Letter from a PhD student in Baghdad

Mon Dec 5 11:55:40 UTC 2005

This is really, really terrible, and here we are, unable to do anything. 
Let's just hope for a better future. Carmen

Dr. Carmen Rosa Caldas-Coulthard
Centre for English Language Studies
Dept. of English
University of Birmingham
Phone 0121 414 7371
Fax  0121 414 3298

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From: Critical Discourse/Language/Communication Analysis on behalf of Teun A. van Dijk
Sent: Mon 05/12/2005 09:24
To: CRITICS-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL
Subject: Letter from a PhD student in Baghdad

Dear friends,

For the coming holiday season I only wanted to send you a copy of a letter from one of the PhD students I am advising, at a safe distance, in Baghdad. The letter needs no comment, as it speaks for itself: it gives us just a brief glimpse of the context in which some discourse analysts are doing their work. There are many spots on earth where life is hardly less cruel, but this message happens to come from Baghdad, and I only hope you'll realize how privileged life of most of us is. 

	"Terribly sorry for this delay but I couldn't leave home the previous weeks because our dean and many lectureres were assasinated for no obvious reason and I had to stay home for a while as my mother wouldn't let me go out and the department was closed and when I got to the U the net connection was broken (off) and I couldn't go to a cafe' for fear they would do the same to me. There was assasination before but not that much. I'm in a cafe now and I couldn't even read your mail as I just wanted to inform you about the situation and tell you I'm all right (hope you're all right too).
	I have to go now. I'm shaking and I look at everyone as if he will shoot me. I'll try to write to you soon."

Warm regards for the holiday season.

Teun

________________________________________________________________

Teun A. van Dijk
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Dept. de Traducció i Filologia
Rambla 30
08002 Barcelona
España/Spain

E-mail: teun at discourse-in-society.org
Internet: www.discourse-in-society.org

Para hispanohablantes también:
E-mail: teun at discursos.org
Internet: www.discursos.org (en construcción)