The people who live in my apartment building and I have come to terms with the amount of water we get, even though this is very little. We are all convinced that the water shortage in Jeddah is a psychological problem; not a real physical one. We believe the water officials when they say that the water problem in Jeddah is psychological and have managed to adapt our lives to the situation.
Other people who suffer the same fate told us about a water pump, which would solve all of our problems. The machine apparently has the power to suck huge amounts of water from the municipal mains and thus steal our neighbors’ share of water. The practice is illegal; however, there are no officials monitoring it.
My fellow tenants and I felt that this does not comply with the teachings of Islam. We believe it is wrong to resort to an illegal solution for this problem.
Thus we were left with no choice but to agree to buy water tanks through an internal IPO (initial public offering) subscribed by people who live in our building. There are no premiums with this IPO, the indicator does not fluctuate and there are also no big sharks. Each subscriber contributes SR20 for every water tank.
Our building doorman, Antar, knocks on our doors to collect people’s shares. Antar mentioned that people often refuse to pay claiming all sorts of excuses. One refused to pay saying water is the government’s responsibility. Another asked why he had to pay SR20 when his family only comprises him and his wife, and other tenants have up to seven people. Another one said he paid SR20 last week and that he is not willing to pay anything now.
One tenant’s wife refused to speak to Antar saying that her husband is away and he is the one who makes decisions on such issues. Another one said he does not stay at his apartment much and when he is, there is no water, and so the water shortage is not his problem. One refused to answer the door, and usually sneaks in and out of his apartment to avoid paying. Another of our neighbors accused Antar of overcharging.
To get through this psychological crisis, we need a quick fatwa urging people to subscribe to the water IPOs. Hopefully, this will make Antar’s job easy when collecting premiums. If not, sooner or later, he will ask for a final exit visa and leave. As a result we will simply die waiting for water.
