June 22

Page Two

Ours has been called the Age of Terrorism. Terrorist acts have become almost routine. Fear of terrorism now even affects people’s travel plans. Read this issue’s feature articles and learn what it’s like to be held by desperate terrorists and what the solution to terrorism is

Terrorism​—Is Anyone Safe? 3

Hijacked to Malta​—But I Survived 5

What Is the Solution? 11

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

Cover photo: R. Auque/​Gamma-Liaison

Terrorism​—Is Anyone Safe?

BOMBINGS, assassinations, hijackings​—they have almost become routine. And many places in the world hardly seem safe. “Terrorism,” says William J. Casey, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, “has become a pitiless war without borders.”

As recently as 1971, fewer than two dozen persons a year died in terrorist attacks. By 1983 the number killed each year leaped to over ten thousand! “Terrorism is proliferating almost as rapidly as AIDS,” wrote a former UN representative, Jeane Kirkpatrick.

And this form of violence has given history a savage twist. “Historians like to give names to various eras,” notes The Wall Street Journal, “the Age of Faith or the Age of Reason.” But it concludes: “Ours can only be called the Age of Terrorism, for we are no longer dealing with the isolated acts of bandits or deranged killers; those we have always had. What we are living through is a revolt against all ordered society, a war on civilization itself.”

Especially when traveling do many feel vulnerable​—and with good reason. Last June 23, an on-board explosion sent Air-India Flight 182 plunging into the sea near Ireland. All 329 passengers were killed, including 83 children. Terrorists are thought to have planted a bomb on the plane in Toronto, Canada, where the flight originated.

Just a few days before, TWA Flight 847 was hijacked while en route from Athens, Greece, to Rome, Italy. It was the third hijacking in the region within three days, and the most dramatic. The American hostages appeared on what Time magazine termed “the world’s first televised Terrorist Suspense Spectacular.”

Horrified by the cruel slaying of one of Flight 847’s hostages and the prospect of others being killed, U.S. President Reagan said: “I’m as frustrated as anyone. I’ve pounded a few walls myself, when I’m alone, about this.”

Finally, an agreement was reached, and the hostages were released. But CIA director Casey said: “The TWA hijacking was only the beginning.”

And so it was. Even before the American hostages were released, a bomb exploded in Germany at Frankfurt’s international airport. Three bystanders were killed, and dozens more were injured.

In October 1985, during a pleasure cruise in the Mediterranean, the Italian liner Achille Lauro was hijacked by terrorists. Four days of frustration and horror followed. Before it was over, the terrorists had murdered an American hostage.

In November, the hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648 ended in unprecedented disaster. The hijackers cold-bloodedly shot one passenger after another and threatened to continue the executions unless their demands for refueling were met. When Egyptian commandos stormed the plane, most of the passengers were killed. Altogether, 60 died and 27 were injured. Beginning on the next page, you can read the firsthand account of a survivor.

Then, shortly after Christmas, in a vicious attack at airports in Rome and Vienna, terrorists massacred 19 and wounded more than 110 others. And on it goes. When one incident dies down, another one occurs. Almost daily, terrorists strike somewhere.

After reporting a bombing in France, The New York Times of February 6 noted: “It was the third such incident in a crowded area of Paris in as many days, and made it clear that this city had been plunged into a campaign of random terror directed at its best-known and most commonly frequented commercial areas.”

Fear for Safety

The fear that terrorism has generated is illustrated by what happened when the Achille Lauro received a bomb threat on a more recent cruise. The crew, in a panic, threw overboard crates containing one million dollars’ worth of new gambling equipment, fearing that one of them might contain a bomb! The report was a hoax.

Many airports have become virtual armed camps. Luggage is searched piece by piece at places such as Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport. When an inspector there suspiciously fingered a tube of toothpaste, a traveler half jokingly said: “If you squeeze it out, you’ll have a hard time getting it back in.” No measures can guarantee 100-percent safety.

“At this point, it doesn’t seem that any airport is really safe,” says Michael Barron, assistant travel manager of a U.S. travel agency. “You pay your money and you take your chances.”

Thousands have changed their travel plans because of fear of terrorism. Some 850,000 Americans reportedly may have canceled overseas trips last summer after a major hijacking. A New York travel agent recently noted: “Even the travel agents here don’t want to go on trips to Europe right now,” adding, “and we can go for free.”

The situation is serious. Briefing a U.S. Senate committee, CIA director Casey said: “We are in the midst of an undeclared war.” But the problem is identifying the enemy. It could be the passenger in the next airplane seat.

Would you like to learn what it’s like to be held by desperate hijackers? Then read the following story of Elias Rousseas, who survived the hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648.

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The massacre at the Rome airport

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AGI photo, Rome, Italy

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Reuters/​Bettmann Newsphotos

Hijacked to Malta​—But I Survived

AT ABOUT 8 p.m. last November 23, I arrived at the Athens International Airport with a colleague, George Vendouris. We were on our way to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to inspect one of the ships of the company for which I work. For some years I have been chief engineer for our company, and on this assignment George was to assist me.

We were traveling to Dubai by way of Cairo on EgyptAir Flight 648. After passing through the various checkpoints, we reached the aircraft, a Boeing 737. Since we had only hand luggage, we were able to enter the plane relatively early. If I remember correctly, we were in row seven, seats A and B.

Finally, after everyone had boarded, we took off according to schedule shortly after 9:00 p.m. The plane was not quite full, with fewer than a hundred passengers. Shortly after takeoff the flight attendants started serving soft drinks. We must have been 25 minutes or so into our flight when a man appeared in front of the pilot’s door. He had a gun in one hand and a green grenade in the other, and he started shouting in Arabic. I am Greek and do not understand Arabic, but it became clear that this was a hijacking.

So we followed the motions of the Egyptian passengers and proceeded to raise our hands over our heads. While giving orders, the hijacker was also trying to pull something out of the grenade with his teeth. He did not succeed, however, so he returned the grenade to his vest pocket.

The hijacker, who, it turned out, was not alone, made those sitting in the front seats move back to sit wherever they could. Then he asked for our neckties. Next, the hijackers started to bring one person at a time to the front, taking his passport, frisking him, and then having him take one of the empty seats in front.

When those in the front seats moved back, an Egyptian man ended up next to me. I learned later that he was in charge of the aircraft’s security guards. When he was called forward, the hijacker took his passport, forced him to lie down, and then tied him up with ties. Even before this, the plane’s chief flight attendant had been tied up.

When my turn came, following the Egyptian security guard, the hijacker just took my passport without frisking me and directed that I should sit down. He pointed to the right-hand side, about the third row.

In-Flight Gun Battle

A few minutes later, there were gunshots just behind me. Immediately, we all ducked. Apparently the bullets depressurized the cabin, for the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. Many passengers put them on, but I didn’t feel the need for oxygen. I believe that the captain had quickly brought the plane to a lower altitude.

When the shooting ended, I looked back and saw the hijacker who seemed to be in charge lying down flat. He looked dead. Another man also was on the floor, and a couple of flight attendants and a passenger had been wounded.

It seems that the hijacker had asked a man for his passport. The man turned out to be one of the security guards, and instead of reaching for his passport, he pulled out his gun and shot the hijacker. But the guard himself was shot by another hijacker in the back of the plane.

The fallen security officer’s gun landed at my feet, and for a moment I thought of picking it up. But wisely I dismissed the idea​—I would not have known how to use it anyway.

The pilot’s door then opened and a tall masked man appeared with a grenade and a gun in hand. He spoke to the hijacker behind me, and then he looked straight into my eyes, motioning with his gun for me to stand. He said something, but from his gestures I only understood that he wanted me to drag the fallen hijacker to the pilot’s compartment.

When I started doing that, the hijacker motioned that I should turn the man over. Since I could not manage alone, the hijacker called someone else to help, and Demetris Voulgaris came. I had known Demetris for many years because he worked for our firm. Demetris took hold of the man’s legs; I took the shoulders, and we turned him over. They wanted us to do this so that they could get the grenade from his vest pocket.

After one of the hijackers took the grenade, we asked permission to give the fallen hijacker some water, but we were motioned not to. They probably figured he was beyond help. So we sat him up by the door, and we were told to drag the security guard forward. At this point, a hijacker saw the guns on the floor and picked them up.

