General
Donations for a Cause
A temple at a small village Mudapuram, near Chirayinkeezhu, Trivandrum in Kerala have created a trend setter to emulate by all religious institutions.
They have placed a special “Hundi” (box for putting dontations). Whatever collections coming in this donation box will be utilized for the benefit of “Cancer patients”.
The initiative is getting good response from devotees and well wishers as the temple authorities have so far been able to donate Rs 2000/- each to 5 cancer patients. A small amount though, but not bad as every small step leads to a bigger and brighter destination of success.
I wish all the religious institutions and Corporate Organisations follow their thoughts and keep aside a small amount to assist cancer patients. It is a reality that one in ten we meet have a story tell about someone close within his/her family/friends circle suffering or lost life due to cancer. And 3/4th of them and their families struggled for the treatment!.
Why hesitate, Start today itself!
God bless.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
12th August 2016
Based on a story published in Mathrubhumi Newspaper. Photo credits to Mathrubhumi.
UAE’s STEM education objectives foster positive results
The study results on pupils interest in STEM subject is interesting but not surprising.
The two category of students evaluated speaks for the results itself.
Expatriates children normally come from parents of high professional background and will have always an orientation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects as these are part of their daily life, whereas local pupil are gradually getting in to the STEM world as the generation progress.
Irrespective of this, children now know really well that there is no more “Wasta” culture for success in life. They have to study and work hard, be innovative and keep on improvising and adapting to the changes.
There is a lot of interest among local students to take up STEM subjects. This can be seen by the active participation of students in the annual Think Science Competitions organized by Emirates Foundation. Child prodigy and emirati inventor Adeeb Alblooshi is an inspiration to many young local pupil to follow STEM for their success in future. Destination Medicine Summit by Al Jalila Foundation inspires Emirati youth to pursue medicine under the slogan “today’s students, tomorrow’s doctors.
All these shows that a conducive environment that supports science, at home and at school is being created for the young with sustained and dedicated efforts. I am happy to see that corporate bodies are actively supporting these initiatives to make it a success. Total, is an example, by partnering with Emirates Foundation and Al Jalila Foundation through its Corporate Social Responsibility objectives.
Thoughts on :
Study finds GCC pupils place less importance on Stem than expat peers
Are you angry? Then, Relax & Think Back!
It was weekend and as usual I took my cycle for a ride along the newly created track in our community. As I came out from the lift, I noticed the weather outside was dusty and not conducive for riding. So, I parked my cycle and thought, sit inside the waiting area and watch for some time before returning home. My mind was disturbed due to something and thought cycling was a good option, I thought it could calm me down and change the disturbing thoughts. But, I couldn’t, due to the bad weather.
It was a hot day and there was a cat, lying outside the glass door. Then came a little girl with a pet dog. She too was planning to take it for a walk. Seeing the outside weather, she also cancelled her plan. The dog had a belt which was of extendable type and the girl had left it loose so that it has lot of space to move around.
Suddenly I noticed, both the cat, which was outside and the dog, standing inside started a fight with each other. It became so furious that if the glass barrier was not there, one of them would have finished the other! The girl played around with their furious emotional outpour for some time and then took it back to her home in the lift. As it left, it was still panting and growling.
Many times, we tend to be in such situations. Knowingly or unknowingly, we get carried away and start conversation or acts that lead to angry outpour of words, which may lead to physical actions!. Here in this case, the glass door was the strong physical barrier that prevented any mishaps. But, what will help us in such real life situations? A good friend? a a more relaxed and calm family member?, more than that a good family and school upbringing? a self discipline that is practiced?
Yes, control of anger is something that has to be consistently worked on and made a habit to not react to such unwarranted and unwanted situations instantaneously. If ever you happen to be in it, relax, take a deep breath. Think back and solutions to your disturbances will follow. It will save you!. God bless and wish you a great day.
More options needed to alert dangerous driving
Once again an accident involving a mini bus happened resulting in the death of a passenger. Although, this time, it was not due to the speeding or mistake of the bus driver!.
There is only one way, I see to end this catastrophe. More education to our public transport users to immediately alert the police as well as warn the driver, if they witness any incident of dangerous driving.
These drivers who speed and neglect the traffic signs, signals and rules may be pressurized by tight deadline from their company or their on personal financial pressures to earn more each day!.
