Letters to the Editor [Archives:2001/02/Letters to the Editor]

The Water Crisis in Yemen
I am a Master degree holder in water use management, from the Republic of India, and a Bachelor Degree in Irrigation and Drainage Engineering from the Peoples Republic of China with a lot of knowledge in the area of water and aquifers. It is not a secret that water is a major and serious problem in Yemen. All the officials know that, but many are not taking the issue seriously, and the government institutions are not up to the notch and strong enough to enforce the laws and the regulations regarding the development of the new wells and the economical spacing between them in almost all the Governorates of Yemen. Beside the development of wells issue, there is the issue of Qat and Diesel price relationship which should be addressed carefully and strictly.
The Government of Yemen is held responsible to come up with proposal(s) to ensure the maximization of this vital resource now! The Yemeni Government is also supposed to workout a long term program with alternatives for the people cultivating/selling Qat. There is no time to lose and a real disaster eventually will happen. Yemenis will curse and will hate their life and the history will not pardon those who are keeping silent now for whatever reason.
As a matter of fact, a big and difficult task is to be tackled in which the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Planning, the Higher Water Council, Legislature System, Donors, United Nations and the law enforcement institutions in Yemen combined should take the matter seriously and come up with a solution that would minimize the use of water in the whole country.
Yemenis do not want anyone to remind them that Qat is their most disastrous plant that kills them silently. They know this fact for a long time now. They know that Qat is keeping the children population growing. The plant, the forbidden pesticides and the scarcity of water, are the Awful Trio, but first we must resolve the water issue. It is the vital element for life, and must be considered as soon as possible. Try to make a change, learn from our brothers in Jordan, Egypt, and the others, even Israel. Eng. Nasr A. Alghoorairy
Toronto, Canada
[email protected]
Response to “Eid: Festival of Discipline”
“I have been reading Yemen Times since 1997, and have always appreciated the objectivity of your reporting. I was shocked and saddened therefore to read the first paragraph of Ismael Al-Ghabiri’s article on Eid (25 December 2001).
I have traveled around the world, lived and worked in three continents yet have never encountered the “vulgar and obscene orgies” that according to Mr. Al-Ghabiri characterize festivals in other societies. Certainly in Europe, our festivals are largely based on the religious calendar. Christmas, for all its’ commercialism, is a family celebration and a time of reflection on the past year. We try to make amends for any sins we have committed and strengthen our resolve to live a better life in the coming year. At Easter we celebrate new life and thank God for all the wonders of creation. The only excesses I have witnessed on these occasions are people eating and drinking too much and falling asleep in front of the television. Maybe Mr. Al-Ghabiri needs to buy himself a better dictionary.
Such sweeping and inaccurate statements only serve to increase tension between Muslim and non-Muslim and surely during the Holy Month we should be reaching out to each other in increased tolerance and understanding, rather than fuelling rumor and racial hatred. Tanya Al-Ameer
Dear Tanya,
We are sorry if you found the article offending. Please be ensured that we will get a response from Al-Ghabiri and publish it next week. Thanks for continuing reading Yemen Times. Editor
Terrorism and Religions in the Middle East
I am a full-time college student, a family man, and work full time. Since my days in high school, I have always been intrigued about the Middle East culture and the total terror that seems to exist.
Obviously it is quite apparent that terrorism is usually the result of religious differences. How come despite so many different denominations of the Christian culture there has to be so much violence? It is quite apparent that most religions go back to the same thing; there is one creator, people should live together in peace and harmony, and people need to take care of the mother earth. You know it never made sense to me that everyone is born without a sense of hate and are basically trained to hate one another because someone just doesn’t like the way the person across the street practices their religion. Look at the United States, we were formed because of the oppression against certain religions. The English king could not accept that there were different denominations and people were killed believing in the same creator. Now in our country you can practice any religion and it doesn’t matter. Can there ever become an end to this nonsense? Isn’t one of the ten commandments, “thou shall not kill”? Look at all the nonsense over there. I think the Middle East region should be named one country and allow the different religions go as desired. Ray DeLorenzo
USA
Lets Get Ourselves Writing
Writing is a silent way of communication. It translates peoples ideas and thoughts into understandable words. It also is an art and a wonderful skill which many people admire and are fond of. Writing has three distinguished features; it is done alone; it makes no noise; and it can be done anywhere. These features make writing even more effective as well as attractive.
This skill should be done and done before it is completely learnt. It should start from the simple to the complex in chronological order. We all should give ourselves a specific time a day for writing. An hour every night may be enough. We should write about anything and every thing. We write about ourselves, our countries, our friends and dreams. Sometimes there is nothing to write about. That is not an excuse. OK, start like this: Today there is nothing in my mind to write about ……….. and keep going until you are completely persuaded with what you have written.
Write about everything in your life, about a view you have seen, every dream you have dreamt. Write about your experiences and feelings. Plough your thoughts and ideas and turn them upside down. Write from as deep inside yourself as you can reach. Try to find the truth inside yourself and write about it.
Dont be like some people who ask silly questions such as:
I want to be a writer, but how?!
I have only a-one word answer to this question: You write! is the answer. Foad Abdul Karim al-Sabri
Taiz

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