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The Citizen, 1990-03-07, Page 5Arthur Black , WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1990. PAGE 5. Letters Festival officials I spy a potential batman I’m thinking of picking up a batman. Stand easy, Animal Rightsters! I’m not talking about a pest exterminator and I’m certainly not referring to the winged hero of that recent overhyped movie by the same name. I’m talking about the British version of batman. Back in the days when Old Blighty was an imperial power to be reckoned with, British officers did their duty accompanied by a wee servant chappie whose job it was to make the officer as comfortable as possible under the circumstances - brew his tea, make sure his helmet was properly ironed - that sort of thing. The British batman was a kind of front-line valet/maid/cheerleader/mother - Don Quixote had Sancho Panza, the Lone Ranger had Tonto, George Bush has Brian Mulroney... And I want one of my own. Let’s face it - it’s been years since my mother brought me tea or laid out my clothes for school and my Significant Other all but snaps my head off if I even so much as suggest that I deserve to be waited on hand, foot and backrub. And the kids? Forget it. Assigning them batman duties would mean a whole new chapter in their allowance contract, not to mention aug­ mented cost of living allotment, retirement The International Scene Nobody wants Cambodia’s problems BY RAYMOND CANON The next time you think that Canada has more problems than it can handle, take a look at Cambodia. Since you probably won’t be able to sort out who is who and who is doing what to whom, consider this as an introduction to the whole problem. When you are finished, if you then consider yourself as understanding what is going on, pass yourself off as an expert and hire yourself out as an after-dinner speaker. Cambodia, along with Laos and Viet­ nam, used to be part of the French colonial empire known as French Indo-China. The Cambodians are different from both the Laotians and Vietnamese; they have a different culture and speak a different language. They would have chosen not to get involved in the war in Vietnam which took place first between the French and the Vietnamese Marxists or nationalists and then between the right and the left wing Vietnamese with the former being assisted by the Americans; the results of which most people are aware of. Since Cambodia borders on Vietnam, the North Vietnamese used the country as a means of sneaking down supplies to their brethern in the South, an act which earned them the attention of the Americans who proceeded to bomb that part of Cambodia with monotonous regularity. The Cambodians then got their taste of Communism in the form of the Khmers Rouges who managed to drive out the Tightest government in Phnom Penh, the capital and, during the years that they wer ein power, (1975-78) carried out one of the bloodiest revolutions in the history of mankind. Well over a million Cambodians, or anybody who might be considered as any threat whatsoever to the Khmers Rouges, were murdered or simply disap­ peared. The world which comes to mind for all this is called genocide but, whatever the adjectives which one might use to describe this reign of terror, the old animosities between the Vietnamese and the Cam­ benefits and sick pay provisions. Besides, they’d only be available for a half hour a day - between Cheers and Let’s Make a Deal. Nope, there’s not much hope of finding my batman on the local labour front. I’ll have to look overseas. Fortunately, my timing couldn’t be better. Right now, there’s an absolute glut of people with batman (let’s be fair: batperson) potential flooding the European market. Needy people. Desperate people. Train­ ed and clever and available people. Spies. Well ... ex-spies, really. The recent political convulsions over there have left millions of East Europeans in turmoil, most of them euphoric, but many of them ... less so. Before the Big Thaw, hundreds of thousands of folks behind the Iron Curtain earned their daily bread in that time-hon­ oured, traditional communist way - by spying and informing on their friends and neighbours. Goby and his ftifemal Glasnost wiped out that lucractive way of life practically overnight. Today, the streets of every back European hamlet from Aachen, Germany to Zagreb, Yugoslavia are clogg­ ed with nervous, weaselly-looking men and women in shabby trenchcoats and dark glasses, crouched in dark doorways or hunched over cafe tables, eagerly begging for the chance to sell one tiny secret, whisper one unsubstantiated rumour, be­ tray one minor relative - anything to keep their professional dignity intact. bodians came to the fore and the former invaded the country to drive out the Khmers Rouges and install a more moderate, (i.e. friendly to Vietnam) government. To make sure that all went well, the Vietnamese army stayed there to maintain some semblance of order. In the short term this was probably the best thing that could be done. Certainly without some stabilizing force to follow the blood bath of the Khmers Rouges, there was little that could be done to even think about any rebuilding program. However, the Vietnamese occupation was considered to be of short term nature only and the longer they stayed, the more pressure there was for them to go back home. What really got them out, however, was the fact that the support of the Russians on which the Vietnamese counted since the Americans were expelled from Vietnam became decidedly lukewarm. Mikhail Gor­ bachev was intent of letting the countries of East Europe run their own shows and it would not look very good for Moscow to continue supporting an occupation force. So, making haste very slowly, the 'Vietna­ mese withdrew their forces from Cam­ bodia, leaving behind a government which they believed to be relatively friendly to the Vietnamese. Meanwhile along the border with Thai­ land lurked two armed forces. The first, and potentially more dangerous, are the Letter from the Editor Continued from page 4 As a writer who is also involved in writing fiction for stage or page, I’m troubled by the whole thing. On one hand a writer has to have a certain standard of realism to make something unbelievable but on the other, he/she can promote things by making them more acceptable. In the long run, it all comes down to a matter of individual responsibility, as it does in most things. Writers must have the right to portray reality as they see it but they also have the responsibility to not exploit the weaknesses of humanity and by doing such, pander to the worst in people. Unfortunately, when there’s money to be made, too many writers and producers will go for the money and not care about the effect they may have on real people. And there are lots of them. East Germany alone had 85,000 agents and 109,000 regular