American ignorance forces Czech ambassador to issue statement saying Czechs are not Chechens
DID you hear the CNN anchorman root the Boston Marathon bombing in “the Islamic Czech Republic”?
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and 6-year-old brother Tamerlan, 26, were born in Chechnya.
Ambassador Petr Gandalovič, Czech ambassador goes on the record:
As many I was deeply shocked by the tragedy that occurred in Boston earlier this month. It was a stark reminder of the fact that any of us could be a victim of senseless violence anywhere at any moment.
As more information on the origin of the alleged perpetrators is coming to light, I am concerned to note in the social media a most unfortunate misunderstanding in this respect. The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities – the Czech Republic is a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the Russian Federation.
As the President of the Czech Republic Miloš Zeman noted in his message to President Obama, the Czech Republic is an active and reliable partner of the United States in the fight against terrorism. We are determined to stand side by side with our allies in this respect, there is no doubt about that.
The Onion was right:
“Our research shows that, while many Americans would like nothing more than to make sweeping, insensitive generalizations about these two individuals based purely on their ethnic identity, this process is largely impeded by the fact that 9 out of 10 Americans truly know next to nothing about Chechnya, including even the very barest details of what or where Chechnya is,” said lead researcher Dr. Tim Kinane, adding that a majority of American citizens are almost totally unaware of Chechen history and culture, how to locate Chechnya on a map, whether Chechnya is a country or a city or a region, or that a person from Chechnya is called a Chechen.
Such are the facts…
Posted: 20th, April 2013 | In: Reviews Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
