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Bangladesh: Who is to blame?

This week’s Friday was packed with inspirational and thought-provoking stories. The feature on the collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh had me in tears (‘Blood, death and tears in the sweatshop of theWest’, Aug 9).

I firmly believe that, along with the owners of the factory, the government should be blamed for this human catastrophe. It seems that the government does not have an honest infrastructure in place to ensure that such sweatshops don’t exploit people and rob them of their right to live a decent life.

I would also point fingers at the major brands that use these sweatshops to manufacture clothes cheaply. These brands seem to turn a blind eye to the disgusting working conditions at these places just so they can keep the cost of production low.

This is like systemic slavery that we used to read about in history books. Shameful indeed.

SWATI NIGAM, DUBAI The story of Moyna, a seamstress at a garment factory in Dhaka, was extremely tragic. I hope this catastrophe serves as an eye-opener and large companies take steps to ensure that something like this does not happen again. If nothing else, these incidents damage public relations for theWestern companies.

STEPHEN S, VIA EMAIL

Bringing something to the table

I really enjoyed reading about Chef Silvena Rowe (‘Silvena in the city’, Aug 9). It was refreshing to read about a female chef as they are a rare species – and then here was a woman with a mind of her own. She is definitely going to bring a lot to Friday’s food pages.

JOHN MATHAIS, VIA EMAIL

Addressing bulimia

I am a parent of a teenage girl, which means I have to deal with image issues on a daily basis.

My daughter is so obsessed with her weight that there are times when she does not think of anything else. So when I came across the feature on bulimia, I made sure that she read every word of it (‘Desperate measures’, Aug 9), after which we had a long, honest chat.

We talked about how our appearance affects our sense of self-worth, especially when we are young and so under the influence of the fashion industry, media and the world of glamour.

She now understands that her talents, skills and her attitude towards people and life in general is what is most important.

Thank you Friday, for the wake-up call.

NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST

Fitting fashion

After reading the fashion pages of Friday this week, I am m convinced that you can be both savvy and d stylish (‘Be a savvy sales shopper’, Aug 9). ).

It was clear that the author had spent t a lot of time at some of Dubai’s massive shopping malls and had come up with a selection that was real value for money.

I absolutely loved the accessories featured in the article as they all seemed to be versatile and contemporary, ideal for a professional daytime look as well as a feminine evening look. You should publish features like this as frequently as possible as I feel the UAE is filled with people who are on a budget.

SUPRIYA S, ABU DHABI