32 - August 7th thru August 13th 2000,
Vol X
 
An Open Letter to Bill Gates
Interestingly, Yemen Times received a letter from a Somali reader living
in Yemen who aimed at delivering it to Bill Gates. However, perhaps he
thought that the best tool to do that is through Yemen Times. It is not
a common practice to publish such articles, but the editorial board decided
to publish it, at least to satisfy our reader’s wish. Who knows? Maybe
Bill Gates will actually read his letter online?
Dear Bill Gates,
President of Microsoft Corporation
After compliments,
I am a Somali citizen Yousuf Ali Jama, born in the city of Aden - Yemen
and resident in it since I was born. I work as a teacher in a vocational
training institute. I would like to express my deep regret over the decision
of the Primary court to divide Microsoft Co. It is clear that the division
of the company will severely jeopardize this scientific and technological
foundation, particularly in the field of scientific research and inventions.
Therefore, I would like here to confirm my solidarity with you in the
hope that this decision will be appealed against at the Supreme Court.
May God help you.
Mr. Bill
I have been trained on your program Windows, and another group of related
programs like Word, Excel, Access, Internet Explorer. I was so amazed by
this scientific achievement. What, however, pains me is that this program
on which I was trained was designed only for Arabic and English. I enquired
why shouldn’t there be also another program designed for Somali and English
languages. These two languages use the same Latin letters. So I am considering
to put before you some proposals and opinions which I hope will contribute
something to support your establishment. I am summarizing these as follows:
1- There are seventeen million Somalis spreading out in four states
in the east of the African Continent. They do not know any language other
than Somali. If we regard our era as the era of computers, I think that
these people will be deprived of the achievement s of this era. Therefore,
I propose to your company that it manufactures MS Windows with its supplements
of other programs in English and Somali languages. I think it will not
be faced with difficulty in this as the language are written in Latin letters.
In this way, your company will have helped our people to catch the era
of computers, while at the same time it will provide for itself a large
market for its products in the eastern part of the African continent.
2- In 1992, the US forces were sent to Somalia in an operation called
“Restore Hope”. The operation failed. Regardless of our opinion about its
objectives, justifications and reasons, there is a point unknown to the
world. It is that our people are suffering from the world’s high illiteracy
rate. Our people are unable to understand what they are seeing in this
world of 2000. Among the most important reasons are the lack of any TV
Station. Therefore in Somalia until now 90% of our people have not seen
any TV program. So how can they understand what others do even for their
benefit? The US government should have better established a Somali language
satellite TV station based in London instead of sending its forces to Somalia.
I hereby propose to your excellency that your company make this station
as an investment project.
3- I heard there is a charitable society carrying your name and belongs
to your company. I had wished this society include the two following programs
into its charitable programs.
a- The world of today is that of the Internet. We, Somalis are pressing
that the society sets a site on the Internet with the name of natural Somalia
with all its five parts, so that it becomes an archive for anything about
Somalia and a forum for exchange of ideas and discussions about our situation,
concerns and problems, along with a space for advertisements, etc. Your
charitable society will manage and develop this site and provide the necessary
funding to run it.
b- Recently the world has begun to be swept by a new phenomena called
Internet Café shops. My hope is that your charitable society would
set up such cafés in the safe territories of Somalia, particularly
in the northern territory which is called the Republic of Somaliland.
Yours,
Yousuf Ali Jama
Maala - Aden
Email: jamaweyne@usa.net
The closed eyes
Here you are..
Alone..!?
With no friends.
With no sights.
With your broken phone,
Here you are again..
Simply..
You have the same,
Could you tell me more?
about your life before
at the time you believed
you were wrong
and you have
To set things right.
It's like the morning
when it always comes with light,
Is it lie
That blue sky
Have never rain..!!
And your heart
Can never feel any pain
at the this time when we still apart,
Open them.
Open your closed eyes,
Zeyad Taqi Addin
Dear Editor,
Thank you for you consideration all comments or letters come to you,
because here in Riyadh lot's of my friends look after letters to the editor.
Any how this is my third letters, this one it's surprising me even
all the people like the Yemen. We understand and we got fed up from the
corruption available in to the government offices and need another revolution
to fight might be long and long times. My issue my wife she want to finish
her process of buying home form her sister and she got a release paper
that to change the owner to my wife and she went to justice office they
will not accept her unless to pay 90000 rials (ninety thousand rials) and
to bring a release and confirmed letter from Al Asbahi the one her sister
already have before 4 years. When she went to Al-Asbahi office the officer
told her to look after your request needs $1500 dollars.
She called me and I told her do it. But even the private sector and
company use for the customers like this kind of bribing ? what's happen
with our country is it already adapted with their life? And where she can
go and claiming? is it not risk also for her? please help us. We love our
country and we have been away for years and years and we need to settle.
Mohamed Saleh Hayder
Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
mosaha@hotmail.com
Dear Editor,
There is a mistake in Yemen Times on page 5 the subject is about Sheikh
Moqbil Al-Wadi'i to Yemen Times you wrote god instead of God "G"
has to be capital, and after the word God you should write (ALLAH). Thank
you very much & hope the best for you'll.
Afrah Zain Abdulkader
Dear Afrah,
Thank you for your remark. We will try to be more careful next time!
- Editor
|