I was upset to read the article Families told to leave Dubai community marked for demolition (May24). If a large developer and its real estate arm can do this, then how can we ensure that smaller, less structured and random companies or individuals will not do similar things? This is exactly what started the bubble a few years ago.
Ahmad Sameh, Dubai
How sad that such lovely Dubai communities are starting to be knocked down again in favour of new “developments”.
Those of us who saw the last property boom, saw this happen many times then – pieces of Dubai’s history being bulldozed in favour of a buck. Very sad to hear. I hope the Government steps in to protect these tenants, and Dubai’s history.
C Robert, Dubai
Should taxi drivers pay for mandatory safety training?
I sympathise with the taxi drivers who have been ordered to sign up for a new training course, pay the Dh800 fee themselves and lose three days' earnings while taking part (Cabbies pay for their own training, May 22). But frankly, this safety course is long overdue. I rarely meet a taxi driver who follows road-safety rules, and some of them are downright terrifying.
They all need to do this course, so I am pleased it is being enforced. A lot of them think they know how to drive, but in practice they have no idea about basic road safety or considerate driving practices. I hope they will learn something from this.
P Jenkins, Abu Dhabi
This is terrible of taxi companies to ask their drivers to pay for the mandatory course, because they earn so little.
I often go to India and visit the slums and poor areas (I do voluntary work there) and I feel sad when I see how the people live there. For many of them, the only hope to get out of that situation is to receive the little money their husbands and sons send them by doing hard jobs in countries like the UAE.
Brigitte von Bulow, Abu Dhabi
Educate children on healthy eating
This refers to your news report Ministry of Education celebrates first year of nutrition in schools (May 20). This is a great initiative and should be introduced in all private schools across the country, as more than half the student population is enrolled in these institutions.
It is important to educate children on how food is produced. In this manner they will not only learn to grow their own food, but also to eat healthily.
Fatima Suhail, Sharjah
Do figures reveal truth on inflation?
I seriously doubt the reported inflation figure (Dubai inflation rate at highest in five years and set to rise further, May 23), because nothing is going down in price and maybe the only thing that has remained at the same level over the past year is the transport component – fuel, metro and bus fares, and Salik.
So, if rents have risen 10, 20, 30 per cent in a year and food prices are generally rising, as are other goods and services, how is it possible that the total inflation rate is 3 per cent? My guess is that the “real” inflation felt by most people in the last 12 months is closer to 10-15 per cent.
Bassem P Fakhry, Abu Dhabi
Don’t blame Assad forces alone
I refer to the comment by Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, who told the Security Council last month that human rights violations by Syrian government forces "far outweigh" those by armed opposition groups (Syrian National Council decries Russia, China UN veto as 'disgraceful', May 23). This is not true. Al Nusra, Al Qaeda and ISIS far surpass the Assad government in human rights violations, and crimes against humanity.
Bob Van den Broeck, UK
New traffic rule deserves praise
I applaud the advertising campaign that seeks to dissuade people from driving on hard shoulders (Stop driving on hard shoulders or face harsh penalties, UAE motorists warned, May 7).
I have always been astounded to see drivers doing this. Selfishness costs lives.
I bet if it was one of those drivers’ relatives in the ambulance, they would want other drivers to pull over or if their house was on fire, they would want the firemen to get there before lives and livelihood are lost or if the police were chasing a dangerous criminal, they would want them caught before they hurt someone they knew.
Despite knowing all this, people still don’t move out of the way.
Hopefully, now they will. It’s good that traffic police have enforced this rule. I thank them for trying to keep us safe.
Name withheld by request
