The Economist - USA (2022-02-26)

18 The Economist February 26th 2022
Letters

Rightsandwrongsofprotests Youwerewrongtocriticise JustinTrudeau’shandlingof theprotestsinCanada(“No, Canada”,February19th).These werenotprotesters.These wereoccupierswhosaidthey wouldnotleaveuntiltheir demandsweremet.Yousaid thepolicealreadyhadample powerstoquellthedisorder, andyetit tooktwocourtin junctionstostoptheincessant airhornsandhonking.The policehadtodealwitha core groupshowingutterdisregard fortherightsofOttawa’sresi dentstoenjoytheirhomes. InvokingtheEmergenciesAct wasnecessarytoremovethem. Thiswasmorethana ques tionoffreespeech.Wewere dealingwitha groupofwell fundedbullies.Thiswasnota regularprotest.Thiswas somethingelse. madeleinecôte Gatineau,Canada

Processing language Johnson’s column on losing native languages was out standing (January 29th). It is true that a multilingual person’s “first language is the one most imbued with emo tions.” Our “mother tongue” seems to be stored in both the procedural (more emotionally based) and explicit (or verbal) parts of our brains. Subsequent languages have fewer connec tions to procedural memory, where neurons are fully myelinated at birth, in contrast with those of explicit memory, which are myelinated during the first three years of life. Ribot’s law refers to the clinical finding that people with brain dysfunction may have their first language skills preserved intact. In 1843, Jacques Lordat described a priest from Languedoc whose brain damage created profound language deficits, but only in French, his second language. His native Occitan was unaffected. Such clinical findings offer a fascinating window into the way our brains process language. In his book on aphasia, Sigmund Freud made

thecontroversialbutnow generallyacceptedclaimthat languageisprocessedin multiplebrainregions. richardwaugaman Clinicalprofessorof psychiatry GeorgetownUniversity Washington,dc

I foundJohnson’sessayboth insightfulandmoving.Itmade mereflectonmypersonal journey,growingupin Americabutspeakingonly Cantoneseuntiltheageofsix. Sincemymotherneverspoke English,I wasabletokeepup withmyCantonese.In1980,at theageof31,I wenttoHong Kongforthefirsttimetosetup mycookeryclassestherefor foreignerswhowantedtolearn aboutChinesecuisine.Being inHongKongwasa déjàvu experience,asI recognisedthe streetsfromChinesemoviesI hadwatchedasa child.I was alsodelightedtofindeveryone speakingCantoneseand lookinglikeme.Myfirsttv seriesforthebbcincluded manyclipsfromHongKong.I stilllovehearingCantonese, whetheronfilmorinmusic. Beingbilingualhasgreatly enrichedmylifeandmadefor a surprisingcareer. kenhom Chefandauthor Bangkok

ARussian precedent I read your article on the situation in Narva, a town in Estonia close to the border with Russia (“Who’s next?”, February 5th). Today’s 80% ethnic Russian majority is not the result of a “legacy” of Narva belonging to the Russian empire and then to the Soviet Union. In fact, at the end of the 1930s the overwhelming majority of Narva’s inhabitants were ethnically Estonian. The demographic change was made ﬁrst in 1944 by Soviet carpet bombing that destroyed 95% of buildings and forced survivors to ﬂee. The Soviets then did not allow Estonian citizens to return to their hometown, which had become part of a new Soviet military uranium mining complex.

NativeEstonianswerenot consideredtrustworthytolive inthatarea.Theywere replacedbypeopleresettled fromtheSovietUnion.Today’s Russianmajoritywascreated bylocalethniccleansing. tunnekelam Tallinn,Estonia

Spreadingacrossthecountry I readyourreportontheBrit ishgovernment’sﬁndingsinto “levellingup”(“Spreadingthe jam”,February5th).Inour Londonhouseholdwehave colleagueswhohaveleftthe cityandarebasedinplacesas diverseasDevon,Hampshire, LincolnandNottingham,all earningsalarieswhichwould putthemamongthehighest earnersinthoseplaces. Unfortunatelythisgovern mentappearstoviewworking fromhomemoreasanocca sionforslothandindolence thanfordistributingopportu nityequitablyacrossthecoun try.Thedebateonlevelsof regionalspendingmaybe valid,butit isfareasierto believethatlevellingupwillbe advancedbyexpandingaccess towellpaidjobstoanybody withaninternetconnection. jamesosborne London

Uganda’s oil projects With regard to the develop ment of oil projects in Uganda, you state that “land acquisi tion is always messy, and politics brutal” (“Pipe dreams”, February 5th). The East African Crude Oil Pipeline project proves it doesn’t have to be. Uganda’s stringent legal frame work around land acquisition provides important protec tions for people aﬀected by such projects. New homes, substantial allowances for disturbance and programmes to restore livelihoods are among the compensation packages oﬀered that are above market rates. People receive an addition al annual payment for each year of delay, along with the right to live on and farm their lands until total compensation is paid in full. Indeed, under

Ugandan law it is impossible for someone to be relocated or development work commence until they have received compensation in full. Such laws concerning land acquisition have not merely been created by government, or investors, but have been codiﬁed after full consultation with parliamentarians of all parties, local and international ngos and the aﬀected commu nities themselves. There are some individuals and ngos who are opposed to this oppor tunity for Uganda’s economic advancement through fossil fuels. But it is a mistake to believe loud voices mean they are numerous. The numbers speak for themselves. The acceptance rate for compensa tion packages is over 97%. irene batabe Permanent secretary Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development Kampala, Uganda

Sexy Gordon Brown Bagehot described Gordon Brown, a former British prime minister, as “dour” (January 29th). That was not always the case. I remember him running for Lord Rector of Edinburgh University in 1972. He can vassed the student vote sur rounded by a group of charm ing young women who were known as “Brown’s Sugars”. james hunter Toronto

Asupergroup You coined an acronym for Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple: maama (“Supersized ambitions”, January 22nd). It would be more fitting if they were known as the maamas and the paapas: Profits, Assets, Ambi tion, Power and Arrogance. jeffrey perkins Lowell, Massachusetts

Letters are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor at The Economist, The Adelphi Building, 1-11 John Adam Street, London wc 2 n 6 ht Email: [email protected] More letters are available at: Economist.com/letters

The Economist - USA (2022-02-26)

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