Suicide Saudi Style
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Thu May 6 12:34:25 PDT 1999
Why people commit suicide?
Bushra Al-Sibaie/Okaz
We read reports of suicides in local newspapers almost every day. Some of
the people who kill themselves are foreign maidservants.
Why do they go to such extremes? Authorities must find out the reasons and
deal with them seriously.
They should announce the factors that forced some expatriate workers to end
their lives, even if they expose some of our failings.
Foreign maidservants are not the only people who are driven to such
desperation. The number of Saudi youths committing suicide is growing day
by day. Authorities attribute these cases to economic woes and lack of
strong Islamic faith. But there are many other reasons.
We should not run away from this problem by saying that the number of
suicide cases in the Kingdom is far less compared to Western countries.
Such comments will not solve the problem.
Social situations in the Kingdom and Western countries are different. In
the West, children commit suicide because of the negligence or failure of
families to take care of their youngsters.
In our society, it is just the opposite, increasing family pressure,
especially from fathers who want to impose their will on their sons,
ignoring the latters wishes. The prevailing culture in our society demand
that sons act like an extension of their fathers.
Fathers impose their views on everything from academic specialization to
selection of brides, etc. Some children may not like it. So in many cases
families are responsible for pushing their children to end their lives. In
such cases anger, protest or revenge takes the form of suicide.
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17820
Feeling suicidal? have a beef sandwich.
JEDDAH, 17 August The Ministry of Commerce has destroyed 300 kilos of
banned frozen meat imported from a European country.
Mohammed Al-Harbi, director of the ministrys office in Jeddah, told Arab
News that the meat was impounded at Jeddah Islamic Port.
The consignment was checked by the customs department and was found that
it was imported from a European country, he said. We rejected the
traders proposal to donate the meat to the International Islamic Relief
Organization, he added. However, the ministry gave the trader a choice of
either re-exporting the meat or destroying it. A team was later formed with
representatives from the ministry, customs department and port to destroy
the consignment.
The ministry had slapped a blanket ban on meat imports from 15 European
countries following reports that they used artificial hormones which
cause cancer and infertility as fodder.
Al-Harbi called upon businessmen not to import any meat products from
Europe to avoid financial losses. They should also contact the ministry
before they import any foodstuff and other consumer items from foreign
countries, he added.
The ministry had earlier banned beef and sheep meat imports from all
European countries without exception fearing the spread of mad cow disease.
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17818
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