As we were bringing the security guard forward, we had in mind undressing him and providing him first aid. But when his head was close to the first row of seats, the hijacker told us to stop. I was ordered to empty two food trays​—to throw the food on the floor. The hijacker said to put the trays on the first seat and motioned that I should hold the guard’s head right there on the trays.

It dawned on me that he intended to kill the wounded man, so I shouted, “No!” And holding my hands over my face, I turned toward the passengers, saying, “He wants to kill him!” Surprisingly, the hijacker did nothing to me. He held the security guard’s head, but he did not shoot him. Then he sat down in the first row next to me.

After a while I could no longer endure sitting there, so I held my hands up and moved toward the back, finding a seat somewhere in the fifth or sixth row. My young assistant, George Vendouris, came and sat behind me.

The chief flight attendant, who had managed to untie himself, called out to one of the flight attendants who was being used to collect the passports. We were about to land. But before we did, the flight attendants were instructed to prop up and secure the hijacker, who was either dead or dying.

Arrival in Malta

Whether it was the hijackers’ intended destination or not, we landed in Malta after a flight time of about two hours. Shortly after the plane landed, the door was opened and a doctor came on board. He was shown the lifeless hijacker and was told to examine him. The doctor did so, nodded his head, and motioned that he would move on to the body of the security guard. But the hijacker told him not to.

All Greeks were told to sit on the right side of the plane where I already was. There were 17 Greeks, of whom only 5 eventually survived.

The attendant announced over the loudspeaker that all the Filipino women aboard should come to the front. Some other women also were invited to come forward, and altogether 11 women were permitted to leave the plane with the doctor.

Executions Begin

The flight attendant asked where the Israeli girls were. Thinking that they were going to be released, too, a young woman quickly responded. But when she reached the front, the masked hijacker grabbed her. He pushed her out the door onto the exit stairway, so I couldn’t see what happened. But there was a shot, causing all of us to duck instinctively, and then a thud. The girl, we heard later, turned her head at the last moment, so that the bullet only grazed her. She fell down the stairs of the platform, hid under the plane, and eventually escaped.

The hijackers, we later learned, threatened to continue shooting passengers unless fuel was provided. After a few minutes, the second Israeli girl was called, but she did not stand up. The flight attendant arrived with the girl’s passport in hand, identified her, and told her to get up, but she wouldn’t. So the hijacker sent two passengers whom he used as assistants because they spoke Arabic, and they forced her to the front. That was when all of us began to feel the shock.

The girl was crying. She fell down and stayed on the floor. When the hijacker came out from talking with the pilot, he kicked her and pushed her outside. Again there was a shot, and a thud as she fell mortally wounded. By now it was a little past midnight.

Shortly thereafter, three more persons were called, a young man and two women. From their names, we concluded correctly that they were Americans. The hijacker brought them to the front and had his two helpers tie their hands behind their backs with ties. They were told to sit in the front row.

About an hour passed. Then the hijacker called the American boy. I must say that I was impressed by the boy’s calmness. He stood up and walked up to the hijacker as if he were going to collect an award or something​—very cool. Again there was the bang, the thud, and the door closed. Although I didn’t see it, the boy also fell down the exit stairway. And, amazingly, as with the first Israeli girl, he, too, was only grazed by the bullet and survived.

Another hour or so passed, and the hijacker called one of the American girls. She stood up, and the same story was repeated​—the bang and the thud as she fell. By now it must have been about three or four in the morning. Rain was pouring, adding to the dreadful atmosphere of the night. The passengers were glued to their seats with fear.

It was quiet​—no crying, shouting, or other noise. But I could hear the muffled comments: “Look, he’s killed the Israeli girl,” “That poor girl,” or, “Now he’s killed the American.” Also, the whispered questions: “What is this?” “How can this go on?” “What will he do now?”

As for me, during each execution I prayed to Jehovah. I asked that, if it was his will, he would remember the individual in the resurrection, so that the person could have the opportunity for life in God’s new system.

Meanwhile, the sun began to rise. The door opened, and the two who were assisting the hijackers went outside and brought in sandwiches. Some ate, others did not. They also gave us water.

As the executions were occurring, we thought that the demands of the hijackers must be very high for those outside not to accept them. And we were thinking that any one of us could be the next to be executed. But as the hours passed after the American girl was killed, we began to believe that things were being negotiated.

At about noon, the plane door was opened, and the other American girl was called up and shot dead. When this happened, again each one feared that he might be the next one selected for execution. But as the afternoon passed and night came, and nobody else was called up, we wondered if perhaps they had worked things out.

“You Are Too Calm!”

During the day I thought to myself, ‘This is Sunday and the public talk is now in progress in our congregation in Piraeus.’ I said a silent prayer as if I were at the meeting. Later, when the talk would have been over, I pulled out my Watchtower magazine and imagined that I was at our congregation study. The passage at Psalm 118:6 came to mind. It says that if Jehovah is on our side, why fear earthling man?

My young assistant George Vendouris, sitting behind me, at one point said: “Boss, I knew that you were calm, but you are too calm!”

“Look, son,” I answered, “here we have a simple problem. Either we live or we die. The problem is just not ours. Trust in God, and if he allows us to die, he allows it. So don’t keep worrying.”

“Why don’t you give me something to read?” he asked, and I gave him The Watchtower.

When the study would have been over in Piraeus, where I serve as a Christian elder, I said another prayer, placing myself in Jehovah’s hands and telling him I was ready to accept whatever he permitted to take place.

I thought of writing a brief note to my wife: ‘Katie and children, we’ll meet in the Kingdom.’ But as soon as I took out my pen, I thought, ‘What are you doing here? Playing judge? Didn’t you say before that the matter is in Jehovah’s hands?’ I figured that I had no right to leave a note saying that I would die. So I put my pen back in its place without writing anything.

Rescue and Escape

Suddenly, at about 8:30 p.m., machine-gun fire erupted, evidently from outside. But gunfire came from the back of the plane, too, probably from the hijackers. We fell to the floor. An explosion followed, and all lights went out.

‘Since the lights are out,’ I thought to myself, ‘I can move now.’ I stood up, but as soon as I did, I felt a burning sensation. It was some kind of gas, so I held my breath. I heard George say, “Hey, they’re going to burn us.” I couldn’t talk myself, and I breathed as little as possible so as to survive.

In the direction I was looking, everything was dark. But then I heard a voice, “The other side.” I turned and saw a ray of light and headed in that direction. In a few moments, I found myself at an opening. It may have been an emergency exit over the wing. Whether I jumped from the wing or slipped, I cannot remember.

The next thing I do remember was my lying down and someone standing over me, holding my head. I realized I was outside the aircraft and that these were probably our liberators.

I started to breathe again. But even though there was fresh air, I felt as if I were still breathing gas. And it was that way for days afterward. Others had fallen behind me, and we tried to get up, but we were not allowed to. So we crawled behind some boxes. While there, we were searched. Then we were put in a car and taken to the hospital.

Later we learned that most of the nearly 60 persons who died in the rescue attempt apparently died from the smoke caused by the explosives of the Egyptian commandos who had stormed the plane. Sadly, my colleague George Vendouris was among those that were killed.

At the Hospital

When we arrived at the hospital​—it was St. Luke’s Hospital​—I heard the word “Emergency!” We were put on stretchers, and a doctor came to see what was happening. I was stripped to my shorts. Then I was taken to one of the wards. I was in pain, and my eyes were bothering me. Soon I could see nothing at all, so I began shouting and a doctor came. He put something in my eyes.

They bandaged me and began intravenous feeding. I was washed with a towel and given injections for the pain. In my limited English, I told them that I did not want a blood transfusion because I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Then someone informed me that a Witness worked on the ambulance that had come to the airport, a Maltese Witness. When he came to talk to me later, he said, “Don’t worry, they won’t use blood.”

Finally, a doctor came. She was very polite. I could not see her, but I remember her voice. I asked if she would make a collect call to my home and inform my family that I was alive. I was worried about them.

Someone came in who, if I remember correctly, said he was the hospital director. He took my hand and asked, “What is your name?” and I told him. Later I learned that Witnesses from the Watch Tower Society’s branch office in Greece had telephoned and were waiting on the line. The hospital director had come to see me to make sure I was alive so that he could tell them. This happened around daybreak on Monday.

On Tuesday my wife and son came to Malta. When I felt her hand in mine, I knew it was my wife. I embraced her and offered thanks to Jehovah. My son came, too, as well as the manager of the firm I work for.

During all this time I was being given oxygen so that I could breathe. Also, a nurse would come in, turn me face down, and hit me so that I would release phlegm. When I was able to see again, I saw that the phlegm was black. It must have been caused by the gases. On Wednesday my bandages were removed, but I could not take the light.

When several reporters came that day, the doctor ordered them out. In the meantime, the police arrived and told me that I had to make a statement. Later they told me, “You know so many details, you could write a book.” After that, a representative of the consulate and a prosecutor came with a tape recorder and took my statement, again with the use of a translator.

When this was over, my wife and son left the hospital. They stayed with some Maltese Witnesses until I was well enough to travel and we could leave Malta together. I am deeply grateful to be among the few survivors of the terrifying hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648.​—As told by Elias Rousseas.

[Blurb on page 6]

He pulled his gun out and shot the hijacker

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The other American girl was called up and shot dead

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I was blinded and in great pain

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Reuters

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My wife and son visited me at the hospital

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Reuters

What Is the Solution?

“IT WAS the only solution,” EgyptAir pilot Hani Galal said of the commando storming of his hijacked plane. Yet, is it really a solution when even innocent passengers are killed or seriously injured?

Actually, nobody involved knows a solution to the problem of terrorism. It can take so many forms and occur in so many places. “Terrorism is like the mythical monster Hydra,” notes Brian Jenkins, an expert on terrorism. “Everytime you cut off its head, two grow in its place.”

A few persons, or even one, can terrorize millions. The recent planting of poison in Tylenol headache capsules in the United States, called “an act of terrorism pure and simple,” is an example. Authorities simply have no way of dealing with what has become a revolt against organized society.

But why this revolt? What is responsible for terrorism? People feel oppressed and frustrated by injustices, and see terrorist acts as perhaps their only recourse. The hijackers of TWA Flight 847 last summer signed their statement: “The oppressed of the earth.” And, indeed, the TWA pilot told a television interviewer: “These people have a just cause.”

At Rome’s airport last winter, one of the slain terrorists had a note on his body addressed to “Zionists” that read: “As you have violated our land, our honor, our people, we in exchange will violate everything, even your children, to make you feel the sadness of our children. The tears we have shed will be exchanged for blood.” The note was signed: “The martyrs of Palestine.”

But are these Palestinians martyrs or terrorists? What about the United States-supported guerrillas in Nicaragua​—are they freedom fighters or terrorists? Indeed, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

Yet, regardless of labels, hardly anybody today can feel safe from terrorist acts. And security measures​—even the spending of $5 billion by the United States on security for its official buildings abroad—​are no real solution. These measures do nothing to root out the causes of terrorism. But there is a solution. And while it is beyond human power to provide, it is not beyond God’s power.

The solution for the oppressed of the earth is not in resorting to acts of terrorism but in the fulfillment of God’s sure promise: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”​—Proverbs 2:21, 22.

This promise of God will soon be fulfilled. His ruler, the resurrected Jesus Christ, will see to that. A Bible prophecy says regarding this One: “With righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. And he must strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death.”​—Isaiah 11:4.

Yes, God’s Son Jesus Christ will soon eliminate all injustice, as well as those responsible for it. In God’s righteous new system, terrorism and violence of every kind will be things of the past. Then everyone on earth will live in security, free from fear of any harm.​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

The Statue of Liberty​—A Promise Fulfilled?

SHE was conceived and born in France, but at the age of two she settled in the United States. Now she is over a hundred years old and has just had a multimillion-dollar face-lift. Who is she? The Statue of Liberty, one of the most famous statues in the world.

At 151 feet (46 m) high, she is also one of the largest statues in the world. With the pedestal included, she rises to a height of 305 feet (93 m), staring with sightless eyes across New York Bay. She has been a welcoming symbol for millions of immigrants over the past hundred years. But why should the Statue of Liberty interest you? Because what it symbolizes​—liberty, or freedom—​affects everyone today. As late in history as 1986, freedom does not exist in every country, and in many others it is being eroded.

But what was the original motive for the creation of the statue? And why is 1986 a special year for her? Is her “golden door” of opportunity still as open and as golden as it used to be?

A Dinner That Made a Difference

Back in 1865 a group of French scholars and statesmen were sharing dinner in Glatigny, France, at the invitation of Professor Édouard de Laboulaye, president of the French antislavery society. They were admirers of the United States Constitution and its political development. The host suggested sending a gift to the American people as a way of paying homage to the United States and its one hundred years of independence from Britain, achieved in 1776.

The motives of those liberal Frenchmen living under an emperor were not totally altruistic. As Charles Mercer states in his book Statue of Liberty: “Their idea represented propaganda to win the support of both French and Americans to their own political goal: the founding of the Third Republic [in France].”

A Sculptor With Big Ideas

One of those who backed the idea was the sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. According to the magazine France, he “had already developed a taste for the colossal during a trip to the Middle East, where he had been deeply impressed by the pyramids.” He conceived the idea of a woman in robes, holding a flaming torch in her right hand.

The project got bogged down in delays because at that time it was not politically convenient in imperial France to commemorate the virtues of the rising North American republic. However, with the fall of Emperor Napoleon III in 1871, the idea of a gift to the United States was revitalized. In July of that year, Bartholdi made a trip to the United States and discovered what he considered to be the ideal spot for the future statue​—a little island in New York Bay called Bedloe’s Island (known as Liberty Island since 1956).

But Bartholdi’s vision of the land of liberty did not match the reality. Charles Mercer comments: “While all American blacks recently had been declared free, almost all were the slaves of desperate poverty, little or no employment, practically no education. Women [in general] did not even have the right to vote.”

Full of enthusiasm, Bartholdi pushed ahead with his plans for an imposing statue. As they crystallized, it became evident that he had incorporated Freemasonry symbols into his design​—the torch, the book in her left hand, and the seven-pointed diadem around her head are some examples. This perhaps was not so surprising since he was a Freemason.a

Born in France, Raised in the United States

To bring Bartholdi’s plans to fruition, another outstanding Frenchman was brought into the team​—Gustave Eiffel, who later became famous for his Eiffel Tower in Paris. He designed the iron framework that would serve as a support for the hundred tons of copper skin and robes of Lady Liberty.

By 1884 the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, as it was originally called, had risen to its full height above the Paris workshops where it was built. On July 4 of that year, it was officially presented to the American ambassador in Paris.

But now it had to be transported to its new homeland​—like millions of others, Lady Liberty was to be an immigrant. The statue was dismantled and packed into 200 crates and shipped to New York. On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was inaugurated on Bedloe’s Island.

New Bodywork and a Face-Lift

By 1984 nearly a hundred years of battering by winds, rain, and storms had left its mark on the statue. As a result, it was closed down for visits by the public so that repairs could be carried out in time for a reopening to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations on July 4, 1986.

For two years New York’s welcoming lady was shrouded in scaffolding while expert workmen from France and the United States gave her an overhaul and a face-lift. All the internal iron support ribs have been replaced with 1,700 stainless steel bars. French artisans have painstakingly applied 15 ounces (425 g) of 24-karat gold leaf to the new torch. This has meant covering an area of about 20 square yards (17 sq m), using tweezers and applying the gold leaf to only a couple of square inches (13 sq cm) at a time!

Other improvements have also been carried out to give better access to the two million visitors who come from all over the world every year. The statue now has the tallest hydraulic elevator in North America, reaching a height of 100 feet (30 m) to take visitors in a glass-walled car to the top of the pedestal. From there they climb a spiral staircase to the head of the statue.

The seven spikes of the crown, representing the seven seas and continents, have been restored and strengthened. According to The New York Times, one of these nine-foot long (2.7 m) spikes had to be repositioned because the spike punctured the skin of the upraised right arm when the statue moved in the wind!

