I am at Caspian coast somewhere near Mahmudabad city. The weather is fair and a pleasant breeze fondles my face. Large waves that travel gently and calm down reaching the land portray a lively look from the sea.
We enter a public lot, a 300 meter sea lines allocated for visitors to the sea. The seashore is not accessible for ordinary people almost anywhere else. Although by law the coast is owned by the nation. Enforced by the article 3 of the Seaside lands law, approved 1967; the Caspian shore up to 60 meter from the high tide point is owned by the state and no private and exclusive owner can posses it. The mentioned seaside can be used only for the public use like ports and military bases. Yet, according to parliament member from Mazandaran province, Ezatola Akbari %96 of his province sea sides are exploited by state and private sectors.(http://www.hamseda.ir/fa/pages/?cid=4109).
Every car should pay $2 entrance fee and only 50 meters walk away you can feel Caspian Sea water on your feet. We are not alone; there are hundreds of people from different parts of Iran tightly sitting and laying down in seaside. Entire women population observe Hijab (Islamic outfit for women) more or less. Some even keep their Chador (a long veil covering body and head of women except the face) around their hip. Some groups of people brought with them water pipes. Hundreds of people -including women with Islamic outfit- too are in shallow water near by and few casual swimmers a bit further in deeper part.
We are looking for a proper place to sit. It is sickening. Garbage is everywhere. Thousands of pieces of different trashes are scattered around. Big and small glass and plastic disposed bottles, nappies, textiles, and plastic wrappers and etc. it looks as if we are going to sit in the middle of a waste collecting spot. At last no other choice. We had to seat somewhere without even thinking of cleaning a bit our surrounding. Because the amount of waste is huge and this time I gave up and surrendered to the Rubbish kingdom.
Some ten motor boats parked distanced from one another on the seaside. A few of the boat's operators are familiar. They are the ones offering people "boat rides" at the entrance. A bit further in the sea there is a different kind of boat they call "Jet ski". They are zigzagging fast swinging in the sea right next to the swimmers.
There is a horse strolling in between seated people on the land. The rider is wearing a cowboy hat and offering visitors a ride with his horse. Also you can hire sand driving cars and motor bikes. Driving these cars and motorbikes that can be pretty fast, just you need to pay. There are no instructions and no age limitations. I saw a boy around 5 driving one of the small cars, alone. I was so sure this kind of careless decision may cause accident, but I never thought my prediction may come true this soon. The child bumped his mother while his mother was trying to stop him going farther. Fortunately nothing serious happened- This time- of course.
Another sand vehicle was driven by a young girl around 18. She efficiently passed through pedestrian relaxed in the seaside. Apparently she had done this often and knows well even bumping some of these living things on the beach will not cost much, perhaps an apology or some flirting with the people in charge.
One of the boats left the land while pushed by 2 young men with 7 passengers. When floating completely in the shallow water the engine was started. The passengers except one were in their 40s and 50s. None of them was wearing life saving jacket. I asked the boat workers, "Why the passengers have no saving jackets?"
"No danger threatens them". He replied.
I said, "If something happens".
"Nothing happens". He said.
I insisted, "in case something happens".
He was tall and dark. Half opened eyes looked down on my face and seemingly irritated with my meddling questions, that can distort his business, said, "There are fellows around." I could not clearly catch the meaning of the "fellows" he mentioned. Perhaps what he refers are the boat workers around. It seemed to me this idea will not work properly and it would be impossible for them, even if all of them would be available at the time of need, to bring these passengers to land, alive. I remembered the tragic incident in Tehran's city park back to the year 2002, when 6 children drowned due to carelessness. And unfortunately there were not enough attention paid to the case by Media.
I can see in front of me 3 boys enjoying their last teen years. They were doing anything possible; kicking, punching, wrestling and etc. all these apparently was not satisfactory enough. They started to through stones to or better to say on the water to make the stones flying. Flying where? You guessed correctly. In between people in shallow waters. By 2 and 3 shots, two of them left this dangerous game. And went into the sea. The third continued playing till he got tired of it and followed his companies.
