the.world.is.flat-第85部分

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with　the　user…customer　beneficiary。　In　order　to　answer　that　question；　HP　created　a　
public…private　partnership　with　the　national　government　in　India　and　the　local　
government　in　Andhra　Pradesh。　Then　a　group　of　HP　technologists　convened　a　series　of　
dialogues　in　the　
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farming　village　of　Kuppam。　It　asked　residents　two　things：　What　are　your　hopes　for　
the　next　three　to　five　years？　and　What　changes　would　really　make　your　lives　better？　
To　help　the　villagers　（many　of　them　illiterate）　express　themselves；　HP　used　a　concept　
called　graphic　facilitation；　wherebywhen　people　voiced　their　dreams　and　aspirations；　
a　visual　artist　whom　HP　brought　over　from　the　United　States　drew　images　of　those　
aspirations　on　craft　paper　put　up　on　the　walls　around　the　room。　
〃When　people；　particularly　people　who　are　illiterate；　say　something　and　it　gets　
immediately　represented　on　the　wall；　they　feel　really　validated；　and　therefore　they　


get　more　animated　and　more　engaged；〃　said　Maureen　Conway；　HP's　vice　president　for　
emerging　market　solutions；　who　headed　the　project。　〃It　raises　self…esteem。〃　Once　
these　poor　farmers　living　in　a　remote　village　got　loose；　they　really　started　aspiring。　
〃One　of　them　said；　'What　we　really　need　here　is　an　airport；'〃　said　Conway。　
After　the　visioning　sessions　were　complete；　HP　employees　spent　more　time　in　the　
village　just　observing　how　people　lived。　One　technological　thing　missing　in　their　
lives　was　photography。　Conway　explained：　〃We　noticed　that　there　was　a　big　demand　for　
having　pictures　taken　for　identification　purposes；　for　licenses；　for　applications　
and　government　permits；　and　we　said　to　ourselves；　'Maybe　there　is　an　entrepreneurial　
opportunity　here　if　we　can　turn　people　into　village　photographers。'　There　was　one　
photo　studio　in　downtown　Kuppam。　Everyone　around　＇is＇　farmers。　We　noticed　that　people　
would　come　back　in　from　villages　on　a　bus；　spend　two　hours；　get　their　pictures　taken；　
come　back　a　week　later　for　the　pictures；　and　find　out　that　they　were　not　done　or　done　
wrong。　Time　is　as　important　for　them　as　for　us。　So　we　said；　'Wait　a　minute；　we　make　
digital　cameras　and　portable　printers。　So　what　is　the　problem？'　Why　doesn't　HP　sell　
them　a　bunch　of　digital　cameras　and　printers？　The　villagers　came　back　with　a　very　
short　answer：　'Electricity。'　They　had　no　assured　supply　of　electricity　and　little　
money　to　pay　for　it。　
〃So　we　said；　'We　are　technologists。　Let's　get　a　solar　panel　and　put　it　on　a　backpack　
on　wheels　and　see　if　there　is　a　business　for　people　here；　and　for　HP；　if　we　make　a　
mobile　photo　studio。'　That　is　the　approach　we　took。　The　solar　panel　can　charge　both　
the　camera　and　the　printer。　Then　we　went　to　a　self…help　women's　group。　We　picked　five　
women　and　said；　