1986 Centennial Celebrations

Why is Lady Liberty’s 100th anniversary of world interest? Lee A. Iacocca, chairman of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., stated: “The ideals of liberty represented by the statue have a universal meaning and this will be an event heard and seen around the world.” He explained that the plans for “Liberty Weekend ’86” (July 3-6) include a series of celebrations that will bring heads of state to New York.

The celebrations will include a huge international naval flotilla and the participation of many sailing ships. The navies of at least 117 countries have been invited to join in the spectacle of an International Naval Review. In addition, 141 nations have been invited to send their tall-masted sailing ships.

The centenary will also be celebrated with music and fireworks. The fireworks display, which will take place from 30 barges in the harbor, will fill the night sky.

As a reminder of Lady Liberty’s message of welcome to the world, 5,000 new U.S. citizens will be inducted on nearby Ellis Island by the Chief Justice of the United States. Simultaneously, another 20,000 will take their oaths in other major cities across the nation, with all the events linked by satellite.

Yet, these very ceremonies raise some interesting questions. For how much longer can Lady Liberty keep her “golden door” wide open to immigrants? Can she still afford to invite the world’s ‘poor, huddled masses’?

Liberty’s Message and the Reality

Since 1886, according to U.S.News & World Report, “nearly 40 million immigrants have passed through ‘the golden door’ and eventually become Americans.” Most have been successful in establishing themselves in this dynamic nation. From a purely material viewpoint, some would appear to have achieved everything by becoming millionaires. But there is another side to the coin.

Along with the legal immigrants, there are now millions of illegal aliens. Why are these masses streaming to the United States? As John Crewdson wrote in his book The Tarnished Door: “Whether or not it relishes such a role, the United States, with its strong democratic traditions and unrivaled affluence, is destined to become an increasingly attractive sanctuary for those fleeing political or economic oppression.”

These aliens come mainly from Mexico and from Central and South America. But in many cases they move from one form of poverty to another. Many live in vermin-infested housing that most native Americans would not tolerate. They take the lowest paid and most menial jobs. Then why do they continue to swarm across the U.S. borders and stay under those conditions?

In her book Immigration, writer Lydia Anderson answers that question: “Illegals​—like other immigrants—​come because . . . America still has it better than the world they left. There is a great gap between the economy of the United States and that of Third World countries, Mexico, and South America. . . . Immigrants can often make in a day here what it takes a week or more to earn at home​—if jobs are available at all.”

A U.S. Border Patrol officer stated bluntly: “They’re starving to death down there. They have everything to gain [by coming to the United States] and nothing to lose. You have a rich country alongside a poor country, you’re going to have an illegal alien problem.” (The Tarnished Door) In other words, in spite of the poverty in the United States, conditions are better than where they came from.

Immigration by Auction

In 1986 a refurbished Lady Liberty shines forth, still inviting the tired, the poor, and the homeless to find refuge on her shores​—but with a difference. Today there are strong voices raised against the U.S. immigration policy. For some the policy is too liberal, and for others it is too strict. While some Catholic and Protestant clergy offer sanctuary to illegal aliens, other voices are demanding stricter controls. Thus Liberty’s message of welcome is becoming somewhat garbled and indistinct.

For example, Julian L. Simon, of the Heritage Foundation (a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank), recently put forward a radical suggestion in a New York Times article: “Auction the Right to Be an Immigrant.” He advocates that immigration should be open to the highest bidders within the world quota for a year. Buyers, says Simon, would also be allowed to “enter now and pay later together with income tax. Failure to pay might result in deportation.” He claims that this system would be highly advantageous to the United States since “it would identify people who have an especially large capacity to produce goods of high economic value.”

What kind of people would his idea draw? Julian Simon writes: “The ambitious, for whom America is a large, rich market in which to make a lot of money.” His scheme would call for greater sanctions against any illegals. This policy could hardly harmonize with the words of Emma Lazarus: “Give me your tired, your poor, . . . the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” On the contrary, the message there is, ‘Give me your ambitious and skilled, and keep your poor and oppressed.’

The Source of True Freedom

What are the root causes of this massive immigration problem? John Crewdson answers: “The press of poverty and population around the world or the stark inevitability of famine, political oppression, and civil war.” These problems have been with us for centuries, and no political system has been able to come up with a permanent solution. Therefore the question is, From whence can we expect true freedom​—freedom from poverty, from oppression, from sickness and death?

No country or political philosophy has the complete answer to mankind’s needs. Why not? Because the same principle applies to them that Peter applied to apostate Christians: “While they are promising them freedom, they themselves are existing as slaves of corruption.” (2 Peter 2:19) “The father of the lie,” Satan, has the present world system under his command. Political rulership, under the invisible control of Satan, is riddled with corruption. Freedom, ethics, and morality are sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and selfish gain.​—John 8:44; 1 John 5:19.

In contrast, Jesus Christ stated 1,900 years ago: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Those words apply with equal force today. But to what truth did Jesus refer? His answer to Pontius Pilate gives us a clue, namely: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.”​—John 8:32; 18:37.

That truth is related to God’s promised government by Christ. In a vision, the prophet Daniel saw the Messiah, the “son of man,” brought before God. And the Bible says: “To him [the Messiah] there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away.”​—Daniel 7:13, 14.

There is where true liberty and freedom is to be found​—in Jesus Christ and in his God-appointed Kingdom rule! Soon his righteous rulership will bring an end to all oppression, sickness, and death here on earth. Surely, that kind of liberty and freedom is worth getting to know.​—Matthew 6:9, 10; Revelation 21:3, 4.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 15]

The Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan

[Credit Line]

New York Convention & Visitors Bureau

[Picture Credit Line on page 12]

New York Convention & Visitors Bureau

Flood and Drought​—Acts of God?

“I GET dizzy and my stomach feels cold.” The African woman was trying to describe to an Awake! reporter what it felt like to starve. Said another resident of a drought-stricken region of South Africa: “We lose all our strength to the extent that we are not able to laugh, cry, see, or breathe.”

The misery of these individuals was recently shared by an estimated 35 million in Africa alone. They were victims of a drought that threatened to spell continental disaster.

This suffering by no means went unnoticed. Ghastly images of starving women and children​—often reduced to mere skeletons—​were broadcast and published, spurring on massive relief efforts. For many victims, though, such measures were too little, too late. Relief shipments do not bring the dead back to life, nor do they restore economic prosperity to ruined farmers.

But while some pray with parched lips for a drop of rain, many others suffer at the hands of a natural hazard that some consider even more ruinous to life and property​—flood. Observed the book Historical Catastrophes: Famines: “Many of the major crop failures . . . have been caused by too much water.”

For example, China’s Yellow River winds toward the sea like an elevated highway. Alongside its banks, dikes protect the peasants living on the plain below. But in times of flood these walls sometimes burst, turning the plain into a sea of terror. Over the centuries some ten million Chinese have died in floods, making the Yellow River the cause of more human suffering than any other natural feature on earth!

Floods and droughts continue to haunt man in spite of technological know-how. And whether you have experienced their horror directly or not, you are nonetheless affected. For flood and drought inevitably create food shortages, which in turn cause the price of food to rise sky-high. So helpless is man in the face of these disasters that they are commonly called acts of God. But how true is this designation?

Who Is Responsible?

Earthscan, a “news and information service on global development and environment issues,” published a report entitled Natural Disasters​—Acts of God or Acts of Man? It presents data showing that the average number of reported floods increased worldwide from 15.1 per year in the 1960’s to 22.2 in the 1970’s. Droughts increased from 5.2 per year to 9.7 during the same period. Far more alarming, though, is the fact that the number of people killed by these disasters increased over sixfold!

The Earthscan report says: “Disasters are increasingly man-made. Some disasters (flood, drought, famine) are caused more by environmental and resource mismanagement than by too much or too little rainfall. . . . Disasters are social and political events which can be and often are prevented. In the Third World where the poor are forced to overuse their land and live on dangerous ground, disasters are taking a rising toll.”

Consider how acts of man have brought about so-called acts of God. One night in May 1943 about 330 million tons of water poured into valleys in the western part of Germany. An act of God? No. It was caused by the bombing of the Möhne and Eder dams by British warplanes in World War II. Some 1,294 people drowned in the floods, and most were civilians.

