Spending it like Beckham

A reader questions the footballer's luxury lifestyle. Other letter topics: Sars, employment and school children's health.

A reader questions the huge salary paid to David Beckham, pictured with son Romeo. Mark J. Terrill / AP

No need to panic about Sars, but we must be vigilant

I have been alive on this planet long enough to have endured many highly publicised "potential pandemics" that were going to kill us all.

However, I also know that it is only personal vigilance and medical science that will save us if there ever is a deadly outbreak similar to the Spanish flu that killed millions of people in 1918.

Sars: breathe a little more easily (September 30) may tell us that there is no need for panic over the latest virus strain to emerge, but it also tells us that "there is no protection against Sars or similar Sars-like human coronavirus".

Each of us must take responsibility for our own well-being, which means maintaining scrupulously high levels of personal hygiene and making every effort not to infect others when we are unwell. Mary Morris, Dubai

Many challenges on the job front

In reference to For jobless, America isn't working (September 28), unemployment is a global concern, affecting individuals in most countries.

The aftermath of the recession continues to have an adverse effect on jobseekers. Our youth are supposed to be at the forefront of the nation-building process but they face great obstacles in finding suitable employment.

As well as educational qualifications, potential employees have to prove expertise in their areas of interest, and this is difficult.

At the same time, the alarming trend of high employee turnover is seriously affecting the potential of many businesses.

The challenge for corporations across the world is to observe what is happening carefully and find ways to cope with the situation. Ramachandran Nair, Oman

Should we spend it like Beckham?

Thank you for LA life ... extend it like Beckham (September 29), as it reinforced all my prejudices about overpaid sport stars and their extravagant lifestyles.

Beckham and his former pop-star wife may have brought some joy to the world, but what kind of message do their large incomes and big-spending ways send?

He may have turned down an offer from Paris Saint-Germain worth three times his current salary, but his earnings are already vastly inflated compared to the actual work he does. Given the poverty in the world, it is obscene.

Wealth is not in itself a bad thing, but it should be used wisely and charitably. I hope I'm wrong and Beckham is giving back, but I've seen nothing to indicate this.

Kerry Blake, Dubai

Schools should promote health

Watching the flow of students returning to a reputable school near my home after the summer holidays, I noticed that most the children are overweight.

Because many schools do not have adequate play areas, I think that classroom-based exercise, and health-awareness programmes should be conducted at the start of each day.

Even five minutes each morning could change the students' outlook, making them more health and fitness conscious.

Smoking outside the school gate is another unhealthy practice that is quite common.

Schools say they are powerless in this matter as it happens off their premises. Therefore, I think it is up to health authorities to check what is going on near schools and take action against students who smoke in public - and their parents.

Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi

Thoughts with unpaid maid

I am writing about Maid stands in road to kill herself (September 30).

I was stunned for a moment when I read the court verdict: the woman received a Dh1,000 fine for attempting suicide.

I feel that, surely, the court verdict must also have protected the maid's rights.

According to the law, a suicide attempt is a crime and should be punished.

But I think justice should also be done by punishing the maid's sponsor and the agency that employed her, who I believe are the actual culprits in this case.

I hope that the maid will be fully reimbursed.

KP Muhammad, Abu Dhabi

The court fined the maid Dh1,000, but are the authorities also going to help her get the pay she is owed?

And will they fine her employer for withholding it?

K Ebertowski, Dubai

Numbers don't exactly add up

Regarding Register your quad bike before taking it off-road (September 24), please note that "quad bike" is a misnomer.

As "quad" equals four and "bi" equals two, it should be quad cycle.

W Vize, Ajman