'We　will　train　you　how　to　use　this　equipment。'　We　gave　them　two　weeks　of　training。　
And　we　said；　'We　will　provide　you　with　the　camera　and　supplies；　and　we　will　share　
revenue　with　you　on　every　picture。'〃　This　was　not　charity。　Even　after　buying　all　their　
supplies　from　HP　and　sharing　some　of　the　revenue　with　HP；　the　women　in　the　photography　
group　doubled　their　family　incomes。　〃And　to　be　honest；　what　we　found　out　was　that　
less　than　50　percent　of　the　pictures　they　took　were　for　identification　pictures　and　
the　rest　were　people　just　wanting　pictures　of　their　kids；　weddings；　and　themselves；〃　
said　Conway。　The　poor　like　family　photo　albums　as　much　as　the　rich　and　are　ready　to　
pay　for　them。　The　local　government　also　made　this　women's　group　its　official　
photographers　for　public　works　projects；　which　added　to　their　income。　
End　of　story？　Not　quite。　As　I　said；　HP　is　not　an　NGO。　〃After　four　months　we　said；　
'Okay；　the　experiment　is　over；　we're　taking　the　camera　back；'〃　said　Conway。　〃And　they　
said；　'You're　crazy。'〃　So　HP　told　the　women　that　if　they　wanted　to　keep　the　camera；　
printer；　and　solar　panel；　they　had　to　come　up　with　a　plan　to　pay　for　them。　They　
eventually　proposed　renting　them　for　9　a　month；　and　HP　agreed。　And　now　they　are　
branching　out　into　other　villages。　HP；　meanwhile；　has　started　working　with　an　NGO　
to　train　multiple　women's　groups　with　the　same　mobile　photography　studio；　and　there　
is　a　potential　here　for　HP　to　sell　the　studios　to　NGOs　all　over　India；　with　all　of　
them　using　HP　ink　and　other　supplies。　And　from　India；　who　knows　where？　
〃They　are　giving　us　feedback　on　the　cameras　and　ease　of　use；〃　said　Conway。　〃What　it　


has　done　to　change　the　confidence　of　the　women　is　absolutely　amazing。〃　
Too　Frustrated　
One　of　the　unintended　consequences　of　the　flat　world　is　that　it　puts　different　
societies　and　cultures　in　much　greater　direct　contact　with　one　another。　It　connects　
people　to　people　much　faster　than　people　and　cultures　can　often　prepare　themselves。　
Some　cultures　thrive　on　the　sud…　
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den　opportunities　for　collaboration　that　this　global　intimacy　makes　possible。　Others　
are　threatened；　frustrated；　and　even　humiliated　by　this　close　contact；　which；　among　
other　things；　makes　it　very　easy　for　people　to　see　where　they　stand　in　the　world　
vis…a…vis　everyone　else。　All　of　this　helps　to　explain　the　emergence　of　one　of　the　
most　dangerous　unflattening　forces　today…the　suicide　bombers　of　al…Qaeda　and　the　
other　Islamist　terror　organizations；　who　are　coming　out　of　the　Muslim　world　and　Muslim　
communities　in　Europe。　
The　Arab…Muslim　world　is　a　vast；　diverse　civilization；　encompassing　over　one　billion　
people　and　stretching　from　Morocco　to　Indonesia　and　from　Nigeria　all　the　way　to　the　
suburbs　of　London。　It　is　very　dangerous　to　generalize　about　such　a　complex　religious　
community；　made　up　of　so　many　different　ethnicities　and　nationalities。　But　one　need　
only　look　at　the　headlines　in　any　day's　newspaper　to　appreciate　that　a　lot　of　anger　
and　frustration　seems　to　be　bubbling　over　from　the　Muslim　world　in　general　and　from　
the　Arab…Muslim　world　in　particular；　where　many　young　people　seem　to　be　agitated　by　
a　combination　of　issues。　One　of　the　most　obvious　is　the　festering　Arab…Israeli　
conflict；　and　the　Israeli　occupation　of　Palestinian　land　and　East　Jerusalem…a　
grievance　which　has　a　powerful　emotional　hold　on　the　Arab…Muslim　imagination　and　has　
long　soured　relations　with　America　and　the　West。　
But　this　is　not　the　only　reason　for　the　brewing　anger　in　these　communities。　This　anger　
also　has　to　do　with　the　frustration　of　Arabs　and　Muslims　at　having　to　live；　in　many；　
many　cases；　under　authoritarian　governments；　which　not　only　deprive　their　people　of　
a　voice　in　their　own　future；　but　have　deprived　tens　of　millions　of　young　people　in　
particular　of　opportunities　to　achieve　their　full　potential　through　good　jobs　and　
modern　schools。　The　fact　that　the　flat　world　enables　people　to　so　easily　compare　their　
circumstances　with　others　only　sharpens　their　frustrations。　
Some　of　these　Arab…Muslim　young　men　and　women　have　chosen　to　emigrate　in　order　to　
find　opportunities　inthe　West；　others　have　chosen　tosuffer　in　silence　at　home；　hoping　
for　some　kind　of　change。　The　most　powerful　journalistic　experiences　I　have　had　since　
9/11　have　been　my　encounters　in　the　Arab　world　with　some　of　these　young　people。　Because　
my　column　with　my　picture　runs　in　Arabic　in　the　leading　pan…Arab　
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newspaper；　the　London…based　Al…Sharq　Al…Awsat；　and　because　I　often　appear　on　Arab　
satellite…television　news　programs；　many　people　in　that　part　of　the　world　know　what　
I　look　like。　I　have　been　amazed　by　the　number　of　young　Arabs　and　Muslims…men　and　
women…who　have　come　up　to　me　on　the　streets　of　Cairo　or　in　the　Arabian　Gulf　since　
9/11；　and　said　to　me　what　one　young　man　in　Al…Azhar　mosque　did　one　Friday；　after　noon　
prayer：　〃You're　Friedman；　aren't　you？〃　


