Authorities need to support local authors

School libraries should promote local authors, a reader says. Other topics: plastic surgery, rents, war on drugs

A reader says school libraries should devote a section to local authors. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

It is unsurprising that many Emirati parents do not feel disposed towards buying their children fiction books when so few of their own authors and locally relevant stories are to be found in bookstores (Children need to read fiction, September 7).

Many authors such as Dedra Stevenson, who has written The Hakima’s Tale trilogy based in the UAE, have to pay for their own production costs and sell at fairs or on websites because only “famous” authors are stocked in bookstores and promoted.

The authorities should make a point to support UAE-based and local authors by insisting school libraries have a section with their books.

Emirati children simply do not know these authors exist and this translates into a feeling that reading and writing is not worthwhile.

Judith Finnemore, Al Ain

Doctors must protect patients

I am in full agreement with your report Warning about hard-sell tactics in plastic surgery (September 7). Price-cutting blurs the line between the tactics of commerce and the practice of medicine, in which physicians have traditionally encouraged treatments based on a patient's condition or concerns, not on the clinic's bottom line.

Price-cutting skews the caution of proper decision-making and discounts simply reduce it to a commodity, which is dangerous.

Physicians must ensure that advertising is realistic, ethical and for the sole purpose of conveying factual information. They must refrain from the use of financial inducements that may influence the patient’s decision such as discounts, time-limited or two-for-one offers. Physicians must ensure that any marketing activities are honest and responsible.

Plastic surgery in expert hands transforms the lives of many people for the better and plastic surgeons must protect patients from any unethical fringes of the industry.

S Al Benna, Abu Dhabi

Plastic surgery is the easy way out (Plastic surgery patients must be realistic, September 8). Trust me, surgery should always be the last resort. The body never recovers fully after any surgery. If you want to look and feel good, consider a proper diet and exercise routine. A six-pack isn't that difficult with a proper diet. Don't spend thousands of dirhams on surgery.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Rents are falling where?

I was surprised to know that average monthly rents for residential property in Abu Dhabi is falling (Abu Dhabi rents falling but still one of world's most expensive places to live, September 7).

Recently, I received an official letter from my landlord notifying me of a 5 per cent increase on the rental of my flat. Rents here are much higher than in Manhattan.

Victor Karam, Al Ain

War on drugs has to be brutal

President Rodrigo Duterte's radical steps to curb drug trafficking in the Philippines have been condemned by many, but the menace can never be solved without drastic measures (Philippines' Duterte expresses regret over Obama slur, September 7).

He may be committing human rights violations, but drug lords show no mercy on those who either betray them or refuse to become couriers.

The measures could be cited as a last attempt to cleanse the Philippines of a problem that has ravaged the country. Consider what the drugs industry has done to countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Iran, Nicaragua, Brazil and Afghanistan.

President Duterte surprisingly won an election on the back of a promise to curb this menace, much to the dismay of his global detractors who have not been able to rid their countries of this scourge.

AR Modak, South Africa