Response:

No Grounds for Patronizing the Hunza

I was deeply disappointed by the bias against the Hunza of northern Pakistan that was evident in "Fighting the good fight" (The Conflict, Nov. 26). Should it really have escaped your research that the Aga Khan has been weighed in gold by his followers, mostly the Hunza people, so he could amass his tremendous wealth? To speak of him as a benefactor if he spends so little of this fortune for charity programs in the region is the height of irony.

Fifty years ago, no expedition in the Karakorum region was possible without the endurance and surefootedness of Hunza men. At the beginning of the 20th century, no country on earth, regardless of its civilized status, could match the happiness and health of the Hunza. Life expectancy was by far above that of the U.S. or Britain.

Now the Hunza are applauded if they speak flawless English and export some honey or dried fruit to England. What can be said of this state of arrogance and ignorance?

Rolf Schurian
Zankenhause, Germany