Letters to the Editor [Archives:1999/42/Letters to the Editor]
Dear Editor,
I refer to your Issue No 39 of 27 September and in particular to THEY SAY … I SAY (Salwa M Sarhi). I have visited Yemen annually since 1993 and witnessed the decline in tourism consequent upon the various kidnapping incidents and reported acts of terrorism. In January this year I met with the Australian Ambassador to Yemen (resident in Saudi Arabia and on his first visit, I believe, to Sana’a) to discuss the perceived threat to Australian citizens touring your country.
His attitude reflected the Australian Government’s: there was a big threat and Australia has placed Yemen on a list that includes Chechnya and Afghanistan as places not to visit! Those of us in the know recognize the nonsensity and unfairness in this, but until the Australian Government relaxes its formal advice to travellers there will be few visitors to Yemen from Australia, which is a potentially large market. Only this month I was due to accompany a group of 20 distinguished people from Melbourne but this has been postponed for 2 years. I speak Yemeni Arabic fluently and worked in the south of your country during the British era. I have many friends from that period and care deeply for Yemen and its people.
When I was last in Yemen I also met with the Director of Antiquities and have also corresponded with your Tourism agency, to recommend that Yemen send a cultural display to Australia which, with local sponsorship, could tour the country and thereby help to dispel the myth of savagery that so discourages visitors. In spite of my efforts absolutely nothing has eventuated from your end and, until there is some official and commercial interest in improving the country’s image, it will be a long time before we can have groups of visitors from this part of the world.
I would like to help further but feel helpless!
Michael Crouch
East Perth, Australia
Dear Editor,
I am from Yemen and I live in Saudi Arabia Riyadh city. I am working in King Faisal hospital for the last 17 years in nutrition department. I love my country and I am planing to move there by next year if any one like to e-mail me my address is below I well be happy to replay, and thanks.
Samir Kaifah
–mail:[email protected]
Dearest Yementimes,
One of the things I mention to my friends outside Yemen, is my favorite newspaper that is Yemen Times. I am very proud to do so cause the paper is a light in this tunnel in which Yemen doesn’t seem to be able to leave . until…
Well keep up the good work.
Today I was very happy to read about the banning of qat chewing by the military personals.
It is indeed a small step but we should never forget that mountains are made up of stones, so we should take these small steps seriously and try to do our part in helping to implement what is eventually good for our country.
It is our soul responsibility to bring up a better tomorrow for our people and country.
The president is one and so every one of us so if we could help change ourselves like the way we keep asking him to change for the better than trust me we are heading for a better tomorrow, and I think we can help him too.
lets say by not selling qat to the guys in green.
Khaled H. Al Azbi
India
Dear Editor,
As I was reading today and in the front page where i saw the “PRICE RISE.” I think its a good idea so that the Yemen brothers would Work on the land and farm their own land instead of others. We got the best land in the world, what else do we want, laziness or we want the fruit to fall into our moths. That will never happen, stop dreaming and chewing and start Planting corn, wheat, bamboo, fruit, vegetables, COFFEE, and stop dreaming. I want to see my country in it’s best. Wake up people! What are you waiting for? You have everything you need in your country. You can live without the need for anybody else>. Did you forget the gardens, heaven, Paradises your country were known with? Did you forget what the Quran said about the land of Sheba?
Believe it or not am reading these letter and the tears are on my eyes and every time a got to bed I start dreaming about Yemen, but I have no choice till I graduate which is coming up soon. In the night I got to bed and said how can I improve my country how can I improve the equality of life and the land itself. We need to work together. If we don’t, then who will work with us? We will not be able to move further. We must not depend on others. I repeat: We must not depend on others. I hope my message is received.
Abdussalam Allinai
Dear editor and readers,
I surfed into your page while searching for information on the Internet about Yemen. I am interested to learn more about this beautiful country and I thought a good way of doing this is through correspondence. I was hoping you can help me find penpals in Yemen, from whom I can learn more about the country, and with whom I can be a friend. I would like to write with young women, like myself, in Yemen. Thank you very much and I hope you can help.
My address:
Box 375 AAV
1799 Muntinlupa
Philippines
Jansie Fdez
Dear brothers,
I am a Ph.D. Student at UMISt Microelectronics group. I feel so bad that I can’t even dream a good future in my country. My story is so long in the commercial court. Can you imagine that judges don’t know how to deal with cases. If I told you that they are asking me to pay partner YR 40,000,000 as his profit of YR 200,000 that he paid. Can you believe it? Our work together starts in 1990 and he close at the end of 1992.
The court give him my new shop including about YR 4,500,000 goods and furniture some of the goods is not yet paid. They gave him the shop we gain together including YR 1,80,000. I got to go to jail for many times.
They prevent me from travel they issue an order to reserve any thing expensive that belongs to my, my wife and my sons. These judges are more serious than kidnappers. Kidnappers prevent tourism from coming to Yemen, but judges turn Yemeni’s people into refugees.
I don’t need to eat some thing not main. I need a fair judgment. I spent seven years working day and night. My reward is the jail. Can you imagine it?
I will keep a saying as a ring in my ear: “a place where a dog tie you and a mouse release you, leave it.”
Munir Kulaib
United Kingdom
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