Dear Sir,

This is in reference to the letters “Wrong priority?” (Gulf Times, April 13)  and  “Change the mindset” (Gulf Times, April 14). The first letter pointed to what its writer called the rather “unwise” use of resources in building yet another high-rise in Dubai. ‎The second letter argued the need for going ahead with such grand plans while calling for a change in the mindset of people resisting such ideas.
In this context, I would like to highlight Qatar’s generous donation to “The Lives and Livelihood Fund”, a partnership initiative between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which was announced recently (Gulf Times, April 14).
The money, $50mn, has been donated through the Qatar Development Fund (QDF), a public body which distributes foreign aid.
Hailing the Qatar move, Bill Gates said the donation would enable the fund to begin its work of providing affordable financing for 30 least-wealthy countries among IDB members.
This shows how Qatar is setting an example to other countries on how to use one’s resources wisely.
As a visitor to Qatar, I must say I was highly impressed by the way the government here is working for the welfare of its people.

Sarfraz Cheema, (Address supplied)


Survey finding highly significant

Dear Sir,

The findings of the annual Asda’a Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey released recently (Gulf Times, April 13) prove once again that people in the Middle East are against extremism and militancy. The survey reveals that the Arab youth overwhelmingly reject the Islamic State (IS) extremist group while seeing its rise as the single biggest challenge facing the Middle East.
While three in four Arab youth are concerned about the rise of IS, just one in six believes the militant group ultimately will succeed. Though concern is rising – with 50% of youth citing it as the biggest obstacle in the region, up from 37% last year – tacit support for the group has been declining with just 13% agreeing they could see themselves supporting IS even if it doesn’t use so much violence, compared with 19% in 2015.
According to another key finding of the survey, a quarter of young Arabs believe that lack of jobs and opportunities are the main recruitment drivers for the terrorist group, although one in four of those surveyed also said they could see no reason why anyone would want to take up with IS.
The rise of extremist groups will affect sectors like economy and education and destroy amity in society. The youth in Arab countries seem to realise that, going by the survey.
In our world of technology, violence can never be treated by any group as the recipe for its success. Instead, we must all learn  to live together peacefully whilst paying attention to safeguard our environment which is at risk from pollution and climate change.

Ramachandran Nair, (e-mail address supplied)

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