Issue 46 letters
Here are some more letters from our readers that we could not fit in the paper.
Forced Marriages
Dear Editor
Once I read your article on forced marriage, it reminded me of my RS lesssons last year. We had been learning about arranged marriages. I thought arranged marriages were bad enough, but now forced marriages, even worse. I feel very sorry for these young girls who do not have the right and freedom to choose their life partner like we all do. I come from India and many of my relatives and my parents had an arranged marriage. I personally think arranged marriages are good in a way; they help people who are finding it hard to find a partner for themselves. Arranged marriages also keep the family together, without causing conflict. It is also said that there are less divorces in arranged marriages than there are in love marriages.
Moving on to forced marriages, I think they are terrible. Imagine being sent off with someone you barely know. Having to cook clean and love this person without even knowing them very well. I would hate to have a forced marriage. It’s a bit like your parents are selling you not getting you married. The new law that helps victims who are being forced into marriage is a very good, useful law. I hope this law will help all those girls who have had a forced marriage. The law will make them strong and give them support. It will also give them the right to choose.
Girls who are being forced into marriage are also having ideas of running away and suicide, which isn’t good. If we stop forced marriages we can stop suicides and prevent girls from running away from home. Sometimes it could be that the child’s parents had a forced marriage so therefore they think their children should too. Many of the poeple who have forced marriages come from poor backgrounds, so this means they probably wouldn’t have had an education. So therefore they don’t know that this is wrong. But in most cases the parents know it’s wrong and do it for money.
I truly hope that forced marriages will stop if we all work together and help these people. Thank you for putting this article in the paper, it really helped me understand and think about how privileged we all are. If it wasn’t for your article I would never have known about forced marriages. If you were forced into a marriage and are reading this now, don’t sit there and do nothing. Get up and make a difference, make the most of your rights and hopefully everything will be all right.
Afrah Riaz – Howells
Dear Editor
I think that your article on ‘Forced Marriage Law’ is very enlightening on what happens in the rest of the world. I think that people should have the right to choose who they marry and when. I think it is unfair that some people can chose who they marry and others are forced to marry people. I think learning about other cultures is vital in understanding the way people’s faiths work and what they believe in. I think it is fun to put yourself in to other girl’s shoes and to see what they would do in a normal day compared to yours.
Carys Grieve – Howell’s
Limiting Speed
Dear Editor
I think the article about cars that could only drive up to the speed limit is very interesting because I think that is a simple and clever idea that is very effective.
The government are continuously telling people to stop speeding because of the danger they are putting themselves and others in. Many of the speeding drivers do not seem to pay much attention to the speed limit so there are many accidents on the road. Building cars that could only drive up to the speed limit sounds like a method to fix the problem.
I disagree with the people who think this is a bad idea because if people do not have to pay as much attention to the speed limit, they would have more space in their minds to concentrate on the rest of the issues on the road, especially at this time of year when people are more moody and the road is icy. The number of accidents and deaths on the road would decrease because pedetrians and passengers would have a greater chance of surviving a car crash.
However, if drivers try and speed up their driving, and cannot because the car is fixed to the speed limit, they may become distracted and lose control over the car. So I think that the vehicle should be able to be set at whatever speed the driver wants at the time.
Kirsty-Ann Wilson – Howell’s
Should elephants be kept in zoos?
Dear Editor
I think that the article that explains about elephants living longer in the wild is very true. I think that when elephants live in a zoo they don’t get to live their lives. Would you like to wake up every morning to the same scene outside, and having all these peculiar faces looking at you and the bright flash that sometimes frightens you. I know I wouldn’t like that and I’m sure you wouldn’t either. I’m sure that an elephant that lives in the wild will have so many more privileges. Firstly, you can travel anywhere you would like to go, you can have so many more life changing experiences. You can look after yourself and you can make friends and families, basically you could do whatever you wanted, but sadly animals in the zoo cannot, they have no freedom. I think that elephants should not be kept in zoos because they have no freedom and elephants are too big to be kept in zoos.
