Brought me to tears
This story and video of the father singing to his dying son is simply heartbreaking - I actually cried when I saw it (‘Dad sings emotional song to his dying son,’ Gulf News, November 16). My second son was born in September, full term at 40 weeks and we very nearly lost him due to problems during labour that came out of nowhere. It was a perfectly healthy pregnancy throughout for me and then I had to have an emergency Caesarean section. My little boy had to spend three weeks in neonatal intensive care in London, and my husband and I were completely helpless and dumbstruck at his bedside. Thank God, our little boy is fine and back home with us now, but still two months on, we are emotionally and physically shattered and shocked at how dangerous childbearing is still in the 21st century. I pray to God for the father, Chris Picco, one can only imagine the horror and pain he is going through right now.
From Ms Sarah Louise
Sharjah
Website comment
Safety precautions needed
Just the other day at the DubaiMarina, I saw a little one crawling all over the fence, but he was under the watchful eyes of his mother (‘4-year-old boy drowns in Dubai Marina,’ Gulf News, November 16). I also looked to see if the railing below was safe for him to move around like that. So many times parents with their children are leaning over the railings. There are no lifeguards here and not even any lifebelts, which I saw were kept near the waters at Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) once while I was visiting a friend last week.
From Ms Uttara Ghosh
UAE
Facebook comment
Such a shame
The child slipping through the guardrail in Dubai Marina was a tragedy waiting to happen. There are no lifeguards, no rescue teams or people to help. What a shame that a child had to die to bring this to light.
From Ms Stuti Saxena
Dubai
Facebook comment
Dangerous ledge
As a father I agree that we should watch our children at all time, but also the fence around the water should be at least one metre away from the water. It shouldn’t be a straight ledge into the water in case of a child falling, like in this case.
From Mr Kenan M. Sukaria
Dubai
Facebook comment
Happy for recycling initiatives
Initiatives to clean up the environment are really appreciated and articles like this motivate many young people to recycle (‘Mirdif welcomes recycling drive,’ Gulf News, November 15). Many schools are holding initiatives like this, our Mother Earth is becoming increasingly polluted, but it is never late to combat these problems. Everything starts with a small step. We can begin with small contributions like these initiatives so our Earth can be brought back to its earlier and cleaner version.
From Ms Jenise James
UAE
More garbage than I knew
I have heard about many clean-up campaigns like, ‘Clean Up UAE’ and also the newly introduced ‘Clean India’ campaign. The ‘Clean Up The World’ campaign was held around Dubai last Thursday, where many participated, including my school in Dubai with great enthusiasm. Since I am a member of the environmental club at the school, I, too, took part in this event, which was organised by the Dubai Municipality in association with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
We went to Jumeirah Beach, happily wearing t-shirts that said: “Clean Up The World”. I was thinking that Jumeirah Beach was pretty clean, and I wondered what was so dirty there. However, I knew that I was wrong when I started picking up the trash. Cigarette butts, bottle caps, glass pieces and plastic bags were only a few of the many things we found. One thing was clear: despite the efforts taken by the authorities and various organisations to spread awareness regarding cleanliness and hygiene, this beach had a lot of litter. This activity taught me how simple steps can make a difference. This day made me realise the importance of keeping the world clean. It doesn’t take much time to pick up some waste and throw it away, but it is very important for ensuring that we walk towards a clean future.
From Ms Rose Vincent
Dubai
Inefficient justice system
This was a very well written article, every word of it was true and it is sad to see that the justice system in rape cases are so poor and slow that it leads to increases in such inhumane crimes (‘Why do we punish rape victims all over again?’ Gulf News, November 16). May God give sense to the senseless people who participate shamelessly in such acts and also to those who do not support and understand the misery of the victims.
From Mr D. M.
Dubai
Website comment
Unwise political tactics
The attitude and stance of the Indian Congress Party towards Narendra Modi’s government is unwise and rather destructive (‘BJP-Congress tension will hurt reforms,’ Gulf News, November 16). The Congress has been objecting to all the good and pragmatic projects the current government has implemented. Under the immature leadership of both mother and son, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress Party is going through a very bad rough patch from which a recovery seems rather distant. Unless the leadership changes, I don’t think that anyone sees any future for the Congress Party in India.
From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel
Muvattupuzha, India
Social networking is standard
We need to understand that in the modern world, these social networking platforms have become a part of a normal means of communication (‘Saudi wife divorced for ignoring husband’s Whatsapp messages,’ Gulf News, November 16). Ignoring the messages on Whatsapp is exactly the same as ignoring face-to-face conversation. It is normal to be able to reply at the same time, but ignoring it all together is a different story. The man simply divorced her because of his wife’s ignorant behaviour towards him and their relationship.
From Mr Fares
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Think it over
It’s very sad to know about the incident, but before getting a divorce we should think it over 10 times and decide whether minor mistakes should be ignored, because God never liked divorce. Men should remember that their wife is also someone’s daughter and sister.
From Mr Zia Al Rahman
Dubai
Website comment
Made for each other
In my opinion, they both deserved each other. The wife who does not know her priorities and the husband for divorcing her on these grounds! If you’re going to divorce and use Whatsapp as your reason, maybe there wasn’t much there to begin with in this marriage.
From Ms Amanda Sumoondur
UAE
Facebook comment
Neglecting the marriage
I really appreciate the person who has given the divorce because nowadays it seems that all the time people are spending more and more time on mobile phones. For me it seems difficult when I am working in the office day and night, struggling to keep her happy. If they neglect the marriage like that, I think divorce papers should be accepted.
From Mr Syed Shakir
Dubai
Website comment
Time with family
Don’t know why people can’t take their priorities seriously. Technology is there to make your life easier; it should not be your life though. People from all generations need to understand that without Facebook, Whatsapp, chats, mobiles and the internet we would survive. These are modes of communication, which should make our lives better, they should not be the way we live. Set your priorities, understand the value of relations and pass these same values onto your children. People talking too much to friends need to ask themselves: “How much time am I spending time with my family?”
From Mr Praveen
Dubai
Website comment
Prioritising family
I think that this is the story of every household. Correction is a must or else we will see more incidents like this taking place. Facebook comments will not bring any positivity in life and in fact, I find that most are useless discussions. As someone said, it is time to understand priorities and time to spend time with our families to bring everyone closer, rather than having room-to-room Whatsapp conversations.
From Mr Mansour Ahmad
Dubai
Website comment
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