I was disappointed the way the drivers treated my 10-year-old son on Thursday at Yas Marina. He has spent weeks selling stuff to get enough money so he could buy F1 merchandise and then spent well over an hour queuing in the sun in the vain attempt to get some of it autographed. The advertised time that drivers would be signing memorabilia was 20 minutes, yet they spent just over five minutes doing so, leaving lots of people feeling angry.
This is not the way to inspire fans of the future.
DW King, Abu Dhabi
Education key to reducing suicide among Indians
I am sad to learn that so many Indians commit suicide in the UAE (Spiralling debts and shame drive dozens of Indians to suicide in UAE, October 30).
The rate of suicide is high in countries where people face social and economic pressure. Suicide rates are high in India because of that reason. But it is unfortunate that so many Indians cannot escape the inevitable even though they come to the UAE with the dream to avoid that pressure.
Pressure increases here as expectations from families back home increase. For a large number of people in India, Dubai is particularly associated with wealth.
The problem is that many people who have little education think that it’s easier to acquire wealth in Dubai than any other part of the planet. Many people come to work in the UAE with that hope of easy money.
Financial literacy is important to dissuade these people from taking extreme steps when they fail to achieve their dreams, but I think it is more important to tell them to be realistic when they come here. The Indian government should take the responsibility to counsel people before they leave the country.
If individuals and corporates can shoulder the responsibility to educate these people, there is no reason why the Indian government cannot do its bit.
Peter Dominic, Abu Dhabi
Punishment too lenient for crime
I am writing about the news item Jail for man who blinded American teacher in Dubai bar brawl (October 31).
I am sad that the attacker got a mere six months for blinding and disfiguring a woman over a chair.
Name withheld by request
‘Chat’ language good for nothing
I am responding to the article, A 'chat' language derived from Arabic and English – progress or problem? (October 31).
Clearly it’s a major problem, because in this manner people can neither be fluent in Arabic nor in English. It won’t do any good to either of these beautiful languages.
Fatima Suhail, Dubai
Capital’s utility services laudable
I was impressed with the need for more utilities infrastructure that was set out in the article GCC utility companies face power and water challenges (November 2).
As someone who has lived in Abu Dhabi for more than two years, I must say I have a lot of confidence in the utility services here. I have not experienced a single power or water outage, something I could never have said in my native Canada, where I lived in an old city with antique water pipes, some of them made of wood. The real challenge for Abu Dhabi, I suppose, will come in a few decades when so much of the systems built in the last 20 years will need to be replaced, many of them possibly all at once.
So far so good, and I hope those in charge keep doing as well as they have done so far.
Elizabete Baums, Abu Dhabi
Gas prices in Asia will see correction
I refer to the business news article US shale export ambitions will not weigh in on gas prices yet, says Qatar gas chief (October 28).
The classic theory of demand, supply and price being dependent variables hasn’t gone away.
The US was caught napping by the shale gas boom. LNG, handling ports, pipeline infrastructure and shale gas from other sources are all coming. A price adjustment downward in the Asian market is inevitable barring supply disruptions induced by geopolitical aberrations.
Prodeep Mookerjee, Dubai
