I am commenting on the carnage in Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall. It seems that the world can do little to deter terrorists as they continue to kill people all over the world.
Barely a week after the Al Shabab extremists killed 56 people in Kenya, 50 young people lost their lives after Boko Haram militants attacked an agriculture college in Nigeria.
Has the world exhausted all its options to stop these killing machines? I was surprised when I saw a video on the BBC website recently that showed the Al Shabab recruiter in Kenya, Makaburi, giving an interview to a journalist and openly justifying the killings in the Westgate mall. Yet no one dares to do anything to him. This is outrageous.
Is this the net result of all the big talk by world leaders about strategies to end terrorism?
If these people are allowed to roam freely, hundreds or thousands of innocent people will die. The problem is that he is not alone. There are plenty of other radicals who are allowed to live freely despite the dangers they pose to society.
Gloria Accion, US
Respect ethos of the Emirates
I refer to the news article Dress in a modest way, shoppers are asked (September 1). The UAE is a multicultural and tolerant society. We must, however, bear in mind that it is also a country where the local population is Muslim and that the society has a traditional and conservative approach.
As guests of this country, expats and tourists would show disrespect to the local culture and tradition if they come improperly dressed to shopping malls and other public places.
I would prefer that my attention is not attracted to other women because of their dresses while I visit those places. Showing any disregard for religious and social values of this country is offensive and rude.
Bint Muhammad, Dubai
I am a Briton, but if and when I visit the UAE or any other Muslim country I do respect the cultural differences.
I wear salwar-kameez when I visit malls and other public places. It makes me angry when I see some people show disrespect to the local culture and tradition of those countries.
Rumana, UK
Men and women can dress as they please in private, and they get to do that in the UAE, too. Anyone who has spent at least a few weeks in the UAE would know that when it comes to dressing, modesty is much valued and respected. Why is it so hard for an increasing number of women to cover up in public places? It can be embarrassing for one to get a card saying “you aren’t decently dressed”. But do those people who dress immodestly think about the embarrassment they cause for others around them? I believe men too are expected to follow a dress code here and that includes not going shirtless or exposing areas between midriff and knees.
Name withheld by request
Avoid hassles in road projects
That Abu Dhabi is starting to build a new 62-kilometre main road is good news (Dh2.1bn Abu Dhabi-Dubai road to be completed by 2017, September 30).
The project is expected to be completed by 2017. But there is cause for concern. Road construction goes on endlessly in Abu Dhabi, creating great problems for commuters and residents. So much so that people often have to move residence from the areas where road projects are implemented.
The government should schedule projects for short stretches of roads so that they are completed more quickly before moving onto the next phase. That way it can avoid many of these problems.
Abbas Naqvi, Ras Al Khaimah
Slumdog name objectionable
I refer to the article Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar: A slumdog millionaire overhaul by Rebecca Bundhun (September 8).
Even though the article is designed to glorify Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust’s pilot project in the eyes of UAE investors, the use of the term “slumdog” in the headline is distasteful, defaming and irresponsible to the residents and business people of the area.
I am a resident as well as a business person from the Bhendi Bazaar locality, and I pride myself for being part of this community.
Living in a swank environment in Abu Dhabi does not give you any authority to pass a detrimental judgement on the living standards of anyone else.
Murtuza Zoeb Engineer, Mumbai, India