I　nodded　yes。　
〃Keep　writing　what　you're　writing；〃　he　said。　And　what　he　meant　was　writing　about　the　
importance　of　bringing　more　freedom　of　thought；　expression；　and　opportunity　to　the　
Arab…Muslim　world；　so　its　young　people　can　realize　their　potential。　
Unfortunately；　though；　these　progressive　young　people　are　not　the　ones　defining　the　
relationship　betweeen　the　Arab…Muslim　community　and　the　world　at　large　today。　
Increasingly；　that　relationship　is　being　dominated　by；　and　defined　by；　religious　
militants　and　extremists；　who　give　vent　to　the　frustrations　in　that　part　of　the　world　
by　simply　lashing　out。　The　question　that　I　want　to　explore　in　this　section　is：　What　
produced　this　violent　Islamist　fringe；　and　why　has　it　found　so　much　passive　support　
in　the　Arab…Muslim　world　today…even　though；　I　am　convinced；　the　vast　majority　there　
do　not　share　the　violent　agenda　of　these　groups　or　their　apocalyptic　visions？　
The　question　is　relevant　to　a　book　about　the　flat　world　for　a　very　simple　reason：　
Should　there　be　another　attack　on　the　United　States　of　the　magnitude　of　9/11；　or　worse；　
walls　would　go　up　everywhere　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　would　be　set　back　for　
a　long；　long　time。　
That；　of　course；　is　precisely　what　the　Islamists　want。　
When　Muslim　radicals　and　fundamentalists　look　at　the　West；　they　see　only　the　openness　
that　makes　us；　in　their　eyes；　decadent　and　promiscuous。　They　see　only　the　openness　
that　has　produced　Britney　Spears　and　Janet　Jackson。　They　do　not　see；　and　do　not　want　
to　see；　the　openness…the　freedom　of　thought　and　inquiry…that　has　made　us　powerful；　
the　openness　that　has　produced　Bill　Gates　and　Sally　Ride。　They　deliberately　define　
it　all　as　decadence。　Because　if　openness；　women's　empowerment；　and　freedom　of　thought　
and　inquiry　are　the　real　sources　of　the　West's　

economic　strength；　then　the　Arab…Muslim　world　would　have　to　change。　And　the　
fundamentalists　and　extremists　do　not　want　to　change。　
To　beat　back　the　threat　of　openness；　the　Muslim　extremists　have；　quite　deliberately；　
chosen　to　attack　the　very　thing　that　keeps　open　societies　open；　innovating；　and　
flattening；　and　that　is　trust。　When　terrorists　take　instruments　from　our　daily　
lives…the　car；　the　airplane；　the　tennis　shoe；　the　cell　phone…and　turn　them　into　
weapons　of　indiscriminate　violence；　they　reduce　trust。　We　trust　when　we　park　our　car　
downtown　in　the　morning　that　the　car　next　to　it　is　not　going　to　blow　up；　we　trust　
when　we　go　to　Disney　World　that　the　man　in　the　Mickey　Mouse　outfit　is　not　wearing　
a　bomb…laden　vest　un