2018-10-01_Reader_s_Digest_AUNZ

10 | October• 2018

Arthur

Hagopan is

a semiretired

journalist

and educator.

He lives in

Sydney, enjoys

creating 3D

animation

and digital

music and is

working on

a book.

An

Arabian

Night

Field Editor Arthur Hagopian shares

his experiences of a mysterious

meeting against the backdrop of the

turbulent Middle East of the 1960s

IT WAS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHTand

I was slogging through the graveyard

shift, putting theinishing touches

on the morning’s lead story at the

Kuwait Times–whoseCBDoice

waslocatedjustahundredmetres

from Kuwait’s Old City gate – when

the phone rang.

It was Yousuf Alyan, the owner and

editor of the daily tabloid. A former

diplomat, he spoke English and

French equally luently – the latter

having picked up from his Parisienne

wife, Christine. An Armenian born

in Jerusalem, I worked in Kuwait

from 1963-68. At the time, Kuwait,

like much of the Middle East, was

experiencing rapid economic growth

because of its oil riches, and had

opened its doors wide to expatriates

whose expertise could propel its

MY STORY

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES