3
Everything began when the first modern houses were built. At first everybody was happy because
new people were coming, and with these new people, new ideas, comfort and hospitals we did not have yet.
We rejoiced to find schools and not only village people who devoted a few hour of their time to educate us
with the little they knew. Now, we really had a chance to know about the world! Maybe even some of us
would have the Blessing of becoming a scholar?
To make a long story short, we were all very excited, except for a few groaning elders who had always
lived a traditional life and did not want to change anything about it.
They said to us: ‘Do not be so happy to see all these people; one day they will prevail over you. One
should live the way Allah has performed with what is available therein. Do we really need faucets and
roads? Do we need schools when the elders can teach our children? Do we need all these people who do
not have any religion for some of them?’
They kept on groaning, but already nobody was listening to them anymore.
Meanwhile, it was obvious that a few changes had occurred in the community. First of all, people were
dumping their trash anywhere, on the streets, in the public gardens, on the curb. Even though we had the
trash taken care of and dumped in a landfill, people did not respect the workers who did the job and were
less than careless concerning what they were trashing and where. It was not unusual to see trash on fire or
to hear an explosion in the dump trucks because of aerosols.
4
Soon workers had to work day and night to clean the streets. Our mayor had to give tickets to people
throwing things out of their cars. Can you picture trees with balloon or plastic bag hanging from their
branches?
Trash was discarded in landfills, but soon there was no room anymore for this garbage. Peasants
got angry. Of course, the area was smelly; the decomposition of this trash stocked underground released
heavy metals and toxins that would pollute the ground and the water.
Some of the garbage was released one day into the river! Fish breathe in the water; they draw the
oxygen they need from the water. Since the waters were polluted, fish could not breathe anymore and died
out rapidly. People tried to hide the fact by telling us that it was in the habit of fish to suicide in-groups
every now and then like some rats do in Europe. This was quite unbelievable, but still people did not react;
they swallowed the pill! However, fishermen noticed that animals living around water often died; they had
their mouth caught into packs of six plastic rings. Furthermore, some animals thinking plastic bags floating
in the surface of the water were food, died in the attempt of eating them!
Soon enough, our beautiful sky filled with dark clouds and these dark clouds stayed there, never leaving the
sky.
Soon, smog from cars, trucks and buses caused the sky to look permanently gray. People began to have
illnesses such as cancer or asthma, and bronchitis, pulmonary diseases and even influenza. Too many
people lived in such a small place as our valley. Because of the burn of fuels by power plants, industries
and motor vehicles, acid rain began to poor into the water and over the forest. The result? Trees became ill
and the animals left them.
Some of the birds of prey could not even lay their eggs anymore or the eggshell was too weak. So they
stayed here until the last of them died out.
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