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An Interview With Yasser Arafat
A breakneck road race from Tunis Airport to a seaside hotel keeps my pulse racing. The possibility of not seeing PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat suddenly seems real. Tunisian drivers clearly obey the same iron rule as those in Beirut years ago: Get your passenger there in the shortest possible time, whatever the risk. But get him there.
In the hotel, word goes around. We might meet with the Chairman as early as 10 p.m. So be ready. World War II all over again. Hurry up and wait. Rumors say the waiting is while Arafat sees Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, and Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Midnight passes. A call will come by 1 a.m., or we will wait another day.
Off at 1:15 a.m. in almost total blackness through dangerously thick fog. We creep along, climbing into the hills behind Tunis, meeting the headlights of descending creepers. Finally we stop. Pile out of the car. Confusion. Wrong house. Pile back in. A short distance more. Pile out again. Into a stone house and Arafat is there.
He is shorter and slighter of build than expected. But radiating intelligence. And energy - at 2:30 a.m. when others are exhausted. He will be soon be 60. What is the answer? A disciplined diet and different sleeping habits. Four hours from 4:30 a.m. to 8:30. Another hour and a half in the afternoon. A no-fat diet. Tea on dry cereal. He would prefer skimmed milk, but that generally is not available.
The conversation is not an interview, but a rapid exchange of ideas. The participants are people dismayed by past injustices and misunderstandings, but passionately committed to bringing them to an end peacefully. Each concern is addressed clearly and thoughtfully.
What about the dialogue with the US?
Yes. Yes. There is a change - but not the change we are expecting. The dialogue is only a first step. By itself it is nothing. Governments must act....