Driving from Abu Dhabi on the Emirates Road as well as the Mussaffah Road during the last two Saturdays, I witnessed several instances of 15 seater mini vans speeding. Some even on the 2nd lane from left, which they normally should not be present.
I humbly request the authorities to have a foolproof and easy communication system like a mobile contact for whatsapp or sms for road users and passengers to alert the authorities whenever they witness dangerous driving. More awareness and calls should be made by the authorities to encourage public to be their voice to avert more such death resulting situations.
Letters to the Editor/The National:
One dead, 16 injured as pickup truck crashes into bus in Dubai
Excited for the Olympics
It is a time of anticipation and excitement as India, my home country, and UAE, my home away from home, field their largest contingents to the Rio Olympics. From the Indian team, expectations are high on the 12-member shooting contingent, badminton, wrestling, tennis and archery team members along with boxing and the men’s hockey team all set to keep the Indian flag flying high at least a few times through their wins. Meanwhile, for the UAE it is all the more prestigious as there is a woman athlete representing the country in swimming along with the overall 13 athletes who will represent the country in six different disciplines like cycling, judo, weightlifting and athletics. Best wishes for the safe conduct of the event and let peace and harmony prevail with everyone enjoying the individual and team events.
From Mr Ramesh Menon
Abu Dhabi
Congratulations to EK521 Crew & Dubai Airport Emergency Response Team
My sincere congratulations to Emirates Airline EK521 Captain and Crew for handling the Crisis exceedingly well. Highest level of praise also goes to the Dubai Airport Emergency Response Team, who handled the situation and made sure the incident was brought under control. As regards to Emirates Airline Crisis Management and Communication Team, this is an excellent example for all global Comms/Crisis Management Teams to observe and follow how effectively and efficiently a major crisis can be handled and communicated. Everyone will agree and accept that this is not an easy task these days, when all are on social media and dissemination of information is just within the press of our fingers. The airline also came out with timely developing statements to avoid any rumors and feed stakeholders with right information. Emirates Airlines ranked Number 2 in terms of safety and the plane involved was a Boeing 777 which has a track record of safety. In addition the airport involved was Dubai airport, which is considered as one of the safest airports in the world. All the passengers and the crew were fortunate and blessed to have these three lucky combinations i.e, of a safe airline, airplane and a first rate airport, involved in this unfortunate incident from which they all survived! The country is proud of the brave firefighter Jasem who lost his life. May his soul rest in peace.
Letters to the Editor/Gulf News:
Dubai triumphs again
Crisis handling by Emirates was commendable
Congratulations to the captain and crew of Emirates Flight EK521 for handling the crisis efficiently (Plane catches fire at Dubai airport; Emirates confirms ‘incident’, August 4).
The Dubai International Airport emergency response team also deserves applause for their efficiency in handling the situation. Emirates’ crisis management and communications team also set an example for others to follow.
Everyone will agree that crisis management is not an easy task these days, especially considering that rumour spreads like wildfire through social media.
The airline came up with timely statements and updates to avoid any rumour. Lastly, I salute the fireman, Jassim Al Baloushi, for his act of bravery. May his soul rest in peace.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
Letters to the Editor/The National:
Firefighter dies responding to Emirates plane fire at Dubai airport
EK 521 Incident – Efficient Crisis Management & Communication by Emirates Airlines
Dubai, Wednesday, 3rd August 2016
Emirates flight EK521 took off from Trivandrum in India while landing at Dubai International Airport on August 3, 2016 at about 12.45pm local time met with an emergency situation.
This is an age of swift and uninterrupted electronic communication. Dubai is an extremely busy city and its airport being open and visible from several points within the city.
- The airlines tweeted about this incident immediately. As soon as news broke of the incident, Emirates airlines official social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter changed their logo to a grey and white picture.As the news broke out and evolved, social media photos started coming out which showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from the burning plane.
- Within almost 1 hour of the incident, i.e. at 2pm Emirates put out a tweet saying, “We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe. #EK521”. Emirates confirmed that there were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board. They also confirmed that emergency response teams at Dubai Airport had fully extinguished the fire on the Emirates plane.