The waves coming to shore shaped a little pond in front of where I was seated holding some water. A young boy trying to imitate the bigger lads started to throw stones to little pan. This time opposite of the sea, to our direction! I received a phone call and while talking, I felt splashes of water to my face and body. Then I heard people shouting complaints and the boy stopped.
At my back some meters away a woman and man are selling broiled corn on the cob. Smell of engines' exhaust mixed with raw benzene are in the air. Perhaps these two combined with moisture had made me not notice the burning corns.
I can see white particles in the coast. I remembered white sands island in Philippines. But wait, the white objects are thousands of tiny pieces of white Polystyrene both on land and floating on the water. I can see a 6 year old girl is trying to float on water by embracing a rotten block of Polystyrene some steps away.
I walk around a place is walled by metal sheets for people to take shower after coming from the sea. On the wall there is a sign board which reads:
Be careful of the theft
On case of loosing thins it is you who is responsible
Swimming in deep water=death
Two young policemen leisurely walk around time to time. One is wearing a commando hat. Which I can not believe the hat is styled by the police force and is an organization uniform.
The boats madly lands on the shore coming back from a short excursion. The speed perhaps is 80 km/h. With full load the boat jumps on land paying no attention to the children playing just in the same area. I am gravely frightened. My son and daughter are among children playing on the shallow water, exactly where the mad driver lands the boat fearlessly. The boat was much closed to smash head of these children. But why should he be afraid?
I am now really fed up with where I have brought my family. I want to say and said actually, are these people Humans? Before looking for answer, which naturally is yes. I found myself to be one of them. Just sitting next to them, and tolerating with them. What can I do? So, what can they do? I try to relieve myself by telling: "I am not enjoying the time", but, "do they do?"
I remembered Timmendorfer beach in northern part of Germany. What is the difference? If not the administrations? I wished the Iranian authorities give a visit to Timmendorfer Beach and will find out that they can contribute more to human development than they do now.
We enter a public lot, a 300 meter sea lines allocated for visitors to the sea. The seashore is not accessible for ordinary people almost anywhere else. Although by law the coast is owned by the nation. Enforced by the article 3 of the Seaside lands law, approved 1967; the Caspian shore up to 60 meter from the high tide point is owned by the state and no private and exclusive owner can posses it. The mentioned seaside can be used only for the public use like ports and military bases. Yet, according to parliament member from Mazandaran province, Ezatola Akbari %96 of his province sea sides are exploited by state and private sectors.(http://www.hamseda.ir/fa/pages/?cid=4109).
Every car should pay $2 entrance fee and only 50 meters walk away you can feel Caspian Sea water on your feet. We are not alone; there are hundreds of people from different parts of Iran tightly sitting and laying down in seaside. Entire women population observe Hijab (Islamic outfit for women) more or less. Some even keep their Chador (a long veil covering body and head of women except the face) around their hip. Some groups of people brought with them water pipes. Hundreds of people -including women with Islamic outfit- too are in shallow water near by and few casual swimmers a bit further in deeper part.
We are looking for a proper place to sit. It is sickening. Garbage is everywhere. Thousands of pieces of different trashes are scattered around. Big and small glass and plastic disposed bottles, nappies, textiles, and plastic wrappers and etc. it looks as if we are going to sit in the middle of a waste collecting spot. At last no other choice. We had to seat somewhere without even thinking of cleaning a bit our surrounding. Because the amount of waste is huge and this time I gave up and surrendered to the Rubbish kingdom.
Some ten motor boats parked distanced from one another on the seaside. A few of the boat's operators are familiar. They are the ones offering people "boat rides" at the entrance. A bit further in the sea there is a different kind of boat they call "Jet ski". They are zigzagging fast swinging in the sea right next to the swimmers.
