Shark Attack

There have been five shark attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt in the last week.  I'm not surprised.

I was at Sharm in the early 80s, as a member of the international Force and Observers, who were monitoring the Camp David peace accords.  There wasn't a luxury Hyatt resort there then, but it had been a minor Israeli fund spot before it was returned to Egypt.  One of the chief forms of recreation we had--it was, after all in the middle of a desert, then,  (The palm trees one sees there now were planted later!) was swimming and scuba diving.  The diving was magnificent. 

But there were lots of sharks.  Sharm el-Sheikh is at the top of the red sea, on the straights of Tiran.  It  has been a region famed for sharks, and a mecca for shark researchers.  We would walk out on the reef at low tide,sit with our legs in the water, and slap the water to call the sharks.  The pilots who flew the choppers could see into the water quite well--it was very clear--and they refused to scuba dive or swim, saying they could see all the sharks. 

So the story in the news brought back memories.  I'm very sorry for the tourists who have been killed or injured.  At the same time, what was for me a place in the middle of nowhere is now a major resort.  The dividend of peace between Egypt and Israel was well worth my time. 

I just hope they cleaned up the minefields.