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December 31, 2003
This past year saw war and a further upsurge in terrorism around the world that continues into 2004. For a while, as global attention focused on the war in Iraq, the small oppressions of individuals seemed to fade in importance. It became clear quickly enough, however, that there could be no cessation of vigilance even at times of great crisis. Fidel Castro, for one, took advantage of the distraction of the war to arrest scores of dissidents in his country; these individuals today remain imprisoned in miserable conditions, some of them seriously ill, with decades still facing them in prison.
And yet the war in Iraq, despite its cost in disruption and in human lives, has resulted in a potential opening of some societies in the Near and Middle East that have been closed to the Western community and whose people suffer under dictatorship. We are presented now with new opportunities for working in countries where academic freedom is not yet a reality--hardly even a dream. Our experiences this past year with cases in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Algeria show that there is indeed a possibility of making a real difference in the lives of our scientific colleagues in that part of the world.
We have also been confronted with an appalling rise in anti-Semitic incidents and the equally shocking social acceptability of anti-Semitic attitudes throughout the rest of the world. That America has been spared this plague is a great blessing; in addition, with the exception of the cases noted above, we have so far encountered few instances where scientists as such have been targeted. Yet the academic boycott of Israel continues, and is a matter of deep and continuing concern. On this front as on others, we have our work cut out for us.
Respectfully submitted,
Maud Kozodoy
Executive Director 2003 Reports by Region
