I was recently in the United States to participate in a conference convened by the Aspen Institute in Colorado on "Literature and Democracy . Before I traveled all my friends warned me of the swine flu whose first cases came to us from the US and then spread quickly in about a month to reach over 70 so far. Some sympathetically advised me to beware of visiting the country that houses this epidemic that has spread panic everywhere. Others suggested I wear a mask once I get off the plane, because there must be a shortage of masks there; while others said I should stock up on Tamiflu, since by now it must cost hundreds of dollars over there. Someone I know who is only interested in football, said: "Oh, you re lucky. You ll watch the Egypt-US Confederations Cup football match on-air over there. What happened, in fact, was that I spent a full week in the United States (three days in New York and four in Aspen) where I met dozens of people from all over the world, but not a single one mentioned either swine flu or the Egypt-US football game. Neither did I read a single story, whether in national newspapers such as The New York Times or the Washington Post or in local ones such as Aspen Times, about the deadly pandemic that has struck fear in our hearts and that the Egyptian media is following daily to tally the number of those infected. I met journalists, writers, intellectuals, theater performers and academics. All of them spoke to me about the topics of the day, such as Obama s Middle East policy and our reaction to his Cairo speech, and the economic crisis inherited from the Bush administration and its impact on life in America. But none spoke about the swine flu. I didn't see anyone in the street or in a theater wearing masks, which have spread here in recent weeks more than the spread of the disease itself. I also didn't notice any extraordinary interest in the Egypt-US football game. American television, or at least the major channels such as CNN, Fox, CBS or ABC, didn't broadcast the match, which I learnt was the focus of attention of the Egyptian media to the extent that some officials intervened to calm the situation after we lost the game, which set off a state of national mourning short only of flying the flag at half-mast for three days. True that a news bulletin did mention at the end of its sports segment that America's national football team will face its Egyptian counterpart, which the announcer described as "strong , but neither was the game broadcast on air nor were the streets empty of pedestrians or motorists during the match. Before I left the US, I approached the hotel receptionist, who was so gracious throughout, to give him a gift. I've got some medical masks that I brought from Egypt but haven t used. I also have a reasonable amount of Tamiflu, which I won't need. If you mean that the waste basket in your room isn t big enough for these things, I can send someone to throw them in the public garbage outside the hotel, he answered politely. Yes, yes, this is what I mean, I said quickly, "but tell me, have you heard about swine flu? Yes of course, we all heard about it, he said. What do you do when someone gets infected with it? Nothing unusual. According to the instructions of the health service, if someone is infected they should stay at home and inform the doctor to follow their case until they recover. What if the infected person dies? I asked in astonishment. No one dies of the swine flu. The number of those who have died of it is much less than those who die of seasonal influenza, he said. Attempting to change the subject, I said: Have you watched the Egypt-US football match? No. But I also think that the American team won, didn t they? Hard Luck to you! Yes, I said. "Hard luck to us in more ways than one. Mohamed Salmawy is President of the Arab Writers' Union and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo.
