Heroism of Gazans

Gaza has been standing firm, displaying strong resistance to the Israeli occupation forces. Nobody can deny or criticize the bravery and heroism displayed by the Gazans in confronting the Zionist war machine over the past years. The legitimization of the Israeli attack on Gaza by some Arabs is a flagrant attack on human values and rights.

Those who hold Hamas responsible for the destruction of Gaza have rejected all the historical evidences, Palestinian martyrs and prisoners. Such critiques are dubbing the current conflict as a confrontation between an unlawful group and a big military power. Expressing opposition to Hamas politically and endorsing the killing of Gaza people are two different things. Israel does not need a reason to kill the Palestinians. Its presence is the reason for all the catastrophes suffered by the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Following the Israeli war on Gaza in 2008, many international organizations had called for the trial of Israeli officials for their crimes against humanity. But today many Arab countries are preoccupied with their own internal problems and thus the Gazans are not getting enough Arab support like before.

We believe that Gaza is not Hamas or Muslim Brotherhood as some people try to portray. We would like to remind the Brotherhood that it was the government of former Egyptian President Mursi, not El-Sissi, who tried to negotiate for a truce between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The people of Gaza would continue their resistance against Israeli forces despite the efforts being made by political contractors to make gains from their blood.

— By Dr. Mutlaq Saud Al-Motairy

Sharura terror attack

The tree broke into tears when it saw the ax beating it continuously, and when asked the reason for its cry, it said: It pains me not because of the beating by the ax but by knowing the fact that its hand was made of my own branches.

This is the sorrowful feeling we all have when the terrorists struck the Wadeea border post in the south, targeting the intelligence office building in Sharura. It was unbearable to know four police officers lost their lives because of the attack carried out by our own youth who were born and brought up in the Kingdom.

The threats being faced by Saudi Arabia from the north, from the Islamic State (IS), and the south, from Al-Qaeda are aimed at undermining the Kingdom’s security and stability. Saudi Arabia has taken all precautions to crush the plans of attackers.

The most surprising thing is that the two terrorist outfits tried to put the flags of their organizations on the buildings targeted by them to get media attention. They also exchanged photos of their attacks through the social media. Security officers have found their flags in the car of terrorists after the Sharura incident. Apparently they could not put their flags on the Saudi building.

It is quite unfortunate that these terrorist organizations use the name of Islam to carry out their horrendous activities. They also claim that they want to establish an Islamic caliphate. How can people believe them after seeing their terrorist operations, killing innocent people and destroying public and private properties?

— By Rogaia Sulaiman Alhwoiriny

Issue of maids

We have laws and agreements to protect the rights of maidservants, but who will protect the rights of sponsors when these maids run away from them?

We have noticed that the agreements signed with maids protect only their rights. According to an article published in Al-Eqtisadiah on Thursday, the agreement with Indian maids includes giving them cellphones, a special room, and providing them with a weekly holiday in addition to a bank guarantee for financial protection. I am not against protecting the rights of maids. It is a good move. My question is where is the role of the negotiator in this agreement to protect the rights of Saudi sponsors. Who will protect the sponsors if the maid did not work or run away from their homes?

Runaway maids are one of the major problems facing Saudi families. More than 6,500 maids ran away from Saudi sponsors in a single month. This huge number shows that many of them come to the Kingdom to run away from sponsors and work illegally.

When the maids know that when they run away from sponsors they would be either deported to their countries at the expense of their sponsors, they would be happy to do this again and again to make material benefits.

— By Sattam Al-Thaqeel

Social media and myths

With the spread of social media, there was a common belief that it would help people achieve greater progress. But a recent study conducted by Linkedin, which has been published by Forbes, found out that “Friendship is good but your future is determined only by yourself.”

Linkedin interviewed personalities, executives, the elderly and the young for the survey, who said friendship plays an important role in improving the working atmosphere. But another half said they did not benefit from these friendships or to achieve progress in their careers.

About 27 percent said the friendship helped them to remain in the same job, but 68 percent said they are ready to leave their friends if they get a better job. A senior executive who took part in a leadership program said his main objective is to make his manager happy.

The study also revealed that women, like men, are not ready to mix between their professions and personal relations.

—By Mazin Abdul Razaq Balilah

Women rights

Until today Saudi women have not received their full rights even after obtaining high political and administrative positions during the time of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah such as member of the Shoura Council, deputy minister and university rector, etc. Still we see some surprising stances like the one that took place in the corridors of the Shoura that neglected the opposition of 30 female members to removing an article from the 10th five-year plan that concerns with international agreements and conferences related to women.

Some opponents described the Shoura decision as precooked. Al-Hayat Arabic daily reported that two Shoura members — Lubna Al-Ansari and Lateefa Al-Shaalan — walked out of the Shoura protesting the decision to remove the article. My question is how long we reduce the role of women fearing some groups in the society. We fear them and cancel important national decisions to appease them.

—By Zuhair Kutbi

Benefit from Ramadan

Muslims welcome the month of Ramadan with great hopes and expectations. They believe that it would bring improvements to their lives spiritually and materially. At the end they make a review to know whether the month was successful in realizing their hopes and aspirations.

We should have a plan to invest in this holy month to open a new chapter for the betterment of humanity. We have to make use of this month to get rid of corruption from our society. Despite the enactment of new rules and regulations, corruption is spreading like cancer. It is a major obstacle to development. It is not restricted to a few sectors but has spread all areas. We should uphold our Islamic values to free our society from corruption.

— By Raja Albouali