Time heals even the deepest wounds
That’s a sad life story with a happy reunion for the two Emirati women and their Indian mother (‘Dubai sisters reunited with Indian mother’, Gulf News, July 23). In the late 1970s and 1980s, many Indian Hyderabadi young women got married to Emiratis and majority lived a happy life adjusting to a new culture, new language and new family values. Nearly all Emirati children of Hyderabadi or Pakistani mothers are purely raised as educated Arabs and are thriving in UAE society as judges, lawyers, army personnel and doctors. A few are my friends.
Losing family, and especially at a very young age, is heart wrenching for anyone, but God gives us strength to move on. Time heals even the deepest wounds, including mine.
From Mr Syed Ali
UAE
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Hearing good news
This is good news for the reunited family. Nowadays, we are only hearing sad news from around the world. Everywhere people are being killed and atrocities are taking place. I hope they will take care of their mother and stay together.
From Mr Ahmad Shabir
Sharjah
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Tracing their mother
Kudos to the two sisters for the pain they took to search and trace her. Thanks to the police team in India for all their support.
From Ms Sangeetha Sudeep
UAE
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Unconditional love
This is just so beautiful. There is nothing like a mother’s unconditional love. I hope they bring her back to Dubai and spend the rest of their lives together.
From Mr Mark Lewis
UAE
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God’s blessings
This report made me cry. How painful it must have been to be away from your babies. Thank you God for this wonderful blessing!
From Ms Nnette Medenilla
UAE
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Gifts from God
I salute the two sisters because mothers love their children more than their own life. l would urge all boys and girls, if you have the same case, go try to find her because money is nothing. Mothers are a gift from God.
From Mr Syedraza Orakzi
UAE
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Not-so-harmless Pokemon game
Although the game has not officially launched in the UAE, many have downloaded the Pokemon app (‘South Park’ creators predicted ‘Pokemon Go’, Gulf News, July 24). The addictive, location-aware smartphone game blends the Pokemon universe with the real world, providing digital incentives for players to visit landmarks and capture creatures depicted on screen. The game uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the handset and clock to establish where and when one is in the game. Pokemon then appear around you virtually. As one looks at the screen, using a combination of technology and the camera on your phone, the little critters seem to be appearing around you. One then has to catch them using a Pokeball, which you throw at them by swiping on the screen in their direction. There are 151 to collect, so far, and a map to guide you. The game is littered with so-called PokeStops – places of interest in the real world where Pokemon congregate. It all seems harmless enough, except the unending need to explore this quasi-virtual world is leading players into awkward or even dangerous situations in the real world. Reports suggest armed robbers in Missouri, US used the game to lure players to secluded locations where they could rob them. While it’s a monster-hit for Nintendo, the question remains, how long will all the hype last?
From Mr Gerry Coughlan
Dublin, Ireland
Pokemon conquers millions
The talk of the town is all about Pokemon Go. It became a great hit worldwide even in countries where it is not officially released yet. More and more youngsters get addicted to this online game and they are not concerned about what is happening around them.
“Don’t Pokemon Go and drive” signs have reportedly started appearing in the US. Besides causing a social nuisance, according to experts, the game poses great security threat to the privacy of the users and his surroundings as mobile internet, camera, GPS and screen should be kept always on while playing the game. All these favourable situations give ample scope for hackers. However, the brains behind this technological innovation should be appreciated. Consolidating young minds, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or geological boundaries for fun and entertainment in a time where we are witnessing so much terrorism and intolerance is praiseworthy. Engagement with social media and all other online games doesn’t entail a movement, whereas this game’s on-the-go feature is getting people out. This is not just a game, but a game changer. Play with caution and responsibly!
From Mr Girish R. Edathitta
Dubai
Spreading love and happiness
It’s good to read that the fridge sharing drive is still continuing in Dubai even after Ramadan finished (‘Fridge-sharing drive gains momentum’, Gulf News, July 18). It has spread into different communities. This will be a respite to many, especially in the summer months. The willingness to share and care among us gives a boost to this drive. This kind of gesture by the people of the UAE really proves that there is still an element of humanity in society. It brings about togetherness and spreads love and happiness.
Parents should take their children to such places and make them place items brought from their own pocket money. This will be a good way to teach our new generation how to share with the deprived and never to waste food. It will be a good learning example for our children. It will help them to realise how fortunate they are. Let us make this drive a success.
From Mr Eappen Elias
Dubai
Children need seatbelts, too
I often see people violating the fine listed as number 26 in the report: Children in the front seat (‘How well do you know the UAE traffic offences?’, Gulf News, February 17). I see very young children standing and looking out of the car window as the driver has their seat belt on, but the children apparently don’t need the same security! What are these people thinking?
From Mr Paul Kinnock
Al Ain
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Hoping all are safe
I am hoping the people in this plane are safe and sound (‘Indian military plane with 29 people on board goes missing’, Gulf News, July 23). It’s never easy on families when this sort of thing happens. No one is perfect, but when it comes to humanity, we should all understand that we do the best we can in these situations. I’m praying for good news.
From Mr Syed Ansar Hussain
UAE
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How does it happen?
In a world of massive surveillance and technology, where they can pin point the exact location of a human-being to the accuracy of a meter and where it’s easier to find Pokemon this happens. It still amazes me that entire planes can just vanish out the sky!
From Mr Zack Deedat
UAE
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It does happen
It will amaze you that someone from our family did lose their life in a similar manner! It took two months to find the debris that was found 900m below sea level below the Bay of Bengal. They then established the identities of the people through DNA tests. Think of families who have lost their loved ones.
From Ms Lavanya Aryasomayajula
UAE
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Pray for their arrival
The plane left for Port Blair, India from the Tambaram Indian air base is missing and there has been no communication from the pilots, which is really worrying. Crew members and others were travelling. The real problem is that no one could locate either technical fault or any other reason. I pray for the safe arrival of all the 29 passengers.
From Mr K. Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
Absence in parliament
There has been too much fuss created on Indian Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi dozing off. I feel, unlike some of the members, who just sign the attendance register and go and sleep at home, at least he is physically present in the house. Except the first one or two days, or the passing of beneficial bills like the hike in their pay and perks, seldom do we see 100 per cent attendance in both the houses of parliament. So is the case in the state assembly meetings.
It is high time the speakers put an end to such absenteeism and save honest tax payers’ money. Those who are not physically present during sessions, their proportionate salary and perks and even pension should be deducted.
From Mr N. Viswanathan
Virugambakkam, India
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