DAMMAM, 21 October — The sight of a postman always elicited the obvious question: “Any mail for me?” This was the case before Oct. 4 when officials in Boca Raton, Florida announced that American Media Photo Editor Robert Stevens had inhaled a form of anthrax. He died a day later. It was reported that a letter containing the bacteria was the cause of death. Over the next two weeks, numerous letters containing anthrax spores — an infectious and possibly fatal disease transmitted from cattle and sheep to humans — were received by NBC Nightly News, ABC News, Microsoft, a US senator’s office and other media offices across the United States.

“In our office, we have stopped opening mail, but people can still communicate with their senator or congressman by e-mail or by phone,” a congressman said on CNN.

Now the sight of an unfamiliar letter, especially with a US stamp is a dreaded event. People avoid the postman as if he were a living time bomb.

Such worldwide fear has prompted many organizations, business institutions, the media, and individuals to discourage what is often called snail mail and to send everything by e-mail or fax.

According to a Reuters, the Arizona Daily Star announced that it would no longer accept regular postal mail addressed “Letters to the Editor” or other popular feedback forums. Instead, the editor and publisher told people to send correspondence by e-mail, fax or through an online calendar.

Today in the United States every thinking person is concerned about the growing number of letters which may contain anthrax spores and people are being urged to communicate in ways other than through the US Postal Service.

Experts believe that there will be a major communications shift as a result of the anthrax scare. “There has already been a big switch from postal mail to web-based e-mails in developed countries, particularly in the United States,” according to one report. The report said that more than half of all Americans use e-mail for an average of half-hour each day. One researcher predicted that by the year 2006, some 140 million Americans will be “active” e-mail users — up from 87 million this year.

The use of web-based e-mail is growing in the less developed world as well. In the Gulf, though there are no statistics on e-mail users, it is estimated that of five million Internet users, almost all of them use e-mail. This is borne out by the sharp decline in postal sales.

Companies specializing in e-mail marketing are receiving more requests to replace traditional mail with e-mail because of the anthrax scare. The CEO of one San Francisco-based e-mail marketing firm said that new customers will continue using e-mail after the threat subsides — simply because it’s relatively inexpensive and an effective marketing tool.

The anthrax threat cannot be countered simply by replacing regular mail with e-mail. What about parcels and documents which cannot be e-mailed? Prior to the scare, parcel and letter bombs were convenient terrorist weapons but this never affected the movement of normal mail. What must be recognized is that the evil genius of the human mind knows no barriers. If mails are not effective carriers, they will switch to other carriers. How long will we be their hostage and change our habits and lifestyles? Is it not time to strike at the root of these menaces and eliminate them?