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Egyptian riddles

Natural History, July-August, 2004 by Susan Addelston, Michael W. Steinberg, Bruce Rosen

Mary Knight ("Egypt's Young and Restless," 5/04) fails to mention in her bland article that Egypt gets $2 billion a year in aid from the United States. Where has that money gone? To a bloated military and security apparatus that enforces the authoritarian rule of an aged president who certainly does not provide computer services, or much else, to his population. Information is power, and Hosni Mubarak is not a sharer by any means.

Egypt has runaway population growth, Cairo is a heavily polluted city, the country's wildlife is vanishing, the irrigated areas are shrinking owing to increasing salinity of the soil (because the Nile's flow is now restricted by the unfortunate Aswan Dam). Ms. Knight barely scratched the surface of a nation with a glorious past and a most uncertain future.

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Susan Addelston

New York, New York

Although Mary Knight's depiction of poverty and despair in Egypt certainly rang true, I was astounded by her breezy endorsement of the al-Jazeera satellite TV channel. Al-Jazeera has repeatedly been criticized for its inflammatory anti-Western, anti-Israel programming. Many American leaders have condemned al-Jazeera for inciting Arabs to hatred and violence. Yet Ms. Knight calls al-Jazeera a "source of optimism" that "helps release some of the frustration felt by Egyptian youth." Better yet, she says, "it affirms their identity as young, strong, and Arab."

You owe your readers an apology for allowing Ms. Knight to disguise her own political views as neutral reporting on modern Egypt.

Michael W. Steinberq

Bethesda, Maryland

As brief as it was, Ms. Knight's piece enlightened me, and I was pleased to find some positive views, including her discussion of an Islamic school that does not engage in rote learning, and her report on the somewhat positive plight of women, at least in Egypt's big cities.

Bruce Rosen

New York, New York

MARY KNIGHT REPLIES: I don't think Natural History is the proper forum in which to argue the failures or successes of U.S. aid to the Middle East. But apart from the political issues, Susan Addelston points to several serious problems Egypt faces.

Overpopulation is crippling the nation's economy and threatening its human habitat. But what do young Egyptians--the ones who most have to face the consequences of overpopulation--have to say about it? When I asked married women who had at least one child about their views on contraception, they almost universally regarded it as a godsend; overall, though, remarkably few young Egyptians are willing to think about family planning. Nevertheless, behavior patterns tell an important story: Young men are resigned to late marriage, when they will have saved up enough money; women postpone marriage while getting more education and entering the workforce in ever greater numbers. As a result, in recent years population growth has in fact slowed dramatically.

Pollution is another grave threat to the health and future of the populace, as Ms. Addelston notes. Unfortunately, space prevented me from including information about the work of several small NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are addressing these and similar problems, nor could I discuss grassroots educational efforts in the "popular" (poor) districts.

I did not endorse (or repudiate) al-Jazeera. Contrary to what Michael W. Steinberg suggests, the television channel often presents opposing points of view, and American and even Israeli positions are aired. What I am endorsing is the response I have noted among young people who view al-Jazeera programming. Some love it, some hate it, some even think the U.S. controls it. But, significantly, it's getting them to think about politics. Egyptian leaders appear on al-Jazeera, but in contrast to the way they are treated on state-run media, they face hard questions from which the camera offers no escape. Granted, talking about politics cannot be equated with democracy, but it's a start.

Egyptian riddles

Natural History, July-August, 2004 by Susan Addelston, Michael W. Steinberg, Bruce Rosen

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