Overflowing street dumpsters kept people from celebrating Eid in their neighborhood. Residents of Karantina district in South Jeddah say the smell is unbearable and the municipality is not listening to their demands.

“The garbage on the streets is an obstacle in every way possible. We can not park our cars and it is an eyesore for us to see everyday as soon as we open our doors,” said Maraim, a Nigerian resident. “We have tried to change the location of the dumpster but people keep putting it back in front of our house and we are stuck with it.”

Karantina residents celebrate Eid in the street because their houses are very small, said Abdullah, a Sudanese resident. “Every year we decorate the streets in front of houses with lights and other colorful items. We then bring out foods and chairs and all celebrate Eid as a family,” he said. “This year we had to move our celebration to the main street because it was cleaner. It was much better because here we don’t have to smell the garbage.”

Yemeni stay-at-home mother Aisha said it was impossible to open the window of her house fearing the smell would come inside. “While I’m cooking I usually open the windows to allow the house to breathe. Now, once I open the window the whole house will smell like garbage,” she said. “It was embarrassing when visitors came to our house and had to breathe in that bad smell. I seriously think there is a dead cat in there because it smells so bad.”

Bakor, another Karantina resident, said Jeddah Municipality was contacted a month ago but no one came to clean up.







“Many of my neighbors called them and complained about the situation. All they said is that they will send someone soon,” he said. “They ignored us and all we want is our right to clean streets. Dirty dumpsters will bring along viruses that are connected to hygiene problems. Insects are gathering around this dump site and we are getting worried,” he added.