LETTERS

Jihadi bride’s quest

WHO does Shamima Begum think she is (Mail)? She could not wait to get away from a country she hated, to a war zone where she marries and has children and, in her own words, ‘had a good time’.

Now she has changed her mind and wants to come home. Who is paying for this? What do we know of the missing four years?

Why should we have an unrepentant teenager in our midst? Think carefully, Home Secretary.

Marion Gebbie, Glasgow. IT is very difficult to have any sympathy for the plight of Shamima Begum, which was created entirely by herself when she went to join IS and support their treacherous and murderous mission in Syria. She shows no feeling or regret for her decision and the sight of decapitated heads did not faze her in any way.

I predict, however, she will ultimately return to the UK and serve a short prison sentence during which she will write her life story and will be well paid for it. On her release, she will become a celebrity on TV chat shows and live happily ever after – unlike the many thousands of victims murdered by IS. Dennis Forbes Grattan,

bucksburn, aberdeen.

Let’s show humanity

alONg with millions of other Muslims in the UK, I find Daesh (IS) and the ideology of terrorism to be evil and anathema to the peaceful teachings of Islam.

That much is simple, but what is complex is the repatriation of people such as Shamima Begum. Each case should be assessed individually.

In Shamima’s case, we should let her come back to the UK as she wants to, out of humanity and sympathy for her child, who had no part to play in all of this.

If the authorities find that the mother has committed crimes, she should be charged and prosecuted. Even if she hasn’t committed a crime, she should still be carefully monitored by the authorities for signs of extremist behaviour.

The safety of our country must be a priority for all of us.

What sets us apart from the evil of Daesh is our humane approach to even the worst of criminals.

Hazik raHMan, Farnham, surrey.

Fashion victims

I WaS appalled by the attitude of the mindless women who have no concern for what is happening to our fragile planet, and never wear the same article of clothing more than once (Femail).

This is the throw-away society gone mad. Do they really think it acceptable to add to the horrendous amount of waste sent to landfill, with its environmental consequences? What sort of example will this set for their children? It beggars belief that one woman inanely remarked that because a celebrity wears an outfit only once, why shouldn’t she?

Does it even enter these women’s silly heads that most of these cheap clothes are made in sweatshops where women and children work in terrible conditions for a pittance? triCia barrinGton,

Paddock Wood, kent. THE most astounding fact about the vacuous ladies who wear an outfit only once is that they are in their 30s, not youngsters trying to impress.

Jeni WiLLson, osterley, West London.

How to be a real man

THE sentiments expressed in the article on the war on masculinity by Barnaby lenon, the former head of Harrow School, are spot on.

It’s worrying that a whole gender is being marginalised by various campaigns — women’s liberation, #MeToo and lBgT rights.

With an increase in young male suicide, gang warfare, knife crime, porn obsession, drug addiction and a deteriorating academic record, how is the future looking for this generation of young men?

When men are not equipped to sustain employment, never mind a lasting relationship and family, how will this impact on young women?

I was fortunate to have a father who was a man’s man. He was a Royal Marine during World War II, and a committed husband, father and foundry manager. The only time I saw him cry was when I qualified as a nurse.

He was our family’s provider, protector and staunch supporter, and was highly respectful towards all women. What that taught me was to seek the same qualities in a man.

traCY a. Dean, Leamington spa, Warks.

Sickening vandalism

IT IS heartbreaking to read of the vandalism by youths nowadays.

The freedom enjoyed by so many in this country has been won at great cost in lives over centuries.

a recent attack targeted the memorial in glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park (Mail) to the brave men who lost their lives in war, albeit a century ago, so our lives can be enjoyed. Would these idiots have such freedom without their sacrifice? It makes me sick to think these brainless wonders are alive at all. boYD sCott broWn, Callander,

Perthshire.

Where’s the incentive?

SCOTlaND’S country roads are blighted by the littering of countless, thoughtless individuals who think nothing of ejecting their empty cans, bottles and food containers from

vehicles. Unlike towns and cities, these roads are rarely if ever litter-picked, resulting in a huge build-up of unsightly and damaging rubbish.

The odd citizen may fall foul of the law in an urban area, but has the same ever happened in the countryside? What is the point of having anti-littering laws if enforcement is so expensive it is little used? Perhaps it is time for a more innovative approach.

Rather than the failed system of detection followed by a fine, why not offer a decent financial reward to those who don’t litter? Proposals for a deposit and return scheme could form the basis of a route to behavioural modification and a means of vastly improving litter-picking. GraHam WYLLIE, Greengairs,

Lanarkshire. KEEP Britain Tidy’s litterpicking campaign, backed by the Mail, has been a long time coming. My husband and I belong to the Redbridge Nature Conservation group: we plant trees and bulbs and clear brambles, ponds and rivers in parks and forests.

The amount of rubbish we find is unbelievable. We often pick up rubbish in and around the street where we live, too. mELaNIE GaDSDON, Woodford Green, Gtr London.

Cushioned with love

I WAS touched that presenter Simon Thomas’s son has made him a cushion from his late wife’s old skirts (Mail), with the help of Simon’s new girlfriend. When my husband died four years ago, a friend’s daughter asked me for one of his shirts. I picked a lovely striped one I had liked to see him wear.

A week later, she presented me with a cushion made out of the shirt. The pocket on the front contained a card on which she had written: ‘This is the shirt I used to wear and when you hold it I’ll be there.’

It was such a thoughtful gift and I shall treasure it always.

JUDY POSTaNS, moreton on Lugg, Herefordshire.

Brexiteers, stand firm

I’D like to make a plea to the reader who said she would never vote again if we do not leave the EU as promised (Letters). That’s what Remainers hope for – that Brexiteers will not vote. If there is another referendum, we need to get out there and show them we mean business. By turning out in even greater numbers we will get it. If you do nothing, the Remainers will have won. mrs maUrEEN PrOTHErOE,

Pontllanfraith, Gwent.