[Leica] Re: A fascinating video

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Feb 17, 2009, at 1:43 PM, Spencer wrote:

> I went to Pakistan about 10 years ago with a British cycling group to
> ride the Karakoram Highway - one of the great cycling route in the
> world, incredibly harsh and beautiful. This was just after the atom
> bomb testing so Pakistan was not America's favourite country. Our
> group consisted of mostly Brits, 2 Canadians and one American woman.
>
> She was quite worried about possible anti-American feelings and tried
> to minimize her citizenship as much as possible. A few days into the
> ride, she had to get on public bus along with about 10 others due to a
> car accdient. She ended in the back of the bus amongst a bunch of
> Pakistani men (it was very crowded otherwise she would have been
> seated in the front). When they found out she is an American, they
> started telling her about how they wanted their nation to be strong
> just like the USA and how they like Americans and that is why they
> want Pakistan to have the A-bomb. She was very pleased to learn that
> there is a difference between how American foreign policy is viewed
> and how individuals like her are treated.

Not really so strange. A couple of decades ago I was a visiting  
professor at the University of Delhi. India was a Russian client at  
the time and Pakistan a US client. There was significant anti- 
American feeling in India, even among university circles. This  
despite the fact that most students wanted to get American graduate  
school scholarships, and most graduating MDs wanted to emigrate to  
the USA. Everywhere we went we got asked why we were giving so much  
aid to their hated enemy Pakistan. We personally were treated quite  
well but most of our contacts wanted to make their feelings known.

Then we went on a vacation to Kashmir. We stayed on a houseboat in  
Lake Dal, actually the same houseboat that Theodore Roosevelt lived  
on during his brief visit to the area. The owner was a dedicated  
separatist and wanted to free Kashmir from Indian domination. Every  
time he greeted us he said "Thank God you are giving aid to our good  
friends the Pakistanis and not to those evil Indians."

Interestingly, on a recent visit, the sentiments were just reversed.  
I guess it depends on which direction the aid and opportunities flow.

Larry Z