Looking for humanity on a scorching day
The other day, just before mid-day when the temperatures are peaking at around 50 degrees Celsius, I was driving down Hessa Street in a white sedan. Maybe after a routine car check, I had forgotten to close the hood of my car properly, because the hood flew open, inches away from my face, just as I was about to go over a bridge in the fast lane! As it did, it shattered the windshield. Horrified and shocked, I parked on the left shoulder, called the police and waited. That 20 to 30-minute wait was perhaps the longest in my life. At close to 50 degrees Celsius, I was finding it impossible to cross Hessa Street — at that point, there were about five or six lanes of traffic merging from Shaikh Zayed Road South and North.
The car refused to start after the accident, and fearing heat exhaustion, I motioned frantically for motorists to stop, waving my hands as best as I could, so they could drop me to the other side of the road, and I could wait in the air-conditioned supermarket across the street until the authorities arrived.
But until the police and ambulance arrived, I spent my time in surreal shock at Dubai residents who passed my frantic signs for help callously, carelessly and with the kind of indifference that can only be termed as extreme apathy. People were in their comfortable cars, dressed to kill, watching with absolute indifference, a man motioning for help and fighting a heat stroke after an accident, and yet did nothing to help... I wish there was more humanity out there.
From Mr Crystal Kazmi
Dubai
Skewed priorities
What kind of mother is this woman to abandon her baby (‘Abu Dhabi hospital cares for abandoned baby for almost a year’, Gulf News, July 26)? In the first place, if she was already married in the Philippines, why did she need to have a boyfriend and get pregnant? Then, she left the baby alone, because she cared more about her marriage in the Philippines. She made the choice of having an affair out of her marriage, so she should have sacrificed somehow - explained it to her husband or at least, if he couldn’t accept the baby, asked relatives to take care of the baby. Leaving the baby alone is too much.
From Ms Micah Kamble
Dubai
Facebook comment
Heartbreaking
This is a very bittersweet story. I hope the nurse who cared for Sebastian at the hospital, Myann, is able to adopt him. He must be so confused about his whereabouts. He was being cared for by all these amazing people for a year, but now, he finds himself in an orphanage in Manila, Philippines. How heartbreaking!
From Ms Liz van Graan
UAE
Facebook comment
God bless
I don’t know, but for many reasons, I cried after reading the story of baby Sebastian! I have four girls now. God bless you, baby.
From Ms Lakshmi Cunanan
UAE
Facebook comment
Getting spammed
A shop that takes people’s personal information feels to me, like it is going to just spam us with messages (‘Can UAE residents trust shops with personal information?’, Gulf News, July 25). I always find that after participating in such information exchanges, I get a lot of spam from retailers and other companies. I think they also pass my information on to third parties.
From Mr Zuhair Sajwani
Abu Dhabi
Facebook comment
Neighbourhood friends
Real good friends are so rare to find these days. It has become more or less a give-and-take affair now. I have come to the conclusion that it is your close neighbours who are your friends at that particular spot. The reason is that over the years of long service, you, of course, would have made several friends, shared and cheered with them, but eventually having shifted to some other place you are bound to lose or forget them. New faces replace older faces, and the process continues until ultimately, you settle down in one place after retirement. Here, you need the company of friends and they could be none other than your good neighbours. We have formed a small club of around seven families who are our neighbours and friends. We meet every Saturday, in the evening. We share pleasantries, discuss each other’s welfare and even felicitate each other if there is an appropriate occasion to do so.
From Dr Shiben Krishen Raina
Ajman
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