The Answerless Question [Archives:2006/915/Letters to the Editor]
Khaled Nasser
[email protected]
Upset by the breaking news that topped almost all the Arab channels that some tribal gunmen in Yemen kidnapped some foreign tourists, I threw myself into some work so that I would not have to think about it again. In vain, that incident kept haunting me. So I had to leave my room and immediately out of the house searching for a little comfort somewhere.
All of sudden two friends of mine dropped to mind. Those were Hussam and Hussami: the two compatible partners. 'Yes!' I said, 'There I can get some relief.' So I rushed. A few steps away from the door, my mouth started smiling. I knocked at the door gently but there was no answer. I knocked again and again. No way! Actually, they were laughing so loudly that they could not even pause for breath. Eager to take part I miscalled Hussmai as it was a signal of my presence. Upon hearing the ring, they discontinued their shrieks of laughter. It worked. And as usual, Hussami approached the door welcoming whoever was out there. The moment the door was open, I had been almost already in. 'Shahi?' Hussami offered me, which, to be frank, I never sipped or tasted it. Anyway, Hussam was there and he served a bowl of guavas. Ten minutes later some Indian fellow joined us. We chattered a lot. We switched from education to politics to even the more animated issues like religion. All this went good except for the moment our conversation took another direction. That was the issue of computer science and technology and its impact on the development of one's country. As our Indian friend is one of the digerati in Hyderabad and we are just novice users, he elaborated the subject referring to India here and there as one of the leading countries in this venture. With a view to change the topic, he turned to me and asked: 'what domain is Yemen famous for?' Pondering over his question, he thought I did not get his point, so he clarified further: 'India is famous for software, so what is Yemen famous for?' My mind went numb and my heart almost stopped pounding. Speechless, I sneaked a quick glance to Hussami if he could help but it seems reality has silenced us both. Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I could evade from continuing the discussion. I, then, collected myself; and as I left home distressed and depressed, I returned the same. Sleepless until dawn, I failed to convert the answerless into the answerable.
Gentlemen! We are still waddling towards the tiniest widgets of technology if not at all stuck in limbo. We should face the reality; we should think of tomorrow, a better tomorrow if Yemen really means a lot to us all.
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