Projects with no tangible results
Other Voices
OBy Marwan Salamah
nce upon a time, there was a rural village that lay beside a beautiful serene lake. The villagers were envious of the city dwellers, and wishing to emulate their perception of civilization and modernity, decided to build a multi-story building that houses a supermarket, offices, and apartments - Despite the fact that the village needed none of these. Nevertheless, after thorough research and deep thinking, they selected a heath by the lake, purchased it cheaply from its owner, the village Headman, and began constructing their six-storied monument. The building was duly completed and it was opened in a glorious ceremony, attended by all the villagers, their families and animals.
A few months later, the villagers realized that new Building blocked their view of the beautiful lake, as well as blocked the cooling breeze that they enjoy during their mid-day siestas. Their complaining grew to fuming levels that eventually broke out in a riotous demonstration demanding the razing down of the building. The noisy procession reached the Headman’s hut, and after a fruitless argument, they beat up his cow and threatened to kidnap his donkey. Frightened, the Headman caved-in and promised to solve the problem.
He hurriedly met with the village elite, who had invested their money in the construction work, and after long deliberation, decided that the wisest course of action was a compromise; demolish half the building and keep the other half. They decided to demolish three floors and keep three, thus re-expose the lake views, as well as preserve part of their investment. However, on the day of demolition, they intelligently decided, by way of saving time and money, to begin with the nearest level, so they demolished the ground floor!
The idea of this tale grew as a result of reading the daily local newspapers with what they carry in the form of mushy plans, intentions and projects to address the perennial problems of the country. It may be wiser to stop reading newspapers altogether — at least, it would spare us high blood pressure!
msalamah@marsalpost.com