Letters to the Editor [Archives:2001/38/Letters to the Editor]

Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter in concern of my home country. Why is it that almost all Arab countries have adequate and efficient access to the world wide web except Yemen? These countries are using the Internet to advance and gain vital information in this new world. The children of these countries have access to global information and education reaching unlimited boundaries. As a source of information in Yemen I feel that Yemen Times is obliged to do something about this matter.
Ahmed Sufyan
[email protected]
Dear Ahmed,
I understand your concern regarding the accessibility to the Internet from Yemen. However, we do have an Internet Service Provider. That is TeleYemen, and it is doing quite well. However, due to the monopoly of the service, there is no competition leading to prices that are too high for average citizens. However, there are projects towards achieving more affordable means to connect to the Internet. We will definitely do our part to promote this issue. Thank you for your concern.
-Editor
Dear Editor,
I am very pleased with the hard work you are exerting to publish this first class newspaper, and hence allowing everyone in the globe to read it on the net. I would like to suggest that you pay attention to and make a report on Yemeni immigrants in the UK, specially in Birmingham, which is the main city where the Yemeni community lives. I also recommend that you investigate why Yemeni immigrants are concerned only about work and money and not about education of their children. Most of the Yemeni immigrants , who bring their children from the Yemen to the UK send them straight away to factories instead of schools and colleges. They also rush in getting them married in a very young age, i.e. 14-15 years old.
The second point is despite the fact that Yemenis have been in this country for more than 50-60 years and they are one of the first communities in the UK, other communities are ahead than Yemenis in development and holding respected positions in government. Yemenis are still holding their old place despite all the time that had passed. It is an unacceptable situation and it has to be corrected in the near future or our community would probably be kicked out of this country because it is in a worse situation than any other community and in anywhere else it could be.
Hamdi Ahmed Abdulnoor Ghailan
Birmingham, UK
[email protected]
Nadia Muhsen, again!
This is regarding to Nadia Muhsen. Recently I have just finished the two stories “mercy” and “sold”, and following that matter I read the interviews Yemen Times conducted with Nadia. As far as I’m concerned, I think she has been forced to say all this, just like the previous times. Another question is have you really brainwashed her or in other words, have told her what to say, in this particular interview? If she really wants to come to England, will the Yemeni people allow her to come with her children?
Well, how can she come to England when your people are stopping her from coming unless she comes without her children?
It’s just a logical thing that no mother will ever leave without her children. So she is probably stuck in Yemen. Another thing is that I think that her so-called husband is so weak that he can’t accompany his wife and children to England because he is so afraid that the whole media will turn towards him.
Another thing is the whole world has seen the last interviews, which were taken in Yemen for a French program. My question is when the interview was conducted, why were all those officials guarding her? The funny thing is, you have promised that you will allow the interviewers to meet her children, but that also didn’t happen.
I know exactly what a “mahr” is in Arabic and it is not the way you know it. What had happened is that she was sold. Islam doesn’t force people to marry one another.
We now know, the whole world knows that her father Muthana Muhsin Gowad and Abdhulkhada are just weak pathetic hypocrites.
I do believe that Islam is a religion of love, justice, tolerance, and morality but because of these people its is such a disgrace to Islam, and it is these so-called Muslims who sometimes misrepresent it.
A.M.
[email protected]
Dear A.M..,
Just as we published your letter in full, even though we were not supposed to because you didn’t provide a full name, we made the interview with Nadia Muhsen in a sincere and honest manner. We have never brainwashed any person we interviewed since Yemen Times was founded more than 10 years ago. It was mentioned many times before that the books you mentioned, which were sold for commercial purposes, did have the intention to brainwash its readers. I am not sure if they had succeeded. But if you do insist on knowing the truth, you can come over to Yemen and see the facts for yourself and you can ask Nadia why she wanted to sue her sister for the books. Thank you for your letter.
-Editor
Reply to Bohra movement Article
I’d like to say that unlike what you published about the Bohra movement in your front page of issue number 36, the Bohra movement is not considered by the hardline Islamists as non-Sunni, but by all Muslims as non-Muslim. You can refer to the Fatwa books if you would like to know more on this subject.
Ali Azki
[email protected]
Dear Editor,
I would like to express to you my happiness to read two articles in your paper. One was about the new human rights minister Dr. Wahibah Fare’ who plans to visit prisons and meet with prisoners and follow up their cases. The other was that the Yemeni Supreme Legislative Council and President Ali Abdullah Saleh has decided to dismiss 20 judges and to retire several others. I do hope that this means that Yemen is taking the issue of human rights seriously. Thank you for an interesting paper.
Britta Ahman
Sweden
[email protected]

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