Why Don't Young Omanis Read?

Published: October 13, 2009 - Muscat Daily

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Last week I was sitting in my car in front of a tailor in the middle of Salalah waiting for my sister when a car pulled up beside me (a shiny blue Lexus if you really must know). Several women got out and set off in different directions. The driver was a young Omani man, perhaps in his early twenties. I thought to my self, ‘Oh boy, he’s going to spend the next half hour staring at me’, but lo and behold, he turned around, bent over into the backseat, and picked up a novel. He was already halfway through the book. I was so stunned that I ended up doing the starting instead. Why was I so surprised? It shouldn’t be uncommon for someone to read a book during long waits in the car, right? Wrong. In Oman, it is very uncommon. Most Omanis have not quite grasped the concept of reading for pleasure.

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I’ve always wondered why Omanis in general aren’t interested in books. Obviously one of the reasons would be that the older generation in Oman (i.e. most parents) are either illiterate or did not complete their education, and thus most young Omanis have grown up without a tradition of reading at home. Furthermore, our educational system in Oman does not encourage independent thinking & creativity, nor does it encourage reading. Books are also not easily available in Oman and are not marketed properly. Finally, I tend to believe that Omani writers do not receive enough support, but that’s my personal opinion.

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People who read in English are blessed with Borders bookstore in Muscat, but what about the rest of Oman? Our bookstores in Salalah host an insufficient selection of reference books, tourist books, and occasionally a novel or two. There are hundreds of excellent writers in our world whose books have been translated into Arabic. Take Chilean author Isabel Allende for example; I’ve met several Omanis who have read her translated books in Arabic. I tend to immediately ask where they found her books and inevitably their answer will be Dubai or Lebanon. Why not Oman? Sometimes we can’t even find books by Omani authors.

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We live in an age where technological toys such as television and the internet entertain us on a 24/7 basis. Books require dedication and discipline, two words that are not popular in our leisure-loving society. Most young Omanis waste a lot of their time on Facebook, chat rooms and internet forums. I cannot deny the fact that internet forums host excellent discussions a lot of the time, but is that even considered reading? The internet can never replace books.

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Reading involves greater levels of concentration. It increases our hunger for knowledge and encourages us to think, feel, analyze, and wonder. I won’t even start discussing the impact reading has on language skills. The habit can become a healthy addiction. Research has shown that avid readers have higher IQs and tend to do better in school and in their careers. Need I say more? People who do not read regularly are missing out on so much.

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I’ve seen the reading issue discussed endlessly among young people and on the internet in Oman, but instead of criticizing and complaining, why not think of a proactive approach to get young Omanis to read more? In Western countries kids usually read entire novels at home as part of their English class requirements. Why not start up a campaign in schools to get kids to read more? If you’ve got kids at home, for heaven’s sake read to them. It is very important to inculcate the habit of reading and the love for books from an early age. You can get kids into the habit of reading bedtime stories. Be creative. It will make them better analyzers and problem solvers. They will do better in school and it will help them later on in life. Guaranteed.