The Economist - UK (2021-11-20)

20 The Economist November 20th 2021
Letters

Vaccinepassports

Yourarticleonvaccine

passportsmentioneda paper­

based“yellowcard”thatthe

WorldHealthOrganisationhas

publishedfor 30 years(“Hard

pass”,October30th).This

documentcontainsthe

InternationalCertificatefor

VaccinationorProphylaxis

(icvp), whichisrecognisedby

allcountries,unlikecountry­

specificcovid­19certificates.

Thewhoisworkingona

digitalversionofthis.Inthe

neartermthepaper­based

bookletwillberevisedto

includeanextrasectionon

laboratoryresultsaimedat

providinga universallyaccept­

edtoolforinternationaltravel.

Currently,thewhodoes

notrecommendthatcountries

requireproofofvaccination

againstcovid­19asa condition

oftravel,giventhelimitedand

unevenaccesstovaccination

worldwide.Nevertheless,

travellerscanbeprovidedwith

aninternationalcertificateon

themodeloftheicvpto

documentthattheywere

inoculatedwithanyofthe

vaccinesthathavereceived

whoapprovalforemergency

use.Measuressuchastesting

orquarantinecouldbeeased

forvaccinatedtravellers,based

oneachcountry’sriskassess­

mentandonwhoguidance.

tarikjasarevic

Spokesperson

WorldHealthOrganisation

Geneva

Aquestion of numbers

“The maths wars” (November

6th) correctly highlighted a

serious problem with Amer­

ican competitiveness and

national security arising from

the poor quality of education

in mathematics. You discussed

at some length the methodolo­

gy of teaching, but the real

problem is the quality of the

teaching. Teachers are poorly

paid. A graduate with an

engineering or science degree

can earn twice as much in the

private sector. 

Substandard teaching in

maths, science and technology

has far­reaching consequenc­

es. I came to America on an

h­1bvisabecausemyemployer

couldnotfindanAmerican

withmyskills.Visitany

engineeringofficeorlaborato­

rynowandyou’llfindthat

abouthalftheworkersob­

tainedtheirprimaryandsec­

ondaryeducationina foreign

country.Relyingonimmigra­

tiontomakeuptheshortfall

hasworkedsofar,butAmerica

isbecominglessattractiveasa

destinationforvariousrea­

sons,makingit moredifficult

toattracttheseskills.

nigelgale

SanAntonio,Texas

Morocco and Western Sahara

Regarding the conflict in

Western Sahara (“The disputed

desert”, November 6th), the

claim by the Polisario Front,

which is seeking indepen­

dence, to control 20% of the

land is a flagrant violation of

the 1991 ceasefire agreement, as

the unhas repeatedly noted.

Under the agreement, 80% of

the territory remains under

Moroccan control and 20% is

designated as demilitarised

buffer zones.

It is true that Western

Sahara under Morocco’s rule is

booming. Subsidies target

Sahrawis first and foremost,

and not only non­Sahrawis

coming from other parts of

Morocco. By contrast, Sahrawis

in the camps on Algerian soil

are warehoused against their

will. They are considered

refugees but they have no right

to free movement or gainful

employment, nor to be count­

ed and identified, as stipulated

in the Geneva Convention and

demanded by the unSecurity

Council. The Polisario receives

134,000 daily food rations from

the World Food Programme,

but aerial pictures and evi­

dence on the ground suggest

that those in the camps num­

ber less than 90,000. The

European Anti­Fraud Office

has accused Polisario in the

past of embezzling rations and

selling them on the black

market, with help from Algeri­

an military officers.

War will only make an

already dire situation in the

camps unbearable and explo­

sive. Morocco has been trying

toappealtoAlgeriatoopen

channelsofdialogue.Rulersin

bothcountriesoweit totheir

populationsandnextgener­

ationstothinkpeaceandnot

war,prosperityinsteadof

belligerence.Thosebeatingthe

drumsofwarwoulddragthe

regionintoa conflictwhere

everyonewilllose.

lahcenhaddad

Ministerinthegovernmentof

Morocco,2012­

Rabat

Theelephantnotintheroom

Chinapumpsalmost30%of

theworld’scarbon­dioxide

emissionsintotheatmo­

sphere,andyetyousingledout

theprimeministersofIndia

andAustraliaanda senator

fromWestVirginiaascowards

onfossilfuels(“Copout”,

October30th).XiJinpingdidn’t

eventurnupatthecop 26

summitinGlasgow.Chinais

stillincreasingitscapacityfor

coal­firedpowerstations.

gregwelsby

Brisbane,Australia

Onewidelyneglectedlegal

issueassociatedwithglobal

warmingishowinternational

bodies,andtheuninpartic­

ular,shoulddealwithwater­

loggedstates;smallislands

andlow­lyingcountriesthat

willprobablybefloodedby

2100 becauseofrisingsea

levels.Muchhasbeensaid

aboutrelocatingpopulations

fromtheseplacesfortheir

safety,butnoattentionhas

beenpaidtothelegalstanding

ofthesestateswithouta sover­

eignterritorytorule.Willthey

continuetoenjoyvotesinthe

unandotherworldagencies?

professorpeterhaas

UniversityofMassachusetts

Amherst

Battling Biden

Your analysis of American

politics is bleak (“One year on”,

November 6th). Joe Biden’s

widely popular social, infra­

structure and climate pro­

grammes are apparently no

match for the challenges at

hand. The party of liberalism,

diversity, education and the

popular vote is mathematically

doomed at elections. All that is

left is for Donald Trump to

fulfil the prophesies and

return in 2024 with a flush

Republican majority in Con­

gress. Can a future edition give

us details about how to emi­

grate to Canada? Or better yet,

provide a road to redemption?

greg buss

Portland, Oregon

Quintuple-A rating

The French addiction to acro­

nyms does indeed extend to

gastronomy (“pfue?lol”,

October 30th). The acronym

aaaaaon menus marks the

provenance of stuffed

intestines approved by the

Association Amicale des

Amateurs d’Andouillette

Authentique (Friendly Associ­

ation Of Authentic Andouil­

lette Amateurs). I like to think

that the abbreviation is some­

what tongue in cheek.

chris clough

Paris

It is the Dutch who top the

Euro­abbreviations league.

Theirs run the full gamut from

political parties (pvda, d66,

pvv, vvd) to football clubs

(nec, nac, vvv, mvv, az). And

the Netherlands surely wins

the prize for the world’s silliest

name for a football club: Go

Ahead Eagles. 

peter cain

Trier, Germany

The essential feature of an

acronym is that it can also be

pronounced as a word. This

was clearly understood by

Admiral Ernest King when he

was offered the position of

commander­in­chief of the us

fleet by Franklin Roosevelt

soon after Pearl Harbour. He

accepted, but asked that the

job’s acronym, cincus(“sink

us”), be changed to cominch.

michael laggan

Newton of Balcanquhal,

Perthshire

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