WE listen to press statements by some of our officials repeating the expressions “in fact” and “in reality.” If we compare what we hear to what we see in reality, we are left shocked and begin to doubt our very existence.
When we listen to officials at the Commerce Ministry and the Authority for the Protection of Consumers talking about “controlled prices” on the occasion of Ramadan and Eid and threatening to hit violating merchants with an iron hand, we want to believe them. However, a quick visit to markets and shops prevents us from doing so. Prices are skyrocketing and there simply is no control. Manufacturers and importers impose prices that inflate their bank accounts. To hell with consumers, it seems.
When we listen to officials at the Education Ministry saying there is no need for unemployed graduates to work as teachers because schools are replete with qualified teachers, we tend to believe them. However, overcrowded classrooms tell us not to.
We wish to believe officials at the Ministry of Higher Education when they say Saudi universities have this year accommodated most of our students, both male and female. However, we are amazed by the fact that many students have still not obtained places in Saudi universities; many are looking in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Bahrain and Yemen.
These statements given by some officials on public issues make us doubt reality and force us to ask ourselves: Are these officials living with us or is it we who are not living with them? Are we living in reality? Is there any place between reality and fantasy? When we find no answers to these questions, we become convinced that the officials are always right.
The increasing prices of Ramadan commodities have — coupled with Eid purchases and school fees — landed many Saudi families in financial crisis. What is the remedy for this predicament? We hope to see solutions from those in whose hands solutions lie. Until then, Ramadan Kareem!
