A group of cleaning workers contracted by the Asir municipality. Street cleaners who have to work up to 12 hours nonstop in the sweltering heat say it is their unflinching faith that keep them going this Ramadan. — Okaz photo



Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The extreme heat these days in Jeddah increases the hardships for many people, and especially for outdoor workers and municipality cleaners.



With summer temperatures reaching their peak across much of the Kingdom, remaining hydrated is the real challenge. Yet despite the hardship caused by the long, hot summer, outdoor workers remain industrious as in any other month.



Saudi Gazette spoke to some of the outdoor workers in Jeddah about dealing with this challenge.



“In summer, when the weather is hot and the days are long, fasting for Ramadan can be harder for us but for the sake of Allah we do it,” said Abdul Fatah Al-Masry, a construction worker.



He added that despite the hard work they do during this extreme weather it makes him feel good at Iftar time. “To feel hungry is something normal for us but humidity is what really makes us feel the pain. Luckily, we got shorter working hours this year,” he said.



Nour Islam who works for the municipality as a street sweeper said he works long hours in the hot weather under the sun but takes breaks in the cool interior of mosques. 



In the weighty blue suit and standing alongside his trash can, he said, “These moments that I spend in a mosque or the shades of a tree really keeps me going to do my job. We work more than 12 hours daily sweeping streets non-stop…. Alhamdulillah.”



As he was gearing up to deliver orders on his old bike, Kamal Al-Deen, a 34 year-old delivery boy for a food store, pointed out that home delivery of food items increases in Ramadan more than in any other month, especially at noon time. “We don't get any time to rest; I feel people consume more food in Ramadan than in any other month of the year," he said.



"The hot weather certainly makes fasting this Ramadan hard for most us but we have to do our job and it was difficult for us to deliver from one house to another in the beginning of Ramadan but now we are used to this hostile weather as we are reaching the last days of the holy month.”



Dr. Hasan Abu Al-Fatooh, a nutritionist, told Saudi Gazette that cases of heat stress or illness among outdoor workers are more this Ramadan as fasting came in the hottest month of the year.



He said, “I personally think that no worker should be forced to work under the sun and in this heat during the whole month of Ramadan and should be given the option to work after Iftar. It is about the safety and life of poor workers who barely make their living here and is not about power.”