Reducing tragedies
It is very sad to hear the news of children falling from apartments when parents are not around (‘Child falls to death from high-rise building,’ Gulf News, October 17). Such cases are happening quite often these days and it is very disturbing to imagine the plight of the parents too. It is not possible to stay beside a child at all times and keep an eye on him or her in every single moment. Elders can’t always take care of children. Instead, more safety measures should be adopted in tall buildings. Windows and balconies should be designed in such a way that it ensures child safety - this way we can reduce such tragedies.
From Mr Afra
UAE
More childproofing
Nobody can keep an eye on children every single minute and it doesn’t take much time for accidents to occur. Instead, efforts should be made to make the house as childproof as possible. Currently, the designs of most buildings here are hardly childproof. It’s no wonder so many tragedies are occurring. My heart goes out to the mother – I just can’t imagine what she must be going through.
From Ms Sujatha
Sharjah
Website comment
Prevention through initiatives
We get to read about several falls from tall buildings. I have visited friends in apartments on higher floors. You cannot trust some windows and balconies with children. There should be a country wide initiative to secure windows and balconies to prevent accidental falls and for any new construction happening on higher floors to have safer windows and balconies. While people can be careful, most of the time, all it takes is a few seconds - when a child slips away, resulting in a tragedy.
From Mr Irfan
Dubai
Website comment
A new sense of confidence
This article gives me a confidence and has raised my level of comfort to fly (‘Fear of flying — symptoms and how to overcome them,’ Gulf News, October 18). I had a little fear to be on board of any aircraft after watching many documentaries and videos on air crashes. Its causes found during investigations are very scary because the majority air crashes happened due to small errors - even mechanical issues happen out of negligence by pilots or technicians. It could have been avoided if pilots or technician realised that many lives were in their hands. They must be very careful and conscious during inspection and doing checklists. Very few accidents occurred due to natural calamities.
From Mr M. R.
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
A safety blanket
I just have this feeling that as a precaution, all passengers should be given their life jackets to wear during the flight. Many of us don’t know how to swim and this may alleviate fears and phobias. I personally would feel safer having my life jacket on during the flight.
From Mr Zaid
Sharjah
Website comment
Try to enjoy
When it comes to the fear of flying, don’t imagine too much and be practical and enjoy the flight. There will be no time or chance to swim if the plane crashes, so don’t worry about whether you know how to swim or not. While travelling with kids, it is better to take care of them properly instead of thinking about yourself, it will help you to enjoy your flight. These types of articles encourage your fears, so I don’t recommend reading them.
From Ms Archana Sen
Abu Dhabi
Facebook comment
Scary happenings
For a gang to throw a woman into a canal for refusing to withdraw her case, it makes me wonder what is happening in India (‘Gang throws woman into canal for refusing to withdraw case,’ Gulf News, October 18). Is there security for common people? These things are very scary. The government has to ensure high security standards for the people.
From Mr Sam
Dubai
Website comment
An open country
Sam, India is a huge country compared to many others and these things happen. but that doesn’t mean it does not happen in a pea-size country as well. It surely happens in other places too, but the best part of India is it comes out into the open.
From Mr Bob
Bengaluru, India
Website comment
Recognising negativity
The behaviour of a person is recognised through the way that person talks to another (‘Dealing with negative people in your life,’ Gulf News, October 18). A well educated person will always talk softly, politely and listen to other people before engaging in conversation, as these are manners of engaging in conversation.
From Mr Yasin Bawaney
Dubai
Facebook comment
Attitudes from drivers
Good work always pays off, but I would like to see the change in attitude of driver waiting in queues to pick particular categories of passengers so that they are assured of getting tips (‘Airport taxi wait time slashed: RTA,’ Gulf News, October 17). I stay very near to the airport and every time I pick a taxi from airport to Hor Al Anz, the attitude or the behaviour of the same driver changes dramatically after hearing the destination. I think the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) should try to change this mind set of the drivers as all are the passenger if we are resident or tourist.
From Mr Mushtaq Ahmad
Dubai
Website comment
Just a boy
The eight-year-old who has returned home should not be referred to as a ‘Daesh militant’ (‘Eight-year-old ‘Daesh militant’ returns home,’ Gulf News, October 17). He is just a baby. There doesn’t need to be harsh words put towards this baby. The whole world is against Daesh militants, that should not affect this little boy.
From Mr Mohammad Abdullah
Sharjah
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Labour wins
The value and dignity of labour should be upheld and rewarded by all means, which sadly is not the case in most parts of the world where power, corruption, crony capitalism rule the roost (‘Politics hold trump card for Indian shares,’ Gulf News, October 19). Any form of labour, be it physical or intellectual should be given its due recognition and appreciation, to keep the country in the growth trajectory. Schemes and policies should be constructed accordingly. It is to be made sure that those who ‘sweat’ get the ‘sweet’ instead of the unscrupulous elements making hay on the labourers’ toils. It is seen that many intellectuals and learned bureaucrats are, unfortunately, the puppets in the hands of many unprincipled politicians. It is to be ascertained that scholastic labourers are duly respected and are given their dues in the corporate and political realm. Business processes should be made more transparent and equitable so that labour, merit and integrity win the race heads up. If the proper governance, law and order, speedy and fair justice are in place, then everything will fall in place.
From Mr Subhasis Mukherjee
UAE
From bad to worse
Things are going from bad to worse in Ebola affected countries and the world community is doing very little to control one of the worst outbreaks of the modern century (‘Winning the war against Ebola,’ Gulf News, October 19). Almost five thousand people have lost their lives and several thousand are affected. From old people to minors, no one is safe from Ebola.
In his recent statement, the World Bank chief, Jim Yong Kim warned that the world community is losing the battle against Ebola in West Africa. Only days ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that ten thousand people can be affected weekly fromm Ebola in Africa. United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon also warned and appealed twice for raising funds to control Ebola in affected countries.
Doctors without borders also appeal for health workers and doctors for affected areas. Health workers are at high risk and several have lost their lives due to poor safety standards and several demands for higher wages and protective suits for their safety. Poor medical facilities, lack of health workers and lack of doctors are the main challenges. Unfortunately, every one wants to save their own interests and their own safety. Several countries have imposed travel bans on affected countries and several others have closed their borders with affected countries, which is also proving counterproductive because health workers and doctors are finding it hard to travel. Despite the outbreak killing several thousands, no vaccine is available and things are going from bad to worse. Modern countries can spend millions of dollars against unseen enemies and space missions, but they can’t save the dying in West Africa, which is very unfortunate.
From Mr Khawaja Omar Farooq
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Summer initiative
I think the proposal to ban children under the age of 10 during Haj is a good move (‘Ban on children at Haj under study’, Gulf News, October 20). Children would not be able to handle the rigorous rituals of Haj in temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher. Even during umrah, I have seen children being told to hurry up by their parents, when their tiny legs are unable to keep up with the adult pace and the swelling crowds. Good move!
From Ms Amna Aslam
Sharjah
Website comment
No sign
All this technology and we still can’t figure out where a plane [MH370] has disappeared (‘Top secret US space plane returns after 2 years in orbit’, Gulf News, October 20). If only they could use things for constructive purposes more than spying.
From Ms Mahnaaz Shaikh
Dubai
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