Insurance prices raised for pregnant women

had a very similar experience with my health insurance coverage in Dubai as Ms Nastassia Laurusiuk, who wrote about in Letters to the editor (‘Letter to the editor: Not happy with health coverage’, Gulf News, February 22). Despite paying around Dh12,000 per year, over the past two years, for very comprehensive health insurance that included maternity coverage as per the law, I was very surprised to find that when my policy was up for renewal this month, the new annual rate was more than Dh20,000! The explanation from the insurer was, it was going up because of my current pregnancy. What is the point of paying for maternity coverage when you do not need it if the insurance company will simply charge you a huge increase once they know you will actually utilise it? The insurance companies know your hands are tied in these situations since getting a new policy is almost out of the question because of your “pre-existing” condition of pregnancy. It severely limits your choice of plans or makes other options just as costly even with reduced coverage limits! I guess we should all plan our pregnancies to fall within the 12 months of our current policy before they can raise the rates? Since this is not practical, I hope the authorities will consider implementing rules regarding how much of an increase an insurer can implement per year when you are only making use of something that was supposedly offered in the first place.

This fear still exists?

IFrom Ms Rachel Watson Dubai could relate so well to Aliya Harir’s feelings of fear and hatred in her teenage years towards Indians (‘After epiphany in US, woman forges peace among Indian and Pakistani youth’, Gulf News, February 22). I, as an Indian, had a similar feeling towards Pakistanis in my growing years. Twenty years ago, when I just got married and travelled out of the country, I had encountered Pakistanis in Malaysia. Like Harir, I was surprised that these are real people just like me and all others. I found them polite, friendly and really nice. Our connection was instant since we have so many cultural similarities and also share the same ethnic background. My impression changed forever. If 20 years down the line children and young adults share the same fears and unnecessary hatred, it’s a sad story. I feel very proud of Harir’s initiative and her efforts to bring both nations’ youth closer. If governments can’t do it, let the citizens do something. From Ms Sumana Naik Dubai

No time to hate

T he fact is that people from both sides are not interested in pinching their neighbour. People are too busy for these childlike grudges. They don’t have time to follow old stereotypes of Pakistanis hating Indians and vice versa. The people from both countries are loving people. Just because the governments want to earn some capital for personal interest, they wage wars and fill the minds of the masses with propaganda. That’s how they promote hate. Otherwise, the people from both sides are not natural haters. From Mr Waleed Ahmad UAE Facebook comment

We aren’t allowed

W e love each other more outside the countries rather than when we are in India or Pakistan. The reason is that we can meet, eat and live together without any harassment and no need for a visa, no need for security issues.

So, what I believe is that we already love each other, but some ugly policymakers are ruling us. They are achieving political benefits and playing games, not allowing both sides to love freely. We can struggle, but unless and until our governments are interested, the people will always suffer from both sides. Being Pakistani, I love Indians here in the UAE. I never felt we are different in anything. From Mr Hassnat Syed Dubai Facebook comment

We want good relations

P akistan youth want friendly relations with Indian youth, the only problem is that both governments and international establishment priorities are different. For Pakistan-India relations, we want a good beginning. Until when will we fight? From Mr Sajjad Suleman Dubai Facebook comment

Politicians have problems

I ndians and Pakistanis like and love each other and you can see that in the Gulf countries. But the leaders of both countries don’t like that. They keep on coining issues that keep an environment of tug of war. From Mr Mohammad Bakhtiar Oman Facebook comment

Portraying hate

I t’s not about the people. Indian and Pakistani people both are amazing. It’s only the government and the media who are portraying the hate in such a way that there is a social media war going on all the time. From Mr Sohaib Khan Dubai Facebook comment

No difference

I ’m from Pakistan. I have many Indian friends here in the UAE. We respect and love each other. I love them the same like I do my Pakistani friends. From Mr Saqib Ali Malik UAE Facebook comment

We must help

T his is a great example of how we created hatred between nations for selfish political reasons. History can be twisted in any manner according to your convenience and these parties make use of it with the countries’ vast illiterate populations. I salute Harir for her understanding about this and, yes, she is our sister and we are one. How do we love each other outside our country and why can’t we love each other in our own country? The only way to clear this big misunderstanding is by doing what Harir is doing. We all have to do this so that we, like-minded and same cultured people, do not hate each other blindly. We all have this dream and, God willing, it will happen soon. From Mr Jayshankar Dubai

Conflict needs to end

H aving lived in the UAE for many decades and, having worked and befriended many Indians, I can assure readers that there is no animosity between these people. Hatred is sowed intentionally by the media and politicians on both sides. Terrorist attacks, infiltration and intelligence gathering must stop. Day and night, there is firing across the line of control. Both nations have immense poverty, but the leaders are busy amassing and producing arms. Nuclear [capability] should be enough deterrence for both. The next war will kill millions of innocent people. From Mr Kanwar Hayat Dubai

Has Modi learnt nothing?

T he Gulf News editorial on how Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is offending the minorities was a good read (‘Using religion as a weapon’, Gulf News, February 22). I’m surprised by the evil hold these differences play on the masses in a country like India, especially during these modern times when people take religion as a special relation between the people and God. It’s not right to bring religion between people as a potent and venomous weapon to divide them and be a hindrance to the orderly development of the country. The ill effects of religious differences were experienced by the people of India before and after the partition of the country. The nation is still bleeding due to the ill effects of the communal riots. Now Modi is resorting once again to such nasty tactics of dividing Indians on the basis of religion. It is advised that religion should be set apart from India’s politics for the common good of the country. Is Modi listening? From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel Muvattupuzha, India

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