A horrible earthquake, SARS, and ‘Mad Cow’ disease

The most terrible, at times incurable disease, if you ask me is religious fanaticism. It’s what got Jesus nailed to the cross on calvary, ending in Jerusalem the 33-year journey of the Holy Infant born in Bethlehem. (In modern-day travel time. Bethlehem is just a 15-minute drive away from Jerusalem, but to the Israelis in the ancient Jebusite capital and the Palestinian Arabs in nearby Bethlehem the two places are a world of enmity away).

Religious hatred, or, at the very least an distrust, reared its head once more, even as an earthquake-shocked Iran struggled, in tears, to cope with the magnitude of a disaster that may have killed 40,000 (they’re still counting) and rendered 100,000 homeless in the environs of the historic city of Bam. Almost all the world has been rushing to aid the grief-stricken and medically overwhelmed Iranians, even America’s George W. Bush who last year had condemned Iran as one of the "the axis of evil".

In this hour of heartbreak and dire need, what did the spokesman of Iran’s Interior Ministry announce over the government’s official news agency? Jahanbakhsh Khanjani Kanjani declared that "the Islamic Republic of Iran accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organizations with the exception of the Zionist regime."

Even in the hour of darkest tragedy, no Jews can be permitted to help.

Raging prejudices and deep hatreds have plagued mankind through millenniums, and many of them are based on religion. (The Jews were no more magnanimous. After all, it was Caiphas and his high priests of the Sanhedrin who condemned Christ to death for heresy, baiting the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate into approving His foul execution.) "Thou shalt not have strange gods before me" is a Commandment adhered to with violent zeal, while "defending" the Faith, coupled with just a bit of avarice, provoked the cruel bigotry of the Spanish Inquisition.

But for Iran to shout that it will not accept help from "the Zionist regime" (as Arabs and Muslims refer to the State of Israel), it’s sad. The late King Hussein of Jordan – a devout Muslim himself (indeed, even during the first Gulf War, a "supporters" of Saddam Insane) – was once accused of having received assistance from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a charge which would have aroused howling mobs to take to the Arab Street in angry denunciation and protest. The King had calmly replied: "I would take money from the Devil if this was needed to help my people."

In truth, the grieving and desperately-stricken Iranians are today not loathe to receive help from The Great Satan (as the late Ayatollah Khomeini had described the United States). But never from the "Zionists".

I’m reminded that Islamic fundamentalists and religious fanatics regard Christians ("crusaders," by definition) as their mortal enemies, too. Alas, the disease of fanaticism is worse than SARS or "Mad Cow’ disease.

The two latter plagues can kill your body. Fanaticism and bigotry kill your spirit.

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There’s a brewing escalation of hostility between the US and Canada (even after the anti-American Prime Minister Jean Chrétien recently stepped down, and Dubya had looked forward to regaining better relations with his North American neighbor).

This is because the Americans are hinting that the Oregon cow which came down with the dreaded "Mad Cow" disease was imported from Canada. Susmareosep, Yankees! You already know that among the nations which hate you most are the next-door Canadians and Mexicans, neither of them related to Osama bin Laden – now, you’re casting aspersions on Canadian beef.

The next may be Mexican jumping beans? Can no country be trusted any longer to dish up a Safe Burger or Salutary Steak?

The more proximate danger to us, however, is the resurgence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China.

The Chinese government has been "admitting" that one Chinese freelance journalist and photographer – sanamagan, one of our trade! – is being tested for possible SARS in Guangdong province – which is adjacent, if you’re planning a trip there, to Hong Kong. (My apologies to the Hong Kong Tourist Association, but that’s life.) Very reliable sources tell us that not just one, but one hundred (yep, 100) patients are being tested for SARS in the provincial capital (formerly Canton) itself. That’s the awful reality.

The question inevitably arises: if there are 100 in the big city, can you imagine how many more SARS sufferers could be in the outlying towns and villages, undetected – or, worse, "unreported"? Don’t want to provoke panic, but my suggestion is that we in the Philippines should go to "alert" status. Is there another ongoing "cover-up" over there on the mainland?

Perhaps it’s true that SARS is a cold-weather disease. That would explain its possible "re-emergence" in wintry China. But what about the case reported out of Singapore, or the other in Taiwan?

I hope it’s true that the SARS microbes die as soon as they encounter our pollution here in Metro Manila. That’s the way I feel every day, each time I try to take a deep breath.

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Is this Girl’s Year!?

President Macapagal-Arroyo has been appointing ladies right and left to important positions, for instance to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), once the exclusive domain of maledom – even in malfeasance. In return, many foreign countries have been sending us Lady Ambassadors. (My arithmetic may be defective, but I think we already have seven or eight.)

Now, our first woman Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Delia D. Albert, will preside over the flag ceremony this morning at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Roxas Boulevard.

Delia is five-foot tall, which means she sees literally and metaphorically "eye-to-eye" with President GMA. A reputed workaholic, she has maintained her physical fitness by climbing, daily, the 14 stories to her office where, until her new appointment, she served as Undersecretary for International Relations. She recommends this "energy-saving and health-enhancing drill" to DFA personnel.