Subject: Duke's response to Pakistani Medical Students/Apology
Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 11:42:24 -0500


I still haven't heard anything back from the person who 1st alerted us to
Reedy's letter---(it came to me via Cornell's Forum for Justice and Peace, a
group established since 9/11), but since there was a question as to whether
it was a hoax, the full email string was sent to the Cornell list. Here it
is, with Reedy's apology. Before I had rec'd this I had already written to
Reedy and Duke's president, expressing my alarm at the racist tenor of the
first email to the students. Although it looks like this is not a hoax, I
had phrased my letter to Reedy and the president as if it were--suggesting
that such an unethical & racist response to prospective students coming from
a Duke prof must not be true and that some action must be taken in order to
stop this 'rumour.' Other members of the Cornell list wrote letters to
both--none of us have rec'd any responses yet. If I hear anything else I
will pass it on. Liz


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 23:13:29
From: Saadia Toor <saadiatoor-AT-hotmail.com>
To: Saadia Toor <st69-AT-cornell.edu>
Subject: Fwd: FW: [nypa] FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)

>From: Yasser Toor <ytoor-AT-SHANSBY.com>
>To: "Saadia Toor (E-mail)" <saadiatoor-AT-hotmail.com>
>Subject: FW: [nypa] FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)
>Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 12:57:06 -0800
>
>
>here
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Yasser Toor
>Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 1:19 PM
>To: Bazal (E-mail)
>Subject: FW: [nypa] FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)
>
>
>hey amer
>perhaps you would like to read professor reedy's (heartfelt i'm sure)
>response below
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rahman Asad [mailto:Rahman.Asad-AT-bcg.com]
>Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 10:14 AM
>To: 'Imam, Abid'; 'nypa-AT-yahoogroups.com'
>Subject: RE: [nypa] FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)
>
>
>Poor Mike Reedy... so much remorse.  Little did he know how internet-savvy
>us Muslims can be.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Imam, Abid [mailto:imama-AT-executiveboard.com]
>Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 1:10 PM
>To: 'nypa-AT-yahoogroups.com'
>Subject: [nypa] FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:	Naseer, Syed
> > Sent:	Wednesday, December 12, 2001 1:08 PM
> > To:	Imam, Abid; Hicks, Evan
> > Subject:	FW: [lahoreboyz] My apology (fwd)
> >
> >
> > A couple of my friends (and, no doubt, countless others) wrote to the
>Duke
> > professor and here is his apology...
> >
> > Ahmed
> >
> >
> > >Fawaz and I wrote to the Duke professor who wrote that nasty message to
> > >those Pakistani students.  Just received this reply.
> > >
> > >---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > >Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 11:41:05 -0500
> > >From: Mike Reedy <mike.reedy-AT-cellbio.duke.edu>
> > >To: MSAEED200-AT-cs.com, Sabahat Quadri <sabahatq-AT-threesixtydegreez.com>,
> > >      sulaiman <sulaiman_ijaz-AT-yahoo.com>,
> > Fawaz.Chaudhry-AT-morganstanley.com,
> > >      tb6967 <tb6967-AT-alpha.rwu.edu>, bsattar-AT-law.harvard.edu,
> > >      tHe OysTeR <sopra50-AT-hotmail.com>, Altaf Husain
> > ><president-AT-msa-natl.org>,
> > >      Hasan Ahmed Ansari <hasan-AT-sas.upenn.edu>, Carrie Syme
> > ><casyme-AT-hotmail.com>,
> > >      Naeem Ahmed <Naeem.Ahmed-AT-morganstanley.com>,
> > >      ali wahla <aliwahla-AT-hotmail.com>,
> > >      Asad and Ayesha <asadayesha-AT-adiglobal.com>
> > >Subject: My apology
> > >
> > >I sent the message below, headed "An apology. Perhaps I can help" to
> > >the three medical student in Pakistan early Monday morning.  Two of
> > >them have replied  with kind forgiveness.  I owe deepest apology to
> > >you who shared their pain on reading copies of my original bitter
> > >outburst, and who replied to me in disbelieving anger.  These medical
> > >students were not the perceived enemy I suddenly supposed them to be
> > >in my dark moment of weariness and paranoid alarm.  I read that dark
> > >message in near disbelief myself, hardly able to recognize my usual
> > >self in it, but reinforced now against giving way to such dark
> > >feelings and statements in future.  I hope some measure of the peace,
> > >hope and trust in life and humanity that I think is returning to me
> > >can eventually return to the hearts of others who were pained and
> > >offended by my outburst.
> > >-mike reedy-
> > >
> > >**********************
> > >Dear Imran, Hussain and Omer,
> > >I have reconsidered what I wrote you before, and I am unhappy with
> > >myself and ashamed of my words.  I am ashamed by the brutality of my
> > >angry words in my initial message to you, and ashamed of my poor
> > >rationalizations for this in the later messages.  It seems now that i
> > >figuratively threw a handful of stones in your face and told you to
> > >stay home and clean out the sewers. That was not a kind response to
> > >your request for help in reaching out to gain professional experience
> > >in the wider world.
> > >
> > >I think now that I felt from the start that you and your messages
> > >were, with 90-99% probability, legitimate, true as represented, and
> > >not efforts to deceive. I had only to think for a moment to see that
> > >i can readily check up on the truth of your statements by simply
> > >emailing and phoning your professors and others to establish a chain
> > >of reference I can trust.
> > >
> > >I see now that my negative reaction came mainly from my anger and
> > >frustration with the extremism and deceptiveness of the terrorists of
> > >Sept 11, which seemed to destroy my personal hopes for a reasoned and
> > >peaceful resolution of international conflicts.  It seemed like the
> > >horrible nuclear threat of the cold war all over again, a tactic that
> > >resolves the argument by annihilating the disputants.  I was
> > >grappling with my frustration that no response of reason or kindness
> > >to suicide bombers seems possible, that they can only be defended
> > >against with countering violence, by quarantine and extermination of
> > >their close allies and friends, and by acute mistrust of their
> > >political and cultural origins.  Your messages touched me in that
> > >sore spot, and i fired back at you in anger and frustration, wanting
> > >to make you responsible for the terror by accusing you either of
> > >being terrorists yourselves, looking for an easy and deceptive
> > >pathway to some vulnerable target in the world of the western infidel
> > >scum, or if you were not terrorists, then of being guilty by
> > >association because you shared with the terrorists a common religion,
> > >as well as a nationality that had sheltered some of the schools that
> > >inspired the Taliban.
> > >
> > >I deeply apologize for my violent words and bad manners.  My shame
> > >and regret has made me want to help you. I am away from Duke at a
> > >scientific meeting this week, but next week when I am back again, I
> > >will review your CVs, telephone or email you and any professors you
> > >suggest to verify your situation and establish your references, and
> > >then see if i can help you identify any labs at Duke where you might
> > >work for a few months next Spring and Summer, and funds that might
> > >help support your trip.
> > >--
> > >-mike reedy-
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >



     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---