The Adventure of Travel
At last an issue I’ve been waiting for since September 11. After your persistent focus on politics, I enjoyed your July 22/July 29, 2002, double issue tremendously–especially the sections on health, science and the cover story on tourism and travel. Ewa Schlunssen Naestved, Denmark
Your cover story on world tourism and travel (“The Future of Travel,” July 22/July 29) strikes a dynamic and creative tension between the awesome responsibility of environmental stewardship and the pressing demands of tourism and economic development, which can be so powerful in severing the bonds of poverty in the developing world. In a balanced manner, you elucidated the growing emergence of travel and communication across divides of race, ethnicity, culture and belief. Thanks for a geojournalistic survey that is well done, tasteful and an important contribution to the global village at the dawn of the 21st century. Dave Morse Yokohama, Japan
I was interested to read in your report “Too Good to Be True” that Western tourists to Burma are worried that their money might help sustain the repressive regime there. But many Westerners seem to have no qualms about visiting China and helping its far more repressive communist regime. The issue of human-rights violations in Burma is certainly a serious one and the international community must do something to stop such violations. But I often wonder why the Western media focus so much attention on Aung San Suu Kyi’s Burma and so little on China’s human-rights violations, especially in Tibet. Perhaps the lure of China’s vast potential markets is too great to resist. Tetsuo Aoki Yokosuka, Japan
Thank you for a great travel special issue. It was very informative and interesting, especially because I’ve been to Burma twice and will go again soon. Great people, ancient ruins, interesting culture and beautiful countryside all make Burma very appealing. Traveling in the country was hassle-free and I had fun with the locals. As for whether we should go there or not, sure one feels some guilt in supporting the military rulers by going there. But if we should not go there because of Burma’s human-rights record, what about China, which executes many people every year? Or the Philippines, which has more than 20,000 children in jail–many of them under 10 years old? Several other countries violate human rights in many different ways. The West sees the business opportunity with China, which has a population of 1.3 billion people and it closes its eyes. We welcome China in the WTO and international business people might even say, “At least we’re not doing business with the military junta in Burma.” But I don’t believe that isolation is the right way. Hopefully, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi will bring out the right elements for a better future for Burma and its people. Dennis Thern Stockholm, Sweden
A tourist just left a copy of NEWSWEEK at my Shangri-La Beach Cottages so I read your cover story on safe and untouched places for travelers to go. The Cook Islands must be one of those places. We can’t even buy NEWSWEEK here! Elliot Smith Rarotonga, Cook Islands
India is absent from your special issue on tourism. Are you taking the U.S. government’s travel warning so seriously that you have withdrawn your correspondent from India? Vinayak V. Sathe Goa, India
I think “ecotourism” has become a new buzzword for tourist promotion. It is clear from your articles that being an “ecology tourist” is more of an attitude than a destination. One can be protective of local birds, animals and plant life in one’s own community, or one can foul the streams, toss out plastic and aluminum containers and cut down trees for a campsite in an exotic “ecotourist” location in the Third World. The bottom line? A tourist (or tourism developer) can be responsible or irresponsible. Dan Norvell via internet
In “Invasion of the Ninjas,” you stated, “Middle Easterners–known playfully as ’ninjas’ for the women’s black burqas and veils…” Would you run such “playful” statements about blacks or Jews? This was a racist statement under the guise of humor. I found it insulting and degrading. Mishal Kanoo Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Space Adventures Ltd. deserves more credit than it received in your article “Reaching the Final Frontier.” Your readers should know that Space Adventures was responsible for the successful bids of both space tourists Mark Shuttleworth and Dennis Tito on their flights to the International Space Station. Eric Anderson, President and CEO Space Adventures Ltd. Arlington, Virginia
I travel often, both for business and pleasure, so I enjoyed “The Future of Travel.” However, the label “Where Muslims Go on Vacation” on the cover picture makes about as much sense as “Where blonds go on vacation.” There is a fine line between giving non-Muslim readers a better understanding of Islam and presenting Muslims as a bulk group with specific Islamic preferences. Tourists of all religions flock to Istanbul not only because it is “Muslim Lite” (to quote your words) but because it is tourist-friendly, diverse, affordable and historically rich. Ahu Latifoglu Istanbul, Turkey
