The Yemenis have no compunction whatsoever of throwing trash on the ground. It doesn’t occur to them that maybe they shouldn’t do it. I have felt like an idiot a couple of times holding onto trash for miles looking for a trash can while wading through everything that has been left on the ground. In the old city, they do have street cleaners, but someone must have taken the week off where I walk daily. It’s disgusting, and rather shocking to American eyes. I distinctly remember the ad campaign in the mid to late 70’s of the “Native American” (who wasn’t, he was of Italian heritage if I remember properly) crying over what had become of his land. He was of course crying about the litter, not about the abject poverty and substance abuse that his people had fallen into because of the White Man… Hmmm, no wonder they used an Italian:-) It seems fairly obvious that some sort of campaign would help here to, but the delivery would be an issue. Most people do not own TVs or radios. And that’s in the big city, the ownership of those items approaches zero in the rural areas… In the end, nothing will work except the Yemenis taking pride in how their place looks, and I don’t see that happening any time soon.
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