Letters to the Editor [Archives:1999/49/Letters to the Editor]
Like Fault, Like Punishment
On Wednesday, the 27th of Oct., at around 12:30 in the afternoon, I was coming back to my home from the college. On my road, I heard two men talking to each other about the criminals who were killed and hung on a cross. “Twelve bullets penetrated into his body, and still he was alive, and they had to spend two more bullets to kill him,” one of them said. “What kind of man is this? Fourteen bullets until he died,” the other man said. “By the way, they deserve it.” It astonished me when I heard the news and decided to know the whole story. So, I approached them and started to ask about the incident. After that I went home and begun to think about the event. I said to myself that was OK. I would know all the news from the television or newspaper. But neither of them gave any news. I don’t know why? Therefore, I tried to collect the news from different sources, until I get the perfect news.
The whole story begun in JIBLA, ten years ago, where these criminals entered a jewelry shop which had only the 15 year old son of the owner at the time. The gang of criminals stole the jewelry and kidnapped the boy as well. They committed sodomy and cut the boy into pieces. They thought they got rid of him and there was no one who knew what happened. They forgot that Allah was observing them. Their crimes continued day after day and year after year! Allah may delay, but will not forget! One day the police caught them red-handed and forced them to confess their crimes including the murder of the boy and stealing the jewelry. After they spent a long time in the prison, the court sentenced them to death.
After some days, the policemen took the criminals to the stadium in the presence of a large crowd and killed them one by one. One of the criminals was shot with twelve bullets and still he was alive. He asked for water. After he drank, they shot him with two more bullets, but on the other side of his body. Then he died immediately. Some sources say that, his heart was in the right side of his chest. After killing them, they were hung on a cross and left there for three days. This action was a good lesson for the people to see the result of such crimes. It is worth mentioning that, the whole citizens of Ibb governorate could see the SHAMEFUL sight.
Ibrahim Ghanem Al-Ddahan
Faculty of Art, Ibb University
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English Language Problem
Actually, you have taken a responsibility on your-side for developing English language and to promote it in everyone who knows where the global train is going. In order to spread English language by the easiest way and with beautiful style. Now, I would like you to know that I started reading your newspaper from the first time of my studying of the English language. I tell a truth that I get benefit day after day. In spite of this truth but I still have problems. In order that, may I put my hand upon your hands to help me for solving or answering my notes through your newspaper. Perhaps, there are no questions entirely but I would like you to provide me with some notes about the writing compositions and articles or paragraphs. In this subject, I would like you to get some information about my study in faculty of Education department of English Language. Surely I can speak English very well because I have studied for four years and during my study I faced so many problems at the beginning. But I am ambitious and intend to defeat my weakness in the long run. Step by step I have succeeded in overcoming this milestone. What is the result? I have the degree of English language. However, I can’t practice what I have studied and can improve neither my language nor my fluency in English after graduation as there are so many factors behind my problems. Of course, these factors began from the faculty; during my study in the faculty of Education, I have seen:
1) There is no English atmosphere.
2) There is no language laboratory “L-bab” in the faculty of Education.
3) There are no audio-visual devices to help for studying English language in a good way.
4) Sometimes, there are no tape-recorders in the college of Education.
5) There is no contact with any native speakers during four years of study, only by chance in the streets or any place out of the faculty.
6) There are no extra-activities in the faculty which help for improving the language. There is only a ‘welcome party’ and a ‘farewell party.’ Some activities come from students such as debates and short meetings.
7) There is no interaction between the faculties in this department
8) There is a shortage of books in the library. Most of the available books are about drama, novels, poetry and long stories. There are not enough books which deal with pronunciation, writing and spelling which are very important things for study of English.
9) There are many words in English which don’t depend on logic, especially in their writing and pronunciation.
So, I would like you to help us through your newspaper which is the best English language newspaper in the whole of Yemen. I want you to evaluate me writings and compositions and if there are mistakes in letters, please correct them.