As a Fulbright Scholar researching the impacts of ecotourism in Morocco’s Toubkal National Park, I was intrigued by and disappointed in your story on the issues surrounding ecotourism in the “lesser-developed nations.” You failed to mention those who are most affected–the local communities. You note that before the U.N. conference on ecotourism in Quebec, “community representatives complained about being left out of the planning process.” Yet your story highlights the fact that as local resources are being depleted, local bitterness and resentment are growing. Community participation is crucial but it’s been lacking in development efforts in the past 50 years. Ecotourism development is no exception and with trends still being discovered, it’s not too late to start listening. Laura Burnham Marrakech, Morocco
Mecca’s Fiery Horror
I was appalled to read your story about the fire at School No. 31 in Mecca (“The Fire That Won’t Die Out,” World Affairs, July 22/July 29). I can’t believe that anyone, even Islamist vigilantes like the muttawa, can be narrow-minded enough to act in such a disgustingly discriminatory manner in the face of a real fire. It is horrific that 15 innocent young girls perished in “the holiest city in Islam” due to sheer pigheadedness on the part of the muttawa. The latter seem to have lost all reason in their attempt to protect the “morals” of Islam: God forbid these teenage girls should be seen with their heads uncovered even in the face of certain death. It is unthinkable that in today’s developing world, women can still legally be treated so unfairly. Congratulations on a very well-written article. Ruwani Ebell Nawala, Sri Lanka
The tragedy in the girls’ school in Mecca is yet another example of how religious leaders fail to attach importance to the essential core of Islam or to reason and sanity. The Qur’an’s view of proper behavior is based on tolerance, largeheartedness and human fellowship. But clerical interpretations of our so-called traditions are at total odds with what the Qur’an actually says. Let us hope that the tragedy in the Mecca school will not have been in vain and that change is around the corner in Saudi Arabia. Anwar Abbas Karachi, Pakistan
The fire that caused 15 innocent girls to die and more than 40 to be injured, simply because merciless muttawa kept civil-defense workers out of the school building by locking the doors, will certainly not die out. These muttawa, who belong to the officially sanctioned Society for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and who enforce both the covering of women’s heads and the strict separation of the sexes, will, I’m sure, themselves burn in the flames of hell for roasting these innocent children alive. M. Saleem Chaudhry Karachi, Pakistan
This tragic fire has become a small, if slow, catalyst for change in Saudi Arabia. The government recognizes the need to modernize its education system. It launched an ambitious program last year to spend nearly $7 billion to build 8,000 new schools. But chronic budget limitations and the exploding population have created difficulties and forced the Education Ministry to forgo new building in favor of leasing schools. More than half the 27,000 schools here are in leased facilities not designed as schools. They lack basic safety measures such as fire escapes and fire-control systems. Last April a license was granted to DSM Financial Services of New York to finance the $3 billion to build 3,000 schools by issuing government bonds. This project will dramatically improve education for Saudi citizens. The Saudi government is investing to change its negative image, and this project is a more potent symbol of change than any advertising campaign can ever be. It will benefit millions of Saudis whose education will leave them less susceptible to the fabrications spread by bogus heroes. Robert E. Dowd, President and CEO DSM Financial Services via internet
Rethinking Hormone Therapy
At 75, I don’t say this lightly: you can take away my chocolate (a near addiction) before you’ll get me to give up my estrogen (“The End of the Age of Estrogen?” July 22/July 29). I started hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) 43 years ago after a hysterectomy. My general health is good, and I plan to keep it that way. I’ve witnessed the promotion and then demotion of medications, therapies, foods and diets over several decades, so I’m cynical. And having been subject to misdiagnoses, I now decide which medications I’ll take after a careful perusal of possible side effects. Mary Lou McLoughlin Guilford, Connecticut
As a physician and founder of a pharmacy that compounds natural hormones, I’d like to add to your comprehensive article on the hormone quandary. I have been using natural hormones in my practice and personally for more than seven years, and have found them to be most effective at treating the symptoms of menopause and other hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, the articles don’t discuss natural hormones that are without side effects. Hormones are created naturally by our bodies, keep us young and help prevent illness. Hormones derived from plants are the closest thing to our own hormones. Studies ought to be done on natural hormones, because women needn’t suffer through what should be the best time of their lives. Erika T. Schwartz, M.D. Hawthorne, New York
