Congratulations on your excellent commemorative issue “Voices of the Century: The World at War” (March 15). This is NEWSWEEK at its best. The terrible stories, told by eyewitnesses, are journalistic pieces of art. I still cannot imagine the horrors of war, but I got a very close idea.
Jenny Garcia Caracas, Venezuela
“Voices of the Century” is a superband breathtaking account. All the credit must go to NEWSWEEK for giving us such a fresh summary of what happened. But we must all realize that such massacres of human beings are not over yet. The threat of war is still present in many countries, and it will take time to convince people who advocate such crimes that this is no longer the solution for power.
B. K. Ashley Hoolash Middlesex, England
I want to thank you for the stories in your commemorative issue. The insights of these witnesses are more valuable and instructive for my generation than any book could ever be. I’m going to keep this issue and read those articles from time to time for myself and to my children and hope that we all will learn from our mistakes of the past.
Rainer Nussbaumer Vocklabruck, Austria
In response to your report “The World at War” I can use only one word: brilliant! Thank you.
Kertin Dick Karlsruhe, Germany
If the reader’s only source of information were NEWSWEEK, one could be led to believe that this century saw nothing but cruel and devastating wars, one after another. Writing about wars is only one perspective that can be applied to history. For an article series that is to highlight this century I find it sad that you turn your eye solely to the sorrowful mistakes of humanity.
Andreas Oller lund, sweden
NEWSWEEK, you omitted the war that opened the century. The Second Boer War (1899-1902), also known as the South African War, is widely recognized by historians as the war that set the wheels in motion to destroy the British Empire. Not only did British soldiers fight in this war but also volunteers from the United States, as well as Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Irish, Germans, Italians, French and Scandinavians (most of them on the side of the Boers). This war will be commemorated from October this year until May 31, 2002, exactly 100 years after the signing of the peace treaty of Vereeniging.
George Claassen Stellenbosch, South Africa
I just finished reading “Voices of the Century.” I was struck by the accounts of so many young people caught up in all the wars through the years. I felt I owed every person a huge debt of gratitude, particularly the young men and women in uniform. They handled such horrendous situations with unbelievable bravery. Nothing has been more powerful in your magazine than these “voices.” Thank you for this series.
Nancy E. Fording Ogunquit, Maine
World War II was the worst era in German history and should not be forgotten. As an 18-year-old German, I have to deal with the past more than other teenagers. Niklas Frank, son of former Nazi governor general of Poland Hans Frank, says that it is “absolutely just” that people associate you with Auschwitz if you go abroad and say you’re German (“Living in the Shadow of His Father’s Sins”). I disagree. When I went abroad, some people greeted me with “Heil Hitler” and associated me with the killings of millions of Jews. I have nothing to do with the Holocaust more than being German.
Jan Zabeil Berlin, Germany
Congratulations on your March 15 special issue. This report gives us the chance to reflect upon the past and the future. We hope that the voices of the new century will be the voices of a world at peace.
Nicolas De Lucia Caracas, Venezuela
With all due respect to the people who fought in the wars and struggles covered in your March 15 issue, I found the scope of the wars discussed to be narrow. We will never forget the accounts of battle and cause for World Wars I and II, and all other wars of specific relevance to the West. But it is also necessary to acknowledge the struggles that have taken place in this century in areas where Europe and the United States were not directly involved. I was pleased to find some coverage of India, Cambodia and Rwanda. But what about the long-lasting and painful war between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the civil wars in Angola and Mozambique? What about the struggles in Iran, Iraq, Western Sahara, Afghanistan, Liberia and Yemen?
Mark Thornton Arusha, Tanzania
The articles in your commemorative issue were brilliantly written. But I could not find a single article dedicated to China’s many internal and external conflicts and losses during World War II, or to Japanese militarism in East Asia. You chose a safe Western perspective. For the Americans, the Pacific warfare started in Pearl Harbor in 1941. But at the moment the battleship Arizona sank to the ocean floor, imperial Japan had already started its aggression in Asia more than half a decade earlier.
William Chiu Hong KongThe Pope in Mexico
As a skeptical bystander, I believe the pope’s visit to Mexico was an unmitigated disaster (“Ever Faithful?” World Affairs, Feb. 1). From bankers to potato-chip mongers, the merchants made a killing on the visit, all in the name of piety. President Ernesto Zedillo’s government skillfully orchestrated the pontiff’s appearances for maximum political advantage, laying waste to one of our most cherished tenets–the separation of state and church. And on top of it all, the pope’s ultraconservative speeches and homilies amounted to a serious setback for the social agenda of women in a country that desperately needs an update on equality, freedom of choice and family planning.
Juan Arturo Brennan Mexico City, Mexico
Silvana Paternostro’s article “‘Are You Not Catholic?’” in which she talks about women’s acts of rebellion within the Roman Catholic Church deeply concerned me. The message of Christ is that his Holy Mother dignified all women. Does Paternostro think that Mother Teresa, an exemplary Catholic woman, was “dependent, ignorant and vulnerable”?
Francisco J. Romano Buenos Aires, ArgentinaMassacre in Uganda
I wish to commend Rod Nordland on his article about the recent massacre in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park (“Terror in the Jungle,” News of the Week, March 15). I found it refreshing to finally come across a report with accurate information about this event. Unlike most of the media coverage, Nordland’s article gave proper consideration not only to the tourist casualties but also to the Ugandan warden and three park rangers killed in the attack. Most media coverage failed to even mention the loss of Ugandan lives. This omission reflects an insidious prejudice in the Western media and in the policy decisions of our governments. It allows us to lavish attention on Kosovo while ignoring similar conflicts in many African nations. It also allowed us to turn a blind eye in 1994, when Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe militias slaughtered hundreds of thousands of their countrymen. As the tragedy in Uganda demonstrates all too well, indifference in the face of suffering will inevitably affect us all.
Thor Hanson Former Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda Burlington, VermontTravel Tips
I fail to understand what your reporters mean when they conclude their article on travel advice with “people think they like Canadians,” as if to imply that if they really knew them, they wouldn’t (“Be Careful Out There,” Business, March 8). Around the world Canada is perceived as a peaceful and harmonious country. Although we Canadians do side with our neighbors and very good friends on many issues, we are different. For instance, we have a different approach toward Cuba: we share the American view that there is a problem, but we address it with diplomacy rather than with embargo. We have recently brokered the Ottawa Convention regarding the elimination of land mines, which was ratified by a great many countries but not the United States, which apparently has security concerns of its own in Korea.
Denis Cloutier Dijon, France
Violence in the United States is higher than in many other places in the world. What is the murder rate in New York City? If you want to learn more about this, just read “NYC Survival Guide.” And Los Angeles is a safe city? The problem in the United States is that violence starts at home, since many Americans own guns. Is it possible that someone forgot to color-code America as “moderate risk” in your map?
Rodrigo Pinto Coelho Salvador, Brazil
As a young Kenyan student in Lesotho, I believe I have a clear picture of the situation in both these countries. Apart from the recent embassy bombing in Kenya and the political standoff in Lesotho, these regions of the world are peaceful and relatively secure. The two incidents have been seen as one-time incidents of lapses in security. Lesotho is a peaceful nation, and the political standoff did not result in any loss of foreign lives. As for Kenya, it derives most of its foreign exchange from tourism, but how many tourists have died there? The attitude Westerners have that the world is their playground shows their disregard for other people.
Ted M’maitsi Roma, Lesotho
Saudi Arabia and the gulf states were classified as moderate-risk countries, while New York, London and Miami were all in the low-risk group. I don’t think any tourist was ever harmed in Saudi Arabia or any of the gulf states. Can the same be said about New York or Miami? Even Egypt, which was classified as high risk, is 10 times safer on its worst day than a walk in the park at night in New York. I know that the Western world has overtaken us in many areas, but as far as safety and security are concerned, you still have a long way to go.
Walid Arabb Hashem Jidda, Saudi Arabia
As someone who has visited 42 of your 50 states, may I say that I find the United States every bit as safe, or dangerous, as South Africa. As in South Africa, there are “bad spots” in American states that you do not visit. America has also been a victim of sporadic terrorist activity. South Africans are, like Americans, tourist-friendly and helpful, and live in a country blessed with incomparable natural beauty. To classify us in the same category as Pakistan, Colombia and Nigeria is bewildering, poorly researched and, frankly, irresponsible.
Tamra Veley Cape Town, South Africa
I was both amused and frustrated when I read your article in which Lesotho was classified as an extreme-risk area. I have been visiting and working in Lesotho, in a tourist-related field, for about nine years now. In all that time I have not heard of any tourist who has been killed or seriously injured here. With one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, the people in Lesotho can hardly afford to lose the tourism industry. It would have been much more constructive to write an article on why and how the events that occurred in September in Lesotho actually took place.
Garrick Deutschmann Malealea, Lesotho
It is my experience that many American tourists are loud, arrogant and disrespectful of the culture and customs of other nationalities. I find it extremely disheartening to think that such people may be roaming the world claiming they are Canadians.
David Clements Lloydminster, CanadaRelieving the Debt
I was pleasantly surprised by U2 vocalist Bono’s comments at the Brit Awards about relieving the poor nations of all their debt (“Is It Payback Time?” Business, March 1). It makes not only economic sense–it is also smart. Starting democracies could spend their money on education, health and infrastructure investments if they weren’t burdened by debt servicing.
Rudolf Steenhuisen Cascais, Portugal
For more than 20 years, Nigerians watched helplessly as Western lenders doled out billions of dollars to our corrupt military leaders who siphoned the money to their foreign bank accounts. The country now pays back more than U.S.$2 billion as debt servicing annually (this accounted for more than 40 percent of the federal budget in 1995). There is not one industry, infrastructure or social amenity that was actually created because of these jumbo loans. May the conscience of the Western world as epitomized by Bono continue to grow. The real freedom for Nigerians and, indeed, for all poor Africans is to be freed from the dubious debt of our recent past.
Abubakar Suleiman Lagos, NigeriaRussia at the Crossroads
Thank you for your thoughtful story on Russia’s August economic breakdown (“Summer of Discontent,” Europe, Jan. 18). It’s true that Russia’s incompetence caused the problem. But so did the International Monetary Fund, along with strategic mistakes made by Western advisers. The relative stability Russia experienced the last few years was artificial: industry was shrinking, unemployment soaring and tax collection decreasing. What Russia needed was continued Western support instead of the sporadic monetary injections of the IMF. Russia is now at the crossroads: disenchanted with the capitalist experiment, people are tempted to slide back to the good old times of an authoritarian regime. Only a proposal of a new Marshall Plan, with stringent reform supervision and considerable Western investments, can put Russia back on the right track.
Ilya Trifonov Samara, Russia
