Opinions | Letters
January 14, 2009
Letters to the Editor: January 14, 2009
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:42 January 13, 2009
Just one dirham
I had an idea, which could help the poor and helpless Palestinian people! What if each and every shop in the UAE donated one dirham for every sale they make for the period of five days? Or what if every customer who makes a purchase donates Dh1? I think it would make a lot of difference to the people of Palestine.
From Mr Adel Al Attar
Dubai
Only one solution
Has Israel become so oblivious and indifferent to the cold-blooded killings of Palestinians that they are passing it off as justified self-defence? Such attacks would only breed more hatred and create support for the very people they are trying to eliminate. As world leaders sit back and watch, innocent children are being wiped out of existence every second. As a Westerner, watching this massacre has made me angry and sick to the stomach. The Israeli leadership and those who support its actions should all hang their heads in shame. My advice and message to the leaders of the Arab world is that they must use their greatest weapon to bring them to their senses. Shut off the flow of oil to the West and let the economies of the US and Europe grind to a halt. Then we shall see how fast a solution is found.
From Mr A. Iceton
Abu Dhabi
Not so lonely
Recently, Gulf News reported that women in the age bracket of 20 to 40 suffer from loneliness (“Despite the 1:2 ratio loneliness remains a sticking point for single women ion UAE,'' Gulf News, January 10). Is this a research or study that the newspaper conducted? If yes, what was the sample size taken into consideration? If not, then it's a very misleading and irrational statement and makes for poor observation. I doubt if women feel lonely in the UAE. Irrespective of ethnicity or nationality, women are widely accepted in this society as an integral part, highly respected, given a sense of security and able to enjoy privileges such as driving, access to shopping malls, spas and nightclubs. I do not agree with many readers when they state that this society is not designed for young people. My advice to such people is to please go out more and try to be a part of this multi-cultural and comparatively tolerant society. Women have realised the attention that they get, and I think that they are just taking their time to decide who their ideal partner should be.
From Mr Adnan Eftikhar
UAE
Public needs
The issue of public toilets is very important (“Lack of public toilets raises a stink in Dubai'', Gulf News, January 10). I urge the authorities to understand the needs of the public. A short while ago, I passed by a bus station in Bur Dubai and was surprised by the long line in front of the toilet.
From Mr Prabhu
Dubai,
Website comment
Hard task
I have often faced difficulties in finding a public toilet. I usually look for the nearest petrol station, but with the traffic, finding one is a hard task.
From Mr Naresh
Dubai,
Website comment
Surprising
I was surprised to notice the lack of public toilets at bus stations. If one has access to a vehicle, one can always find a toilet in the nearest shopping mall. But what about those who cannot afford extra expenses, yet have to take a taxi to find a toilet or even pay Dh2 for using a public one? The solution is to provide a larger number of free public toilets and to make it mandatory for construction sites to provide and ensure proper usage of portable toilets.
From Ms Lekha
Sharjah,
Website comment
Utilise space
Usually during the weekends, the public toilets are always occupied. Often, such toilets have separate rooms and very few sinks. If this ratio can be modified to accommodate more rooms and sinks, better utilisation of space can occur.
From Mr Prakash Kothivi
Abu Dhabi
Visit malls
I make sure I go to the toilet before I leave my house or the workplace. If I feel the need to use one, I just go to the nearest shopping mall or supermarket.
From Ms Madette
Al Ain, Website comment
Reckless
Recently, while driving towards Shindagah tunnel, a Dubai taxi came from behind at great speed and banged into my car. My vehicle was badly damaged and is in the garage for at least seven days. The taxi driver was fined but he didn't seem convinced that he had done something wrong. Higher penalties should be slapped for such reckless driving. This would greatly help good drivers and avoid unnecessary repair costs.
From Mr Leslie Fernandes
Dubai
Different faiths
This is in response to Mr Subhasis Mukherjee's letter (“Terrorists have a religion,'' Gulf News, January 9). Terrorists are like insects that plague our society, they have no faith! If a terrorist has a faith, it is a faith created by him or her because no faith preaches terrorism.
From Mr Nasser Usmani
Dubai
Happy characters
I think some might be very happy if Gulf News does not report anything on the Mumbai attacks (“No tears'', Gulf News, January 7). Soon after the attacks there were only about five letters on the incident. Of these two were from people like Ms Noor who was clearly irritated with the ‘extensive coverage'. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Gulf News and the UAE for reporting events that took place in Mumbai.
From Ms Divya
UAE, Full name withheld by request
Too much to handle
I appreciate Gulf News's coverage of the Gaza conflict and other atrocities that happen across the globe. However, I would like to ask the newspaper not to place revealing pictures of dead people/children on its front page. When our three-year-old daughter picks up the paper from the doormat she comes back into the house crying. Some shots are just too confrontational, even for adults.
From Mr Edward Sleijffers
UAE
It's war
Gulf News should stop publishing gory pictures of children on its front page. Please at least issue a warning that the pages to follow might contain harmful content, especially for sensitive people. I am afraid to pick up the paper in the morning to read the page one news. Let's be human and support what is right. I urge Israel and Hamas to stop war if it is at the cost of innocent children. For then it is nothing but a failure of war.
From Mr Kumar Sharma
UAE
Editor's note: Unfortunately, the pictures and reports show the face of war. It may be uncomfortable, but the newspaper has a duty to convey the reality.
Answers to issues
Watch and go
The traffic signals at the roundabout, which lead to Uptown Mirdif (see picture below), have been yellow for a long time now. They seem to be in the 'watch-and-go' mode. The roundabout gets quite busy during peak hours and this mode is no longer safe. Does the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have any plans to convert them into the normal red-yellow-green system? I request them to do so as soon as possible.
From Ms Anita Nair,
Dubai
The management of RTA replied: The signals will be activated in the usual manner (red, yellow, green) as soon as the speed bumps in the area are removed to allow the traffic to run smoothly. The RTA will treat this as an urgent modification and we expect the contractor to deliver soon. We thank the complainant for her concern.
No notice
I am a subscriber of etisalat and have a fixed line at my house, which is located close to the industrial area, in Sharjah. On December 21, 2008, our telephone number was changed without any notice from etisalat.
There is now a technical problem with our line and the voice of the caller gets cut often.
When we called 101 to complain about the issue, they said that our phone number was not registered with etisalat. However, I get the bill regularly on my postal address, which shows my customer number, too. If the phone number is not registered, it is their fault and not the customer's.
The call centre staff asked me to go to etisalat's main branch in Sharjah and ask them to add the telephone number and user's name to their list of customers. Why should we have to suffer for their mistake?
From Mr Ahmad Shaheen,
Sharjah
The management of etisalat replied: etisalat regrets the inconvenience caused to the customer. The customer's issue is resolved. etisalat has confirmed that his landline is working fine.
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