BASRA, IRAQ — Even though I know schwayya Arabic, I sensed the Iraqi truckers squatting in the shade of an 18-wheeler weren't happy. After all, seated on the sidewalk opposite them, a foreigner was chatting with a beautiful Iraqi woman whose beige scarf, worn with a maroon blouse and tan-colored slacks, indicated she was Muslim. As they waited to drive their vehicles through the British checkpoint, the truckers' stares burned holes through us. My friend, Nour Al-Khal, a 20-something press liaison for an American NGO, felt it too, but advised me to do what she did when confronted by what she called her country's "ignorant men" — ignore them. "Believe me, Steve," she said, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles. "There's nothing you can do."
Full Story @ National Review Online
very good read, if you have the time it's enlightening.
Posted by: muddy at May 25, 2004 09:48 PM