By Ibrahim Ali Naseeb
Al-Madinah Newspaper

MAY Allah forgive Jeddah Mayoralty for they have enriched me with the capability to become a proficient hunter of rats! Never before had I expected to reach such an unexpected and unwanted eventuality – one of becoming a rat hunter. Oh, what a mission I am fulfilling in a professional way!
Dear readers, just imagine a situation in which I have become a skillful hunter who nets an average of one to two rats daily.
My little child Abdullah helps me in this exercise. Watching my battles against the rats, he insisted that he share my efforts in this hunt. He has now acquired sufficient expertise and I can rely on him to hunt those rodents all on his own. Believe me when I tell you one of the rats that I caught was the size of a cat or a full-grown rabbit.
Earlier, Jeddah’s problems were caused by crows. Now, rats have taken up the baton from crows. Rats are evident in almost all districts. These rats are very fat. I never imagined similar rodents in my wildest dreams.
When I saw them invading my house, and destroying the roots of my trees, I decided to fight back as there was no help from the Municipality. Gradually I became successful in netting and trapping most of them, and I have the precise plan to catch the remaining ones.
Of course, it’s not rocket science. It gives me pleasure to see one of them fall into my traps. In the beginning, I used to think that I could finish this task within a few days. Soon I realized that I face a mammoth invasion of creatures without any fear of death. Hence, I am undertaking this mission, while cherishing a hope that the municipality would play its role in fighting these filthy and harmful creatures.
And so I ask; how long are we to remain as hunters? How long should my son and I engage in such a filthy pursuit?
In the near future, I will submit a record, containing a summary of my experiences in hunting rats and all related findings to the municipality. That would hopefully be a stimulating epilogue of the bitter reality I face today, enough to cause them to take action.

The writer can be reached at: hwssl@hotmail.com