Just five years earlier, a disaster occurred that some believe was more devastating than the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki! Commenting on a report from SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), the magazine New Scientist said: “It was the dynamiting of the Huayuankow dyke of the Yellow River, which stopped Japanese troops advancing through China in 1938, but which also drowned several hundred thousand of China’s own people.” Millions more were left homeless.

Similarly, one African newspaper charged: “Not all the agony [of droughts] can be blamed on the weather. . . . Wars from the Horn of Africa to the Atlantic shore and back to Mozambique have sent peasants fleeing from their croplands.” Ethiopia’s drought, for example, has been aggravated by years of civil war that has destroyed grasslands.

God or Greed?

Thanks to modern technology, farmers are now able to plow vast tracts of land​—including areas that ecologists say should not have been plowed in the first place. Said National Geographic respecting parts of the Great Plains of North America: “Speculators and hard-pressed ranchers have been plowing up hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile grasslands to grow wheat . . . These soils easily blow when it’s dry, and prolonged drought on the plains, like the one that led to the Dust Bowl [a drought-stricken area of the United States during the 1930’s] is only a matter of time.”

Already, some grazing lands in that region are covered with a blanket of soil reaching up to the fence posts. One cattle rancher thus affected said: “It’s not an act of God. It’s an act of greed. God doesn’t have a plow.” Mohandas Gandhi put it well when he said: “There is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”

However, some would say it is the livestock raisers who are greedy. Some stock so many animals that the lands are overgrazed. And while they may get away with doing so for years, when drought strikes, overgrazed lands can turn into a permanent desert. Consider what happened on the borderlands of the Sahara Desert. Earlier this century, thousands of wells were sunk to provide more water. African livestock raisers rejoiced, for this allowed them to increase their livestock. But, alas, there was not sufficient grazing land to accommodate this increase!

“The Sahel was already sick when a drought began in 1968,” states the book Our Hungry Earth​—The World Food Crisis. “As the grasses died, herdsmen cut down trees so that their cattle could eat the leaves. The drought continued, and the grasslands and farmers’ fields started turning to desert.” The Sahara, according to New Scientist magazine, “has expanded southward by 650 000 square kilometres [250,000 sq mi] over the past 50 years.” That is an area larger than Spain and Portugal combined!

Then there are developers who chop down trees, ignoring the ecological consequences. “On a global basis,” says Professor Hanks, Director of the Institute of Natural Resources, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, “in the time it takes you to read this sentence, three hectare [7.4 a.] of forest will have disappeared. . . . There is much more to this loss of trees than a loss of raw material for energy and for building. Deforestation destroys well-established water cycles, leading to siltation of streams and rivers, depletion of ground water, intensified flooding, and an aggravation of water shortages during dry periods.”

An example of this can be seen in the Himalayas. “Forests in the foothills,” says the book Our Hungry Earth​—The World Food Crisis, “are fast disappearing. As a result, floods are getting worse in South Asia. A 1973 flood in Pakistan destroyed large amounts of stored grain. And in 1974, floods in Bangladesh and India damaged crops almost as much as drought.”

Divine Punishment?

No wonder, then, that the aforementioned Earthscan report concluded that man​—not God—​is responsible for the disastrous effects of flood and drought. True, man does not control the weather, although there are some who think that man’s tinkering with the environment through nuclear testing and the like have altered weather patterns. However, as the Earthscan report stated:

“People are changing their environment to make it more prone to some disasters, and are behaving so as to make themselves more vulnerable to those hazards. Growing Third World populations are forced to overcultivate, deforest and generally overuse their land, making it more prone to both floods and droughts.”

‘But is it not possible,’ some may ask, ‘that God somehow uses these disasters to punish man for his mismanagement of the earth? Does not the Bible show that God used such disasters in times past?’ Remember, though, that the divinely caused Noachian Flood was preceded by advance warning. God saw to it that righteous Noah and his family were spared from death. (Genesis 6:13, 14, 17) Certainly this cannot be said of recent disasters, for at times even faithful servants of God have suffered hardship and death because of them.

This does not mean, however, that God is insensitive to man’s ruining of the earth. The Bible indicates that God in due time will bring retribution through his Kingdom. The Bible describes what will happen: “In the days of those kings [present-day governments] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom [his heavenly government] that will never be brought to ruin. . . . It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Daniel 2:44.

For centuries, true Christians have awaited God’s Kingdom. Why, Jesus taught his followers to pray: “Father, . . . let your kingdom come.” (Luke 11:2) Is there reason, though, to believe that a heavenly government could stem destructive floods and droughts? Yes, indeed! For one thing, scientific attempts to control the weather have thus far met with little success. Yet the Creator has the power to regulate the weather. He promised his ancient people: “I shall also certainly give your showers of rain at their proper time, and the land will indeed give its yield, and the tree of the field will give its fruit.”​—Leviticus 26:4.

The resurrected Jesus Christ, appointed by God to be King of this government, has also demonstrated the power of weather control! The Bible tells of an incident where a “violent windstorm broke out.” Jesus was awakened from a deep sleep, “roused himself and rebuked the wind and said to the sea: ‘Hush! Be quiet!’” What happened? “The wind abated, and a great calm set in.” This moved Jesus’ frightened disciples to say: “Who really is this, because even the wind and the sea obey him?”​—Mark 4:36-41.

Under God’s Kingdom rule, earth’s weather will likewise obey the commands of Jesus and therefore be kept in perfect balance. And what about earth’s ecology? There will be no greedy men to strip earth of its forests or pollute the atmosphere. The Bible says: “The earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” (Isaiah 11:9) Under that rule mankind will doubtless learn to build homes and develop the earth in such a way as not to upset its ecology. (Isaiah 65:21) Thus earth will be transformed into a beautiful place​—a real paradise!​—Luke 23:43.

[Picture on page 18]

Why are deserts such as this one in Africa growing rapidly?

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FAO photo

Young People Ask . . .

Why Isn’t Mom Here When I Get Home?

AT ABOUT 3:30 p.m. every school day, young Bruce arrives home. His mother, though, is not there to greet him. She holds down a job in New York City’s financial district; nor is his father there to inquire about the day’s events. He has a full-time job on a newspaper. “I have my own key,” Bruce explains, “and I let myself in and start on my homework.”

Bruce is a “latchkey child,” a term used in the United States to describe a child left to fend for himself until his parents get home. Fortunately for Bruce, his period of solitude is a short one. Soon his grandmother arrives with his younger sister. And a friendly next-door neighbor is always there should an emergency arise.

Once upon a time, latchkey children were the product of poverty. Nowadays they are found, keys dangling around their necks, both in crime-filled ghettos and in affluent suburbs. Some estimate that there are from two to four million latchkey children, ages 7 to 13, in the United States alone! The reason? More and more women have secular jobs. Often they are simply unable to find adequate or affordable child care.

Children Alone

Says Bruce: “Sometimes I like being alone. It’s a lot quieter in the house then.” However, not all youngsters are happy with their empty home. The Denver Post reported on the findings of psychologist Lynette Long. After interviewing 38 young latchkey children, Dr. Long called her findings “depressing, grim and, in some cases, shocking.” The reason? The children suffered extreme loneliness. “They are under strict orders not to go outside and not to have anybody in,” explained Long. In addition, “about one-third have very high fears . . . associated with people breaking in.”

Twelve-year-old Gerald reveals another common fear. Asked what he thinks about coming home to an empty house, he said: “Oh, it’s not so bad, I guess. It’s quiet. I turn on the TV. That keeps me company.” But when asked if he misses his mother or his father, he replied: “I guess. Yeah, I do miss them. . . . Well, you feel sorta funny when you go to another guy’s house and his mom’s there. You maybe sorta wonder if your own mom cares about you. But I’m sure she does.”

A teenager named Tonya expressed similar anxieties: “Mom was always there for me when I was younger. I’d come home from school and we’d have cookies and milk and talk about our day. Since she started working, I come home to cookies and milk and an empty house. By the time Mom gets in from work, she’s too busy to spend time with me. And after dinner, she’s too tired.”

