A wealth of stories over decades from residents

Letter writers discuss stories told about the UAE by early residents, and say telecoms authority must better inform consumers of illegal products. Other topics include family law.

The UAE's first hotel is just one of the historical stories that readers say have shaped the nation.

The story Airport woke sleeping giant (November 21) is an interesting story about Lakhmichand Lulla who opened the UAE's first hotel.

Mr Lulla's story reminds me of some of my dad's stories about the time when he came to Dubai.

My grandfather moved to Dubai in 1948. My dad moved here as a child and worked in my grandfather's business. He studied in Dubai and has seen Dubai change completely. He talks about then and today. He came from India by boat for 1,500 Indian rupees (Dh105 by today's exchange rates).

It's good to know we still have many expats with such wonderful stories of Dubai.

Divyesh, Dubai

It was very interesting to read your article about Lakhmichand Lulla. It's amazing to see what this small country has managed to achieve in few decades.

There are many stories like Mr Lulla's everywhere, such as the oldest Pakistani driver. It is important that those people set an example for the next generations.

Unfortunately we as Europeans have lost this sense of courage and enthusiasm and sometimes we must learn how the UAE has changed its destiny.

Enzo Calabrese, Italy

Telecoms must inform consumers

I refer to the article Regulator to disable counterfeit handsets in UAE (November 21).

It's not a case of offering cheaper packages as du and Etisalat are the only authorised telecoms operators that could do this. It's a case of offering hand sets at more competitive prices.

While I do not support counterfeit products that present a safety threat, I am in favour of opening the market to more competitive prices, providing that the handsets conform to the safety and health regulations set by the telecoms authority. I would like to see the telecoms authority publish a list of these illegal handsets so that I'm aware of them as a consumer.

I would also recommend that the telecoms operators take a more preventive approach by implementing an Equipment Identity Register (EIR), which not only has the ability to blacklist illegal handsets by identity number, but has the ability to shut down or kill the handset as opposed to simply deactivating the service.

This is a foolproof approach to proactively manage illegal network access since the EIR has the ability to deter the stealing of handsets which is a very lucrative trade. When a handset is deactivated, it could no longer work on any network making it difficult to sell or reuse.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Family law unclear and confusing

I refer to the article 'Rising tide of divorce takes toll on children' (November 23).

I am writing on behalf of a friend of mine who is currently having issue with her husband and he verbally divorced her a couple of days ago.

She has her residency visa in her husband's name and he took her passport off her by force and has now given it to her brother. She is living Sharjah and is 39 years old with two children.

The reason for the problem is that as she is a Jordanian national. Her father (who is in Jordan), brother and husband have told her that they will now force her to go back to Jordan and her father has sent her an SMS stating that as soon as she reaches the country she will be locked in a room and not let out. His words were something like: "I will lock you in a room like an animal". I have been trying to get the number for the Red Crescent's women's shelter in Dubai but I am getting no answer.

I am from the UK and don't fully know the rules here.

Amjad Ali, UK

Barak statements are surprising

I enjoyed reading Tony Karon's column A slip of the tongue betrays Israel's hardline propaganda (November 23). Ehud Barak seems to like to imagine himself in different positions.

Declarations by him such as "if I had been born Palestinian, I would join a terror organisation" or "if I were Iranian, I would probably want a nuclear weapon" are awful. Despite the dissatisfaction of Benjamin Netanyahu with the tendency of Mr Barak to trip over his own tongue, this sort of verbal mangling will continue to exist and such statements will shock and entertain the public at the same time.

Gabriela Lombardi, Abu Dhabi

More good-news stories needed

The article Needy reap what Tasleem sews (November 17) was a joy to read.

It was an example of important journalism. Thank you for continuing to highlight the good things happening in the UAE.

How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

AF, Dubai