Patience and faith nurtures
‘Both of you! Please stop now!’ my mum used to scream when she saw my brother and me running around the house chasing each other. The two of us could really make her go mad! As time passed, something made our communication weaker. I could speak to him and he would listen, but he never replied properly. My mother knew the reason, however I never understood why.
After being with him for 15 years, I finally understand everything. According to the world, he is autistic. But according to me, he is a part of my life without which, I couldn’t function. I still remember glares when we took him out - those looks when they saw him angry and comments made when they heard him speak. But these things didn’t make me weaker. Rather, they made me stronger. They gave me strength to fight against them: to fight for him and to fight for my family.
It started when he was two years old and suffered a high fever. From that day onwards he became known as an autistic child. None of us actually know what happened - whether it was a side effect of the antibiotics he took or whether it was a mutation that occurred - but all we know is that we are fortunate to have him.
When this happened, my parents and I had tears in our eyes and wondered why we have to face all this. My parents found it quite difficult to handle him during fits of anger and to communicate with him. But now we are here after all the hard work behind us and we see improvement. We are glad that he is a part of our family.
And to all those families out there who have an autistic child, you don’t need to be embarrassed about them at all but instead stay strong and hold onto the fact that one day, your loved one will be fine. In fact, you are going to be instrumental in helping them to become better people. This can only happen if you start trying. You need to sit down with them and assist them, just as I have with my brother and my hardwork is seen clearly in him. Your child or sibling could be a normal child too; all that is needed is faith in yourself, in them, and in God.
From Ms Tanisha Rochwani
UAE
Unity is critical
The recent unrest in Iraq has become a real tragedy for the historically rich Mesopotamian civilisation (‘US should support Iraqi reconciliation,’ Gulf News, June 25). Years of conflict have damaged the roots of Iraq, a country that has become a major source for displaced civilians today. The decade-long fighting has cost the country heavily in every aspect, as the absence of unity among people continues to affect Iraq’s effort to return to normalcy. The terrifying internal issues among various warring factions have been leading to further refugee crises. The fact is that Iraqis are missing unity among themselves and this is critical to resolving the issues they have been facing. The fall of cities and provinces into the hands of militants is adding confidence to those who support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) across various parts of the country. Sadly, perhaps the Saddam era was more successful in keeping the country united, to a great extent, because a section of the community might obviously have been thinking of their life before and after Saddam Hussain. It is quite disappointing to see the incompetence of United Nations (UN) in addressing the crisis in Iraq. The UN body that is responsible for maintaining peace and harmony across the world has failed, seeing as there has been no end to the fighting in several countries across the Middle Eastern region for the past few years.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Our greatest evil
Racism and its evil sister ‘ethnicism’ have bedevilled society ever since the very beginning. There is scriptural evidence about internal tribal fighting leading to wars and the eventual decimation of peoples. The current crises facing Myanmar and Sri Lanka, coupled with the Christian-Muslim impasse engulfing Nigeria and the Sunni-Shia rift, are all part of a greater attempt to annihilate a race or tribe to gain dominance, and assert authority. Colonialism exacerbated this evil and with the holocaust claiming many, this was not enough to stem the tide — proving that the human psyche has an in-bred tendency to hate! Bosnia, Rwanda, Syria and pockets of inter-tribal conflicts across the globe have worsened chances for peace. The human race will just have to contend with this one fact: the tendency to want to eliminate one race or tribe has become society’s greatest evil.
From Mr A.R. Modak
Johannesburg, South Africa
War breeds conflict
War has been prevalent in society since the earliest of ages. People went to war with imperialistic ambitions as well as in search for resources and supplies. Even after facing catastrophic conflicts and wars, the majority of the world’s countries are still prepared to be involved in yet another war, should problems arise. Why though? Haven’t enough people lost their lives?
For nations, war is a defence mechanism. If a simple negotiation is not the key to the solution, then it is agreed upon that war is the only answer. Sometimes, making treaties only causes more friction, which can lead to more damage. Nations consider war as a means to end a problem when it only gives birth to a handful of further problems. The world has learnt steps of procedure and the concept of negotiations between multiple parties. Yet, we certainly have not learnt that even after multiple hits and misses, war is not a solution but a catalyst in causing friction that will only lead to the deaths of millions, economic damage and a step backwards for the human race.
From Ms Simran Vedvyas
Dubai
Hit and run
The phrase in the headline rightly describes the nature of movie star Salman Khan’s hit and run case (‘Salman case: Witness reneges on police statement,’ Gulf News, June 26). The message that we get from his trial, which has been ongoing since 2002, is that anybody can hit anyone else and easily run away from justice. Khan could have completed his jail term by this time if the trial was expedited in a speedy and judicious manner. I think the witnesses will back track their earlier statement since the defendant is not only rich, but a celebrity too. In this modern era, the court can easily extract the truth from the star himself, if he was subjected to polygraph tests. Punish the culprit before a new version of statement comes into records, such as ‘the car was running without a driver’!
From Mr Girish R. Edathitta
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Educating motorists
I would like to share my view on a very logical issue that I feel the authorities should address. Recently, we have seen many road accidents. Some with minor injuries and some with fatal ones. This has made a lot of people doubt the credibility of some of the driving institutes in the UAE. The authorities should please try to take precautionary and corrective measures towards motorists, rather than the other way round. The authorities are doing a fantastic job and I say kudos to them, but I feel they can still do more. When a driver commits a serious traffic offence, whether knowingly or unknowingly, he/she should be stopped, questioned and told where he/she went wrong or what was done incorrectly. Fining isn’t teaching people how to drive better. As we all strive to make the UAE one of the most secure countries in the world, especially as we are in the holy month of Ramadan, many people will be dashing home for iftar. Together, let’s keep our roads safe!
From Ms Simisola
Dubai
Full name withheld by request
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