The Quiet One

Today I'm taking a break from rhapsodizing about Morocco, though there's more to come of that. Today I want to think about Meredeth Kercher, the English foreign exchange student who was murdered in Perugia, Italy four years ago.I just read that both Rafael Sollecito and Amanda Knox, convicted and then freed of all charges of murder, have a book deal with Harpercollins and Simon and Schuster for 4 million dollars each. With all the sensation that has surronded the case, it is hard to know what really happened.
I do not want to debate whether Amanda Knox deserves the attention and millions she is getting. I do not see any merit or hard work on her part that entitles her to a book deal. And if surviving four years in a foreign prison is reason enough for memorializing, then there are many wrongly convicted prisoners lingering on death row with more heart wrenching stories.
My opinions are based on newspaper reports and I know that can be misleading. Instead, I want to remember Meredeth Kercher, the quiet unassuming girl who by all accounts was the studious type. No one seems to remember her academic dedication and hard work in a foreign country. No one seems to take into account the fact that while there's ample opportunity to not study, to take the path of fun and frolic, Meredeth did not do so. She deserves the book deal, in my opinion, of how to keep one's focus and dignity when everyone else around her are losing theirs.
I'm sure the papers in England are talking about her. I hope they are. I wish the media in the US would treat the world as their backyard, instead of their backyard as the world.