informants. This in a country with a population slightly more than half Canada’s. In the other ex-soviet satellites it’s the same story. Thousands of hardworking turncoats sacked without so much as a letter of recommendation. But it’s not all bleak. Think of the talents these ex-spies could bring to the job of batman. Locked myself out of the house? These guys could slip the front door deadbolt with a forged credit card quicker than you can say Kim Philby. Car won’t start? Any half decent spy could hotwire my Toyota blindfolded before tea. Oh, it’ll be grand, having my very own ex-secret-agent-cum-batman. Great family portraits of course - after all, these guys cut their photographic teeth on microfilm and infra red, shooting top-secret docu­ ments on cameras small enough to hide up your nose. Great cocktails (Remember Bond? “A martini ... extra dry ... shaken, not stirred.”) Great after-dinner gossip too. ‘‘Why I remember the time that Krushchev asked my advice about Castro. ‘Nick, sweetheart,’ I said, ‘the guy’s a bush hippy. Cut ‘im loose’ ... ” Oh, I can hardly wait. I want my ex-undercover batman now. Send one over, Europe - I’ll be waiting. On the third bench in from the main park entrance. I’ll be wearing a single earring, reading a copy of Macleans upside down and whistling the Third Man Theme. Off key. same Khmers Rouges who were responsi­ ble for the blood bath to which I referred earlier. They may have been driven out by the Vietnamese; they were never properly defeated and have benefitted by consider­ able military help from the Chinese who were doing what they could to embarrass their former Communist brethern, the Russians. The Khmers Rouges have such a reputation even today for violent behaviour that any number of Cambodians will run away rather than fight them and run the risk of being captured. The other group is considerably more right wing and is under the titular head of Prince Norodom Sihanouk who used to be the king of Cambodia and who is still held in high respect by a lot of his countrymen. Interestingly enough it is this latter group which is considered by the United Nations, or at least most of its members, to be by far the most respectable of all the Cambodians and it should come as no surprise to learn that Sihanouk holds the Cambodian seat at the U.N. There are other small groups as well just to confuse the issue but the ones that I have outlined are playing the key roles and will likely continue to do so. At the present time the United Nations is trying to bring all the factions together to see if, in so doing, they might be able to bring all the peace and stability to what must be the most war-weary people in the world. Heart Fund canvass successful THE EDITOR, The 1990 Canvas in East Wawanosh, south half, for the Huron Heart & Stroke Foundation reached a new high. Five canvassers collected $994 from Conces­ sions 1 to 5, an increase over last year of $249. They were for Concession 1, Sylvia Nonkes and Astrid van Eeden. Concession 2 and 3 Betty Lewis, who deserves special credit for doing it all by herself. And on Concession 4 and 5 it was Anna Vander Heyden and Elaine Snell. Our society can be proud of our dedicated canvassers and of the generosity of our rural people. Adian Vos [Captain] Bly th. reply to criticism THE EDITOR, This letter is written on the request, and on behalf of the Blyth Festival’s Board of Directors, Artistic Director Katherine Kas- zas, General Manager Joel Harris and all members of our staff. The Blyth Festival is beginning its sixteenth season. As we look back, we are very much aware that we have grown and expanded. The establishment of the Fes­ tival brought live theatre to Blyth and Huron County. This was followed by the adoption of a policy of encouraging the development and the production of original Canadian play-s. There is now a children’s and youth summer theatre programme, a concert series, an art gallery, a community choir, and a high school drama festival co-sponsored by Blyth. Our fall tours provide live theatre for other Ontario communities. Economically, the Festival is responsible for over $700,000 yearly in revenue for local and county businesses. The Board of directors has encouraged these endeavors over the years. Our Board is indeed a “working” board whose members have many different responsibilities, not the least of which is as a board member. Board involvement is at an all time high as we participate in the many varied Festival activities. The Board makes many deci­ sions and one of the most soul searching and difficult ones is that of setting ticket prices. On the one hand we wish to keep our theatre accessible for all who wish to attend. On the other hand we are constantly questioned by government funding agencies, foundations and corpor­ ations, as they feel our ticket prices are not realistic. It is one of our ongoing challenges as we work to balance the budget, keep the interests of our local theatre goers in mind, and satisfy those who help fund us. Last season was an extraordinary one for the Festival with exciting plays, an outstanding musical, excellent reviews and wonderful audiences. However we showed an operating deficit at the end of the year, half of which has already been recovered in late payments. We are determined, as is our Artistic Director, General Manager and staff to eliminate this deficit as quickly as possible. Our capital project is proceeding well. It is a large endeavor both physically and financially. Again as a Board, we are committed to raising the balance of the monies for this project. At a recent Board working session, dreams and objectives were discussed. While indeed we have grown we are constantly aware of our primary and ongoing responsibility to encourage the development of and produce the best Canadian theatre possible for our audi­ ence. The Board of Directors, Aristic Director, General Manager and staff look forward to this upcoming season with excitement, optimism, confidence, and a dedication to make it one of our best. In closing, we are reminded that it was you, the citizens of Blyth, who initially supported us and we ask for your continuing support, encouragement and friendship. Carol E. Irwin, Blyth Gayle Waters, Bayfield Ann E. Coulter, Goderich Marian Doucette, Clinton Don McCaffrey, Exeter Festival prices reasonable THE EDITOR, In response to the letter by Mildred McAdam in the Feb. 28, 1990 edition of The Citizen: The minimum wage in Ontario as of March 1, 1990 is $5.00 per hour. To be able to purchase a ticket to see a live, Canadian theatre production held in a restored-airconditioned theatre for the equivalent of two hours salary at minimum wages, must surely be the best bargain in the country. May I add that the ticket price to see a movie in our immediate area is $6.00 (on average). And it is most often for an American film. Bev Walker RR #3, Blyth.