There is a horse strolling in between seated people on the land. The rider is wearing a cowboy hat and offering visitors a ride with his horse. Also you can hire sand driving cars and motor bikes. Driving these cars and motorbikes that can be pretty fast, just you need to pay. There are no instructions and no age limitations. I saw a boy around 5 driving one of the small cars, alone. I was so sure this kind of careless decision may cause accident, but I never thought my prediction may come true this soon. The child bumped his mother while his mother was trying to stop him going farther. Fortunately nothing serious happened- This time- of course.
Another sand vehicle was driven by a young girl around 18. She efficiently passed through pedestrian relaxed in the seaside. Apparently she had done this often and knows well even bumping some of these living things on the beach will not cost much, perhaps an apology or some flirting with the people in charge.
One of the boats left the land while pushed by 2 young men with 7 passengers. When floating completely in the shallow water the engine was started. The passengers except one were in their 40s and 50s. None of them was wearing life saving jacket. I asked the boat workers, "Why the passengers have no saving jackets?"
"No danger threatens them". He replied.
I said, "If something happens".
"Nothing happens". He said.
I insisted, "in case something happens".
He was tall and dark. Half opened eyes looked down on my face and seemingly irritated with my meddling questions, that can distort his business, said, "There are fellows around." I could not clearly catch the meaning of the "fellows" he mentioned. Perhaps what he refers are the boat workers around. It seemed to me this idea will not work properly and it would be impossible for them, even if all of them would be available at the time of need, to bring these passengers to land, alive. I remembered the tragic incident in Tehran's city park back to the year 2002, when 6 children drowned due to carelessness. And unfortunately there were not enough attention paid to the case by Media.
I can see in front of me 3 boys enjoying their last teen years. They were doing anything possible; kicking, punching, wrestling and etc. all these apparently was not satisfactory enough. They started to through stones to or better to say on the water to make the stones flying. Flying where? You guessed correctly. In between people in shallow waters. By 2 and 3 shots, two of them left this dangerous game. And went into the sea. The third continued playing till he got tired of it and followed his companies.
The waves coming to shore shaped a little pond in front of where I was seated holding some water. A young boy trying to imitate the bigger lads started to throw stones to little pan. This time opposite of the sea, to our direction! I received a phone call and while talking, I felt splashes of water to my face and body. Then I heard people shouting complaints and the boy stopped.
At my back some meters away a woman and man are selling broiled corn on the cob. Smell of engines' exhaust mixed with raw benzene are in the air. Perhaps these two combined with moisture had made me not notice the burning corns.
I can see white particles in the coast. I remembered white sands island in Philippines. But wait, the white objects are thousands of tiny pieces of white Polystyrene both on land and floating on the water. I can see a 6 year old girl is trying to float on water by embracing a rotten block of Polystyrene some steps away.
I walk around a place is walled by metal sheets for people to take shower after coming from the sea. On the wall there is a sign board which reads:
Be careful of the theft
On case of loosing thins it is you who is responsible
Swimming in deep water=death
Two young policemen leisurely walk around time to time. One is wearing a commando hat. Which I can not believe the hat is styled by the police force and is an organization uniform.
The boats madly lands on the shore coming back from a short excursion. The speed perhaps is 80 km/h. With full load the boat jumps on land paying no attention to the children playing just in the same area. I am gravely frightened. My son and daughter are among children playing on the shallow water, exactly where the mad driver lands the boat fearlessly. The boat was much closed to smash head of these children. But why should he be afraid?
I am now really fed up with where I have brought my family. I want to say and said actually, are these people Humans? Before looking for answer, which naturally is yes. I found myself to be one of them. Just sitting next to them, and tolerating with them. What can I do? So, what can they do? I try to relieve myself by telling: "I am not enjoying the time", but, "do they do?"
I remembered Timmendorfer beach in northern part of Germany. What is the difference? If not the administrations? I wished the Iranian authorities give a visit to Timmendorfer Beach and will find out that they can contribute more to human development than they do now.
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