English language courses

He took four short-term courses in English language. One was basic, two were intensive and the fourth was for spoken. Still he can’t write a single sentence in correct English. What is more, he can’t tell u from y, b from p, t from d or a from e! But he believes he is “mia mia” (100 percent correct) in English. He often wonders why he hasn’t been given top marks in English exams. Once he showed me his certificates. Not only are they very beautifully designed and printed, but all of them attest that he is excellent in English — whether written or spoken!

“He” is representative of many students here. During my four years of experience as an English teacher in the Kingdom, I have found many students with colorful “certificates” which say that they are masters of the English language.

You will also have seen ads run by the so-called English institutes in various cities of the Kingdom. They cast their nets far and wide — offering summer vacation discounts in fees, beautiful assurances. All that they give you is a beautiful “certificate” in return for a huge amount of money. I ask these institutes not to misguide and mislead the young for the sake of making a fast buck.

Haneefa Muhammad, Riyadh, published 1 July 2008

Help to Palestinians

I am overwhelmed by the help extended by a generous and kind-hearted Saudi philanthropist to the suffering Palestinians in Gaza. He is supporting an international charitable project that creates jobs for them and gives donations through the WAMY office in Jeddah to numerous families in Gaza. This should set an example to others.

Aysha, Jeddah, published 1 July 2008

Ads and malls

Shopping malls, big and small, place ads for household appliances and food items etc. in the newspapers to attract customers. These ads offer products at very attractive prices. But if you go and ask for the advertised item at the quoted price, the reply will be along these lines: 1) Promotion starts in 2 days; 2) Product is not available now; it is on the way from our warehouse; 3) Product is out of stock; 4) Come tomorrow to check whether the product you are looking for is available. I think this is simply a way of deceiving customers. Where can the customer go in order to complain about such malpractices? I think the authorities for retail and wholesale markets should look into this matter and take immediate action unless they want to project an unflattering image of trading practices here.

M. Mohiddin, Alkhobar, published 1 July 2008

Bhutto’s party

The next Pakistani president will be from his Pakistan People’s Party, according to Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari is repeating the words of his late father-in-law Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who said after coming back from Dhaka, then capital of East Pakistan, that “at last Pakistan is saved.” Everyone knows he took the initiative of breaking Pakistan, leading to the creation of Bangladesh.

Syed Shafiqul Islam, Riyadh, published 1 July 2008

Dialogue

Dialogue is the way to solve all crises and problems. Without dialogue we can’t solve any problem. We will have to talk to each other if we want to avoid situations that will only lead to death and destruction.

The US and Israel always called Hamas a terrorist organization. Israel is now holding negotiations with Hamas openly. Nobody believes Israel will do such a thing without US backing. But when Pakistan government opens channels of communication with its own people in tribal areas to restore peace in the region, the Western countries try to undermine these efforts and pressure Pakistan government to give up such negotiations. Is it fair?

Khawaja Umer Farooq, Jeddah, published 1 July 2008

Freedom for oil companies

According to news reports, a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq. During the anti-war demonstrations in various European capitals before the start of the war, one slogan was, “No blood for oil.” Were the Americans after the Iraqi oil on the pretext of destroying Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction? Here is the confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development.

Now you know what is meant by the spread of democracy in the greater Middle East. For democracy to take root in this region, you need heavy foreign participation in the oil sector, some 50 permanent American military bases, and control of Iraqi air space and land borders by the Americans. One can only hope the list is complete and no additional demands will be placed by the occupation authority.

Shoukat Hussein, Riyadh, published 1 July 2008

Traffic fines

This refers to the Sidelights story, “79 mysterious traffic fines” (June 29). Why is it mysterious? It is very normal. Next year probably 179 and the year after 279 and it will keep on increasing. The real question is why the police reach the point of issuing 79 traffic fines?

It is because of an inefficient system and incompetence. The individual is still on the loose, and innocent people are paying the price.

Shaun Alaan, Jeddah, published 1 July 2008

Al-Hasa Oasis

As you may know, Al-Hasa Oasis is one of the 277 natural wonders of the world. Arab News should publish articles about the Al-Hasa Oasis so that more and more people in the Kingdom and outside could learn about it.

Ali H. Al Sultan, Al-Hasa, published 1 July 2008

Another Mideast war

I want to thank Aijaz Syed for his excellent commentary (“Yet another Mideast war?”— June 27). His words provided much valuable insight. Surely he provides an accurate assessment of the potential regional (and global) consequences in case of an attack on Iran.

Steve, United States, published 1 July 2008

School grads

This is regarding the report, “Saudi varsities to absorb 86 high school grads” (June 27).

The question is not what percentage of high school graduates will be able to join higher education but what percentage of higher education graduates are usable in the job market. The goal should be to improve quality of education, not quantity — we have already too many young men and women who are not employable because of their lack of skills and knowledge as well as their bad work ethics.

K. Alwassia, Jeddah, published 1 July 2008