It won't be easy Mr President

AS an Agony Aunt, people usually write to me with their problems, but this week, I thought I would turn the tables and write to the most powerful man on earth and ask him to help me with something that is really giving me sleepless nights.

Dear Mr President,

Coming from a small kingdom and writing for a modest local publication, I realise there is little chance of this letter ever reaching you.

However, the fact that you have a highly respected and locally active United States of America Embassy here in Bahrain, gives me a little hope.

Historically the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States of America have enjoyed a close relationship, based on mutual respect and understanding. We look forward to continuing to enjoy and extend these cordial relations under your Presidency.

Let me offer my congratulations to you and say that I thought your inaugural speech was excellent. It was obvious that you were speaking from your heart. I remember you saying that communism and fascism were defeated by moral standards and the power of convincing and not by war. This defeat was possible by setting a positive example and using powerful dialogue.

That's something else that our two countries have in common.

His Majesty King Hamad also believes that violence is never the answer and that everything is possible with dialogue, especially peace and harmony. He has successfully proven this.

That the leaders of two such diverse nations speak the same language of humanity offers a strong positive platform for the future of our relations.

We all need world peace to become a reality. It is vital for global economic stability and growth and that is something I know is close to your heart.

However, Mr President, a lasting peace is not possible when there is such a strong stench of injustice in the air.

In the Middle East our olfactory senses are assaulted and insulted with increasing audacity as the Israelis massacre innocent civilians in Gaza.

They knew that the days when injustice ruled supreme in this region, were coming to an end, so they invoked the '21 day rule' to inflict maximum killing and devastation on the people of Gaza.

They used those 21 days before you officially took office to coldly and calculatedly break the truce that had successfully held for the previous six months.

Regardless of the actions of Hamas or any other political organisation, the murder of innocent civilians can never be called anything other than a war crime, in any language. Particularly when banned chemical warfare has been used.

In your speech Mr President, you also mentioned Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and non-believers, showing an all encompassing respect for your f ellow Americans.

The greatness of your nation is based on those American principles of respect and the belief that everyone can achieve their dream.

That great American Ernest Hemingway said it best when he said, 'We are all part of the main, a piece of the continent, and it doesn't matter for whom the bell tolls'.

It seems to me Mr President, that you understand suffering, abhor injustice and, above all, you are a man of vision, who can clearly see the big picture.

You have already demonstrated your commitment, passion, and unwavering resolve to remind the world that America really is the 'good guy' and isn't about to allow extremists from any corner of the world to rock the boat you are so carefully steering to safe waters.

I beg you to apply that same compassion and commitment to work towards eradicating the stench of injustice that hangs over the Middle East.

Let your actions fill our hearts with the seductive scent of peace and inhale that hope as a mother inhales the scent of her newborn, with the promise of a joyous and optimistic future for her offspring.

It won't be easy Mr President, it has been attempted by many over the last 60 years or so.

The most recent devastation of Gaza has, I believe, exposed the hidden reason behind the Israeli actions.

Perhaps a good place to start is to try to understand the psyche of the Israelis who it seems fear another holocaust or a genocide against them.

How ironic that those who were once oppressed have become the oppressor. But, as history has shown us, isn't that often the way until reassuring, loving, guiding, wisdom can reveal the path to a secure future that all can share.

I recently joined a peaceful demonstration in London outside the Israeli embassy. I was surprised and heartened to find that amongst those demonstrating were several Jews who were appalled at the actions of the Israelis. As one Jewish lady said to me "we are mothers too, we don't want to see children being killed, we don't want the world to see us as evil and inhuman monsters. We want Israel to end the suffering and humiliation of the Palestinians."

If only Israel would take note of these sentiments.

As an 'agony aunt' I am often asked for my advice on how to deal with a problem, so Mr President, if I may be so bold as to offer you a friendly word of advice, please, let Israel comply with just one of the more than 400 United Nations Resolutions against it. That gesture of fledgling justice for the Palestinians will create powerful ripples of positivity and pave the way for an ocean of understanding to lap the shores of our two continents.

I applaud your decision to eradicate Guantanamo Camp, but, please, let your next intention be to eradicate state terrorism by removing the reasons for the very excuses proffered to justify it.

If I might also repeat the advice of one of your most illustrious, inspirational, fellow Americans, Booker T Washington, who said 'The greatness of a nation in the future will be measured not by the vessels it floats, but by the number of schools, churches and useful industries it keeps in existence. It will be measured not by the number of the men killed, but by the number of men saved and lifted up'.

However, the future begins now and the future begins with you Mr President.

You alone can choose the palette; you can colour it any hue you wish. Make it bright.

I invite you to visit us here in Bahrain, where we live in harmony, where we live in hope and where we live to see that light at the end of the Palestinian tunnel. That light that only you can reveal in all its shining glory.

God bless you Mr President and God bless America and may He give you the strength, fortitude and wisdom to do what you know is the right thing. Then, and only then, will peace have a chance.

Yours in anticipation,

Betsy B Mathieson.