NO MORE POISONING IN DAHAB!

#26: Selma - @ Sharaf: Define "foreigner" please ...

Dear Selma,

I think you have misinterpreted the point I was making and perhaps in doing so you've actually highlighted the issue of this cultural divide of which the dog issue is merely a symptom.Tourism obviously is a mixed blessing, it has brought positive economic changes to the area but also huge negative cultural impacts...that is a totally separate issue we could debate! What we need to do in Dahab is not create factions of foreigners (and I will call them this as anyone who is not Bedouin could be classed as this - it is  not meant to be derogative in any way, just a fact) against locals. The longer-term resident foreigners have more responsibility than those who stay for 1-2 years, in order to educate other people to integrate, tolerate and respect local culture (how many 10-year + European residents speak anything beyond basic conversational Arabic for example?).  Btw if I remember rightly there was only 1 dog in Dahab 10 years ago! Promoting real integration is in all foreigners' interests as otherwise their own way of life will be affected by escalating tensions.

I think you will find a minority of kids in any part of the world abusing animals, rural or city-dwelling, it is unfortunately a fact of life and Bedouin children are no worse than kids in Europe who drag live dogs behind cars or throw them off high rise buildings. The equivalent of the dog wadi woman here would have been arrested in Europe and the animals taken off her, placed in an animal home and ultimately put to sleep! Being in Dahab has allowed her to be irresponsible towards animals in the same way many foreigners are here. It's so easy to benefit from the love and companionship of a dog when you are single and lonely and then just dump it on the street when you decide to move on.

How many foreigers signing this petition have actually spent significant time and effort caring for and adopting strays in their own countries and seen the number of animals that still need to put to sleep despite spaying being routine?  For a select few, is this just a recent fixation, a venting opportunity for deeper problems with integrating into a contrasting culture and an attempt to change Dahab into a more familiar, comfortable setting in which to live? British people in parts of Spain have tried to do the same, making Costa del Sol and many other coastal regions so British that their entire character and communities were destroyed, replaced by ignorant, intolerant sun-seekers. Eventually they weren't welcome anymore as tensions reached breaking point and their houses were subsequently taken off them and they were forced to leave. Don't underestimate the power of local people and their limits of tolerance despite recognition of the economic gains from tourism.

A recent posting on Facebook about an old Bedouin women being evil and feeding someone's dog rice with poison on the seafront are indicative of this deep-rooted intolerance. Not only were the comments completely inflammatory and a personal attack on an elder of the community but they show a deep hatred for local people. Has it occured to the owner that the dog in question wanders up and down the seafront urinating against trees and on the pavement where the woman sits selling her handicrafts. I'm not surprised she wanted to get rid of it even if this allegation is true! I saw the same dog in question (a 'pet') playing with strays and scavenging out of rubbish bags outside a hotel while the owner was getting drunk in the bar inside. Does this appear to be a well-cared for pet, is she really concerned about it eating poison? To me it is pure hypocrisy and an excuse to have a dig at Bedouins. A positive thing coming out of this poisoning is I have actually seen long-term foreigners buying leads and walking their dogs responsibly for the first time on the streets. If this is what it takes then I can only see benefits for the pets as owners start taking care of them. I remember one girl telling me she couldn't afford a lead and collar for her dog - if you can't afford a lifetime commitment to vet's bills, vaccinations and leads and collars as well as sufficient food for your dog you shouldn't have the right to have one in any country. She certainly won't be taking her dog back to Europe when she moves on!

Wanderer mentions being scared of attacks from rabid dogs in the mountains - this is a reality for Bedouins most of the time. Friends have been chased by packs of dogs regularly whilst cycling. Kids play on beaches where dog faeces are rife and risk blindness if they ingest any. These threats from strays are a daily reality for people in most developing countries whereas Europeans don't understand having lived in countries where dogs are effectively controlled. Who can blame them for wanting to protect their community from disease, loss of livestock and attacks on children as a priority with the means they have available? I agree with you that in this case the religious aspect is minor, the problem is a ubiqitous one faced by humans throughout the world regardless of religious beliefs.

I hope you will think of the human side of this issue, after all this is a problem created by humans and needs to be solved quickly and pragmatically without emotion if tourism and a peaceful way of life for all residents and local wildlife is to continue. Ultimately the well-cared for dogs that remain will benefit too! The dog poisoning in gardens is tragic and of course should not have happened; I am not condoning the use of poison, merely pointing out it is the only current option for local people to control the stray dog population throughout the country. In the meantime, the Animal Welfare group here is making great progress in alerting all residents to possible threats to their pets as well as doing their best to reduce suffering of the great number of strays. What will be done with the 200+ (soon to be 300,400..) unwanted unsterilised hungry dogs in the dog wadi is still unresolved but I hope something can be done by our community before summer as their suffering and slow deaths will only increase as temperatures rise...these are not one woman's pets but have now been left as a problem for the whole of Dahab to deal with and certainly do no favours in terms of inter-cultural relations...