JEDDAH: Neighbors in the south of Jeddah are turning to an unconventional kind of biological weapon to settle their differences — sewage.
Residents have been using waste to block the front doors of those they have a dispute with, often to devastating effect.
Countries often use oil and other precious minerals to fight their political wars, while other nations would block an important sea route to exert their influence. However, this so-called sewage war is a new phenomenon.
In the southern Jeddah district of Ghulail, many people are complaining about sewage blocking their roads. However, this was not due to sewage truck drivers forgetting about the area.
Some residents in the neighborhood said they are releasing their sewage on the street to punish their neighbors for something they have done, which includes refusing to contribute financially for hiring a sewage truck to empty the underground waste tank, or simply because they are fighting amongst themselves in the same building. “The sewage war is an old type of war and unheard of for people who are living in the north of Jeddah. It is an effective weapon,” says Abdu, a Saudi man in his 60s and one of the eldest residents in the neighborhood.
“I call it a weapon because it guarantees winning the war. When someone parks in front of your house and continues to do so to annoy you, then the easiest way to get your message across is to discharge your sewage in front of his house for three days. However, this also creates problems between other residents in the same area and can lead to counterattacks.”
Abdu said five families who were living in one street agreed to discharge their sewage in a bid to force single workers also living in the neighborhood to move out. The tactic proved effective as they left five weeks later because they could not handle the smell.
Abdu said that sometimes making other people’s life difficult would force them to leave for the sake of finding some peace and quiet elsewhere.
“The landlord does not care about this sewage war and only cares about collecting the full rent on time.”
Salem, another resident in the neighborhood, said that fights sometimes happen between residents living in the same building. “It costs money to empty the underground sewage tank. Residents in the same apartment building should participate and share the cost,” he said.
“In most cases you will have one particular resident who refuses to pay. The easiest way to punish him is to block his pipes so his apartment would flood from the inside.” Salem said that if the municipality had been conducting their field inspections properly, then there would not be a sewage war in the first place.
“We have complained many times to them but there is little action from the municipality side.”