- The Airline’s well-trained crew were quick and safely evacuated all the 300 passengers including the 18 member crew from the plane in a matter of 46 seconds! (as tweeted by one user on Twitter).
- The nationalities of the passengers were announced on Facebook at 3pm. Dubai Airports offered refreshments across all terminals throughout the day. Passengers were just asked to present their ticket or boarding card.
- At 4.10pm Emirates put out an official statement on their website and Youtube page by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman & Chief Executive on incident involving EK521. “We can confirm that there are no fatalities among our passengers and crew. All passengers and crew are accounted for and safe,” he said.
- At 5.30pm, Emirates cancelled 42 flights at Dubai International. Dubai Media office tweeted at 5.50pm that specialized teams at Dubai Airports worked simultaneously to ensure safety & comfort of all passengers following the incident. The media office also tweeted that DXB will resume departure operations starting 18.30 UAE local time with larger aircraft given first priority. They also tweeted that all Emirates passengers who had purchased tickets on or before 3rd August will have rebooking; re-issue & cancellation charges waived.
- The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) confirmed at 7.22pm that a fire fighter Jasim Issa Mohammad Hassan attached to Dubai Airports lost his life during firefighting operations. “He died while doing his duty and while evacuating the people to safety. On behalf of the General Civil Aviation Authority, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of deceased. I salute his ultimate sacrifice that kept many from harm’s way. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family”, said the director general of GCAA. At the 7.30pm press conference Ahmed bin Saeed Al Makhtoum said: “We pay tribute to the firefighter who lost his life fighting the blaze. We thank all teams that dealt with the incident. He also paid tribute to the pilot who was instrumental in saving the passengers lives. The flight pilot is a well experienced Emirati national with more than 7000 flight hour. Medical teams dealt with 13 persons with minor injuries, who left after a short time.
An excellent example of Crisis Management
My sincere congratulations to Emirates Airline EK521 Captain and Crew for handling the Crisis exceedingly well. Highest level of praise also goes to the Dubai Airport Emergency Response Team, who handled the situation and made sure the incident was brought under control. As regards to Emirates Airline Crisis Management and Communication Team, this is an excellent example for all global Comms/Crisis Management Teams to observe and follow how effectively and efficiently a major crisis can be handled and communicated.
Proof of Efficient Crisis Communication from Emirates
Everyone will agree and accept that this is not an easy task these days, when all are on social media and dissemination of information is just within the press of our fingers. On behalf of Emirates, the press conference and address by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman & Chief Executive was very clear and matter of fact. The airline also came out with timely developing statements to avoid any rumors and feed stakeholders with right information.
Jasim Issa Mohammad Hassan – A great hero born!
Last but not the least, as a fitting tribute to the brave firefighter Jasim Issa Mohammad Hassan who lost his life, several high authorities from UAE government, including H.H. Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, H.H. General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces attended his funeral and offered condolences to his family and friends. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, offered his sincere condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of the martyr of the nation, firefighter Jassim Issa Al Balooshi, who was martyred while extinguishing the fire, which involved Emirates Airline plane on Wednesday. In his account on the social networking “Twitter” said, “We offer our condolences to the family and friends of the martyr of the nation, firefighter, Jassim Issa Al Balooshi. And we ask God to bestow patience and solace on his bereaved family.” He added, “As far as our grief on Jassim, however we are proud of our youth and their sacrifices while performing their duties in protecting the lives and saving people. This country has men to be proud of.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
@rameshmenonauh /3rd August 2016
{Compilation of information from: Various news media – Khaleej Times, Gulf News, The National/Twitter/Emirates Airlines site etc}
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Traffic fines at the airport
Your report, Forcing UAE expats to pay traffic fines before travelling could ‘change behaviour’ (August 1), shed light on an important issue.
I hope the recently implemented removal of discounts to speeding fines and the new suggestion to make it mandatory to pay the fine before exiting the country will bring a fear factor in the minds of those who violate traffic rules.
Generally, those who pay up diligently have a fear for themselves and other road users and comply with the rules.
What is yet to be experienced as a result of these new moves are behavioural changes from those who seldom travel outside and do not pay up.
I sincerely wish that this group of reckless drivers becomes a minority on our roads. Safe road sense must prevail if we are going to have fewer traffic accidents and avoid unnecessary deaths.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
Letters to the Editor/The National:
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