The Ambassadors Magazine - January 2009

I am a senior at Boston College and currently applying for a Fulbright to Kuwait for 2009-2010. I am interested in studying gender politics in Kuwait and the recent Parliamentary elections, examining female political participation. I was wondering if you know of any organization and its email contact information in Kuwait that I could work with during the year in Kuwait to perform my research grant. I would really like to be in touch with Dr. Aseel Al-Awadi or Mrs. Lulua Al-Mutawa as one of the founders of Kuwait's Social-Cultural Women's Society. After looking at your website with the long list of female leaders in Kuwait, I would be honored to work with one of their affiliations. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I am still working at the University of Malta. After I reached the age of 61, and was given a post in the new Mater Dei Hospital where I am working on fetal pathology in spontaneous miscarriages, which includes developmental defects and provide a different picture from the anomalies we see postnatally. I visited the Ambassadors web site. It is very interesting as it brought back many memories of Kuwait. I was particularly pleased to see the article and pictures of Dr. Sadika. I hope to get in touch with her again. We now have some medical students from Kuwait. This year we have 15 Kuwaiti students entering the medical course. They will be doing a special introductory course which will prepare them for their medical studies, which are quite demanding. As from next week I will be teaching them.
At the end of this month I will be going to Damascus where I will be giving a three-day intensive course on teratogenesis and carcinogenesis. Attached is a group photograph taken at the Holiday Inn in Kuwait. This has been in a frame in my study for a very long time. I think that must be Adel in the photo.

Now I am in Finland. I got one of the fellowship called Marie Curie Fellowship to spend one year (will finish next July). I am trying to get benefit of the Finnish experience (University of Kuopio) to prevent Type 2 Diabetes by life style changes and also by detecting the genetic susceptibility.

It is very encouraging to write my experience and what attracts me to be in Finland and I will do my best to prepare this for the magazine. I will forward it to you as soon as it is ready. It is really a new experience to go to Finland and spend one year to see all the 4 seasons including the snow and how people never stop from working in a very peaceful environment.

Prof. Wagida Anwar, MD
Professor of Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Director of Ain Shams Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ACGEB) at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
wagidaanwar@yahoo.com

Anyhow, I'm almost up to date with your news through my visits to the Ambassadors every now and then. I read your Editorial with the letter to the parliament member Mr Al Mutairi. I do not know him or the details of his views but I felt you were a bit tough on him and what he represents. You may be surprised to know that there are many people who think, out of justified religious attitudes, that we should not salute the flag or stand up for the national anthem and I think those people, like others, are entitled to have their voice heard and their opinion respected. After all, this man has been freely elected by people and they too, or at least many of those who chose him as a representative in the parliament, likely share his views. I do not have much objection to the group of respected ladies you presented, but like many people, I take a strong exception to both the form and contents of the last picture (a police woman in tight clothes). This probably leads us to the bottom line: let us go back to OUR basics instead of importing false western values; this is particularly true in light of the dramatic turn the world is taking nowadays with the crumbling capitalism and the fall of the "new world order". It is very unlikely that this man will manage to have an access to your online magazine so that he can, at least defend himself. It is also possible that his command on the English language is not strong. So, instead of a "monolog" on your Editorial and in a foreign language, may I suggest that you organize a meeting with him in which you may discuss your views as opposed to his and bring up your justifications, references, and evidence against his counterparts; all in Arabic, your and his mother tongue. Please try this option.

Dr. Mohamed Sabry, MD
University of Bahrain
m2000as85@hotmail.com

I am very pleased to inform you that the next World Congress of the International Society for the History of Medicine (42nd ISHM World Congress) will be held in Cairo from October 9th-13th, 2010. The website for this convention was launched and you can find information about the scientific program, details of registration and submitting abstracts for papers at this address. I appreciate very much your kind cooperation to publish it in your distinguished online magazine.

Dr. Aly El-Makhzangy, MD
Lecturer of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine
Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
elmakhzangyaii@googlemail.com

I will be organizing a International Symposium on Down Syndrome to mark the 50th year of discovery by Late Prof. Jerome Lejeune and his colleagues. I met Prof. IC Verma at the Human Genome Conference in Hyderabad, India. Also, in India, we established a Genome Foundation which anyone can become a member of by simply contributing Rs.1.00 (Rupee One only!). I will be working for this foundation.

Dr. D.S. Krishna Murthy, MSc, PhD
Consultant Cytogeneticist
Bangalooru (Karnataka), India
crisna50@yahoo.com