Odd Culture

Tony Horwitz, in Baghdad Without a Map, experiences different cultures of the Arabic Middle Eastern world. An important part of his struggling journey is fitting into the culture of the unfamiliar place. He raises questions about many differences between America and Yemen, one of which is the safety and hostility issue: “Mindful of my mission, I asked Abdul why everyone carried a dagger. “Yemen not safe,” he said.” One probably cannot imagine a group of people all carrying daggers in the streets of Newburyport in order to protect themselves from uncertain possibilities of danger. As Horwitz senses more and more examples of carrying weaponry around him, he comes to a realization that protecting oneself is a natural part of the Arab society, because of the chaos caused political and military situations in its countries. For the people of Yemen it is a part of everyday life. They view the ‘tools of violence’ as a means to protect themselves, not to threaten the others. For first-time visitors like Horwitz, the AK-47’s, daggers, and sea mines are a major source of threat and discomfort, while they are safer to have ready considering the bigger danger that can haunt the people any time. Reading this first part of Baghdad, I came to an understanding that the images of the Middle East I see on the media are not necessarily true, as sometimes they are portrayed as inhumane savages of antipathy who like to shoot anyone who are suspected of rebelling against their countries. Rather, they are obligated to protect themselves, not attack.

SL