Readers' corner
Listen to others
Sir -- I hope the Farouk Hosni issue will be discussed in a civilised manner ('Wars of the roses' Al-Ahram Weekly 23-29 November). We need to learn how to disagree but with respect to other opinions. If we want others to respect our views, we have to respect theirs, too. I hope that the leaders in Egypt, whether elected or not, will be responsible at this time and put aside their own agendas and look only to the future of Egypt. This is a wonderful chance to discuss a hot issue, but at the same time to learn to listen to those who may have different views from ours. And, I think this can be a defining moment in Egyptian history and in assuring freedom to all Egyptians. If we ask this minister to leave his position because of what he said, this will be a gross mistake and the next generation will suffer the most from such behaviour.
Adel Malek
Washington
USA
We can do it
Sir -- This was a beautifully written piece ('Women under attack' Al-Ahram Weekly 16-22 November). Please keep printing and Mr Salama, writing articles, such as this one. As an Egyptian woman who has never lived in Egypt, I have never been made to feel like a "female" (and not in a positive light) until I visited Egypt two years ago. I have tried to fight back, but to no avail. The only thing I continued to do was walk the streets of Cairo and Alex, and tried not to rely on a car or a taxi. Sadly, it is a tough battle, but I believe the strong women of Egypt -- and every single one of them is strong -- can fight and win. We need to be able to reclaim our streets, the same way our men do. Again, thank you for writing such a beautiful piece. It was passed around my university listserv in Canada.
Lin Nadar
Toronto
Canada
Risky to write?
Sir -- Is Mr Salama taking a risk by being outspoken and critical of the government? Being abroad for many years, I can't get a feel of what is acceptable and what is not. For example, the recent imprisonment of some bloggers who were also critical of the present authorities.
Sam Riordan
Calgary
Canada
Quick to destroy
Sir -- The human capacity for destruction is immense from petty vandalism to war ('Fear factor' Al-Ahram Weekly 16-22 November). We rush so eagerly to violence and revenge. Logic would seem to suggest an immediate three- month moratorium on any form of force employed from Israel or Palestine. Yet the culture of violence now seems so embedded and the extremist view that life in this world does not matter that it is hard to imagine Hizbullah or other groups staying their hand. From the vantage point of Australia it is hard to imagine Palestinians being able to accommodate a serious truce. Israel claims the right to retaliate and so it goes. I pity the moderate Muslims who wish to live in peace and whose lives are increasingly diminished by the reaction of non-Muslims to Jihadist groups.
Harry Martin
Townsville
Australia
Far from that day
Sir -- I would like to salute Azmi Bishara who attains the respect of foes and friends alike ('Realities of death' Al-Ahram Weekly 16-22 November). In terms of the subject of the article, the relative value of life and death, I have to say that I can only think of it in two realms of philosophical thought. Morality and norms of moral conduct have been a central piece of philosophical debate since the inception of philosophy. The main question I think is who and what determines the norms of moral conduct, and whether a reasonable consensus among the pundits, elites and ultimately the masses could be reached. I don't foresee such a question will ever be settled, so the value of life and death will always be a function of the privileged vs unprivileged context and other circumstantial variables.
The other venue of thought to address this question is to keep it completely within the sociological context and ask what environmental variables determine the hierarchical value of a human life. I think two factors stand out. Socio-political and socio-economic variables will overwhelm any other in such an equation. I wish there comes a day when everyone's life is valued the same but homo sapiens are still very far from it.
Suliman Rashid
New Jersey
USA
Not a puppet
Sir -- 'The puppet's last dance' ( Al-Ahram Weekly 16-22 November) goes against common sense. Will a puppet allow his sons and grandsons to be killed? Will a puppet refuse to leave Iraq for a haven before the invasion? These are not the acts of puppets. Nobody is able until now to find secret accounts, palaces and resorts outside Iraq in the name of Saddam Hussein or his family. Even inside Iraq, the palaces which US propaganda gave us headaches about before the invasion were registered as state property and not Saddam's private property.
Buthaina Al-Nasiri
Baghdad
Iraq
Opera woes
Sir -- Last Friday, my three-year-old daughter, friends with their seven-year-old daughter and me headed to the Cairo Opera House for the Harry Potter ballet.
All five of us entered the Opera House full of expectations. Unfortunately, many of our expectations were not met.
The atmosphere in the hall was deplorable -- noisy children, shouting adults, and not any kind of introduction to the programme. After 30 minutes of (although acceptable) classical music presented by a youth orchestra, we started to wonder whether we were in fact in the show we had planned to attend. We did believe -- according to newspaper ads and the information received at the ticketing office -- that we were to see a Harry Potter ballet.
I decided to venture out and ask somebody responsible. First I was told that there had been a last-minute change in the programme, that the day before there had been a Harry Potter ballet. Only minutes later I discovered a neatly printed programme, informing me that the show was in fact called Wizard Harry and the Snow Queen. After the intermission, we would see the ballet. So far so good.
The music in the first part was nice, but 45 minutes of classical music for three-year-olds is a challenge. It is also no fun to listen to music to a background of a cheering, talking and screaming audience.
There was no intermission at all, but 2.5 hours of the programme, more or less non-stop, in a performance open to children from three years of age. No proper intermission to give us a chance to go to the washroom, have something to eat and drink. Everybody just went in and out as they needed and wanted, contributing to the distracting level of noise and movement in the hall. The only break was about 10 minutes in darkness, while the stage was being prepared for the ballet after the orchestra had left the stage. After that "intermission" as announced in the programme, there was no bell to tell us we should return to our seats. All of a sudden the curtain opened and the ballet started.
Once the ballet was on, the crowd was obviously more fascinated with what was happening on stage and thus turned more quiet, at last.
Despite the unpleasant conditions -- which I am convinced can be improved if such events are properly managed -- I wish to attend many other enjoyable performances for children at the Cairo Opera House. The afternoon shows are one formidable way to introduce our little ones to the pleasures of the performing arts, and they are dearly needed in Cairo.
Ulrike von Rocker
Cairo
Egypt
Only in Hollywood
Sir -- With respect to your article about the movie Borat ('When they cry wolf' Al-Ahram Weekly 16-22 November) and portraying Muslims in a bad light, there is no doubt that Sacha (Alexander) Baron Cohen, also known as Borat, is a man of disrepute. He is incredibly crude and vulgar. To cite just one example of many, in the Romanian village that he filmed, which he portrayed as being part of Kazakhstan, he told the destitute villagers that he was making a video about their struggles. Not speaking much English, the villager had no idea what he was saying, such as the lady whom he called his sister, the prostitute. He paid these innocent villagers about $2 each, and made them look extremely bad, with the innocent lady far from being the worst case. Still, I think you're entirely missing why so many Americans found the movie amusing: it was not because of his portrayal of Kazakhs but, rather, his parody of Jews, which only a Jew like himself could get away with making in Hollywood.
Mark Farrell
Ohio
USA
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