A War Lost In Translation
Over the weekend I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine, a documentary filmmaker, who lives and works in New York City.
I was recommending that he read the lengthier reports on Prime Minister Mahathir’s inflammatory comments about the fate of the world’s muslims and the example set by the jews.
Writing in the New York Times, economist Paul Krugman cites Malaysia’s domestic political scene as Mahathir’s motivation for inappropriately conflating everyone from Israeli governmnent officials to those who have uncritically pro-Israeli political views as “the jews.”
In this way, Mahathir committed the very offense he then correctly ascribed to some of his critics: equating terrorist with muslim or muslim with arab.
In fact, Mahathir’s most scathing comments were for muslims — his target audience (he was speaking at the Organization of the Islamic Conference). The context for his well-publicized unfortunate phrase was, literally, a challenge to the poorly educated and politically frustrated muslims to… be more like “the jews.”
And I quote: “[the jews] survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back but by thinking. They invented Socialism, Communism, human rights and democracy … so that they can enjoy equal rights with others.” As well as “For well over half a century, we have fought over Palestine…What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before.”
Mahathir is holding up “the jews” as exemplars of enlightened, peaceful progress at the same time that he is rejecting a half-century of military and terrorist campaigns against the occupation of Palestine (i.e., against Israel).
Could it be, then, that this gesture of hateful political demagoguery has been blown out of proportion because of a cultural misunderstanding?
Beyond the need to castigate this official for his unjustifiably loose use of the term “jew” — just as U.S. liberals often slur “christians” when they mean “evangelical zealots” — is the resulting finger-pointing due to an unquestioned assumption that muslims are not our peers?
If at all true, this would be a cultural and not a political problem. It would also line up neatly with the U.S.’ painfully inadequate number of arabic-speaking diplomats, soldiers and spies.
Around the world and at home in the U.S., thousands have died because U.S. agencies have not invested nearly enough to develop agents, envoys and representatives who are fluent in the language and customs of the very people we claim to want to liberate.
Good fucking luck.
Today’s round-up of stories on the war that could be lost in translation:
- Report says U.S. is cavalier about toll on Iraqi civilians (SFGATE, 10/21/03)
- War On Terror: FBI In The Dark (MSN, 10/22/03)
- Baffled Occupiers, or the Missed Understandings (NYT, 10/22/03)
Lastly, could it be that the late Edward Said’s biggest contribution to our shared if war-torn human civilization is his book on translation and cultural misunderstandings? “Orientalism.”
postscript [11/2/2003]
“In Iraq, when guerrillas place an IED (improvised explosive device) by the side of the road, they sometimes write a warning on the street — in Arabic. The locals understand to steer clear; the Americans drive right into the trap.” MSNBC, “A War in the Dark“
postscript [11/5/2003]
C.I.A. Needs to Learn Arabic, House Committee Leader Say, The New York Times
postscript [11/12/2003]
“Several times, he returned to what has become a central tenet of American commanders here: that their problems are not a result of inadequate force levels but of sketchy intelligence that leaves them unsure whom they are fighting, the extent to which the attacks are coordinated at a national level, and, if so, by whom.” The New York Times, “General Vows to Intensify U.S. Response to Attackers
postscript [4/28/2004]
“In any case, the notion that so-called Arabists - expert in the language, culture and politics of Arab countries - should be excluded from policy because of their alleged predilection to ‘go native’ should be discredited by the way the Pentagon, which shut out anyone with actual knowledge of Iraq, has serially bungled the occupation.” The Financial Times, editorial, “LEADER: Blair should listen to the experts“
postscript [7/11/2004]
‘’I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to offend him,'’ Wali replied anxiously. ‘’It’s very hard for me. I can’t understand anything he’s saying. He was staring at me, and I didn’t know what to do. What should I do?'’ he asked me.
“Interrogation Unbound,” The New York Times