Dear Sir,
With the Syrian regime forces continuing its bombing of Aleppo, thousands are seeking to leave the once thriving city. Meanwhile, the world is being a mute witness, reluctant to act to end the tragedy. But in a show of courage, a young Syrian has defied the aggressors by establishing a library, calling it Safe Time.
The library covers an area of a thousand square metres and has sections dedicated to students for reading and even a movie theatre.
The library contains about 2,000 books, some of them donated by universities. The library has reference books for students of art and architecture and a number of computers. In addition, the library provides readers access to an online encyclopaedia.
“The project targets all private universities, including young students,” says the founder of the library, Ismail Sulaiman.“ We have established it to resist the lack of academic atmosphere in the city of Aleppo.”
Mohammad al-Thaher
[email protected]
Amusing definition
Dear Sir,
It was quite amusing to read the definition of the word “silence” given by the writer of the letter, “A late response” (Gulf Times, August 24). One would like to point out to him that “silence” does not necessarily mean acceptance.
The writer is also wrong when he says that the remarks he refers to are “conditional”. They are not.
What one should know that in India the law-and-order subject is under the preview of the state government. It is the duty of the state government to maintain calm. Do statements by the prime minister help when a state administration is busy restoring calm?
Moreover, ill-timed comments by anybody that harm the federal structure of India are clearly inadvisable. I am not sure if we want knee-jerk political statements from the prime minister. People and parties who claim to espouse secularism themselves fuel divisions in society by reading between the lines and reacting in a huff. Also, their commitment to secularism just remains in words.
The prime minister has displayed calm and poise, urging the nation to look beyond issues that divide and instead focus on the large issues of development and all-round growth. Are we in India listening? Think.
Sachin S N
(Address supplied)
The library in Aleppo.
