Dear Stan, The Riffa Views' team would like to thank reporter Asma Salman for portraying the essence of Riffa Views in last week's article 'We're moving in'.
With GulfWeekly - and your support - the message of Riffa Views has been shared with the wider community of Bahrain. The feature puts in perspective the previous and current challenges faced by the project, but it also highlights that Riffa Views continues to progress with new milestones being achieved every day.
The article encouraged us to continue working with passion and commitment to deliver on the promise that was made to the homeowners. We truly believe the project is special, it has a 'life of its own', and as more residents move in Riffa Views is coming to life!
Good and effective news reporting is not always focusing on the biggest news, that almost talks for itself, it is sometimes the smaller achievements that can impress your readers by the depth and interest of the information you distribute.
Thank you for showcasing the 'heart and soul' of the community residing in Riffa Views.
Best Regards,
Riffa Views' Team
Dear Stan,
This letter is directed at the Ministry of Education.
I can understand people are scared of swine flu, given all the rumours and misinformation that has been passed around as fact. However, as a student in St Christopher's School, I cannot understand what was in the minds of the Ministry when they decided to shut down schools to stop people gathering, hoping this would stop the spread of swine flu.
All that has happened is that I'm missing out on a lot of important school days and my friends and I are gathering more than ever, in malls, mosques and clubs. Instead of the decision helping the cause, its benefits are not what they would seem.
I could understand this action had swine flu taken many lives around the world, as it is most people tend to recover very quickly after catching swine flu.
I've just come back from London in the summer break where there are hundreds and thousands of cases a week and people are just told to stay at home, rest and drink lots of water.
People are still scared but they don't shut down schools, trains, offices etc. In London it is no longer a newsworthy item, with the public understanding it is no more fatal than regular influenza.
As a student I advise everybody to stay calm, sensible and cautious, also not to over-react.
Please open our schools so that we may learn to be sensible and learn the difference between fact and fiction.
Instead of closing schools, keep them open but give us lessons on hygiene and how to act to prevent the spread of swine flu.
Name and addresses supplied.
Dear Stan,
One thing I have learnt from fasting in Ramadan since I converted to Islam in 1994 is that you appreciate food and water more fully.
When you can eat whenever you want, you take food for granted. Even being hungry is not the same, because when you are not fasting, and you feel hungry, you eat.
During fasting, when you feel hungry, you wait. Until sunset. And if the hunger pangs begin around 10am, and you won't eat until 10 hours later, that's a lot of waiting.
Water tastes amazing when you've not had it all day. And drinking a glass of water never has the same feeling outside of fasting. Yet, drinking water seems so mundane, so ordinary. Many kids (and adults) turn up their noses when you offer them a glass of water to quench their thirst - and prefer pop or juice. But try water after fasting - so smooth, so soft, so cool as it trickles down the throat, refreshing that parched spot on the back of the tongue.
And when the fasting day is all over, there is a sense of liberation. Now I can eat or drink as I wish.
Before I became a Muslim I knew nothing of Islam (except the negative stereotypes - oppression, violence and so on). When I met Muslims for the first time and observed their Ramadan fast, I thought it was crazy, a bizarre religious requirement, and one more reason to be an atheist.
Actually, Ramadan indicates that there is more to life than the material world.
I have realised this year, in a kind of epiphany, that it is the spiritual relationship that sustains you through the long days of hunger and thirst. If you want to get more out of fasting than hunger or thirst, to nourish the spiritual side is to nourish the body too.
Deeply spiritual Muslims may well shake their heads in wonder that I could have been so block-headed all this time - I am wondering myself - but it is normal, each one of us is on our own unique spiritual journey to God.
The real blessing is to understand the true message of Ramadan, even if it has taken me so long to get there.
That is why I think those 15 years after I first fasted, I have finally fasted my first Ramadan.
It is also why I believe the Quran and its traditional teachings should be approached with humility and patience. You never know how long it may take to do the work needed to pry open the shell and find the pearl.
Dr Kay Frederick,
By email.
