RIYADH, 3 February — Where is the worst place to be in the capital on a Thursday night? On Olaya Street, especially after the Saudi national soccer team had just won the Gulf Cup. You might ask why. The answer is that it requires over 40 minutes getting from one end to the other because of the great number of cars packed with young men who have come out onto the streets. It only makes things worse if you are driving with your family or with your spouse because you then have to put up with all the cars pulling up on both sides of your car to stare at whoever is inside.
Whether the national team has won or not, the number of cars packed with young men joy riding on Thursday nights in the capital has become a downright nuisance. Tahlia Street, adjacent to Olaya Street, is just as bad. And because there are fewer shops there, it is more convenient for young men to show off their BMWs, Mercedes Benzes or Lexus cars.
One image I will never forget from last Thursday was how young men stopped their cars in the middle of Tahlia Street and blocked the flow of traffic. Four cars just stopped in the middle of the road! A young man got out of one and stood on top of the car roof. He started to dance in front of everyone. Other cars lined up behind the first four, and youths started to cheer him on. The other drivers, who just wanted to get on their way, were honking away — but to no reward.
Where were the police? As usual, they are never around when you need them. Luckily, I was on the opposite side of the road and managed to escape “Nightmare on Tahlia Street” in one piece. At the end of the street at the traffic lights, I saw a police officer. I could see that he was a lieutenant from the two stars on his shoulder. Usually, you do not see such officers on the street because they are behind big desks giving orders to lower ranking policemen.
But that day was different. That day that lieutenant must have received orders from his own superiors that he should go out in the street with his men to control youths celebrating the national team’s victory. Why was he not where he was needed, 300 meters down the road?
I love my national soccer team. And I was overjoyed like all Saudis when we won the Gulf Cup. However, the behavior of young men on the streets afterward is totally unacceptable. Driving recklessly, honking maddeningly, blasting music from their car stereos, eyeing up women in other cars.... Is this the image we want to project?
Yes, I am a young Saudi. And I, like any other person my age, do crazy things sometimes. But what I would never do is tarnish the image of my fellow countrymen in the eyes of residents living and working in this country. It saddens me so much that many residents in this country have a stereotype of Saudi youths in their head — irresponsible, and interested only in soccer and girls. I will not deny that there is a large group of young men whose interests go beyond that. But, as the case is in any nation, the bad is often focused on more than the good.
No, police taking away flags from young men cheering on the street is not the solution. No, cramming young men in anti-riot buses to be taken to detention centers is not the solution. The solution lies in every household. It lies in a better upbringing for children.
If every Saudi parent spent time with his children instead of flipping through satellite channels or playing cards, we would create a better society. Did the parents of the youths dancing around in the streets after the Gulf Cup final know what they were doing? Did they care?
Good parents produce good children, who will grow up to be good citizens. It’s as simple as that.
