Readers may have seen the story last week about a man convicted in Al-Muwayah of shooting at his uncle. The judge sentenced him to eight months in jail and 400 lashes at a rate of 50 lashes a month. This may seem somewhat lenient for what could have been murder. However, the judge was clearly hopeful that the young man could be reformed. To that end he offered to reduce the sentence by a month and 50 lashes if the culprit agreed to dig 10 graves at a local cemetery in a period of 10 days. The judge hoped that in doing so the man would have the opportunity to think about the value of life, something that he clearly had not paid much attention beforehand.
The ruling is inspiring. Mercy has always been an important part of justice but here is something different. Here was an attempt to get the culprit to reflect on his crime and in doing so, perhaps become a better member of society. Combining punishment with changing offenders’ behavior is very much at the heart of community sentencing which this is. The practice — and it should not be seen as a soft option — is now common in the US and other countries. This, though, seems to be something of a “first” in the Kingdom. It is an interesting development and may set a trend.
As it happens, the felon rejected the offer. He considers digging graves to be beneath him and has launched an appeal against the sentence — not, let it be noted, against having been found guilty.
That anyone in his position should consider digging graves to be beneath him is staggering. There is an arrogance that needs to be crushed. It is not only the value of life he needs to consider, he needs to discover a little humility.
Sadly, the belief that certain jobs are beneath the dignity of Saudis to do is all too common among some people in the Kingdom. Despite claims to the contrary, there is a work ethic problem that this case highlights and it needs to be eliminated.
The idea that manual labor is for Indians or Bangladeshis or Pakistanis — anyone other than Saudis — is nonsense. 30 years ago, Saudis dug graves, swept streets and fixed drains. Not that Saudis are alone in this delusion. It is found in many a developed country too. Americans and Western Europeans do not want to get their hands dirty either. Cleaning the streets, driving the buses, working as ancillary hospital staff, being lowly servants (and lowly paid too) in private households is for immigrants (illegal ones at that sometimes). Mexicans, Turks, Somalis or Bulgarians can do them but not Americans or Germans or Britons. In that sense then, Saudi Arabia is not all that different to the US or Germany or the UK. But that does not make it right. As long as this twisted idea continues that certain jobs are beneath Saudis, the Kingdom is going to remain dependent on foreign labor.
Unfortunately it is going to take more than a court ruling or two to change attitudes. It is in the schools that such unhealthy ideas have to be challenged.
