Readers weigh in on the request for charity by the Emirati relatives of ailing British octogenarian Gordon Griffiths. Photo: Ravindranath K / The National
Readers weigh in on the request for charity by the Emirati relatives of ailing British octogenarian Gordon Griffiths. Photo: Ravindranath K / The National

Opinion

Does ailing Briton need charity or health insurance?

Readers weigh in on Emirati family seeking charity for medivac of elderly British relative. Other topics: personal banking, Brazilian football, Gaza carnage and debt traps.

Letters to the Editor

July 13, 2014

With regard to your story, Emirati man's plea to help pay for sick British father-in-law's medical costs (July 11), I wonder how people – even tourists – are allowed into the country without travel medical insurance.

Most Western countries don’t give visas without medical insurance in place. I believe it’s time to amend our laws.

I am sorry for this family’s predicament but it is of their own doing for allowing an old man without medical insurance to come to the UAE.

Aziza Al Busaidy, Dubai

Some of the comments about this situation are very harsh and I would be very sad to discover they had been made by Muslims.

From out of the heart, the mouth speaks. I hope those that make harsh comments take care that they don’t get into difficult situations like this family.

May Allah help this family and may barakah flow during this time of Ramadan.

Name withheld by request

A lot of the criticisms about this case don’t make sense. For a start, British nationals don’t require a visa to enter UAE.

Nobody should act callously when someone’s life is hanging in the balance, regardless of the events that led up to it.

Shadia Rafiuddin, Abu Dhabi

Since the elderly man involved is a British citizen, it should be the responsibility of the British Embassy to arrange for him to travel back to the UK to receive medical care.

Faisal Nazar, Dubai

Human touch still needed at banks

In reference to your story about banks' research showing they are not putting enough effort into ensuring their in-person customer service is as advanced as their automated service (The human touch lost at UAE banks, July 12), I don't think they need a new revolutionary process to fix the problem.

What they need is for the managers to do their jobs: observing associates’ behaviour and holding them accountable.

But my concern is that that is unlikely to happen because none of the offending banks are in jeopardy of going out of business because there isn’t enough competition. All the competitors also have horrible service, so there is no point in switching.

Farine Dahkan, Dubai

Talks, not bombs, needed in Gaza

Israel brings shame on itself for attacking the civilian community in Palestine (UN calls for ceasefire as Gaza death toll soars, July 12).

By killing women, children and the elders, Operation Protective Edge is aggression and cannot resolve the root of the issues.

As the whole world has listened and watched the carnage inflicted by Israeli in Gaza in the past few days, it is quite sad that Israel seems to receive very little condemnation.

Rather than engaging with weapons, which only escalate tensions, both sides have to sit and talk to each other to end this crisis.

Ramachandran Nair, Oman

Ongoing pain of Brazilian football

It is not easy for me to write about Brazil's 0-3 loss (Boos for Brazil, July 13). After living in Brazil, I moved wherever I could make a living, but my heart and my soul have remained there.

I write with pain when I say that Brazil may need to rebuild a new team from scratch. It needs to review the performance of its coach, the captain who seem to specialise in collecting yellow cards and the entire squad.

Previous Brazilian teams were among the finest and most fearsome teams in the world.

This Brazilian team needs to understand that they are as good as their last goal and that history is irrelevant.

Rajendra K Aneja, Dubai

Take responsibility for lifestyle debt

I feel sorry for those who manage to get themselves into debt and are unable to pay their way out (Steer clear of the debt trap in the UAE, July 12).

I believe banks are often to blame because they offer credit cards so easily to those who can’t afford to pay back the debts.

Banks are not charitable organisations – they obviously want to make profits and will do that regardless of the cost to clients.

Chris Murphy, Abu Dhabi

Banks don’t force people to get loans – those are the poor choices we make.

I can feel sorry for a bad decision as long as the people involved stop repeating those decisions.

Jeff Skinner, Al Ain

Temptation is put in people’s way but it is up to each of us to make an informed choice.

People here like to have better cars and villas etc but it’s all just stuff. Living beyond your means always comes back to haunt you.

Alison Hamilton Thornton, Abu Dhabi

Sun jukebox

Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)

This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.

Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)

The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.

Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)

Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.

Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)

Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.

Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)

An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.

Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)

Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.

Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash

Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.

Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.

Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.

Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.

Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.

Reputation

Taylor Swift

(Big Machine Records)

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying