Jihadi tea parties and who has the biggest pee pee in the UN compound. (03/31/06)
Snappy title huh?
First things first, I failed in my duty to give many many thanks to Ted Dillard and David Johnson for helping me sort out a seriously sweaty palmed moment when I could no longer download my memory cards on day 8 or whatever. I thought I was totally screwed but two great men from two great cities sorted my quivering lip straight.
Lesser men would have laughed then helped, they helped and laughed quietly.
Tea Party?
Well it’s simple, since the immediate moments post earthquake there have been numerous less than humanitarian agencies involved with the relief efforts. Several of whom are actually UN sanctioned and listed by the US and Pakistani governments as terror groups.
To get a real good understanding of how strange, strange bedfellows can be take a gander at the International Crisis Groups March 15th report on the politics of the earthquake. Some of these groups are sketchy some are downright creepy. In my mind they were a necessary evil in the effort to save lives when help was needed most and the Pak. Army was too busy playing war to save their own people. Initially the Army (even those in the area) was slow to react for many reasons but the Jihadis were not. While the Army and UN tried to figure out how to reach people (once they started to try) the Jihadis were already there working. Just like the Tamil Tigers in Northern Sri Lanka, they moved fast, without prejudice and worked without end until help arrived. Lets be honest, these men have been climbing, hiding and fighting in those mountains for many a year. They had full blown mobile surgical facilities packed away complete with Operating rooms, x-ray machines, medical supplies AND the ability to get it where it needed to be. Shutting them out would have been a crime. Despite their politics they were appreciated for their work and oddly enough were singled out for praise by Musharaff for what they had done. These groups include Al – Khidmat, Al –Rasheed trust and my fav Jamat-Ud-Dawa. JUD is a political organization with a background to be envied or feared, it all depends on your religious/political leanings. In a nut shell, they are hard-line fundamentalists who supported the Taliban, love what Al Qaeda are doing and are both listed as a sanctioned entity by the UN and listed as a foreign terrorist group by the US government, but I already said that. So why was the UN working with them beyond the emergency phase? I don’t know. I don’t know how much the UN has continued to work with them but they certainly have. UNICEF has provided them with Tent Schools and supplies, UNHCR shelter materials, WFP has provided foodstuffs and the WHO has help out with health issues too. My story was not so much about what they have done in the past as what they are still doing, JUD is building schools for the kids, gender specific (normal here) but certainly fundamentalist in its curriculum. They are building shelters for the families, according to government specs with their own money, funding free medical clinics and vocational training for men and women. Where the downside right? If these groups are sanctioned by the UN, watched by the Pak government and US govt. why are they allowed to be so proactive in the rebuilding phase? If you pull me out of the rubble, treat my injured family, give me shelter and teach my kids…I am damn well going to listen to what you have to say, I would be hard pressed to look you in the eye and say “Thanks, but I think your version of Islam is a bit harsh don’t you think?”
Hearts and minds.
The idea that western influence would not be well received here is somewhat true, people were leery of all of the Western NGO types until they saw how highly skilled, motivated and professional they were. I have heard a good amount of praise for our military involvement as well. Hell that’s hard to get in the US at the moment least of all a Muslim country that we keep pissing off. It seems to me that by allowing these groups to expand their roles and involvement while asking the international NGO’s to finish up, some are honestly just running out of things to do, seems awfully risky. Though lets not forget that some of these Jihadi groups are rumored to be funded or aided by the Pak. Government and have been accused of carrying out attacks FOR the Pak Military in the Kashmir region. It’s hard to keep a country gripped with fear when you have no enemy.
Now about the tea party. Once I read the ICG report I realized that I had met and already photographed some of these guys and their camps so it was more of a matter of going back and looking at it from another perspective than starting something new. I was already impressed with the organization of the camps, some of the cleanest and best laid out regarding space, drainage and so on, as well as their medical facilities.
I had heard about a Jamat-Ud-Dawa camp that had set up a free dental clinic on site and had a fantastic field hospital, so I went to check it out.
Following a rather intense and personal line of questioning as well as lots of tea drinking and cookie eating, I ended up with a sleepy eyed retired Pakistani Army Colonel giving me a copy of the Koran to read and be converted by. I promised to read it but I couldn’t promise the conversion part, but his version of Islam does allow for up to four wives, so its not looking bad at the moment. He has two and said it was a good move. Its just the whole war against my own country and keeping a watchful eye for an opportunity to prove my manhood via honor killing, thing that leaves a bad taste about it all.
I have spent several days working on getting access for shooting the ride back with a family being returned to their land either with an NGO or working it out with some of the local reporters. Either way it’s a good story since in Muzaffarabad alone there are over 110,000 people being returned. Since I am not sure if have already done this, the numbers that seem to keep coming up are 73 – 77,000 dead and close to 3 million homeless. The numbers shift around bit depending on who is producing them but the quake was huge and the destruction was magnificent. The announcement came yesterday that the entire city of Balakot would be shut down and not to be rebuilt. Everyone living there must evacuate due to concerns about the fault line. This is a whole city being called a loss. No its not like saying New Orleans is gone pack up and leave, its was a city of approximately 70,000(up to half died) people in that the government has (rightfully?) decided to let fade after going over seismic reports and safety concerns.
Yet I digress.
I finally wrangle myself and one of the radio reporters a seat with an IOM returning family from Muzaffarabad, all we have to do is be there by 8 am. It’s a good 2 –3 hours away.
So I get us organized to head out of Abbottabad at 5:30 am, by 5:45 I am reminded different culture perceive time. I stood out on the street watching my breath hang in the air wondering how much in US dollars it would cost to buy everyone involved in the project a watch. we make the drive, walk past UN security (HAHAHA its funny to even write that!) who never asked our names, to see ID or to sign in but did point out the stairs to me so I didn’t fall. Once we met our contact, Darren, the stand up Public Relations Officer for IOM in the area, (he is from Edmonton and we talked hockey) he explained that our ride might be canceled due to a tantrum being thrown by two other agencies in the UN assisting in the returns. Darren was open but politically cautious about the whole thing, he said that we (a reporter from Christian Science Monitor was there too) should go and ease the minds of OCHA and UNICEF the two agencies not thrilled with media presence during the return. We might have understood their point of view if their concern was the privacy of the families, or the sensitivity to the situation, security whatever. By their own admission it was due entirely to the fact that no one (IOM) told them that the media was going to be present and that they felt that the chaos that ensues from organizing such a massive movement might come across negatively for the UN.
In the words of Virginia Moncrieff: “Yes, lets not forget that its all about you and not the people we are here to help.”
They felt that the unwarned presence of media made their jobs harder to do and reflected poorly on the UN. We assured them that our stories were based entirely on the families NOT the UN. So individually we were given permission but that we would have to go and talk to the other agency because you see, we cant say its ok for you to go they have that authority. Keep in mind that this is an IOM operation not OCHA or UNICEF
After 3 hours of “oh no not us, you need to see this person.” And “sit here I will go take care of this right now.” We were told that the families had already left we had missed them, and gee wiz don’t know what to tell you. Its now noon, the woman at OCHA had agreed to let us work, then went over the head of our host agencies contact, Darren with IOM, to have us shut down. So naturally none of us were impressed.
How in the hell the UN felt that the return of over 110,000 earthquake victims (with a deadline I might add) would be both orderly and not be followed by the press is beyond me. Pissed and now working together we decided to find out which village they were returning to and go ourselves. That’s about the time that UNDSS (Division of Safety and Security) showed up asking where our ID’s were. Four hours, three cups of coffee, four meetings with three agencies and suddenly once we voice our discontent at being shut out security arrives to talk to us. We are escorted to the security desk where we decide to go ahead and leave, no need to sigh in now. We leave the UN compound with as much ease as we entered.
We found our stories, worked them as we needed to and went our ways all the while confused why the UN felt the need to bicker about who looked best or worst by our presence. Idiots.
The moral of the story is this: it is far easier to work around religious fundamentalists who would rather honor kill a member of their family than be shamed in some way, than it is to work with any UN agencies in a disaster area. There is actually less ego and drama with the jihadis than there is in the UN. It’s more secure too. Once they say you have their permission, they take responsibility for you. Nothing would happen to me (as long as I follow the rules) while I am in their camps. I walked up to and began to ask the Ukrainian maintenance crew of a UN helicopter where someone was because we drove onto the Pakistani military base giving only our first names, got onto the airfield and up to the aircraft before anyone asked us what we were doing and that was by a man who couldn’t be bothered to get out of his chair.
Yes yes, lots of things to complain about but I have a home to go back to, food in the cupboard, heat, clothes an education…still looking for health insurance… but I have little right to bitch.
This trip has been mind blowing. The food is great, the people are far too accommodating, you will be asked to stay for tea even if your trying to buy something from them. People will have no problem coming up to you in the hope that you will let them practice their English, sometimes this is not a problem other times it can be a bit strange. Like when AZ and I were approached in Peshawar by a man calling out to us “Hello Sexy!” we are pretty sure that someone somewhere taught him that as a greeting. I laughed. It was worth it. Of course if he knew what he was saying he might not laugh.
Tea although an everyday, all day thing, when done properly is far better than coffee. Especially when you’re looking out on the Indus River.
Pakistani men have a hard time not looking like they are seconds from killing you when you try and photograph them, they love being photographed but its damn hard getting a smile out of em. The people here are so varied in their features that you will see men who have red hair, fair skin, light eyes, he is Pakistani. I am not. But we could be related. The children are heartbreakingly beautiful. The women (that I have seen, without being seen, looking) are very beautiful.
I would come back here without hesitation. Where else is it easier to find a wife than it is to get a beer? I learned about the methods to guard against contracting Avian Flu thanks to the radio stations guidelines to prevent bird flu pamphlet. I now know what I look like in a burka, I learned the best place to get a fake passport and counterfeit firearms. I learned that driving in Pakistan is far more terrifying than any country I have been to as of yet, by far, hands down, end of story. I learned that westerners don’t love our animals enough to bling them out. I learned why goat tastes different here than in Trinidad, hemp grows wild here, goats love hemp. A stoned goat is a happy goat and happy goats taste good. I learned that time is flexible even if you are not. I found that the Internet is far too important to me to be a safe relationship. I learned that an open market for prescription drugs does not make a healthier people. The coughing and hacking will go away when you quit burning your trash and control the dust and exhaust in the air, two doses of cipro will not. If you take an antibiotic take the full course not the first two.
I will be heading back to Islamabad tonight to hang out in my hotel and look for beer.
It’s a simple life that I desire.
First things first, I failed in my duty to give many many thanks to Ted Dillard and David Johnson for helping me sort out a seriously sweaty palmed moment when I could no longer download my memory cards on day 8 or whatever. I thought I was totally screwed but two great men from two great cities sorted my quivering lip straight.
Lesser men would have laughed then helped, they helped and laughed quietly.
Tea Party?
Well it’s simple, since the immediate moments post earthquake there have been numerous less than humanitarian agencies involved with the relief efforts. Several of whom are actually UN sanctioned and listed by the US and Pakistani governments as terror groups.
To get a real good understanding of how strange, strange bedfellows can be take a gander at the International Crisis Groups March 15th report on the politics of the earthquake. Some of these groups are sketchy some are downright creepy. In my mind they were a necessary evil in the effort to save lives when help was needed most and the Pak. Army was too busy playing war to save their own people. Initially the Army (even those in the area) was slow to react for many reasons but the Jihadis were not. While the Army and UN tried to figure out how to reach people (once they started to try) the Jihadis were already there working. Just like the Tamil Tigers in Northern Sri Lanka, they moved fast, without prejudice and worked without end until help arrived. Lets be honest, these men have been climbing, hiding and fighting in those mountains for many a year. They had full blown mobile surgical facilities packed away complete with Operating rooms, x-ray machines, medical supplies AND the ability to get it where it needed to be. Shutting them out would have been a crime. Despite their politics they were appreciated for their work and oddly enough were singled out for praise by Musharaff for what they had done. These groups include Al – Khidmat, Al –Rasheed trust and my fav Jamat-Ud-Dawa. JUD is a political organization with a background to be envied or feared, it all depends on your religious/political leanings. In a nut shell, they are hard-line fundamentalists who supported the Taliban, love what Al Qaeda are doing and are both listed as a sanctioned entity by the UN and listed as a foreign terrorist group by the US government, but I already said that. So why was the UN working with them beyond the emergency phase? I don’t know. I don’t know how much the UN has continued to work with them but they certainly have. UNICEF has provided them with Tent Schools and supplies, UNHCR shelter materials, WFP has provided foodstuffs and the WHO has help out with health issues too. My story was not so much about what they have done in the past as what they are still doing, JUD is building schools for the kids, gender specific (normal here) but certainly fundamentalist in its curriculum. They are building shelters for the families, according to government specs with their own money, funding free medical clinics and vocational training for men and women. Where the downside right? If these groups are sanctioned by the UN, watched by the Pak government and US govt. why are they allowed to be so proactive in the rebuilding phase? If you pull me out of the rubble, treat my injured family, give me shelter and teach my kids…I am damn well going to listen to what you have to say, I would be hard pressed to look you in the eye and say “Thanks, but I think your version of Islam is a bit harsh don’t you think?”
Hearts and minds.
The idea that western influence would not be well received here is somewhat true, people were leery of all of the Western NGO types until they saw how highly skilled, motivated and professional they were. I have heard a good amount of praise for our military involvement as well. Hell that’s hard to get in the US at the moment least of all a Muslim country that we keep pissing off. It seems to me that by allowing these groups to expand their roles and involvement while asking the international NGO’s to finish up, some are honestly just running out of things to do, seems awfully risky. Though lets not forget that some of these Jihadi groups are rumored to be funded or aided by the Pak. Government and have been accused of carrying out attacks FOR the Pak Military in the Kashmir region. It’s hard to keep a country gripped with fear when you have no enemy.
Now about the tea party. Once I read the ICG report I realized that I had met and already photographed some of these guys and their camps so it was more of a matter of going back and looking at it from another perspective than starting something new. I was already impressed with the organization of the camps, some of the cleanest and best laid out regarding space, drainage and so on, as well as their medical facilities.
I had heard about a Jamat-Ud-Dawa camp that had set up a free dental clinic on site and had a fantastic field hospital, so I went to check it out.
Following a rather intense and personal line of questioning as well as lots of tea drinking and cookie eating, I ended up with a sleepy eyed retired Pakistani Army Colonel giving me a copy of the Koran to read and be converted by. I promised to read it but I couldn’t promise the conversion part, but his version of Islam does allow for up to four wives, so its not looking bad at the moment. He has two and said it was a good move. Its just the whole war against my own country and keeping a watchful eye for an opportunity to prove my manhood via honor killing, thing that leaves a bad taste about it all.
I have spent several days working on getting access for shooting the ride back with a family being returned to their land either with an NGO or working it out with some of the local reporters. Either way it’s a good story since in Muzaffarabad alone there are over 110,000 people being returned. Since I am not sure if have already done this, the numbers that seem to keep coming up are 73 – 77,000 dead and close to 3 million homeless. The numbers shift around bit depending on who is producing them but the quake was huge and the destruction was magnificent. The announcement came yesterday that the entire city of Balakot would be shut down and not to be rebuilt. Everyone living there must evacuate due to concerns about the fault line. This is a whole city being called a loss. No its not like saying New Orleans is gone pack up and leave, its was a city of approximately 70,000(up to half died) people in that the government has (rightfully?) decided to let fade after going over seismic reports and safety concerns.
Yet I digress.
I finally wrangle myself and one of the radio reporters a seat with an IOM returning family from Muzaffarabad, all we have to do is be there by 8 am. It’s a good 2 –3 hours away.
So I get us organized to head out of Abbottabad at 5:30 am, by 5:45 I am reminded different culture perceive time. I stood out on the street watching my breath hang in the air wondering how much in US dollars it would cost to buy everyone involved in the project a watch. we make the drive, walk past UN security (HAHAHA its funny to even write that!) who never asked our names, to see ID or to sign in but did point out the stairs to me so I didn’t fall. Once we met our contact, Darren, the stand up Public Relations Officer for IOM in the area, (he is from Edmonton and we talked hockey) he explained that our ride might be canceled due to a tantrum being thrown by two other agencies in the UN assisting in the returns. Darren was open but politically cautious about the whole thing, he said that we (a reporter from Christian Science Monitor was there too) should go and ease the minds of OCHA and UNICEF the two agencies not thrilled with media presence during the return. We might have understood their point of view if their concern was the privacy of the families, or the sensitivity to the situation, security whatever. By their own admission it was due entirely to the fact that no one (IOM) told them that the media was going to be present and that they felt that the chaos that ensues from organizing such a massive movement might come across negatively for the UN.
In the words of Virginia Moncrieff: “Yes, lets not forget that its all about you and not the people we are here to help.”
They felt that the unwarned presence of media made their jobs harder to do and reflected poorly on the UN. We assured them that our stories were based entirely on the families NOT the UN. So individually we were given permission but that we would have to go and talk to the other agency because you see, we cant say its ok for you to go they have that authority. Keep in mind that this is an IOM operation not OCHA or UNICEF
After 3 hours of “oh no not us, you need to see this person.” And “sit here I will go take care of this right now.” We were told that the families had already left we had missed them, and gee wiz don’t know what to tell you. Its now noon, the woman at OCHA had agreed to let us work, then went over the head of our host agencies contact, Darren with IOM, to have us shut down. So naturally none of us were impressed.
How in the hell the UN felt that the return of over 110,000 earthquake victims (with a deadline I might add) would be both orderly and not be followed by the press is beyond me. Pissed and now working together we decided to find out which village they were returning to and go ourselves. That’s about the time that UNDSS (Division of Safety and Security) showed up asking where our ID’s were. Four hours, three cups of coffee, four meetings with three agencies and suddenly once we voice our discontent at being shut out security arrives to talk to us. We are escorted to the security desk where we decide to go ahead and leave, no need to sigh in now. We leave the UN compound with as much ease as we entered.
We found our stories, worked them as we needed to and went our ways all the while confused why the UN felt the need to bicker about who looked best or worst by our presence. Idiots.
The moral of the story is this: it is far easier to work around religious fundamentalists who would rather honor kill a member of their family than be shamed in some way, than it is to work with any UN agencies in a disaster area. There is actually less ego and drama with the jihadis than there is in the UN. It’s more secure too. Once they say you have their permission, they take responsibility for you. Nothing would happen to me (as long as I follow the rules) while I am in their camps. I walked up to and began to ask the Ukrainian maintenance crew of a UN helicopter where someone was because we drove onto the Pakistani military base giving only our first names, got onto the airfield and up to the aircraft before anyone asked us what we were doing and that was by a man who couldn’t be bothered to get out of his chair.
Yes yes, lots of things to complain about but I have a home to go back to, food in the cupboard, heat, clothes an education…still looking for health insurance… but I have little right to bitch.
This trip has been mind blowing. The food is great, the people are far too accommodating, you will be asked to stay for tea even if your trying to buy something from them. People will have no problem coming up to you in the hope that you will let them practice their English, sometimes this is not a problem other times it can be a bit strange. Like when AZ and I were approached in Peshawar by a man calling out to us “Hello Sexy!” we are pretty sure that someone somewhere taught him that as a greeting. I laughed. It was worth it. Of course if he knew what he was saying he might not laugh.
Tea although an everyday, all day thing, when done properly is far better than coffee. Especially when you’re looking out on the Indus River.
Pakistani men have a hard time not looking like they are seconds from killing you when you try and photograph them, they love being photographed but its damn hard getting a smile out of em. The people here are so varied in their features that you will see men who have red hair, fair skin, light eyes, he is Pakistani. I am not. But we could be related. The children are heartbreakingly beautiful. The women (that I have seen, without being seen, looking) are very beautiful.
I would come back here without hesitation. Where else is it easier to find a wife than it is to get a beer? I learned about the methods to guard against contracting Avian Flu thanks to the radio stations guidelines to prevent bird flu pamphlet. I now know what I look like in a burka, I learned the best place to get a fake passport and counterfeit firearms. I learned that driving in Pakistan is far more terrifying than any country I have been to as of yet, by far, hands down, end of story. I learned that westerners don’t love our animals enough to bling them out. I learned why goat tastes different here than in Trinidad, hemp grows wild here, goats love hemp. A stoned goat is a happy goat and happy goats taste good. I learned that time is flexible even if you are not. I found that the Internet is far too important to me to be a safe relationship. I learned that an open market for prescription drugs does not make a healthier people. The coughing and hacking will go away when you quit burning your trash and control the dust and exhaust in the air, two doses of cipro will not. If you take an antibiotic take the full course not the first two.
I will be heading back to Islamabad tonight to hang out in my hotel and look for beer.
It’s a simple life that I desire.
posted by davidlang at 12:16 AM
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