He married his cousin after two years of a fairy-tale love. She was a conservative woman who would not commit to any relationship during her teen years. But she wasn’t the first woman he had known and definitely, she won’t be the last. He married his cousin and she dedicated herself entirely to being a housewife. He was the type who got bored very quickly. He moved from one job to another until he finally settled down. His wife showered him and their first baby with all her love and devotion. She thought that their son would fill their lives and make his father more settled and more creative in his job and so improve his financial condition.
One night, she advised him to buy a computer so he could finish his work when he was home. He bought one and every day he spent long hours searching the Internet for “information.” Gradually, he mastered online tricks and chatroom behavior. His wife was only glad that he was at home with her and his son. She cared about her household, friends and fashion catalogs. She never questioned him or bothered him.
He returned home one night and hurried to his computer, ordering his wife to prepare dinner. When she walked into his office to call him for dinner, she noticed that he was confused and took a glimpse at one of the Instant Messaging (IM) windows on his screen but she didn’t see anything. When she asked him, he said that he was chatting to one of his friends and that he would continue later on.
Her husband’s confusion resulted in her using his password — that she already knew — to get his e-mails. She found one name repeated over and over in his inbox. It was a woman’s name and she was sending him literary subjects and poems while he discussed his opinions of her and what she was sending. His wife didn’t find anything immoral or out of line between them, but the entire situation bothered her and she ended up blaming her husband.
He was a “gentleman” so he explained and apologized. He told her that it was a mistake and that his relationship with the woman was shallow and innocent. How many are called “innocent” in this time of twisted morals and defamed ethics? Is there really anything called innocent friendship between a man and a woman? Physical infidelity shakes a woman because the husband is cheating on her but what if the infidelity is electronic — whenever he turns his computer on?
Marriages are being destroyed because of these Internet chatrooms. Irresponsibility and carelessness are catastrophes that can destroy a family’s close-knit ways and strong bonds. How many people have been hurt and felt cheated because of online fraud at a time when computers are said to be necessary for everything? E-infidelity through chatrooms and instant messaging programs are of great significance because they are practiced by both men and women. Unfortunately, there is no monitoring system that can tell people how to behave or what to do.
The key to solving this problem between married couples is to maintain soft communication and sincere feelings between them so that neither one ends up hitting the keyboard in a search of love and attention.
Solemn Warning
Muhammad Diyab, Asharq Al-Awsat
The Saudi General Security’s statistics for the year 2006 revealed that 88,609 crimes had occurred. The distribution is as follows: 39,608 thefts, 15,492 murders, 11,680 morality crimes and 2,145 crimes of fraud. If crime rates in general dropped in 2006 compared to 2005, there was an increase in some of the offenses over 2005. Murders increased in 2006 recording 1,452 cases, fraud cases increased with 300 crimes and morality crimes increased with 945 cases.
The general drop in the number of crimes highlights the good efforts officials are making socially and concerning security issues. On the other hand, the increase in the number of certain offenses requires deep analysis in order to understand the reasons. Murders reaching 15,492 cases in the year 2006 with an increase of 1,452 cases over 2005 need much reflection and deep thinking. This huge number of crimes in one year is a solemn warning to society.
We have to seek the help of thousands of specialists in the fields of psychology, sociology and education to pin down the reasons causing so many crimes. We need to harmonize people’s thoughts and intellectual efforts and eliminate some of the aggravating methods used with children and adults that breed hatred and violence in them. We also need to put an end to the idea of sympathizing with criminals. We have to stop paying millions of riyals to save them from the death penalty. Murders should not be underestimated.
It is really unfortunate that fraud is so widespread in society. Such crimes rely mainly on earning people’s trust in different types of situations. The increase of fraud has replaced trust with doubts and having bad intentions instead of good ones.
It is truly unacceptable to blame all of society’s wrongdoings on the security forces. Social security is the responsibility of the family first and foremost. If every individual does his job properly in contributing to the community’s welfare, we would not have had 15,492 murderers, 39,608 thieves and 2,145 fraudsters — always keeping in mind that these statistics include a number of expatriates as well.
