THINKING GLOBALLY

Diverse international reaction to last week’s bombings

By Amrita Narayanan Bruce

The tragic destruction we have witnessed in the past week has affected millions of Americans directly or indirectly. As international leaders offer or voice support, it has become evident that people worldwide, even those not personally affected or politically involved, have been touched by last week’s bombings. From Calcutta to Cairo there has been an outpouring of public opinion, and here at the Phoenix we thought it would be germane for Portlanders to hear the voices of their international counterparts from some of the letters we received.

“Everyone was shell-shocked,” wrote my father Narayanan, (52) a businessman in Chennai, India, a day after the bombings. “The popular belief in India is that the USA under Bush will act with a mighty show of force on the civilian population in Afghanistan without heed to lives,” he adds.

“The US has an opportunity to revenge to the offenders,” writes Fumito Kaneko, who works in Tokyo “our expectation is that [the attacks] will lead to war.” Another letter from Satoshi Minami, in Yokohama, Japan says: “The Japanese Prime Minister expressed that we would support American revenge. But some people think we have to avoid supporting it. They think Japan has to express itself in its own way and . . . make [an] effort for world peace.” Minami says there are a significant number of Japanese who favor disarmament and a non-violent, negotiations-based approach to the issue.

The degree of international support for what Minami calls “American revenge” might very well depend in part upon the media representation of the events. The American media has loaded up on images of the World Trade Center crumbling and it is not hard to imagine that repeated screenings of this symbol of American capitalism might prompt anger in viewers. “The broadcasts in Japan seem like the totally same as yours because our medias are relying on the US news sources, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN,” reports Kaneko.

On the other hand, countries that received non-US broadcasts focused less on the crumbling icon of Americana and more on the loss of lives. “They showed a picture in the papers the next day of people jumping to their deaths rather than burning,” writes Tracey Jarvis from England sadly. “One couple were holding hands as they jumped. I must admit I spent quite a bit of time in tears at the thought of all those lost lives and the families of the people who lost loved ones and are still not sure whether they are alive or not,” she adds.

“While Bush does not bring about nice feelings, people agree that the event is tragic. It brings tears to the eyes,” writes Narayanan, commenting on the heavy images of dead bodies and jumpings aired on Indian television screens.

India is a special case because they share a border with Pakistan, who has offered their country as a base of military operations to the United States. Many Indians share the concern of Karan Chadda, a Bombay native who, though saddened at the events, feels sure that “Pakistan will leverage their geographic position to ask the US to pressure India into a discussion on the regionally disputed territory of Kashmir.” This fear of international (read US) intervention in local affairs might contribute to the mixed bag of feelings in India — hostility towards Bush’s war-speak on one hand and compassion and sadness for the American losses on the other.

The media has made people mad or sad — and in some countries it seems, glad. “In front of the American cameras they [the anti-American Islamic population in Malaysia] say they’re sorry. When they’re alone they’re rejoicing,” says Saraswathy Samarasan (63) who lives in Malaysia. Samarasan says local media has dwelt on images of celebrating locals. About 50 percent of Malaysia’s population is Muslim and the official religion of the country is Islam. “The Malaysian government is nowhere near as extreme in its disapproval of America and American culture as many Middle-Eastern countries,” writes Saraswathy’s daughter Preeta Samarasan (27). ”Nevertheless, American films, music, etc. are heavily censored before being allowed to enter the country, and relations with America have gotten more and more strained in the past decade.”

Preeta Samarasan, who lives in the United States, says she was shocked when “I called home the night after it happened and my sister-in-law said, ‘When Muslims do it, everyone is up in arms; when the Jews kill innocent civilians, America gives them more and more support.’ ” Since the attacks, Saraswathy has urged her Malaysian born daughter and her American son-in-law to cancel their proposed December trip to Malaysia insisting that in her opinion the country is “not safe for Americans.”

As the initial images of the destruction and terror gradually slow down, how will this event continue to affect the world? “Although on the surface things in Cairo seem to be quite stable, little things are giving the real situation away,” wrote Karian Zidan (26) from Egypt early this week. “Hotels and embassies have tightened security to an extent that’s making people very nervous. All foreign entities were closed last week (including schools, universities and international aid offices) . . . the magnitude of this on the economy is frightening.”

Zidan offers: “A very tiny personal example: my husband has an e-travel business. We can kiss that goodbye for a while. I can’t see too many people wanting to plan a trip to the Middle-East after this.”

And Zidan is not the only one that is concerned for her regional economy. “These are dog days ahead, and the economy will suffer,” says Narayanan grimly. “Can any sane person go on mindlessly shopping in the current context?”

—Amrita Narayanan Bruce