Sudanese or American? (5) Civilized Cruise Ship
I returned from the most civilized and contemplative experience in my life: 12 days in a luxurious Caribbean cruise. A Sudanese village boy among about 3,000 civilized White Christians. Who am I? And how I relate to this American civilization that I live in?
Washington: Mohammad Ali Salih
My 2009 Caribbean trip in “Constellation” cruise ship was my third oceanic cruise. The first was in 2003, in “Caribbean Princes,” with my wife, our three children, my wife’s parents, her brother, his wife, their two children and the wife’s father.
It was a blast. It was a mixture of: (1) new experience (2) children having fun and (3) an utter extravaganza.
Entertainment apart, how about the ethical meaning of that cruise?
That cruise was about two years after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the invasion Afghanistan, and was few months after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
I was very much angry at the Americans, especially the politicians, because of their exaggerated fear, exaggerated anger at Muslims and exaggerated responses which culminated in the invasion of two Muslim countries and threats to invade more.
Long before 9/11, I had stopped taking Valium and Librium and stopped going to counseling. Because of my anger, I went back to counseling and I, a journalist, was told to lessen my preoccupation with news and, especially, watch less news on TV.
So, during that first cruise, I did my best to avoid watching CNN on the gym’s screen when I did my early morning exercises; if scenes of American tanks rolling into Iraq or American planes bombarding Afghanistan appeared in front of me, I closed my eyes for a while.
After the invasion of Iraq and the continuous “war on terrorism,” I started wondering whether this war was part of a subtle campaign against Islam and Muslims.
But, during that first cruise, I tried to separate between the great American Civilization and the US government’s policy towards Islam and Muslims.
That separation helped me a little as I wanted to enjoy my first oceanic cruise. Also, I wanted to see how big of a civilization shock I, a Sudanese village boy, would endure as I found myself in one of the most recreational and entertaining vehicles of the Western civilization.
On the day of sailing, I was shocked by four scenes:
First, when approaching Ft. Lauderdale’s harbor, I saw the very giant “Caribbean Princess” ship at the dock. As we drove closer, it looked like a ten-story beautiful shining white building. In the nearby terminal, there were thousands of passengers. Among them were luggage carriers, custom and immigration personal and the ship’s own staff busy trying to make it easy for about three thousand passengers to make it on board.
The second shock was when I entered the ship and walked into a huge and multi-deck atrium. I was attracted by the beauty, glamour and ultra modernity of the whole scene. Not to forget beautiful and well-dressed waitresses smiling and serving champagne to the passengers and not to forget blond female passengers wearing shorts and low-cut shirts that showed plenty of the beautiful white flesh.
The third shock was the civility of dining. For example, in the elegant formal dining room where our large family was seated, I counted twelve forks, knives and spoons in front of me, and everyone else, and felt clumsy and embarrassed as I tried to figure out which was for what. The fellow diners, the waiters and waitresses and the food served were very civilized.
The fourth shock was about clothes. Actually, long before the cruise, we received instructions about what clothes to bring; for a man, black suit and a tie for “formal” dinners, and pants with dress or sports shirt for “informal” dinners. And for a woman, night dresses for “formal” dinners and dresses or elegant pants and shirts for “informal” dinners. No jeans, shorts and T-shirts were allowed in seated dining rooms.
The fourth shock was the general civility of everyone’s behavior. There was an atmosphere of quietness, smiles, greetings and courtesy.
So, the Sudanese village boy embarked on closely living with, and examining, about 3,000 civilized Christian Whites.
