Siwa Dream Life

I feel like I have something to say. Something important. Everything, everywhere, all at once is conspiring for me to write and for you to read this… .

Subhan Allah, I have never drifted away from my purpose in this life. I have always wanted to take on a job that helps many people. Mostly the poor and unfortunate, I would say. Those who want to make something for themselves and their families but don’t have the means to do so. Such means would be an education. That’s how I would think when I was younger.

But growing up I started thinking that efforts were needed elsewhere. Because educational facilities were available, already. But were they in reach? Were they accessible? Were they an option? No they were not. By barriers built, that were both physical and unseen, resources for their development were out of reach for the majority of people. Unseen barriers as in socio-economic matters. And physical barriers like walls but also the distance and cost needed to travel from home to institution.  

And since it’s unfavorable to study without hardcore empirical evidence, I concerned myself with the physical barriers that make life hard for the public. In my country for example, transportation and infrastructure are a huge factor. And not their absence is the issue, but their failure to cater for the inhabitants. Unfortunately, instead of improving fast public transportation, other measures are taken. Expand roads, import micro-busses, buy more cars, build highways. And these solutions don’t fix our traffic problems. Because induced demand creates more roads and thus more traffic. So the wannabe-solutions mentioned above actually pave way for capitalist colonialism. We can’t have enough cars because distances keep getting bigger between suburbs - paralyzing human mobility on foot.

I’m trying to clarify what is clear as day and what you already know: The environment we live in is destructive to the individual and to the country. Full stop. 

And you need to know your alternatives. Because you can’t get the life of your dreams if you don’t know what needs to change. And the thing is, you need to learn more but also unlearn what has been lectured into you. For one, let go of the first person narrative and consider the we. Because there is a nicer, much more fulfilling way to earn wealth. And that is to build on wealth. Not build on need and greed. Not cash out on other people’s shortcomings. That just makes you an enemy. It initiates mistrust and jealousy and regret. So, drop the individual and think bigger. Think about your family and friends, whom you’re guilty of competing against. Think about your family and friends with abundance and love. Think about your country and your people. Think about your continent and the whole wide world. 

Poor is defined as “lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society.” by Oxford languages. However, the people in need of better living are not the “poor” people at all. 

Traveling to Siwa Oasis in Egypt has been the eye-opening experience I was short of for everything to come together. 

According the the definition given above, Siwa and its inhabitants are “poor”. People drive tricycles for cars and live in one story houses of exposed bricks. Kids who would have phones and tablets, play with marbles in narrow dusty streets. Funny thing is, they aren’t poor. 

We are poor. They are not. They are cultured and generous and kind and happy. And they have all the produce they need to live and sustain their lives and that of their children. They can build houses and efficiently move with bikes and tricycles only. They don’t need more. That is why they are rich. And just to assure you they’re materially rich: They have gold watches and 4x4 cars and they eat protein during every meal. So they can afford more, but they don’t need to. They have sufficiently. 

Unlike us. We pay more for our food because the production line is long and costly. Because it has to get transported and packed and distributed and priced… We are used to wanting and buying and spending lots of money on basic human needs but also accessories that have fake value to our lives. We work too much to enjoy ourselves a little. And we pay, we pay so much just to live a functional, almost happy life. 

The scenarios are endless as to why we are the real poor people. In the city, our man-made steel and concrete environment intoxicates human, animal and plant. This makes us poor in terms of our health- both mentally and physically. 

I would rather live in the desert. The desert has so much more to offer than any city. It gives us clean air. It gives us palm trees. 

I cannot begin to describe how richly palm trees gift us. I have seen firsthand how its leaves are dried and used to construct walls and roofs. How the trunk is sliced into benches and tables. How the flower is used to build brooms to keep the house clean. And of course how the fruit, the sweet dates, provide nutrition for people. And the kernels get crushed and fed to animals; sustaining their lives too. 

All from one tree. Point is, trees and stones and nature in general, they should not be an afterthought. How even? They are the number one most sustainable, renewable and attainable resource we have.

There are people who don’t want you to be aware of this. They want you to be an employee in their firm and their bank, and their real estate and stock markets. They want to make money off of you. But you have alternatives. 

There is a person I had the honor of meeting in Siwa, who wore a long gown and head covering and grew a beard and all. Typical desert oasis people dress. But when he talked, he spoke like the person you would meet on the metro in the capital! He revealed how he grew up and lived in the capital city until he came out to the desert to pursue a passion for stars and astronomy. He later decided to buy a plot of land and live off of it like he proudly exclaimed himself. He has it all. He has land and a passion that generates him money and he gets to share his knowledge (and trailblazing story) to the community. 

Life in Siwa is the dream life. As of now, I want to learn from the rich poor people and help the poor rich people. Those in the city are in dire need to live a better life.