Saeed Azazi
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Unemployment
Unemployment is a terrible social evil next only to hunger and illiteracy. Its horrible outcome is too grave to be overlooked; especially in a country like Yemen where the lack of decent jobs puts the livelihood of thousands of families in jeopardy.
If we try to fish for the reasons behind such a malady, we shall come up with plenty. First, the threatening population explosion which is going incredibly out of control. Just as this is going on, thousands of graduates are waiting desperately for jobs to be provided for them. What adds fuel to fire is the fact that many of them are not skilled enough to be depended upon, hence, they become unemployable. On the other hand, the competent ones might tend to demand only white-collar jobs. Moreover, those able to run their own businesses are not prepared to take the risk of self-employment.
With all this going on and on, various consequences will float to the surface at full speed! The unemployable person has to make a choice between a life of crime or death from starvation; which might not take him long to decide, especially if he’s responsible for feeding several hungry mouths beside his own. “Necessity has its own law.” As a result of the outbreak of crimes – thefts, robberies, vandalism, etc. peace will be disturbed, kindling a sense of insecurity and distorting the present and the future as the outrageous waves of civil disobedience – riots, protest, marches, rallies, violent speeches, etc. are likely to break out, engulfing everything in their way in a most impressive manner.
Finding a remedy to such a malady is badly needed before it’s too late. The case isn’t that hopeless though! If the population is to be checked either by giving wide publicity to family planning or through informing people about birth control, the hope of a better future would be welcome to spring in everybody’s heart. Increasing the employability of the graduates by reorganizing the educational system, will certainly lead to eradicating unemployment little by little.
Finally, as everybody knows “talk does not cook rice” and printing words on papers can not make the situation that is getting worse any better. If the unemployment problem is not solved, God only knows what lies ahead.
By: Nadwa M. Ahmed
Education Faculty.
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In order to benefit fully from our studying in the university, we, as students of English, should develop a set of skills to listen, read, speak and write. I will shed light on the importance of developing the oral communication skills in English.
As we know, there are the following aspects of the speaking skill:
1 – Conversational skills: We ought to know how to take part effectively in conversation. We ought to practice skills such as starting a conversation and keeping it going. Unfortunately, some of us can’t keep a conversation going for at least ten minutes.
2 – Discussion, students should be capable of participating effectively in classroom interactions. The principles of arguing on any issue are necessary to acquire and practice.
3- Listening and note-taking skills: This helps us to take note when listening to lectures. In order to do this, we must practice recognizing the organization of a lecture, identifying the main points, and noting down in an organized fashion.
I might add to what I mentioned above that our teachers need to pay close attention to the accuracy of our spoken language. This can be achieved by informing us of errors of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, pointing out the areas in which we need to improve.
Moreover, to make progress achievable, we should have at least one note-book solely devoted to vocabulary, developing an effective system for recording, organizing and revising new language. A good dictionary, with examples, and information about the pronunciation and grammar is another valuable aid to learning.
Mohammed Ali Ahmad
College of Education,
Mahweet.
________________
Congratulations, Yemen Times
At first I would like to convey my love and appreciation for Yemen Times. It is a newspaper which most people love. Would you believe me if I tell you that Yemen Times has helped many of us to improve our English? I always read it. It gives me lots of new words and a general cultural outlook.
Finally, I thank all the staff of Yemen Times especially the Editor-in-Chief Walid Abdul Aziz Al-Saqqaf. Thank you.
Abdullah M. Ghazi, Taiz
________________
Golden Advice
Do you want to live in happiness??
If you do,
*You must have a pure heart, a heart that is free from evil thoughts.
* You must cultivate behavior in accordance with the highest ethical principles.
* You must treat others fairly.
* You must help others in everything.
* You must be the master of your time, and not its slave,
* Never envy your friends.
* Be far away from wrong doings.
* Let a happy smile adorn your face always.
* Do not worry and be hopeful.
Happiness is not something very difficult to get, is it?
Mohammed Hassan Bakheet
Department of English
Faculty of Education
Hodeidah
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