Dear Editor,
It hurts my heart to witness the negative letter-writing campaign against Ms Syeada Manbodh. It appears that the campaign is orchestrated by a neighbour in the area where she lives.
Ms Manbodh is truly a most humane and remarkable young lady. I have seen her night and day in the alleyways, on roadways, by the seawall, in residential areas, and even in Tiger Bay, Albouystown, looking for hungry or injured dogs and cats to feed.
Ordinary people will think she is crazy, but she is a true human being. Once one lives and breathes, one feels the pangs of hunger.
Recently someone hit and broke the legs of a stray dog that lingers by the office and which is fed by our ranks.
One witnessed the pain of the poor animal, a living creature, created by the system God set in train for procreation. I asked my ranks to transport the animal to the GSPCA and let them do with it as they would.
There are two types of syringes, one for injection into the veins of animals or humans, and one for feeding pups, or ill creatures. Are the detractors bereft of sense? If anything, the President of this country should confer on Ms Manbodh, a national award for service to animals. Service to animals is service to humanity. And yes, it is better to neuter the stray animals than allow them to reproduce and have more animals grow to their own detriment and that of our human, and at times, inhumane society. The religion of Islam teaches: ‘A Muslim cannot go to bed knowing their neighbour is hungry.” It does not say a hungry Muslim, or human; it says, ‘his neighbour.’ It refers to all living creatures: dogs, cats, birds; name them and it refers to them.
Once Ms Manboidh drew my attention to cruelty inflicted on one of our dogs by an employee of mine, and I offered a national apology, because the buck stops with me in my company.
We must cherish citizens of the likes of Syeada.
Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
