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February 03, 2006

PLANET MORONIA: Life is Cheap, Racism Costly

Egypt refuses help by Israeli rescuers in search for ferry survivors

 

Egytian Red Sea dimplomacy with Israel: 0 for 2. Ferry survivors outraged rescue took so long, detail negligence; 324 out of 1400 survived, according to Fox News.

 

Israel offered to help with the rescues, but Egypt rejected the assistance, leaving victims stuck in the chilly waters for nearly 24 hours.

 

Fox News and the AP also left us to wonder if the folks quoted below might have been interested in a quicker rescue even if it were undertaken with modern rescue boats and helicopters rather than sailboats. Who knows, maybe it might have fostered some good will between Israel and Egypt, which of course we can’t allow.

 

"They left us in the water for 24 hours. A helicopter came above us and circled, we would signal and they ignored us," one man shouted. "Our lives are the cheapest in the world," another said.

 

"This is a dirty government, may God burn their hearts as they burned mine," one woman wailed, slapping her face in grief. "I want my brother. I have no one else in this life."

 

Apparently, it turns out that Egypt was worried about more casualties from any Israeli assistance, in fact:

 

Egypt’s foreign minister was quoted as saying, “the last time we let the Israelis near the Red Sea it was a disaster. Every time they get near it, the waters part and more of our people die. Right now we have 300 survivors, which will end up being about 220 after we stone the women who showed their faces while escaping the sinking ferry. But that’s still 220 more than zero, so I think we’re doing alright, thanks be to Allah.” *

 

Actually, to be fair, Egypt also rejected help from Britain and the US, so it really could have simply been about not wanting some first-world country to come in and make them look bad. 

 

One truly has to feel sorry for the ordinary Egyptian.

 

UPDATE:

 

It’s interesting to note that so many are screaming racism about the recent spate of political satire cartoons making their rounds in Europe (cartoons, which are comparatively tame when considering the anti-Christian satire one sees – or especially the anti-Semitic, around the world), while very few outlets are reporting on real racism – the racism that takes lives willingly to sacrifice its own people to spite another. Whether it be the racism of the Red Sea, or the racism which has cost so many lives in Africa and other places both exploited and neglected, the battle between symbolism and substance continues.

 

 

 

*Or maybe not, but it was one of only two ideas that came close to logic I could come up with for leaving hundreds stranded at sea.

 

Posted by Martin at February 3, 2006 11:03 PM

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