It’s a commonly known fact that Middle Eastern countries are not very environmentally conscientious and that their people have not been conditioned as young to grow into a ‘green’ society. The first time we heard that in Germany you get your rubbish dumped on your door step if it is not properly sorted for recycling, we laughed in disbelief. Twenty years later we are wishing we had paid a little more attention and respect to such forward thinking.

It was early August; A Cypriot officer sent to Germany for work related purposes was discussing matters of concern with German officers when dusk began to set it. He stood up to switch on the light but the German officer said there was no need to do so until it was dark as they could still see. The Cypriot officer was astounded by the amount of respect they bestowed on the environment and how ‘green’ they actually were. It would be a lesson he would carry forever.

Upon returning to Cyprus, he visited a naval base on a routine inspection and was surprised when he passed a freezing, well lit, but empty office. Temperatures on the island in August reach well above 38 degrees Celsius so this office had to have been air-conditioned all day long to have been that cold. Seeing there was no one inside he left a note on the desk asking its occupant to contact him. A week later he had received no reply.

It turns out the office’s usual residents were on vacation and had been so for a week. The cleaner that arrived well before the officers in the morning had been instructed to switch on the AC units and the lights as soon as she finished cleaning and leave them on so that when they got to work the office would be pleasantly cool. For an entire week that office had remained lit and air-conditioned without anyone having bothered to inform the cleaner that the officers in question were on leave.

The officer was once again astounded, this time by how ‘black’ his own people’s outlook on the environment was.

So we ask again, Green or Black? Which colour do you want to dye your world in?

M.A.