Letters: December 7, 2011

Quite a change
I really enjoyed reading this comment (‘A day to remember two different lives', Gulf News, December 2). It is amazing to see how life used to be just 40 years ago. I do not think anyone could have imagined that the UAE would accomplish so much in such a short period of time. The world is struggling with the global financial crisis, yet I see this country alive and bustling on a daily basis. I have also seen Dubai grow and rise from the desert. I remember considering a trip to Safa Park as an all-day event as it was so far away, or being fascinated by how tall Dubai World Trade Centre was. If I were to move to any other country I would get bored within a year — this country keeps changing and anything less than that seems mundane.
From Mr Alex Drendon
Dubai

Old Dubai
This is superb. After reading Abdul Hamid Ahmad's comment I went off in a retro mood. Even now there are certain parts of Dubai that have managed to maintain the old world charm. I visit those places often and it makes me feel happy.
From Ms Clarence S. Lewis
Dubai
Website comment

Beautiful stories
This is a brilliantly written comment. I wish you could give us more of such delightful views of this wonderful country.
From Mr Vinayak
Dubai
Website comment

Protect your children
Children falling to their death from high rise buildings is a big cause for concern. It is not only the responsibility of the parents to protect their children but also that of the building owners. The window designs should be revised and more child protection nets or grilles should be fixed. Otherwise, we will not stop reading about such accidents.
From Mr M. A. Mannan
Abu Dhabi

Lost and found
My daughter was visiting the UAE from the United States and left her handbag in a coffee shop and completely forgot about it until the next morning. She was supposed to travel back to the United States the same day. She and I rushed back to where she had lost the bag to search for it. It contained her US green card, credit cards and driver's licence. The staff member at the coffee shop who found the bag had already handed it over to the authorities, who immediately returned it to my daughter. She was able to travel back to the United States the same day. I do not think that you can find such exemplary behaviour anywhere else in the world. We extend our gratitude to the coffee shop staff and authorities.
From Ms Joyama Jacob
UAE

Simple gesture
Of all the road safety measures the hardest one to apply is not to talk on the phone or send messages while driving. How many times has a car drifted into your track carelessly or come too close to your vehicle? This causes accidents on a daily basis. No amount of fines or safety campaigns seem to make these drivers aware of the dangerous practice. So, I would like to suggest creating a hand sign to make motorists care about others on the road.
We use hand gestures to say ‘thank you' and ‘you can go first'. Why not have a gesture to remind people and politely tell them to get off the phone. A simple motion of the hand would suffice. It could quickly catch on as a road gesture and make people conscious of the danger that they are putting themselves and others in when they do not use the headset. This could be part of a strong campaign to get everyone off their mobile phones while they are driving. Under the watchful eyes of fellow drivers we could all help each other to keep our roads safer. This could work if we spread the word.
From Ms Nair
Dubai
Full name withheld by request

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