Fahd Bin Jolaid

Al-Jazirah

Nobody will blame the Saudi actress Mariam Al-Ghamdi who recently said in Kuwait: “Thank God I was honored before I had died.”



Al-Ghamdi made the comments while delivering a speech on behalf of a number of Gulf Arabs who were being honored by the secretariat general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for their work in literature and the arts.



Al-Ghamdi was not talking about herself as much as she had expressed the feelings of many accomplished individuals in our society. The parameter of honoring creative men and women responsible for spectacular achievements is often linked to after they have died.



I do not know of any group of people other than the Arabs who are so fond of honoring people after their passing away. Do we not trust those who are alive? Do we fear that honoring them may change their attitude before death? Is it because of this that we wait for them to die so we may honor them? Or is it that the person’s turn will only come after he or she has died?



There is a question: How many Al-Ghamdis do we have in our country who are worthy of being honored before they die?



It is the smart societies that take the initiative to honor their citizens for outstanding achievements while they are alive. This encourages them to achieve even more excellence. Only the “sleeping societies” remember their innovators after death.



An accomplished individual in an Arab country was decorated. He was given a wooden shield and a ribbon. After the party was over, the poor man did not have enough money to pay for a taxi to take him home. One of the attendants said it would have been more profitable for him if he had been honored after his death.



If the Arab societies were to save half of the costs they spend in honoring the dead and were to use this money to decorate the living, our societies would really develop.