US War of Terror

To claim that the suicides committed by the three inmates of Guantanamo Bay, kept under monstrous conditions, was a public relations stunt and “an act of... warfare waged against us” is the ultimate in insensitivity. Guantanamo Bay concentration camp is a crime against humanity, civilization and democracy. George Bush cannot claim to be fighting “terror,” claim to uphold principles of freedom and justice around the world and at the same time ignore international laws and basic human rights. Since international organizations do not have access to these prisons, there is no way to know who was tortured to death, who was executed and who committed suicide out of desperation. After seeing the pictures and reading the revelations from Abu Ghraib, the gruesome and murderous rampage that occurred in Haditha, the destruction of entire towns such as Fallujah and Tall Afar, it is an attack on common sense when the US calls others “terrorists” or “evil.”

If these suicides were an act of warfare, then does that mean that the prisoners will at last or at least be given prisoner-of-war status? Presently, the Bush administration have been hiding behind the made-up title of “enemy combatants” to avoid giving these prisoners the rights of POWs, let alone the rights of prisoners awaiting trial. Whether the prisoners took their own lives, or the guards were responsible, the fault lies with the Bush administration and his coalition. The US war on “terror” is more like the US war of terror. Those comparing it to Vietnam have missed the point; I think it is much more gruesome and terrible than that.

Abdullah Saeed, South Africa published 19 June 2006

US War of Terror [2]

Many believe that the deaths of three Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was not suicide. There is every reason to suspect murder. The US administration has been forced to admit, after torture by its soldiers in American-run prisons created a stink that nauseated the entire world, that Muslim prisoners died as a result of “interrogation.” It is all the more possible that the “interrogators” went the whole way and some to teach the prisoners a lesson, especially when they heard the Muslim prisoners described as “committed jihadists”. The father of one of the dead Saudis has rejected emphatically the possibility of his son’s committing suicide because, he maintained, the boy’s strong religious beliefs would not allow him to do that. The time has come for a criminal inquiry by the International Criminal Court to look into the violations of international law by the United States of America. It is time to close the illegal prison and to free the prisoners who have not been charged with any crime.

A. Majid Katme, London published 19 June 2006

Saudi Women in Crisis

I agree with Juhair Abdullah Al-Musaed’s observation in his article “Are Saudi Women Going Through a Crisis?” (Local Press, June 12) that our biggest problem now is that there are so many people who use our situation to further their own agendas. However, it cannot be denied that caught in the mess created by so many people diagnosing our problems differently and prescribing different solutions, many of us do not know what we want or in which direction we should move. That is our crisis. The main cause of this bewilderment is that we have moved away from our Islamic moorings. If we had struck to true Islamic teachings, we would have had all the freedoms we needed and all the protection and rights we have been wailing for. Further, they would have also protected us from our crazy Saudi customs that have brainwashed our people and society and have caused so much misery to our women. These customs have become a wild wind that is driving us in unknown directions.

It is a terrible tragedy when we have a religion that has given us all rights and we have then become enslaved to customs that deny us all rights. Our men claim that God has given them the absolute right to rule over us and we are created only to obey them. Islam does not tell us that. It orders us all to keep open minds, to seek knowledge wherever it is available and to use intellect and knowledge to differentiate between the good and bad that changing times bring to us. But unfortunately, our men, those who should lead us to light and progress, hold on to customs with a fanatic passion that leaves no room for discussion or debate. The entire society has paid a big price for this; but the ones who have paid the most are women. Men too are losers. They have denied themselves the noblest of all pleasures we can get in this world — the love and warmth of human relations built on care and love between man and woman. Our problem is that we women, lost as we are without moorings, fell easy prey to those who promised us all that was the best and brightest, and then used us as pawns in their own games. And there are those who wish us well, but being ignorant of the realities, suggest solutions that have nothing to do with our problems. They do not realize that Saudi society is too complex for outsiders to understand. We need to go back to the roots of our cultural self — our religion — to free ourselves from our crisis of identity.

Ayesha Alma’e, Jeddah published 19 June 2006

Torture of Women

Zainy Abbas’ report “Woman Seeks Police Protection From Abusive Husband” told us a sad, sad story. I cannot believe that, in a civilized country, this is allowed. But it is. The poor woman went to the authorities, and what do they do? They got this deranged man to write a letter and then let him go back to torture innocents. Children who are subjected to abuse and having to watch abuse will suffer for life. Arab News has an obligation to assist this family since the authorities refuse to. Obviously, printing the article does point the finger to the useless authorities. Please, for the sake of this beaten and abused family, continue to follow up the situation.

Mary Gant, United States published 19 June 2006

Torture of Women [2]

This is not the only case of a woman being tortured. Newspaper reports and neighborhood stories tell us that the Kingdom has too many of such incidents, occurring every day and in every part of the country. Such cases, defined as crimes by the laws of God and of men, should not be allowed to happen. Such horrors continue to occur because women have no rights or freedoms, and hence anyone can deny them that without fearing consequences. The Saudi government and society cannot afford to sit back and allow systematic cruelty to be practiced on women. They must work together to get rid of this type of problems.

Inam, Jeddah published 19 June 2006

Nukes for Insecurity

This refers to the report “Saud Satisfied With Iran Talks” (June 13). Frankly, the acquisition of nuclear weapons cannot be advantageous to any country. For example, I believe that the North Korean regime is now less secure and safe than before it had nuclear weapons. Should it get into a confrontation with a country that also has nuclear weapons, that country will quickly be compelled to use its nuclear weapons to devastate North Korea. Previously, any conflict would have been resolved with conventional weapons leaving less devastation, and more opportunity for negotiation. Realistically, North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons now means that any conflict will almost certainly go nuclear very quickly. Rationally, those countries without nuclear weapons and the regimes leading them are unquestionably the safest. They are unlikely to be the victims of a nuclear holocaust.

Larry Mammoser, United States published 19 June 2006

Mistreatment by Employers

As a European expatriate in the Kingdom for 13 years, I see, time and again, letters published about employers mistreating their staff. A mistreatment quite frequently mentioned is that employees are forced to pay their own iqama fees. This is against the law, as I understand it. I work for Saudi Arabian Airlines. We have been forced to pay our iqama fees for the last four/five years. When we raise the legality of the issue, the reply is, “Pay it or go home.” We pay it. When this is the reality, what chance does a “Third Country National” employee working for a small company have to protect himself from mistreatment, if major government-owned companies are doing this to their employees? The laws in this country really have to be straightened out.

J. Whysall, Jeddah published 19 June 2006

Illegal Recruitment

It is nice to learn that India is taking steps to curb illegal recruitment. However, it has to be realized that those who are ultimately responsible for the present state of affairs are employers themselves. They bring the persons they need on wrong visas — engineers on labor visas or laborers on technician visas. If they stop this practice, such situations will be avoided.

They are also responsible for the widespread and widely talked about suffering of expatriates. When they get visas, they are supposed to bear the recruitment cost, ticket fare and other expenses of their future employees. Workers are not supposed to pay anything. Instead, the employers leave the entire recruitment procedure in the hands of unscrupulous agents, with the stipulation that they would not pay anything to the agent. Agents “sell” visas for high costs, charging them a hefty amount of money and giving wrong promises on behalf of the company.

The way to end the racket is for companies to involve themselves in recruitment, paying agents the cost. This way they can choose the right employee who can deliver results.

Sanjeev Jain, Jeddah published 19 June 2006