JEDDAH: Psychiatrists have urged putting in place standards to protect the rights of the mentally ill and raise awareness in order to eliminate the stigma of shame targeting patients and those wishing to seek treatment.
They raised the “dignity in mental health” slogan, the theme of World Mental Health Day 2015, stressing that families should offer their kin suffering mental illness the special care they need
Psychiatrists warned families against consulting unqualified psychologists and instead go to specialized psychiatric hospitals to make sure that patients receive care that meets psychiatric and medical care of a high standard.
Experts and psychologists working in the mental health sector have urged families and patients to continuously update their knowledge with the newest information that will help protect the dignity of patients.
Dr. Nawaf Al-Harthi, director of Jeddah Psychiatric Hospital, expressed the need to raise awareness of the patient’s rights to dignity: “As experts in psychiatry, we are working to raise awareness of the people surrounding the patient, which is to consider the best service and care we can provide them.”
Assistant Professor of Psychology at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Dr. Arwa Hosni, said that people can sometimes overcome obstacles and difficulties facing them, yet it could be hard for others to overcome their problems alone so they seek professional help.
“Arab society used not to believe in psychiatry and its importance, but now we see more awareness and great progress in this field,” Dr. Hosni said. However, she warned against those who use this profession as a business with a lack of proper qualifications, stressing the need to raise awareness in this regard, “People need to ensure that the specialist is qualified in this area, and knows the patient’s rights,” she said adding that professional psychological treatment centers and specialists in community awareness need to work to decrease the stigma facing some patients.
Family consultant Nawal Othman Al-Zahrani said that large segments of society are still unaware of the concept of psychiatric health as they try to neglect the mental and psychological illness and usually label people with the stigma of shame.
She stressed that the psychiatric health is a form of balance between the soul, mind and body that achieves harmony and makes people productive. “With the rising social and economic challenges, there’s a higher need for creating awareness of the importance of psychiatric health,” she added.
Shame stigmatizes people afflicted with mental illnesses
Shame stigmatizes people afflicted with mental illnesses
CNN suggests ‘false information’ could be behind UAE-KSA tensions
- Abu Dhabi mobilized STC after being falsely informed that Riyadh asked for sanctions on UAE
RIYADH: Tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi could have been sparked by false information provided to the UAE about the Saudi Crown Prince’s recent visit to Washington, CNN has reported.
The American news channels says it has learned from its sources that Saudi Arabia believes Abu Dhabi mobilized the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, which it backs, in provinces bordering the kingdom after being falsely informed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had asked US President Donald Trump during a White House visit in November to impose sanctions on Abu Dhabi over its alleged support for a warring party in Sudan’s civil war.
CNN’s reporting also suggests that Riyadh has reached out to the UAE to explain that it made no such request.
Meanwhile, the American channel says the UAE official who spoke to it on the condition of anonymity didn’t directly address the matter when asked about the false information claims.
During the November visit, President Trump did publicly announce that he had instructed his government to intervene in a bid to resolve the ongoing, bloody conflict in Sudan, based on a request from the Saudi Crown
Prince. However, neither the statements of the president, the crown prince, nor any reports published by Saudi or US media made any reference to the UAE at the time.
On 30 December, Riyadh launched airstrikes on what it says was a UAE military equipment shipment to Yemen, which was uncoordinated with the Coalition.
The Kingdom also backed the Yemeni government’s call for UAE forces to leave the country, which Abu Dhabi has agreed to honor, issuing a statement that insinuates it has done so of its own will.
The UAE statement also claimed an unwavering commitment on the part of Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty, rejecting any actions that could threaten the Kingdom or undermine regional stability.
Meanwhile, CNN said it also understands that further Saudi strikes targeting the STC remain on the table should the separatists not withdraw. After the UAE pulled its troops from Yemen last week, the STC moved toward secession, but under intense military pressure from Riyadh and its local allies, it lost territory, and it now claims it is happy to enter a dialogue with other Yemeni parties.
The Kingdom, for its part, has reaffirmed numerous times its belief that the Southern cause is a just one and has called for it to be discussed among the various parties at the negotiation table and away from the battlefield. Saudi Arabia has called for a dialogue to occur in Riyadh to discuss the Southern separation issue, and its call has been welcomed by the Yemeni government, various Yemeni factions — including the STC itself, as mentioned — and the majority of Arab and Muslim countries.
A problematic figure in the equation is Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, President of the STC, who is believed to have dual citizenship, and many Yemenis on social media have been posting images of his UAE passport and renouncing him as unfit for governing, claiming he serves a foreign agenda. Others also posted videos of him making statements that he would be happy to establish ties with Israel, should Southern Yemen gain its independence. Most recently as well, a post by Yemen’s Media Minister Moammar Eryani has accused the STC of allowing the theft and spread of weapons in Eastern provinces.
Eryani added that the STC has been deliberately causing chaos and “using Al Qaeda as a scarecrow to achieve its own political gains at the expense of Yemeni people”. CNN also says it has learned that
Saudi concerns extend beyond UAE involvement in Yemen and Sudan. Riyadh, according to the report, is also wary of the UAE’s policies in the Horn of Africa and in Syria, where it believes Abu Dhabi has cultivated ties with elements of the Druze community, some of whose leaders have openly discussed secession.
While no Saudi source was mentioned in the reporting, CNN’s narrative is in line with several public Saudi statements, which have objected to the recent Israeli recognition and endorsement of Somaliland’s separation from Somalia, Israeli attempts to undermine and attack the new Syrian government, and any attempt to impose a Southern Yemeni state by military means.
Israel maintains a close relationship with Abu Dhabi and an even closer one since the signing of the 2020 Abraham Accords, while Saudi Arabia has refused normalization with Tel Aviv until it recognizes a Palestinian State and adheres to a credible and irreversible path to achieving a Two-State Solution. This Saudi position has been reiterated yet again during the Crown Prince’s November visit to Washington.
