Re: Awards Ceremony

[Truman Prevatt <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>]

My experience with several trips over there is just the opposite.  The one
referred to below, the only thing that saved us was the fact we were traveling
on diplomatic pastports.  We were there to install a data processing system to
support the gulf war effort. We were there at the beginning of the build up.
The three women in our party were not in the military and were not in uniform.

We were told that they had to wear Arabian dress when outside.  No - not
acceptable.  Then some midlevel government official had the nerve to say they
couldn't go outside - no wrong.  Then we were told they would be locked
inside.  No wrong.  This is when the embassy got involved and reminded the
Arabs that we were on diplomatic pastports and they had better knock off the
crap.

Then a different mid level government official made a threat to one he women
about their safety.  That did it and I packed them up and we came home until
it got resoved.  It did and we went back and things were somewhat better - not
good but somewhat better.  Even then the times we went out into public the
women were scoffed - we had a U. S. state dept employee with us who was an
Arabic linquist and he let us in on what we were called.  One of the women was
actually spit at one time.

Not a pretty sight.  Yes their culture is different and no we should not try
to put ours onto theirs, but civil behavior can be expected independent of
culture.

Truman


Teddy Lancaster wrote:

> The arab culture differs greatly from ours.  They do not have the
> sense of "fair play" and "sportsmanship" they we have.  They have
> loyalty to their own and that is tantamount to their behavior,
> which, I reiterate, was not intended as rudeness.  It is our
> western culture that deems it that way.
>
> Teddy
>
> Truman Prevatt wrote:
> >
> > But a fact of life is the UAE can buy and sell the FEI 1000 time over.
> > It can also lay claim to being the only proper host of endurance - the
> > sport of THE ARABIAN HORSE.
> >
> > The Arab world has little respect to the western cultures - in fact they
> > have total distain.  I think it is wonderful that they have to deal with
> > a female U.S. Secertary of State.  I have had personal experience with
> > taking a team of engineers over to the middle east and having all kinds
> > of problems with how they treated the females on the team.  We were on
> > U.S. diplomatic pastports so we had the last say, but they were rude,
> > extremely rude.
> >
> > This last Monday the U. S. State department issued a tourist advisory
> > for traveliers in many contries in the Mid East, including the UAE.
> > There is the expectation of more terrorist attacks.  My biggest problem
> > with the Arab world is they could stop the terrorist in a minute, but
> > they choose not to.  Not that every state is a terrorist haven, but
> > those that aren't just turn their heads.
> >
> > So I think "international" endurance riding is at a very intersting
> > point.  Do the Arabs want to claim the sport as their own and buy it, or
> > will it remain a truly international sport?  Will the Arabs have a
> > championship ride in 2000 and pay the riders to come there? Will the
> > Arabs claim that it is a sports of the Arabians therefore a sport of the
> > Arabs.  I don't think we know the answers to these questions yet.  It
> > will be interesting to see how it unfolds.
> >
> > Truman
> >
> > Maureen Mathisen wrote:
>

--
Truman Prevatt
Brooksville, FL

Mystic "The Horse from Hell" Storm with one on the way
Rocket a.k.a. Mr. Misty
Jordy a.k.a. Bridger (when he is good)
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