Al-Ahram Weekly

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 December 2000 Issue No.513
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Curse not the darkness

Sir- In reply to Hani Shukrallah's question, "What is to be done -- now?" (Al-Ahram Weekly, 30 November - 6 December) I'd like to suggest to him and to all those who can read: For heaven's sake, read Edward Said's three part-essay on Zionism in America, published in this pearl of Arab journalism, Al-Ahram Weekly.
Please do not curse the darkness: light a candle, conduct teach-ins, promote democracy at home and BUY NO ARMS from the US!
Khalil Semaan
Boston University/ State University of New York
US

Freedom for some

Sir- I signed a letter over six weeks ago that expressed my concern with US policy in the Middle East. This letter urged the US to condemn Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, demanded action to secure the safety of Palestinians in their land, called for a withdrawal of Israeli troops in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and called upon the US to fulfil its role as an honest broker. Yet more death and destruction persist.
As a taxpayer, I am against my tax dollars supporting Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. As an American living in the Middle East, I must bear the hypocrisy of US government policy. The failure to support human rights for all peoples, which is the backbone of our constitution, is most distressing and damages the credibility of our democracy.
Do we promote human rights for some and wear blinders for others? Is freedom allowed for the people we choose to have freedom? The chasm is wide and deep.
The government policy of the US reflects a one-sided approach to the Israeli atrocities that occur daily against Palestinians. This is not what American stands for. What are the other reasons for the US to support Israel? Questions such as these become more evident to all and reveal the disparity between US philosophy and US actions.
Lesley Lababidi
Maadi

Native hospitality

Sir- Thank you very much for Fatemah Farag's report "Provincial attraction," about the Minya trip (Al-Ahram Weekly, 7-13 December).
As I am living abroad, your travel reports are most essential for me, informative and offer possibilities for imaginary travel. But at the end of the Minya story, you mentioned something that makes me think and fume. You say "... people were friendly and helpful, even though most of them thought we were foreigners..." What does it mean?
Whatever you mean with that, it reminds me of some very painful experiences and observations in Egypt, contradictions in the attitudes towards tourists... Sometimes you are treated in a very friendly way, sometime they give you the feeling, you are just mud.
I think it is very sad that a difference should be made, whether you are a foreigner or a native Egyptian. Why should Egyptians be treated better than foreigners? Are Egyptians better human beings than other nationalities? I ask this although I love them and Egypt is my second home.
When we travel, we all are guests in foreign communities and regions. We all spend our hard earned money, from which some enterprises are making quite a good profit and families gaining their income. Isn't it just fair that we all are treated with the same respect and hospitality? Provided that tourists also behave like guests and not like hoodlums, of course!
I think tourism is one of the best challenges for learning about each other, and perhaps also for learning from each other, to respect each other. But perhaps I am a dreamer.
Roswitha Baroud
Vienna
Austria

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg