Language camouflage
In her another unusual diatribe, Arwa Al-Rikabi has touched upon the uncanny art of communication through which people try to either conceal or downplay a reality or extenuate a falsehood for various reasons. In fact, as we have seen in our lifetimes, the present day wars have been fought more in the drawing rooms than on the battlegrounds. The more powerful the ability of the side to influence the minds of the public through the media, the more chances it will have not only to get exonerated of all the excesses and crimes committed, but also, gain sympathies. It is here that the communication skills of the media persons come into play. However, it is not just the media persons, politicians and the political commentators, who learn and hone the skills of playing with the words, but, unfortunately, the scholars, the historians, the writers all indulge in the language camouflage to present the views from their own perspective and to favor the persons or the nations or the ideology they like or favor. As Aijaz Zaka Syed had covered in his last column about how one Indian TV channel had projected one side of the story and made the nation believe that there is a greater danger from the fundamentalist forces sitting across the fence when the reality was totally different.
Thanks to Internet, social networks, media of different types and kinds, apparently, it is a boon to have access to so much of information on any subject, but, most of the times, we are left confused and bewildered with different view points and we just fail to arrive at any fair conclusion. Sadly, this language camouflage had even been responsible for altering the historical events and facts with the changing times and resulted in the continuous sub division of the human societies in different social, economic, cultural and religious groups and the unfortunate violence, atrocities and killings that ensued and which is continuing. — Safi H. Jannaty, Dammam
Ramadan duty hours
Muslims in Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries are working for fewer hours in Ramadan than non-Muslims. Are the extra two hours for non-Muslims justified? The output in these two extra hours in the absence of Muslim colleagues is almost negligible. So why not stick to the same reduced duty hours for all? We in Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam, should be magnanimous and should have same working hours for all in Ramadan. It is a fact that our non-Muslim brothers are working more than Muslims during normal days. We Muslims use a good amount of our office time in saying Zuhr and Asr prayers.
My sincere suggestion to companies is to let everyone work for six hours during Ramadan, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It will definitely project a good image of our glorious religion. — Mohammad Rahat Sultan, Alkhobar
Riyadh-Dammam train journey
This has reference to the Riyadh-Dammam train story (July 29). I am a regular commuter on these trains. Let me explain why I prefer taking the train to Riyadh and vice-versa. I have had a horrible experience on the Dammam-Riyadh highway some years ago. My hair stand on their ends as I remember that incident that took place in the pre-traffic camera days. I had gotten into a private sharing taxi headed for Riyadh from Dammam’s popular taxi stand near Seiko Market. There were the five of us; one in the passenger seat upfront and three in the back; it was a brand new Toyota Camry. Moments after we left Dammam city limits, our driver started speeding. And in a matter of seconds he was driving at 200 km per hour. We were scared to death; we pleaded with him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. On the contrary, he took some kind of a vicarious pleasure in our discomfiture and restlessness. It was nothing short of a miracle that the journey ended without any mishap. We reached Riyadh in only two hours — a journey that normally should have taken 4 hours if he had driven within legal speed limits … We all thanked Allah and vowed never to take the highway limousine again. Since then I have always taken the train to travel between Dammam and Riyadh. And have enjoyed all the thrills and frills and thee safety and security that come with the journey. — Rahman Abdul Sattar, by e-mail
Water supply during Ramadan
There was a report sometime back that Saudi Arabia has banned the export of packed and unpacked water as well as ice “as part of measures to improve supplies locally” and that the Kingdom, which is facing a water shortage problem, is making efforts to rationalize its consumption. The Shoura Council has also supported and approved ban of export of water from the Kingdom. There has also been a report that water projects worth SR 4 bn have been planned. It is pleasant to know that issues of this sort including sewage system and floodwaters are being addressed and practical steps are being taken. In line with this, can we draw the attention of the authorities toward continuous supply of water for 24 hours a day for the remaining days of Ramadan followed by Eid holidays for the convenience of people in Jeddah and everywhere in the Kingdom in the holy month? — Rashid Mahmoud, Jeddah
Letters: Language camouflage
