Be grateful
I would like to see people appreciating the authorities for what they are providing (‘Commuters confused over new services,’ Gulf News, January 18). I feel like I always see people not being thankful for what they already have because they are getting all these facilities without any efforts on their part. Please try to not criticise unnecessarily if you cannot be grateful.
From Mr S. Kumar
Dubai
Website comment
Shows ignorance
Who are we to judge and eliminate individuals for their beliefs (‘I was sold to 3 Daesh men and systematically raped’, Gulf News, January 18)? It’s God who judges all of us for our deeds. These are some of the worst atrocities committed in the name of religion. Who will speak out and condemn them? These individuals are not a representation of Islam or a role model for youth. We need to just stop making statements and, instead, the community needs to act. I guess these individuals do not know in the Quran that Jesus is considered a Prophet, same applies to Mary (Mariam) and Joseph (Yousef) and these names do exist in the Holy Bible as well. So should we consider these acts as ignorant? Just because France is a secular power, one cannot paint the same brush and hurt sentiments of communities not involved in vengeance. Religious, political and business leaders need to come out and condemn these acts in unison to bridge the divide before it’s too late! Peace, love, acceptance and tolerance to all.
From Mr M. Rodrigues
Abu Dhabi
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Protecting the girl
The girl did not want to be named so that she could hide her identity and protect her family, but the article has a photo of her. I think it would be easier for militants to recognise her by her photo.
From Mr Hasnain
Dubai
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Iraq invasion
If America did not invade Iraq, so many children and women could have been living a peaceful life at least. I think there have been many negative side effects of invading Iraq.
From Mr Imran
Ras Al Khaimah
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Help get them back
This terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, which respects women. Such rapists should be punished and I appeal to the people to join together and help organisations to free the people under the slavery of Daesh and give them a better place to stay. We can do it.
From Mr Mohammad Omar
Dubai
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Better late than never
The non-resident Indians (NRI) worldwide have been fighting and waiting for the right to cast to ballot for quite sometime. Thanks to the efforts of the people who have steadfastly contributed to making it a reality now. If it wasn’t for their consistent efforts, this would not have happened. The challenge now is to have the process of voting as simplified as possible. The majority of NRIs living in Gulf are labourers and to get them to use technology for exercising e-ballots, the process implemented should be as user friendly as possible and it should not involve any manual work. The whole purpose will be defeated if the participation of labourers in voting is not envisaged and ensured.
While the major hurdle has been crossed with the government and highest court recognising the importance of NRI’s fundamental rights, the real challenge is in its implementation. NRIs never had any say in the election of leaders who would represent and fight for their grievances and interest. It is a sad commentary on the largest democratic country in the world: better late than never. The hackneyed phrase used in situations like this is what NRIs are reminded of at this moment.
From Mr Ganeshan Srinivasan
UAE
Negligence and cruelty
The culprits should not get away with the girl dying on the school bus (‘School bus victims case still under way,’ Gulf News, January 19). Let this be a lesson for all. Their excuses are lame. Don’t make this complex when in fact it is a very simple case. It’s negligence of the highest order. Now that their own lives are at stake they are coming up with excuses to spare their lives. What about that angel who was left in bus helpless? That is negligence and that is cruelty. The principal is saying that it’s not his job to manage transportation. As parents, we send our children to schools trusting the school staff. How could they release such statements?
From Mr Zeeshan
Dubai
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E-suggestion
Instead of calling the parents, the school can make an online attendance marking system in their websites. Each teacher could take the responsibility to do that and it wouldn’t take more than a half-hour. Schools can provide the user identification for each parent to check it.
From Mr Rajitha
Dubai
Website comment
Simple reasoning
It’s a simple formula: rent prices doubled while salaries are were almost at a stand-still, so it results in the prices collapsing (‘Dubai rents, prices stabilising,’ Gulf News, January 19). No analyst could expect the dip in the prices in 2010 and 2011, however if you apply the above formula, then you can expect the future.
From Ms Myas
Dubai
Website comment
Much higher
I cannot believe why every article shows only a 15 to 20 per cent growth where the rents are up by more than 30 to 40 per cent in most of areas. Some are even as high as 50 per cent more! Where do these companies get their data from?
From Mr Atul
Dubai
Website comment
Parking etiquette
Many would agree on how frustrating it is to take rounds of mall parking during weekends in search of a parking slot, but what aggravates the situation is when motorists are double-parking their cars and waiting for a parking space to become vacant. Not only this, I am deeply irritated by people who drive almost anywhere to be able to get a parking spot - even if that means on the pavement!
I am referring to those who go in the opposite direction in a one-way or in a no-entry zone. They obstruct the traffic movement and increase the risks of a head-on collision. Driving against the traffic flow has become quite a common practice in parking lots and it is a serious offence as this triples the possibility of an accident.
It would be great if people followed signs and road markings and didn’t blindly chase an empty slot and end up causing inconvenience to everybody else. The concerned authorities should install radars and cameras at mall parking to crack down on people who violate the laws. I am of the opinion that they can do almost anything once inside the parking complex.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Odour or our habits?
Mosquitos have been a very pesky problem in many households and people try to get rid of this pathogen filled insect yet fail in vain (‘If mosquitos find you irrestible, it could be down to your body odour,’ Gulf News, January 17). We can blame our odour and our body temperature for their persistence, however people fail to see measures against the breeding of mosquitos as a task encompassing thoughts from a community perspective. Mosquitos usually breed in dirty corners where there is stagnant water and we fail to realise the reason for this is our very own habits. Many of us litter without a concerning second thought.
Many people pollute their surroundings without any awareness of its repercussions. These are then becoming home to the devastatingly deadly mosquitos, which start breeding. Within a short span of time the entire place will be filled with swarms of mosquitos. Keeping the community clean not only promotes safety against carriers of pathogens such as the mosquitos, but also instils within any person a sense of cleanliness and personal hygiene. We can assert the importance of personal hygiene by taking notice that the mosquito, which usually breeds in dirty habitats comes close to us on the basis of our cleanliness. In this way we can say that mosquitos can be an indicator of the extent community cleanliness in any given area. We should be able to perceive this as an issue not only concerning our personal hygiene, but as an issue that should concern community effort in maintaining our surroundings. We should all value the importance of a clean and green environment and do our best to contribute to the same.
From Ms Sruthi Rao
UAE
Unbalanced
Just because this pilot punched a colleague or an engineer doesn’t make it better than punching a passenger (‘Air India pilot punches engineer on the nose,’ Gulf News, January 18). I think if a pilot can lose his self-control by punching anyone, he is not fit to fly – ever. He is psychologically unbalanced.
From Mr David Woodward
Dubai
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Work together
Well it’s a good thing that India is not growing as a country because of such people. They think everything can be achieved by a strike. Grow up people, instead we need to work together to make India a more developed country.
From Mr Sajida Begum
Dubai
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