If you are an older, perhaps more responsible teenager, you may dislike your mother’s working for quite a different reason: the additional responsibilities placed upon you. You may resent having to care for younger brothers or sisters when you want to be with your friends, or having to cook instead of playing ball.

‘Why can’t Mom just be home when I get back from school?’ you might wonder.

Why She Works

Diane is a single parent who has held secular employment since her son was two months old. Pursuing a career or becoming a “liberated” woman was hardly her motive for entering the job market, nor did she do it because she didn’t love her son. Her reason? “To make ends meet,” explains Diane. Yes, in order to care for her young son, Diane says she has often had to accept low-paying jobs that she really hated.

By and large, mothers who take on secular work have done so for economic reasons. After all, parents have a God-given obligation to provide for their children. (1 Timothy 5:8) And even in Bible times, “a capable wife” would engage in such activities as manufacturing and trade to bring in needed income. (Proverbs 31:10, 24) True, back then, work centered around the home, and it was thus easier for parents to work and care for their children at the same time.

Nevertheless, young people do not always understand the tremendous economic pressures parents today feel. In the affluent United States, for example, youngsters routinely demand expensive running shoes, personal computers, and stereo equipment as if these were their birthright, as if parents were bank owners. But because we live in “critical times hard to deal with,” providing just the necessities of life often is an enormous struggle for parents.​—2 Timothy 3:1.

In the United States, between the years 1970 and 1983 the cost of clothing nearly doubled. The cost of food, housing, and transportation virtually tripled! (Statistical Abstract of the United States 1984) Many fathers simply do not earn enough money to keep up with rising costs. The result? Record numbers of women have taken on secular work. A report by a research organization called Worldwatch Institute says that, worldwide, the number of women involved in secular work “rose from 344 million to 576 million between 1950 and 1975”!

So if your mother is out working at a job, the odds are she feels she has no choice. There is no reason to conclude that her love for you has cooled. Indeed, the fact that she leaves you alone​—or entrusts you with the care of your younger siblings—​may indicate how much your parents trust you.

Being Supportive

Of course, understanding why mom works doesn’t mean you necessarily like it. No doubt her having a job causes you any number of problems: late meals, occasional bouts of loneliness, anxiety. You could easily make yourself miserable by dwelling on such difficulties. On the other hand, the Bible says: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (Acts 20:35) Yes, a surefire way to get over self-pity is to concern yourself with giving support to your parents and helping them.

For example, consider what a Nigerian newspaper called the Sunday Sketch said: “UN statistics reveal that women do two-thirds of the world’s work whilst men do one-third. . . . It has also been concluded . . . that women are in a permanent state of fatigue and exhaustion largely caused by overwork which affects their health.” While this may especially be true in Third World countries, women in the affluent West often are similarly exhausted by trying to fill the role of both family provider and mother.

Are you sensitive to this fact? Do you offer a word of encouragement and appreciation when you observe that your mother is tired from a long day’s work? (Proverbs 25:11) Have you tried offering to help out around the house? Or do you perform chores grudgingly? (Compare 2 Corinthians 9:7.) Said one working mother: “When my son doesn’t cooperate, this leaves me frustrated. And when I come home and things are not done, I get very despondent. It takes away the joy from the things I want to do, like making a nice meal for him.”

The book Working Couples further observed: “Most working parents are greeted, as soon as they open the front door, with a barrage of questions, requests, and calls for attention by their children. . . . That golden hour at day’s end is often a time of fatigue, hurry, and frayed dispositions.” How about holding off your questions and demands long enough to let your mom or dad have a few well-deserved minutes to unwind?

Granted, coming home to an empty house may not be ideal. But if you ‘keep an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of your parents,’ you can make the most of the situation. A future article will show how some youths have done this.​—Philippians 2:4.

[Blurb on page 22]

If your mother is out working at a job, the odds are she feels she has no choice

To Tip​—Or Not

THE lights are low, the music is soft, and the food is delicious. But that tranquil mood of dining in a fine restaurant can turn into one of puzzlement when the check arrives. ‘Should I tip the waiter?’ ‘How much?’ Many a person’s self-confidence has melted under the imaginary stare of the expectant waiter.

Some restaurant goers, on philosophical grounds, staunchly oppose tipping. They will not leave a penny. Their opposites just as strongly believe that it is necessary and proper to tip. They will be generous. But what many fail to consider is that in some countries tips and gratuities are expected. They are considered part of the bill.

Why Tip?

“Without tips, I’d starve!” is the usual protest of waiters and taxicab drivers. So in certain countries, the United States for one, tipping is more than a thank-you for extra service rendered. It is the principal part of a person’s income.

Oscar, a waiter at a famous New York City restaurant, has a wife and three children to feed, clothe, and shelter. Why are tips important to him? “If I didn’t get enough money in tips, I would have to get an additional job,” he answers. Oscar, like most waiters and waitresses in the United States, is paid the minimum wage​—hardly enough to support one person, let alone five. In addition, the waiter does not keep the whole tip. “We have to divide it between the busboy, the bartender, and the maître d’,” he explains. Oscar realizes that the rising cost of restaurant meals cuts into the amount of money customers leave as tips, yet “my own bills keep going up too,” he says.

Other people besides waiters​—bellhop, doorman, concierge, hotel maid, cloakroom and washroom attendants, hairdressers, taxi drivers—​also depend on tips for their living.

Consider Judith, a young woman who lives in a small German town. She works part-time as a beautician in order to support herself in her career in the ministry. She says: “Our wages are really low because the employers expect customers to give us tips.” Because of the increased cost of living, she has found that people leave smaller tips and many do not give anything at all. “Most people giving a tip do so because we have been friendly to them,” Judith explains, “not realizing that we depend on tips for our living.”

Interestingly, the U.S. government assumes that customers will leave a certain percentage of the bill as a tip in restaurants and in certain other places. Waiters and others who perform personal services must pay the government taxes on that estimated tip whether they get it or not!

What to Do When Visiting

If you are visiting a foreign country, it is wise to keep in mind the exchange rate as well as the inflation rate. One visitor who had formerly lived in Brazil returned there after many years. She was unprepared for the small purchasing power of the local currency, which had devalued about 200 percent annually during her absence. Without thinking, she tipped a man a 500-cruzeiro bill, which was a good tip when she left Brazil. The man frowned. So to be generous, she gave him a 1000-cruzeiro bill. Wearily, the man said: “Aw, forget it!” Imagine her embarrassment when she found out later that her tip was worth about ten cents in United States money!

What Tipping Tells About You

Tipping can certainly be perplexing. But when in doubt about how much to tip, do what Hugh of Nigeria does. “Ask,” he says. “I ask at information desks of airports or hotels for their suggestions.”

There is good reason for following that advice. Why? Consider this: If you are in a tour group or attending a convention, what you do personally reflects on the whole group. People will judge the group by your behavior. So regardless of your personal views about tipping, when you are with a group, if you tip just a little or not at all, others may conclude that your group is stingy or lacks social grace.

Also, remembering this ancient Biblical maxim may help you through the maze of tipping customs: “Always treat others as you would like them to treat you.” Imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes. Wouldn’t you appreciate an appropriate tip if that is the custom where you live?​—Matthew 7:12, The New English Bible.

Finally, knowing how, when, and how much to tip will make you feel more at ease. Moreover, it will, no doubt, bring a smile to the recipient’s face. “It means a lot to me,” said one waitress who prides herself in giving good, polite service. When a meal is concluded on such a pleasant note, how much more enjoyable it is to all!

Tips on Tipping

IN SOME countries, tipping has, in effect, become part of the base price for a meal or a taxi ride. But this is not true in all countries. Here are a few suggestions on whether to tip or not:

AUSTRALIA: Because of wage fixing, no employee here is really dependent on tips for a suitable wage. Alan has driven a taxicab in Sydney since 1973 and rarely receives a tip. If he does, it is usually from an overseas tourist. The average Australian does not tip him, although some may round out the fare and have him keep the change.

Anis is an accountant for a Sydney firm and eats out frequently. He says: ‘Waiters in high-class restaurants expect at least 10 percent of the bill as a tip; middle-class restaurants range from 5 to 10 percent; and average ones are satisfied with anything up to 5 percent.’ Lucy, who travels frequently with her executive husband, agrees and adds that in the more exclusive restaurants, waiters ‘look down their nose’ at you if you tip only 10 percent, and in these places 15 percent is expected.