I am one of the thousands of participants in the Women’s Health Initiative’s study on hormone-replacement therapy. More significantly, I am one of the less than one half of 1 percent of otherwise healthy women to suffer a stroke because I was probably taking Prempro as opposed to a placebo. I say “probably” because the double-blind disbursement of hormone and placebo is so rigorously observed that I have no formal confirmation of what I was given. Nonetheless, my body always felt that I had the real stuff. Fortunately, I recovered completely from a very slight stroke attributed, by process of elimination, to the study pills. The study accomplished what it was supposed to: while demonstrating the challenges and risks involved in HRT, it gives women information from which to make reasoned choices. Harriett Burt Martinez, California
Claudia Kalb quotes a herbalist who promotes the “menopause is a natural event” approach to this aspect of women’s health (“What’s a Woman to Do?”). Death and disease are also natural events, yet advances in medical science have resulted in our living longer and healthier lives. Telling a woman who is suffering from disabling menopausal symptoms to quit hormone therapy because menopause is a natural event would be grossly negligent. Despite the recently released trial data, we should remember that the risk of a hormone-induced adverse effect is quite remote. Of course, the dose and duration of hormone therapy should be closely monitored, but this is consistent with the tried-and-true medical paradigm: use any medication at the lowest effective dose for the shortest requisite duration. Gilbert Ross, M.D. New York, New York
Perhaps the real story here lies in the fact that profitable, patented versions of hormones like Premarin and Prempro have been marketed and prescribed to millions, while bioidentical hormones, which are readily available in nature and therefore not patentable or substantially profitable, are equally, if not more, effective. Janet Jayne Bristol, Virginia
If men went through something approaching menopause, there would have been a safe and reliable treatment ages ago. Helen Madden Lewis Branchburg, New Jersey
When are we going to become better consumers, do the research ourselves and stop believing everything doctors and advertisers tell us? There were plenty of professionals yelling “foul” over hormone-replacement therapy from the beginning. I personally know dozens of women, including myself, who staved off their doctors’ insistence to take hormones during peri-menopause and menopause, and opted for a more natural remedy instead: natural progesterone cream applied correctly, weight-bearing exercise and a healthy diet. Unfortunately, we have become a culture that is unwilling to work hard to fix its problems. It is, after all, a lot easier for us to pop a pill. Pharmaceutical companies are aware of this and are all too willing to take advantage of it. Elizabeth Estey Thomson, Georgia
You refer to Arnold Lorand as a “Czechoslovakian” physician. That’s an anachronism. Czechoslovakia was created after World War I as a result of the Versailles peace treaty. Thus, in 1910, Lorand could have been either a Czech or a Slovak. But, before 1919, he could not have been Czechoslovak. Geza Korda Budapest, Hungary
Who Humiliated Powell?
In his column “Colin Powell’s Humiliation” (World View, April 29), Fareed Zakaria missed an important point. If Secretary Powell was humiliated during his trip to the Middle East, it was at the hands of Yasir Arafat. Everyone who followed the events should have noticed the total absence of any joint statement by Arafat and Powell. They also should have noticed that the Palestinians have failed to take any action against terrorism. But Powell is in good company: every world leader who has called upon Arafat to stop supporting violence has received similar treatment. It is Arafat and his corrupt administration that are the obstacles to peace. They continue to preach hatred and encourage murder. Aryeh Wetherhorn Elazar, Israel
Fareed Zakaria’s column should have been titled “Erosion of American Credibility Around the World.” A bitter internal conflict–be it among family members, directors of a company, leaders of a social or religious group or members of a political administration–can only play havoc with the health, productivity and effectiveness of the related institution. To avoid repeating the bad history of the Carter years, it is imperative for President Bush to back the most enlightened member of his team, Colin Powell, to sort out the mess and confusion that could result in the further dilution of America’s image as the sole superpower of today. Saleem Chaudhry Karachi, Pakistan
The spectacle of Colin Powell’s humiliation was a devastating obloquy for U.S. credibility. I wonder how Powell could possibly put up with those who believe in the “man of peace,” Ariel Sharon. How can European leaders maintain their incomprehensible silence? Enough is enough. Martin Lingner Stuttgart, Germany
