Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"All about was hubbub, with hundreds of angry, fearful Iraqis struggling to secure their own passage out. The cats seemed terrified, so I fell once more into my anthropomorphic mode, offering them a quiet discourse on what lay ahead -- the 3,000-mile air journey, detention in the quarantine center and, ultimately, liberation into a green and pleasant land where they would be full citizens, never again wanting for shelter, warmth and food.

"A small crowd of Iraqis had gathered, and one among them, a middle-aged man who introduced himself as a physician traveling to Jordan to see his ailing mother, knelt down beside me and asked, in halting English, if I'd mind a question. By all means, I said. 'Well then,' he said, his face breaking into a sad smile, 'what I want to ask is this: This proposal you make, is it for four legs only, or also for two? Six months' detention, British passport, free to stay, guaranteed home, this is excellent. I will take, and many other Iraqis, too.'"

-- John F. Burns, "What Cats Know About War", The New York Times, 2007-10-14