RE: Fwd: RC: Terrorism

["Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <maryanne@ratbusters.net>]

I also live in a predominantly Arab neighbourhood which is currently filled
with Egyptian police to "protect" the foreigners...but from what? That I
haven't figured out, except that the Egyptian government would rather be
safe than sorry. The American school is open and one of the teachers there
that has been riding with us in the desert a lot (has a LOVELY baladi Arab
mare) called me today about a 40 km ride that the Egyptian Equestrian
Federation is sponsoring on Saturday. She wanted to know if I thought it was
a good idea to do the ride. "Sure, why not? Your mare can handle it, though
I bet you get tired" No, it turns out that she's been told it could be
dangerous by some of the other teachers. Well, it's bloody dangerous to
cross the streets in Cairo and I don't advise taking a swim in a canal, but
I wasn't aware of any other danger, so I asked her. Had she actually heard
of anyone being threatened, harassed or harmed? After thinking for a few
minutes, she had to admit that no, she hadn't heard anything at all. So
she's going to ride on Saturday and will probably have a good time and be
exhausted at school on Sunday. (Her horse may be fit, but she isn't wildly.
<G>)  It's interesting to note that although it is truly impossible for most
people to tell the difference between Canadians and Americans, the Canadian
embassy has issued no warnings of possible violence and has done nothing to
inspire fear in Canadians living in Egypt. I know because I'm one of the
people who would be responsible for communicating such things to Canadians
in my area. Fear is a terrible thing and is often hard to distinguish from
anger...actually they tend to go together a lot.  Awful things happen to
people who don't deserve it...they happen all the time, sometimes to small
groups, sometimes to large. It's never easy to get over, but you have to.
Life doesn't stop for grief and if you give yourself over to anger about it
or lose yourself in grief, you lose life. Believe me. I know.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
Cairo, Egypt
maryanne@ratbusters.net
www.ratbusters.net




Here in my city, a mosque was firebombed.  While people were in it.
Here in my city, a PERSONAL FRIEND was spit upon and so was I for
accompanying her to a grocery store.  This friend is Chaldean.  But she
is Arab.  We were threatened.  I am thankful nothing further happened.
I live in a predominantly Arab neighborhood.  I have never, until now,
seen a police presence in it.  I see patrol cars every hour now, and I
am thankful for them.

Elsewhere in this great country of ours, a Sikh Indian was killed.
Because he wore a turban.  People are getting beaten, and killed,
because of nothing more than the color of their skin or their dress.
What does that make us?  Any better than Bin Laden?  Not in my book.

Yes, ask for justice.  Yes, demand that those responsible are held
accountable.  But you must keep a clear head about it.  Don't let this
megalomaniac make us any less then we are.  Don't let him/them diminish
us.  We, as a nation, are bigger than that.

Maria

PS - Hi Heidi!  I took your advice and joined this list and I think
it's wonderful!