Drivers ignoring safety of children
Dear Sir,
Qatar has just welcomed a new Emir who is young and full of ideas for the future to benefit this country.
One of the Emir’s top priorities, it appears, is road safety, which we all applaud. However, there is one serious area which, I believe, needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and that is the safety of children in motor vehicles.
On just a short trip out the other day, I witnessed three children, ranging from nine months to two years, sitting on the laps of drivers in passing cars and a small child standing between the front seats of a vehicle whilst in motion.
I cannot understand the reluctance of drivers to strap their children into appropriate safety seats specifically designed to protect them.
Before the introduction of car seats for children in England, horrific images in the form of an advertisement played several times on television at peak periods, to demonstrate what would happen to an unharnessed child in the event of an accident in a vehicle at low speed. It resulted in the child being thrown through the car’s windscreen.
Please remember your children are precious and they are your future. As a British nurse, I have witnessed the results of car accidents where children were unrestrained in vehicles travelling at slow and fast speed. It is something that I would not wish any parent to see or experience.
Remember, when you are carrying a child passenger, before you put your seat belt on, strap your children in too.
Please make safety child seats a law without delay.
Linda Thorpe, lindajathorpe@gmail.com
Exaggerated reports
Dear Sir,
The report, “Kerala gears up to host largest Ramadan congregation” (Gulf Times, July 14) says the organisers are preparing to host at least 700,000 believers, offering them facilities for prayers and breaking the day-long fast. It is an exaggeration. Publicity for the event is orchestrated to collect money. The same writer had previously reported in Gulf Times about India’s “largest” mosque coming up in Calicut. The people who were trying to build the mosque never had the necessary permission from authorities and the plans have already been cancelled.
Gulf Times should refrain from spreading overblown reports like these. There are many excellent Muslim institutions and at least one Islamic university active in Kerala, conducting international seminars and holding useful programmes. I don’t see any news in Gulf Times about them
Arif Chalil, arifchalil@gmail.com
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