to be apprised of its existence in the first place. Not a very smart way of conducting one’s life, but in the absence of a guidebook with a comprehensive list of dos and don’ts, perhaps one of the only ways of getting on.

Prior to leaving for London in the summer, I had purchased a gadget that would serve to elevate my status in life: A camera phone. As I had stated in a previous article, the latest phone on the market has all the trappings and desirability that previously only a designer handbag could boast of. I spent the metaphorical equivalent of an arm and a leg on my new status symbol, in spite of the fact that I could not operate the camera.

Upon my return to Riyadh, as I was passing through customs, I called up my driver to make sure that he was outside. A duty officer watched as I slipped the Jawal back into my bag and asked me politely if I was carrying a camera phone. I swelled with pride as I waved it in his direction only to be crushed by his next statement.

“You are not allowed to bring these phones into the country,” he proselytized.

“What do you mean?” I responded confused by his remark. “I didn’t bring this phone into the country. I bought it here.”

“No,” he reprimanded. “This is impossible. Camera phones are illegal here. Where are you coming from?”

“London.”

“Well you must have bought it in London,” he surmised.

“I bought it here!” I retorted. “They don’t sell phones with Arabic letters in London,” I persisted pointing to the “alif,” “ba” and “ta” on the dial pad and feeling as if I were about to be exposed on some Saudi version of Candid Camera.

“Give me your phone,” he appealed.

“Listen. I bought this phone in Olaya. I can even take you to the shop. There must be some mistake because you can buy these phones everywhere in Riyadh. If these phones are illegal,” I ventured wholly unconvinced by his edict, “then how is it that they are so freely available?”

“And look. You can check the photo gallery,” I proffered hoping that I would not be unpleasantly surprised or embarrassed by his findings.

“Give me your phone,” he demanded impervious to my rationale.

“Are cameras illegal?” I inquired. He shook his head.

“Are phones illegal?” I asked. He shook his head again.

“Give me your phone!” he commanded.

“I want to speak to your supervisor,” I requested, trying not to appear terrified at the prospect of losing my only link with coolness.

He shrugged his shoulders and shouted across to one of his associates while I wondered what it must feel like to have been caught smuggling more substantial items than my current stash.

In the distance I saw his superior walking toward us chatting away animatedly into his mobile. Upon closer inspection I was delighted to see that the cellular handset he was using was none other than the very latest in camera phones.

I was relieved to see the law overturned. I don’t believe that as a society we can resist technological progress on account of the social ills that may prevail as a result of its introduction. Whether it be in the form of camera phones at the advent of the new millennium or television at the close of the last one, we have to move forward. The best way to advancement is not to defy change, but rather to accept it and prepare for it. Most technology can be perceived as a mixed blessing. Encouraging and educating our society to use such devices in a mature and responsible way is far more effective than banning and confiscating them.