Libby Jegou – Howell’s
Nicknames
Dear Editor
I am writing in response to your article on nicknames. I think that nicknames are acceptable if it is alright with the person who is being called the name. However, if it is not liked by the person then it should be stopped.
In the article it also talks about Prince Charles and Prince Harry calling some of their friends nicknames and that this made some people cross. I think this is stupid, why make such a fuss about two nicknames when lots are being said every minute. The Princes have a right to call their friends nicknames like all of us.
Alexander Whitehead – Selling
Dear Editor
I am writing in response to your article on Bullying. I think it is wrong to say ‘if everyone’s smiling there’s no reason to step in and stop it’ because they might be pretending to smile when they are unhappy. Another thing which I also think is wrong is when you said ‘but they are just laughing and having fun’ when on the inside it may have hurt that person’s feelings.
Elliott Marks McLeod – Selling
Child soldiers
Dear Editor
Reading the article on child soldiers in your paper has made me think. Children as young as 9 are fighting and putting their lives at risk. Some of them don’t even understand that the idea of it is just plain wrong. Getting punished for running away from fear is just horrific. Girls are risking getting sexually abused just for not wanting to shoot and fight when they’re little. It’s just sick to think what they go through but also I think more schools should be learning about it. People nowadays especially those about 10 – 18 don’t realise how lucky they are. If children heard and learnt more about child soldiers then they might think and change their attitude.
Kacyanne Francis - Kingsthorpe
Sailing the world alone
Dear Editor
The article about the 16 year old boy sailing around the world was really good and interesting to read. I can’t believe that a 16 year old boy would do that, it is really brave of him to do that on his own with no company. He already holds the record for crossing the Atlantic single handed so he knew what it was like to be alone. Although he has received advice on how to cope with the loneliness from friends until you experience it yourself you do not know what it is really like.
I think lack of sleep and company will make it seem a very long time. Keeping notes will make it easier for him to write about his adventure when he gets home. I am sure there will be many people who will be interested to hear all about his journey and adventure, I for one will be interested in reading about it.
Mace - Cobham
Funny shaped fruit and vegetables
Dear Editor
I am pleased that regulations to stop misshapen fruit and vegetables being sold in shops are being changed. Having read the article in The Newspaper I cannot agree more with the fact that all fruit and veg of all shapes and sizes should be sold in shops as the produce contains the same nutritional value as perfectly shaped produce.
Firstly if a potato is knobbly or a carrot has two prongs it still contains the same inner goodness as other fruit and vegetable. If shoppers are disgusted by a strange looking vegetable or fruit they can just walk past it. Some critics claim that the European Commission shouldn’t have banned misshapen fruit and veg in the first place.
Poor people in other parts of the world could make use of the food Europe throws away each year. Statistics confirm that at the moment 20% of produce grown in Europe cannot be sold in shops.
I hope that now wonky fruit and vegetables can be sold in shops across Europe, otherwise we are wasting good produce instead of eating it. I also hope this letter has convinced you that allowing wonky fruit and veg to be sold in shops is good and that I am a supporter of this new law that is being introduced.
Emanuela Thackray – Cobham
Missing school
Dear Editor
I’m writing about pupils missing too much school. The only time they should miss school is if they are ill or if they have something very important going on like family funerals. Missing school is bad for their education and will effect their lives later on. They will need school to become whatever they want to do in later life. It has been proven that if you miss school one day a fortnight you will drop a GCSE grade.
Matthew Higgins – Edington and Shapwick
Dear Editor
Violent pupils
I have read the article on ‘Violent pupils shown the door’. I think that violent pupils should be expelled because if they are excluded for a week they may think ‘I have a week off school GREAT’, especially if they don’t have very supporting parents. Or they could go to anger management classes for two weeks. I think this should happen in all schools in the UK.
Joe Fry – Edington and Shapwick
Teaching about sex and drugs
Dear Editor
I have written in to share my opinions about the government saying all schools should teach about sex and drugs etc. I think they should teach about it because the teachers can explain it a bit better than the parents can. With the teachers doing this, as it said in the article, it should reduce the number of teenage mums. The parents could come in as well and see what is being taught if they are worried about what is being taught.
George Leighton – Edington and Shapwick