Opinion

Ban illegal weapons

May 24, 2018
Ban illegal weapons

Ahmed Al-Arfaj



Al-Madina newspaper

MY readers honor me every time they send me letters asking me to publish them in my column, hoping that an official in position will read it and do something about it.

A few days ago, I received such a letter from a reader named Hadi. I thought it was very important to share this letter with you because of the graveness of the issue he raised and the danger it posed to society.

The letter reads, “To my friend Ahmad Al-Arfaj, Greetings.

«Since your columns are always accepted by your readers and you are loved by a large segment of people in our society, I wanted to send this letter to you in order to highlight an important issue that has gripped our society and is growing every day. This problem is going against our interests and disturbs the peace and security we enjoy in our country. This phenomenon is spreading among the teenagers even during examination times and at school graduation ceremonies, as if they were preparing for a military confrontation.

«If we look into the history of these teenagers, we will find that they are actually cowards who feel insecure. I am sure 99.9 percent of those who carry unlicensed weapons brag about them and are afraid to sleep in the desert alone.

«We live in the dawn of a new era. Under Saudi Vision 2030, the government is aiming at building an educated and sentient society that believes in peace and tolerance. Therefore I suggest that we resolve this problem in two ways. The first is to increase awareness among people on the dangers of carrying weapons to school celebrations, and school officials should notify the security authorities whenever such incidents happen on their premises. The second is to establish specialized schools that train young people on how to use weapons that they can carry with legal permits.

«We have read about many incidents of people accidentally getting killed themselves or killing their relatives because they did not know how to properly handle a weapon.»

What is left here to say? This is the message as I have received it from Hadi and I hope the officials would listen.


May 24, 2018
236 views
HIGHLIGHTS
Opinion
21 days ago

Saudi Arabians remain unfazed by the 'buzz' of fools

Opinion
36 days ago

We have celebrated Founding Day for three years - but it has been with us for 300

Opinion
51 days ago

Why is FinTech flourishing in Saudi Arabia?