Children of expats

This is regarding the report, “Ministry to pay fees for 50% students in private varsities” (Oct. 29).

While welcoming the ministry’s decision we expats would like to ask: What about the children of the expats who have spent their entire life in the service of the Kingdom?

It is very simple to say that they are being paid for their services. I am an expat’s son and am pursuing my studies outside the Kingdom. This costs money and much inconvenience. This is because of two things. Either the rules don’t permit the expats to enroll themselves in professional colleges here or there are no institutions of the type we want.

I hope the government would consider our case with sympathy the next time they think of doing something like this.

Aoun Muhammad, By e-mail, published 2 November 2009

Afghan violence

This is in response to your report, “Taleban bombs kill 8 US troops” (Oct. 28).

October became the deadliest month for the US forces in Afghanistan. The Afghan presidential election was held amid intimidation, fraud and ethnic divisions.

The current government has only tenuous control of the country. Given the escalating violence and the confirmation of fraud in the initial phase of the election, the runoff may not bring stability to the country.

Stability will elude Afghanistan until all the parties involved are brought together on a common platform. But this will not happen as long as foreign troops remain in the country.

Mohammed Sadullah Khan, Riyadh, published 2 November 2009

War on terror

This refers to the report, “OIC chief: War on terror did not yield result” (Oct. 31). I appreciate Ihsanoglu’s acknowledgment that we must get at the root causes of terrorism in all its forms. Only through diplomacy and timely compassionate and just action according to the faith of our ancestors can we defeat terrorists.

Rev. Michele P. Ellison, By e-mail, published 2 November 2009

Start debating race sensibly

Sharif Dua in his letter “Hateful organization” (Oct. 28) claims that the BNP leader Nick Griffin performed badly on the “Question Time” program of Oct. 22. I beg to differ; I think Griffin looked calm and relaxed. Considering what he was up against — the Lib/Lab/Con alliance, an audience which was handpicked and fixed and a totally biased chairman in the person of David Dimbleby — Griffin did extremely well. In fact, he wiped the floor with his opponents.

Since that program, the BNP has had 25,000 people inquiring about membership. At last, the British public is beginning to see through the establishment smear campaign against the BNP. The three main parties in Britain (in reality a single three-headed hydra) will have to learn to desist from juvenile name-calling (Nazi, racist, fascist etc.) and start debating race sensibly and realistically. I would also like Dua to present the evidence that the BNP opposes the theory of global warming.

Francis A. Andrew, Oman, published 2 November 2009

Some more vital issues

This is regarding Tariq Al-Maeena’s column, “Some vital issues the Shoura Council needs to address” (Oct. 31).

The list could be even longer. Here are some basic issues that, in my view, are impeding social and economic progress in Saudi Arabia:

1. Child marriage: Last week it was reported that a 10 year-old girl was married to an “almost” 80 year-old man. Not only is this criminal pedophilia, but it deprives young women of a chance for education and natural maturing. Saudi Arabia should delay all marriages until children have had a chance to attend secondary school — in which many may blossom into professional careers instead of being trapped in childbearing and rearing for the rest of their lives. As Saudi Arabia becomes more urbanized, the economic advantage of large families diminishes. Delaying marriage will help promote smaller and more nurturing families.

2. Mobility: It would be unthinkable for people in a modern society to require male escorts for every venture out of the home. Preventing women from traveling and driving automobiles also prevents them from fully exercising their economic potential. When one considers that close to half the work force consists of women, Saudi Arabia is throwing away an important resource by restricting women’s mobility. The idea that women are the “property” of males has to be abandoned.

3. Identity: Your article talked boldly about the need to change the attitudes and behavior of males in the work place so that women are not harassed and segregated from their coworkers. You could go even further. Communication experts tell us that face-to-face communication is much more powerful than written or telephonic communication because the interlocutors can see one another’s facial expressions. The niqab disempowers women and it robs them of their identity. Just as Kuwait ruled this month that niqabs are not an Islamic requirement, Saudi Arabia must abandon the black shrouds that keep women faceless. This is not just an educational or work place issue; it also affects the way children see their mothers socially. How can a mother with no “identity” be an influence for good with her own children?

While Saudi Arabia has struggled to accelerate changes in its culture and way of life, the issues you have addressed and those I have listed above are not subject to debate. Their need is so obvious that only the most backward thinker could ever oppose them. As Victor Hugo said, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.“

Chris, By e-mail, published 2 November 2009

H1N1 vaccine

This refers to the report, “Confusion over H1N1 vaccine still prevails” (Oct. 29). The Ministry of Health, says the report, has still not announced whether local Haj pilgrims need to take the H1N1 vaccine before proceeding for the pilgrimage. H1N1 is spreading through America like wildfire. If you do not make this vaccine compulsory you will have made a huge mistake. Many will be infected, not only pilgrims but many Saudis. Rethink this one, guys.

Bernard Beatty, By e-mail, published 2 November 2009