Every actor jumps at the chance of playing an invalid (Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman cleans up with four Oscars at Academy Awards, February 24). Daniel Day-Lewis got it for his role of an Irishman with cerebral palsy in My Left Foot, Dustin Hoffman for playing an autistic savant in Rain Man and Cliff Robertson for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped man in Charly. So, it was inevitable that Julianne Moore's portrayal of an Alzheimer's sufferer would not go unnoticed.
AR Modak, South Africa
To call ISIL a ‘nuisance’ is an understatement
I'm sure the writer of the opinion article ISIL is a nuisance, not a global strategic threat (February 23) would think differently if he had experienced first-hand the ordeal of capture-and-imprisonment and been one of the very few who lived to tell the tale.
“Nuisance” is hardly the word for the description of a lawless territory, where marriage for girls is recommended at age 9, where they are handed from bandit to bandit, sold at marketplaces and bargained by older men who place a monetary value on their body parts, where teenagers and women are dismissed as slaves and put to punishing labour.
Within the ISIL territory, women are rarely allowed outdoors, breastfeeding mothers in a visible setting are instantly caught and tortured with heated tongs on their chests, thousands of the “insignificant common man” have been butchered, decapitated and others thrown off high buildings, stoned to death by braying crowds or crucified and left to hang in the market square.
Wasn’t it recently that 45 Iraqi men were burnt alive in iron cages? “Nuisance” hardly comes close for want of a truthful description. Perhaps, the key is to consider one’s own head on the chopping block with a knife on the ready in the hands of a trained ISIL murderer, impatient to draw blood and finish off the victim’s eternal humiliation on video for the World Wide Web.
SuzanAbrams, UK
Is the property picture right?
While flipping through the pictures you have posted on Facebook (Where Abu Dhabi rents have risen and fallen, Q4 2014), I found one of Khalifa City in which the picture caption reads: "Khalifa City villas Q4 2014 down 4 per cent year-on-year." I was surprised as rents have gone up more than 45 per cent in Khalifa City A. People are just too scared to make a fuss over it because of the low availability of accommodation.
Tony Jardim, Abu Dhabi
Should a four-bedroom villa in Khalifa City A cost a maximum Dh150,000, as you have mentioned? Then we are paying way above the average. That too for no frills – no garden, no amenities, no watchman.
Suzanne Shanks, Abu Dhabi
What it means to be an Emirati
I am an Emirati and I have to agree with everything Fatima Al Shamsi has said in her opinion article How you dress or speak does not define identity (February 20).
Sadly, you will face a certain degree of discrimination if you do not fit into the conventional notion of what it means to be an Emirati.
Within my own close-knit community there was never any disagreement or discrimination, but once I started to work and interact with the larger Emirati community, they became part of my life. Having said that, the UAE government treats all Emiratis equally. It’s just the societal norms and cultural beliefs that cause the dilemma about what it truly means to be an Emirati.
Sara Abdulla, Abu Dhabi
Let’s act more responsibly
With reference to your editorial Clean cities not cleaned enough (February 24), it is the responsibility of every citizen to keep the country clean. Our actions define us, which is why we should act responsibly.
It is upsetting to witness educated people engaging in uncivilised behaviour and contributing to inappropriately-disposed waste. We should be mindful of our actions so as not to cause harm or inconvenience to others.
Fatima Suhail, Sharjah