BRAZIL: The attitude toward tipping in Brazil varies. In larger cities it is expected, in smaller ones it is not looked for as much. “Most restaurants include a 10-percent service charge in the bill for the waiter,” says a headwaiter for a restaurant in the city of Curitiba. “But,” he adds, “an additional tip is generally given.” The same is true for barbers and hotel maids. One reason for this is economics: Wages are low and cannot keep pace with the galloping inflation rate of 230 percent.

Taxi drivers are customarily paid based on the meter and at times are given tips, particularly if they drove through a dangerous neighborhood or late at night. Generally the custom is to give a tip as an expression of gratitude for good service and a friendly attitude.

GERMANY: In the Federal Republic of Germany a service charge of 10 to 20 percent (generally called Trinkgeld in German) is automatically added to the bill, to be distributed among the personnel. When paying the bill, however, good manners dictate rounding off the sum generously. This kind of tip is looked upon as a “small reward for services rendered.” Unfortunately, in neighboring Austria​—according to Lowell, a frequent traveler living in Luxembourg—​German guests have a reputation for leaving very small tips or none at all.

Regarding tipping in restaurants, a well-known German book on manners suggests: “Don’t be tightfisted; round off the sum so that the waiter does not have to give you 2 or 3 cents change.” For a taxi ride, add 3 to 5 percent to the meter reading.

In Luxembourg, tipping is a little different. Usually the bill does not include a service charge, in which case 8 to 10 percent should be added as a tip. Even if the service charge is included, however, it is still common to add a tip of up to 5 percent.

ITALY: Here the custom of tipping is extensively practiced. Taxi drivers welcome tips of 15 percent of the fare. In restaurants, tips of 5 to 10 percent are expected for good service. “The waiter expects a tip from the customer and is disappointed if he does not receive it,” says Pino, a 32-year-old waiter who works for a restaurant in Rome, “not only because of loss of income but also because he is not shown the appreciation that is normally manifested by those who leave a tip.”

Efrem is of Ethiopian nationality. He, too, is a waiter in Rome. “Tips are very essential,” he says, because “wages are quite low.” He believes he has earned his tip when he shows his customer courtesy and speed of service.

JAPAN: The National Tourist Organization there says: “No tipping,” and boasts that “no tips in Japan make Japan a paradise for tourists.” While this is technically true, in reality tax and service charges are included in the listed prices or are added to the bill. Salaries are paid from these charges.

Taxi drivers in Japan are paid a fixed wage that is sufficient to support a family, and they are not allowed to solicit tips. Yet almost 15 percent of the passengers do tip, explaining: “This is toward your lunch.” Taxi drivers in Japan do not consider it part of their work to handle luggage, but when they do, passengers often tip for this extra service.

It is not the custom to tip in restaurants because service charges are included in the bill. Mr. Hazama, the owner of a high-class restaurant in a Tokyo suburb, told Awake! that the wages of waiters in Japan are equal to those in other kinds of work. He explained that the soliciting of tips in restaurants is strongly discouraged, as it would immediately bring a bad name to the establishment. He did state, though, that the nearest thing to a tip would be the custom of handing over a monetary gift when extra service is ordered, such as booking ahead for a special celebration party.

What about staying in Japanese ryokans, or inns? Should you tip? Usually not for standard service. But some ryokans give extra service at no additional cost. In these ryokans, guests may feel that they want to show appreciation by tipping, especially if they expect to stay for several days​—for example, when attending a convention.

Japan has an interesting custom: giving money before receiving services. For instance, some guests, as soon as they arrive at a ryokan, slip an envelope containing money to the housekeeper who will be cleaning their room. It is a thank-you in advance for all the care she will give them. This thoughtfulness seems to ensure good service.

NIGERIA: Most hotels, restaurants, and similar establishments have service charges​—10 to 15 percent. Jeremiah, who has worked as a waiter in hotels in Lagos for several years, says: “The money collected in this way is shared among all the employees.” He explains: “Tipping is forbidden, and employees seen taking tips may be dismissed.” Some establishments post signs informing the public of this restriction. But Jeremiah quickly adds that where workers are not forbidden to take tips, an additional tip is appreciated even though there is a service charge. “This encourages interest in customers and the giving of good service,” he says.

UNITED STATES: Tipping here is more than a reward for good service. It is how some people earn their living. But this does not mean that tipping at a fixed rate is automatic. For example, for good service, “15 percent is the standard,” says Andrea, a restaurant manager. Tip 20 percent if a waiter has been extra helpful and generous, restaurant critics advise, but 10 percent or less for poor service. “Don’t penalize the waiter for the quality of the food because he has no control over that,” cautions Oscar, a waiter. “Please tip for the service rendered by the waiter. If you feel his service was poor, tell him why, and tell the manager too.”

Tipping in New York City is different. In most restaurants 20 percent is the standard. Susie Steiger, vice president for Restaurant Marketing Plus of New York City, advises tipping 15 percent as a minimum and 20 percent if you are very satisfied with the restaurant’s service. She also observed that people from different regions of the country tip differently. Those from large cities generally tip more than those from smaller cities and rural areas. So when visiting New York City, it would be well to remember the custom prevailing there and tip accordingly.

What about taxi rides? Taxi driver Mary says that “cabbies expect a 15-percent tip.” Also, when you stay at a resort or a hotel for any length of time, etiquette expert Elizabeth L. Post suggests that, for a couple, you tip the maid about one dollar a night.

From Our Readers

How Important Are Looks?

I would like to thank you for your article “Young People Ask . . . How Important Are Looks?” (January 8, 1986) I am 15 years of age and I am very tall, 5 feet 8 inches to be exact. I have always complained because of being so tall, but your article made me realize that my height does not interfere with my personality. After all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, not the outside.

J. D., Louisiana

Down’s Syndrome

What a joy to read such a heartwarming story of parents who lovingly help their handicapped child. (“Thirty Years of Love and Devotion,” February 8, 1986) My heart goes out to them for their devotion. For several years I worked in an institution where these children were placed. After reading this article, I thought of these children who were placed there because the parents were ashamed of them or felt there was no hope for them to learn. Since children with Down’s syndrome need so much attention and care, an institution isn’t the answer in helping these ones. There isn’t enough staff to work with each one on an individual basis, so the children are placed on medication to keep them tranquil so as to sleep most of the time. The children are better off at home in their own natural surroundings.

D. H., Maryland

Circumstances vary, but we do agree that where the family has the emotional strength and can care for a child with Down’s syndrome, it is a far better solution than putting the child in an institution.​—ED.

When the Teacher Is Boring

Your article “Young People Ask . . . How Can I Learn When My Teacher Is So Boring?” (March 8, 1986) presented excellent information and sound advice for anyone in school. You showed that learning requires effort, and students can create a better learning atmosphere by class participation and questions presented respectfully.

M. C., Minnesota

Thank you for the article “Young People Ask . . . How Can I Get Along With My Teacher?” (October 22, 1985) In elementary school my friends had spoken badly about the teachers, so when I started secondary school I was very hostile toward them, especially my teacher in Italian. Since I read your article, I have changed my attitude. I not only get along well with her but I do my homework willingly and I pay attention in school.

D. M., Italy

When Someone You Love Dies

My wife and I wish to express our heartfelt thanks for that marvelous article “When Someone You Love Dies . . . ” (April 22, 1985) It truly helped us a great deal. Our son had suffered from leukemia for nine years when that article came out, and my wife and I had already shed many tears. Then last December our son died in his 14th year. This brings me to what I want to say so much: “Merci beaucoup.” All our Witness brothers and sisters put into practice the suggestions given in the article “How Others Can Help.” We now feel able to help our companions in such times of distress. Thank you so much.

C. L., France

Watching the World

Religious Forecast​—Gloomy!

A panel of Protestant scholars, organized by the Christianity Today Institute in Illinois, U.S.A., to identify future trends of America’s churches, warned that Christian faith in America faces a difficult and uncertain future. In fact, one church leader observed: “Technology, not the church, has emerged as the dominating force in our culture.” Commenting further on church conditions, Jon Johnston, of Pepperdine University in Malibu Beach, California, noted: “The church [has become] a supermarket dispensing spiritual junk food to passers-by. The pastor’s sermon is little more than the ‘special of the week,’ offered to customers at a discount of commitment.”

