JEDDAH, 16 January 2005 — Many people like to wake up to the aroma of fresh coffee, but East Jeddah residents who live downwind of the animal market get a whiff of something far less pleasant than coffee, and they’re raising a stink about it.
The market’s bad smell prevents the area’s residents from enjoying the weather. They sometimes face embarrassment when guests visit them. Some people even have moved to other places to avoid the stench.
The neighborhoods of Al-Sulaimaniya and Al-Rehab are the most affected by the malodorous air. Residents have complained many times to the municipality and demanded the animal market be relocated. The municipality is discussing plans to move the market to Al-Khomra in South Jeddah.
The animal market was located south of Jeddah near the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium many years ago but moved when the Saudi Football Federation organized a major event there. The market now is located east of Makkah Expressway and sells sheep, camels, birds, coal and fodder.
Arab News went to the place and a nearby neighborhood to sniff out a story. What we found was an air of discontent. “I regretted the decision I made when I decided to move from Al-Baghdadiya neighborhood to Al-Sulaimaniya,” said resident Thamer Al-Thagafi. “I cannot open my window for a long time because I fear that sudden wind change will take the smell to my apartment. I’m not kidding when I say that I got used to the bad smell. I started to search for a new place because I’m fed up with living in a place like this.”
It’s an area where even a good day can be a bad day. “I can’t enjoy the nice weather,” said Mazen Abdullah of the Al-Rehab neighborhood. “Throughout the day I have to keep all windows closed in case the bad smell comes in. It is very difficult to get the smell out of the apartment. I burn perfumed candles all the time to refresh the air.”
There’s also the thought that anything that smells that bad can’t be good for you. “As far as I know, this smell may carry bacteria that harm the body,” Abdullah said. “I had a neighbor who lived in front of me. He could not bear the bad smell because of his breathing problems. He moved to a neighborhood up north. I think I might do the same.”
Other residents have given up hope of clearing the air.
“I do not think writing about this issue is important anymore,” said Khaled Al-Refaie. “Many newspapers wrote about it, and many people complained — and nothing happened. If this problem happened in Europe, it would be solved within weeks. But here, it’s been a problem for more than 10 years — and it is just the same.”
Workers at the market do not want to give up the location, saying that they have the right to stay, too.
“The location is good, and moving from this place will reduce our profit,” said Matooq Al-Mutairi. “The current location is very close to the city, which is very good for both the consumer and us. Moving to another location is not the answer because if we move, we will move somewhere far from the city. Then people will start complaining that we are too far away from the city and demand to move to the place closer.”
Other market workers say it’s not worth getting your nose out of joint over. ”People are hard to satisfy,” said Awad Abdul Razzak, a Sudanese shepherd. “They are complaining that our place is producing bad smells, which is true, and at the same time they are buying from us in huge numbers.”
Customers who hold their noses get his goat in more ways than one. “I got this customer one day who wanted to buy a goat,” Razzak said. “He was disgusted and was covering his nose all the time. He then just said that he wonders how we bear the smell and it is disgusting. He told me that the municipality should put us somewhere far from here because we create a bad image for the city. I asked him if we are that disgusting then why is he coming to buy from us?”
After all, they’re animals, not roses. “Even if we moved far away from this place, he will come to the new stinking place and buy from us. It is hard to satisfy people. We are located a fair distance from the population, and we do not have control of the wind direction. I think moving from this place is a mistake, and the owner of this shop has already complained to the municipality along with many others.”
Ali Zaher, a businessman at the animal market, said many shop owners already have rejected the decision to move and complained to the municipality.
“According to the municipality, we are scheduled to move on Feb. 10 to the new place in Al-Khomra,” Zaher said. “The current location has 450 stables, and each stable costs SR3,000 a year for rent. The new location has 1,000 stables and divided into goat, camel, cattle and bird stables. The cost is SR16,000 a year for each stable. The new location is good, but it is far away from Jeddah. It will harm many animal businesses.”
Perhaps the stench has the unforeseen benefit of encouraging tourism — at least for downwind residents. “I have been hearing that the animal market is going to move to a new location for four years,” said Khaled Al-Zahrani, an Al-Salemiya resident. “I wonder when are they going to move it? It is enough that the smell is bad, but also every weekend and every Eid there are huge traffic jams. Every year, I travel to outside Jeddah so I take a time out from the smell and from the traffic jams.”
And you don’t have to be a resident to experience the ill wind.
“I have to drive the Makkah Expressway everyday to go to work. When I get close to the animal market, I have to turn the air-conditioning on and close my windows,” said Badr Al-Magnoni, an employee of Saudia Airlines. “The smell is unbearable, and I do not know how people are working inside the animal market and how people are coping with living next to the animal market. Maybe the passing motorist best summed up the opinions of many. “I hope they are not going to move the animal market near where I live,” Al-Magnoni said. Who nose?
