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Vulgar graffiti damaging Sharjah public property

SHARJAH — The damaging of public property and defacing of public utilities is causing much concern and resentment in Sharjah, as more and more vulgar graffitti is appearing on walls, public toilets, parks, trees and benches.

This disturbing trend, which is ruining public property in the emirate, has also hurt the sentiments of many people with highly abusive and vulgar messages visible almost everywhere in both English and Arabic.

Surprisingly, some of the grafitti is aimed against the police and the municipality, while most of it victimises individuals, especially young women.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Mohammed Muftah who lives near the Clock Tower, said he is very upset with the vulgar graffitti on his building. Such uncivil conduct can only be displayed by miscreants who are social misfits and obviously do not belong to decent families, he added.

Mohammed Hilmi, another Sharjah resident, stressed that the only way to counter this trend is for the authorities concerned to impose some tough regulations and take stiff action against anyone guilty of defacing public property.

Ameen Hullami, a school teacher, said his school walls are plastered with abusive words and indecent drawings. He said, those who indulge in this perverse activity are usually in the 14 to 25-year age group and suffer from strong suppressed feelings and resentment against society at large. Educational institutions, he added, should tackle this phenomena sensitively by educating their young students about why they need to respect public property and public sentiments.

Speaking to Khaleej Times Abdullah Al Amri, Director-General, Sharjah Municipality, cautioned: "We are quite serious about tackling this menace. If anyone is caught damaging or defacing public property, we will fine him and take any action permissible under the law." He said the annual expenditure on maintenance of public premises in Sharjah costs about Dh300,000 and educational institutions, from schools and university, must educate their students how to respect public property. It's in their own interest to do so.

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