Unknown Best-Seller

In recent years, Bible sales in the United States have reached an estimated $300 million annually, reports The Providence Sunday Journal. The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association says that Protestants purchase 80 percent of the Bibles sold. Catholics, on the other hand, are the “sleeping giant” in the Bible market, notes a spokesman for Thomas Nelson, Inc., the nation’s largest Bible publisher. Why? Because Bible reading among Catholics, who make up the largest religious group in the United States, was not emphasized until after the Second Vatican Council, which ended in 1965.

Give Love, Not Toys!

When an Australian toy company asked 400 children what gave them the most pleasure, the answers were totally unexpected. In preference to toys, the majority of children asked for more time with their parents, reports The West Australian. A six-year old said the thing he liked best was having the evening meal as a family, “because you don’t have to worry about each other,” since everyone is together. A company official noted that the children gave priority to the family unit and viewed togetherness as of “paramount importance.”

“Genesis Version” Banned!

While state schools in Queensland, Australia, give equal time to teaching the opposing theories of evolution and creationism, The Sydney Morning Herald notes that the “Genesis version” has been banned in the state of New South Wales. The Director-General of Education warned all high-school principals that departmental action would be taken against any teacher who persisted in deliberately teaching creationism as a scientific theory.

Best Preaching Method

In most Western countries, the use of TV for religious programs has reached an all-time high. In Australia, courses are now available to teach pastors how best to use the medium of TV for their ministry. However, commenting on the value of TV evangelism, Dr. Peter Horsfield, a Uniting Church minister, noted: “If the apostles had had TV in their day far more people would have known about Christianity, but far fewer would have become Christians. TV can reach a lot of people . . . , but the best means of religious communication has always been person-to-person.”

In Germany, Bishop Karlheinz Stoll, in a letter to 4,200 parish councils, presented a program for “carrying on an evangelizing work at people’s doors.” Commenting on the ineffectiveness of past evangelical campaigns, the German newspaper Rheinischer Merkur/​Christ und Welt noted that to achieve real success more is needed than strategies and programs. It said that past actions designed to build up faith have suffered because of one particular deficiency, namely: “Today we have many ministers who are specialists, but what we do not have is the minister of God who walks from door to door and from individual to individual.”

“Hijacker’s Special”

What weighs only 23 ounces (0.7 kg), costs about $450, and, when disassembled, does not register on an airport X-ray machine? That’s right, a plastic gun dubbed the hijacker’s special. Its nickname is attributed to the possibility that a potential hijacker will dismantle the gun and hide the few metal parts in separate pieces of luggage, enabling the plastic pistol to pass undetected through X-ray machines used by airports for security. The Glock 17 plastic gun is produced by an Austrian high-technology firm that specializes in military and police equipment. Since 1985 the gun has been manufactured and distributed in Norway, Sweden, and Canada. Some authorities fear the gun is to become an ideal weapon for terrorists.

Unsafe Protection!

Intent on protecting themselves and their families from burglars and rapists, many have installed “burglar bars” on doors and windows. But, according to The New York Times, those people are also subjecting themselves to great peril. Captain Richard Clark, a Washington, D.C., fire-department official, explains: “If you put yourself in . . . a fortress, you’re protected somewhat from an intruder on the outside, but you’ve also locked yourself up inside.” Fire officials note that such bars have been the cause of “many fatalities in home fires.” For that reason, bars without a release mechanism or that require a key to operate are illegal in some large cities. If you make use of such devices, can you and your family easily get out in case of fire?

Healthy Hearts

“Only about 5% of the Eskimo population is known to suffer from heart disease, compared to a 50% average in developed countries,” reports Asiaweek. Why? It’s their diet, says a team of Australian scientists. Eskimos are fish eaters, and scientists at Melbourne’s Baker Medical Research Institute claim that the fat level in the blood is substantially reduced by fish oil, thus decreasing the risk of heart attack. The scientists say that the substance known as max EPA, which reduces the level of blood fat, is found in cod-liver oil and in many varieties of cold-water fish.

Witchcraft Madness

In many parts of Africa, witches are believed to be responsible for calamities such as persons being struck by lightning. Recently, as many as ten deaths by lightning within a three-month period were reported near the village of Ramokgopa in the north of South Africa. The latest victim was a 16-year-old schoolboy. Shocked and angry, his fellow schoolmates took revenge on the village witches who they believed were responsible. “The youths,” reports The Star of Johannesburg, “went on the rampage, burning houses and business premises of suspects.”

Meandering Magnetic Pole

Earth’s north magnetic pole is now at a point “about 480 miles [770 km] northwest of its position in 1904,” says Science Digest. Why is this? The article explains that the planet’s molten core wanders, and since the core generates Earth’s magnetic field, the location of the magnetic pole has also been changing over the years. Canadian geophysicists have now pinpointed it at 77 degrees north, 102.3 degrees west. That is of interest when you know that magnetic compasses point to it rather than to the true north pole, which is 800 miles (1,290 km) farther north!

Recipe for Rain

Seeding clouds in order to make them produce rain has not often met with success. But The Times of London reports renewed interest in this method. Why? Because Professor Avraham Gagin of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University claims to have found the perfect recipe for rainmaking. What is required? From an aircraft, inject the right amount of dry ice or silver iodide into a cloud of suitable size, about four to six miles (6 to 9 km) high and containing about 650,000 cubic yards (500,000 cu m) of water. The result? Up to double the rainfall. Recognized internationally as a leading rainmaker, Professor Gagin has already succeeded in producing from 18 to 25 percent more rain in some areas.

Animal Contraceptives

A contraceptive bullet that permanently destroys the mating urge in animals has been developed in Melbourne, Australia. It has been tried on kangaroos and wallabies and boasts 100-percent success rate. Researchers claim it is equally effective on other animals, such as goats, pigs, and even elephants. How is it administered? The Australian, a Sydney newspaper, reports that this bio-bullet contraceptive is fired from a gun into the animal’s hindquarters. Apart from tenderness for a few days, there are no side effects, and it is effective on male and female animals of any age. It is being hailed as a boon to Australian farmers whose properties are overrun by kangaroos and wallabies.

Unique Birth

The first condor of the Andes to be born in captivity in Latin America had a little help, according to El Universal, a daily newspaper of Mexico City. “Medical intervention was necessary,” reports the paper, “to break the egg in order to guarantee the live birth.” The bird weighed about 5 ounces (140 gm) and was immediately placed in an incubator to ensure its survival. It was fed a special preparation of horsemeat and salt solution. A condor of the Andes reaches its sexual maturity at 8 years and may live in captivity up to 50 years.

Deadly Weight

Ironically, while millions die from starvation-related diseases, countless others die from the consequences of overeating. This year about 60 percent of Australian deaths will in some way be related to diet, reports the Sydney Sun-Herald. One in three adult Australians is overweight, as are thousands of children. Although the Heart Foundation of Australia stresses a commonsense approach to food and exercise, a recent survey found that 94 percent of Australians preferred watching television and videos to physical exercise.

Billions Now Dead Will Soon Live Again

This is a sure promise from God. Learn how it will be fulfilled; read the chapter with the above title in the book Is This Life All There Is? You can receive this 192-page publication for only $1 by filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon.

Please send, postpaid, the hardcover book Is This Life All There Is? I enclose $1 (U.S.).

Help in Growing Up

Growing up in these troubled times is not easy. Youths face many new situations and must make weighty decisions. Should I smoke? Accept drugs? What conduct is proper with one of the opposite sex? What about masturbation and homosexuality? One youth wrote:

“I am 13 years old now almost, and I just wanted to thank you for the Youth book. This book has helped me so much through these hard times of growing up. I just wish all kids my age or older knew about this book.”

This book, which considers all the above questions and many more, is Your Youth​—Getting the Best out of It. Receive a copy by filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon. Only $1.

Please send, postpaid, the 192-page, hardcover book Your Youth​—Getting the Best out of It. I enclose $1 (U.S.).