VOL 06 ISSUE 11 / JUNE 8, 2012

21
WEEKLY

SQU

Smart use of words

Over 50 innovative pieces of writing varying between articles, poems and short stories have taken apart in the ETS creative writing competition announced in our last issue. Full of uniqueness, creativity and smart manipulation of words, it was as a puzzle for our judges, who are doctors and professors from the English Department at SQU, to pick up winners. When asked about their overall opinion about the competition and the participations, the answer came that it is just another accomplishment of success that goes to the account of H!SQU for the quality and quantity of the submitted pieces. Today in this page, we would gladly congratulate the winners of the three genres, poem, article, and short story and publish their pieces. As for those who havent been lucky enough to win the competition Dont Worry! Wait to see your best pieces published in the upcoming issues. An endless thanks and gratitude goes to the judges who had devoted their precious time to evaluate the submitted pieces, to the participants who all deserve to be winners, and to the members responsible Fatma Al Shaqsi and Dhufra Al Kharusi.

What ails our world?

This is a strange question that needs to be answered by every human being. The prevailing social, economic, environmental and political issues hold the key to its ailment. The effects are clearly presented if one grabs a look at the headlines of every days newspapers. Millions of years ago, the entire world existed as a single land mass. However, divisions slowly seeped in as oceans took their rst step; splitting the world into major continents. Moreover, humans, in the name of social evolution, took the very next step of dividing continents into regions, countries, communities, sects, etc. For instance,surprisingly, we see new countries as South Sudan emerging and cutting through the original cultural land mass. The world economy is instable; as a result, global recession is having a grave toll in the economies of many countries. In fact,Greece and Iceland are the most noticeable examples of global recession where millions of citizens are deprived of their basic needs. For example, agriculture which was once treated as the main source of occupation has strangely taken a back seat! Furthermore, the environmental destruction didnt stop at only destroying farming, but resulted in water scarcity, air pollution and global warming. In fact, the list seems endless.

A business called Buttery

by FATMA AL-SHAQSI
College of Education, English Her impressive unique personality and strong passion are the secrets beyond her marvelous work. In her view, creativity has no limits. Fatma Al-Lawati, who studies at the College of Arts and Social Science, adores making handicrafts since childhood. Although she loved reading, writing, travelling and cooking, handicraft to her was more than a hobby. In fact, it turns to a business called Buttery. Since her childhood, she loved collecting buttons and owers to create a special shape that she will haphazardly pattern somewhere in the house. Later on, she started to give her crafts to her close friends and her family members, as gifts. She says, My aunt was the rst one who asked me to make her one. Fatma explains that her aunt wanted her to create envelopes for Eideia, and since that time Fatma started to sell greeting cards, envelopes and invitation cards. In addition, Fatma proposes that without her mothers support, she would not reach this stage. She states, My mum is behind my creativity. She used to making handicrafts and she taught me many things. When asked about the materials she uses, Fatma says paper is my primary tool in making handicrafts, but I also use wood, fabric, ribbons and velvet. She further explains that she uses other tools for decorating her work, besides various types of colors. Fatma claims that there is a lack of shops that sell the tools she needs;

In addition, the political conditions in the Arab world are very grimdue to the recent unrest in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Although this is a serious issue, no solutions have been provided,in the near future, for many of these countries.Moreover, there is a political fear of countries acquiring the new satanic might, nuclear power, as it allows them to ex their territorial superiority against their own neighbours! The above situations show how humans immense greed has completely crippled our world. However, luckily, there are still many people whom somehow have realized this grave situation; consequently, they have reected it in charted activities across the globe. For instance,there are conferences on restoring the environment, negotiations on bilateral relations and initiatives on stabilising the present terrestrial life. Well, if remedial actions are not taken immediately our world will sink down and all humans will suffer. Let the rst lessons begin at the familys front doors as millions of children crave for love and care. Moreover, let parents spend more time with their children and less time in their race to reach the top authorial positions! Let the younger generation be prevailed once more with axiomatic virtues, preached time and again by all messengers of God.

VENKAT SARKAR
Indian School AL SEEB, 9th Grade

A friend
Sweet as nectar, Calm as the sea, Thats exactly how a friend should be! Free as a pigeon, Yet, busy as a bee, Thats exactly how a friend should be! Standing nearby, To encourage me, Thats exactly how a friend should be! All my miseries, Only my friend can see, A friend really means so much to me! SHILPA SRINIVASAN
Indian School Salalah, 7th Grade

as a result, she tends to buy them from outside Oman. She adds, paper crafts and scrapbooks are well known in the west and there are many shops that sell them; however, its not the case at the Gulf countries. In future, Fatma is planning to create her own style by adding the Omani touch on her handicrafts. Furthermore, her dream is to see her work in big exhibitions and to participate in international competitions. She is assured that having a website will help her customers in buying and ordering crafts. She concludes saying, everyone is creative in his own way, and for those who have not discovered their talents, go and nd them.

Desiderate
Dirt clung to his ngernails as he made his way over the moist soil. He knew he was dying, simply because he was thirsty! He didnt have a drink for almost a week. Well, he reected wryly, as he had been kept imprisoned by his ungrateful master because he happened to fall in love at his job. Finally, he had escaped. And ages later, he had managed to nd a town, yet he couldnt nd relief. Damn, he rasped, as a chuckle came out more like a hacking cough. But of course, who could be more dammed than he, who had performed such unspeakable evils? There was a rustle in the bushes. Terried, he climbed up a tree,

awaiting the worst. Oh, it was only a girl carrying a bucket full of water from the nearby well. He licked his chapped, dry lips he was so thirsty, so very thirsty! He could see the cool water from the bucket splashing onto the grass. He was hesitant. The girl was so much like her, his love. The same golden hair, the same color of eyesthen his heart was hardened. She had died, hadnt she? His master had seen to that. He didnt want redemption anymore. And with that last thought, he leapt at the girl and put an end to her screams. He bit her warm, eshy neck and drank in the one thing that could douse the ames in his throat - rich, red blood.

ADITI KUMAR
Indian School AL WADI AL KABIR, 12th Grade