Violence in Kenya

The commentary, “How Violence Infected Kenya’s Democracy” (Jan. 31) raises many key issues but also underlines the limits of some “informed” academics when it comes to commenting on serious issues from a distance.

Factual errors like claiming Uhuru Kenyatta is Kibaki’s vice president expose the commentator as a someone with a pre-formed idea of what is going on in our country. The violence is of several shades:

1. Spontaneous and uncontrollable uprisings of mostly urban youth dissatisfied with the election result.

2. Ethnic cleansing in parts of the country in an attempt to right perceived historical wrongs in resource allocation.

3. Criminal gangs taking advantage of the political situation to commit crime and evade punishment under the guise of protest.

4. Overzealous law-enforcers shooting and killing demonstrators and bystanders in an attempt to control the above-mentioned activities.

5. Revenge attacks by members of communities that perceive themselves to be targets in the ethnic cleansing campaigns.

It is difficult at this time to tell into which category the killings of two opposition MPs falls, but everything is possible, including possibilities of assassination, crimes of passion, and random thuggery which is not in short supply in Kenya today.

Lukoye, Nairobi, published 7 February 2008

Trade in Organs

This refers to your editorial on trade in organs (Jan. 31). We kill millions of unborn babies every year. Doctors assist those who are terminally ill and want to die. Many cultures selectively kill female babies. Rape is used as a weapon against women. Too many societies allow those with deformities to wither and die. And you’re telling me we should be worried about someone willing to sell a kidney? You’re joking, right?

Charles Oberg, United States, published 7 February 2008

Women-Only Hospitals - 2

Women-only hospitals? Why not women-only airports too?

K. Alwassia, Riyadh, published 7 February 2008

Report on China

This refers to the AFP report on China (Jan. 31). Dan Martin’s characterization of Premier Wen Jiabao’s wading into crowds during the current winter storm crisis as a “rare public relations offensive” is patently wrong. Going on site to deal with domestic crises is part of his job and he has done this quite well. During the SARS outbreak in 2003 the Haidian District in Beijing was identified as the site with the highest number of SARS cases and the situation was tense, particularly on the campuses of China’s elite universities in this district. At that time Wen stopped at the Beijing University campus sans face mask and mixed with students and becalmed the area. In 2004 he visited the Yunnan and Henan provinces and shook hands with AIDS patients. In 2005 in the wake of a spate of mining disasters, he went down into the mines in Shanxi Province; in 2006 he traveled to Shandong Province and spoke with farmers devastated by avian flu culls; in 2007 he visited the blue-algae infested Taihu area in Jiangsu Province. Simply put, Wen Jiabao’s going on site during crises is a constant rather than a rarity; the rarity is the foreign press accurately reporting on China.

Ken Klinkner, United States, published 7 February 2008

Olmert and War

An Israeli government report has ruled Israel’s 2006 battle against Hezbollah in Lebanon as a “large and serious” failure. Hostilities had commenced in July 2006, when Hezbollah fighters kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, killing three other soldiers. Israeli leader Ehud Olmert has refused to resign.

Middle East countries like Syria and Iran need not gloat over the indictment of the Israeli PM, for two reasons:

1. Israel has the courage to analyze its past performance and make the findings internationally public.

2. If the Israeli PM is punished as a result of this report, there will be a tendency for an Israeli leader to be more ruthless when there is a battle next time. This would only add to the death and destruction in the wake of a war.

Rajendra K. Aneja, Dubai, published 7 February 2008

Afghanistan

My compliments to Arab News (Editorial, Feb. 1) for presenting a balanced view regarding the plight of the Afghan people. NATO, like the UN, has become ineffective. NATO members are not willing to fulfill their obligations for fear of angering their own citizens. It’s unfortunate that the US does not follow suit and withdraw all combat forces from the Middle East and throughout the world. The trillions of US taxpayer dollars being wasted could better be used providing for US citizens. All that the US has received for its efforts is scorn and hatred from the rest of the world. The deaths of our sons and daughters are not worth it. Time for Europe and the Middle East to step in and take care of their own problem areas.

LS, United States, published 7 February 2008

Afghanistan - 2

In a democracy you don’t go on a rampage killing people with dissenting views. If you really want to build Afghanistan, you should send doctors, engineers, teachers and nursing staff, not trigger-happy soldiers.

Ahmad Zahir Khan, Jeddah, published 7 February 2008

Exploiting OFWs

I read the report, “New Rule on Direct Hires Feared to Take OFWs Out of Competition” (Feb. 1). It is indeed disturbing that the Philippines thinks of adding more insults to the OFWs. My impression is this is just one of the dirty tactics used to extract additional money from OFWs. The government does not care if the OFWs are hurt in the process. All they are interested in is more dollars.

Joseph Sucgang, Dammam, published 7 February 2008

Gaza

The situation in Gaza is a challenge to the civilized world. No, it is a slap on the face of the Arab world in particular and Muslims in general. Children are living outdoors, women are dying from bullets and old people are freezing to death. This is not a scene from a movie; it’s a horrible reality that exposes the weakness of the Arab world. No point in blaming others; let us have the courage to look into our hearts and minds before blaming others. Expecting the West to solve our problems is childish fantasy

Mohamed Zarook, Jeddah, published 7 February 2008

It’s All About Men

One day you publish an article, “Leave Women Alone”, by Abeer Mishkhas and another day there is “It’s All About Women” from Tariq Al-Maeena (Feb. 2). Mishkhas writes something about allowing Saudi women to travel and stay on their own in hotels and now there is a proposal for segregated women-only hospitals. I’m very confused!

Which is it? Do Saudi women want to be left alone or do they want all the attention focused on them? On one side you have a father hesitating to allow his daughter to play sports; on the other a father’s concern and almost despair at not being able to see his daughter while she is sick.

On one side there is someone working relentlessly to establish a body to protect the basic rights of women. On the other, the very basic right of health is put in doubt by introducing segregated hospitals.

We are indeed a “special society”, a society of very special men, who apparently suffer from schizophrenia — a condition where disparate or mutually exclusive activities coexist. Nevertheless, the attention should not be taken away from PMU and Yamamah College for the remarkable achievement. Congratulations to you all, every one of you is a winner. Al-Maeena, thank you for publishing something about the girls football match. And in my still very confused state of mind, maybe it is not all about women, I think it is really all about men.

Maryam Neyazi, Jeddah, published 7 February 2008