Letters to the Editor - Issue 36

36 - September 4th thru September 10th 2000, Vol X

Illiteracy
The bane of our society

This year the number of the illiterate people has increased to 56% of the overall population. That is about approximately 6,095,228 among males and females. This will terribly affect any attempt to quickly step forward or change for the better. That is because enlightened people are considered to be the king-pins for any real growth or improvement.
Some families in the countryside do not send their children to schools due to utter poverty and ignorance. In addition to this, women education is not quite persuasive. Most Yemeni girls usually study primary education and then they are obliged to stop for several reasons: ignorance, coeducation, limited females' schools, early marriage, and some other reasons related to the social framework.
It is 30 years since Sana'a University was established. Yet the genuine number of educated people are not satisfactory and the illiteracy is moving in full stream. I wonder how we can share in the construction of a livable modern life and follow up scientific and technological revolution being made round the world today?! We must all believe that knowledge is the basis for any real improvement and when we neglect it, we will be cast into the vortex of backwardness for ever!

Mohammad Noman Al-Hakimi

Somalia:
From Tribalism to Government Somalia delegates at the reconciliation conference in Arta Djibouti who represented various main tribes and main rival factions elected the first legal interim parliament that has ever been made during the last ten years. Somalia has been a without a central government since 1991, after the President Mohammed siad Barri was overthrown.
Many peace initiatives had not been successful. Since the former corrupt and tyrant regime was ousted in 1991 there country fell victim of warlords rivaling for the throne.
Arta reconciliation conference was inaugurated on May 2 with considerable international support. Passing through many difficulties and obstacles it could in the long run reach a stage where parliament members were elected. Elected MPs will nominate parliament's speaker during the few following days. After that the parliament will elect an interim president from many presidential candidates who will form and construct a transitional government. If this new government stands on its feet it will be bound to face many obstructions and hindrances chief of which is the declined warlords. Those are condemning the President (Gueleh.) Peace parleys and negotiations with those will demand great efforts. Under the present circumstances this may be the best solution, otherwise the situation will get out of hand.
UN representative David Stephen described singing of charter and election of parliament as successful indication, and a major step to help Somalia return normality in the world's map.
Djibouti conference enjoyed different international support as well. Unfortunately, the northwestern Somali land which declared independence in May 1991 and northeastern Puntland which announced autonomy rule in 1998 did not attend the Djibouti reconciliation conference, and their absence is not good for the seriously divided people who call themselves Somalis. The pre-1991 Republic of Somalia should not be allowed to further disintegration.
Djibouti president Gueleh is trying to patch up the tear but there is no assistance. One hope is that Gueleh will ultimately pull Somalia out of quagmire, and only the time will tell result.

Basher A/Samed Hared
Sana'a P. O. Box: 3948

Love
You were not here! You were not here for a long time, not even a sign of you was there.
You were forgotten and lost as if deliberately torn away from my life.
Maybe I was responsible for losing or being apart.
But you were life itself.
Self-sacrifice, comradeship, friendship and of course love coming from the depth of the heart.....Love......In spite of everything, even at the time of loss, difficult to swallow, or despite jealousy.
I have lost you when trying to catch the target, shown without thinking any reason with hatred and anger, in a meaningless feeling of
being late without even being aware of it.
There was not any warmth smile of a friend anymore, or being in tear of her, enthusiastic loves or delight tears.
You were lost.....
Your emptiness has been filled by spurious friendship, unsatisfied ambitions, deadly rancors, egoism and very painful loneliness.....!
Furthermore to mention your name and to sigh when you are absent is considered shame.
In a ward like this -in which money is considered the most worthy thing, who steals big considered very respectable and to whom told that "we proud of you" are in fact bloodthirsty criminals-maybe they were right and there was not any place for those good values.
And in a very small place I realized that I have lost you. Maybe that place was not small, maybe it was bigger than the world. But in fact you were so close that if I tried to touch you, I could.
In spite of everything you came back. In spite of injustice, disloyalty and stabbing in the back you were here.
For a long time I could not drop any tear with great sob as I did when I felt you were back.
In fact that sobs showed me that you had not gone anywhere out waiting a call ring beside me......!!!!

Ertugrul
ebirgili@yahoo.com