Full Contact Press Conferences

There are few experiences in my life that compare to shooting a press conference in Pakistan. I have never been evacuated during a conflict; I have never been in theatre or confined space when a fire has broken out. I have however broken up bar fights, been to numerous punk rock and hard core shows and even nearly personally caused a riot at a Sufi concert/festival in Lahore last time I was in Pakistan. These are all fine and well but when you see a hundred or so, so called “professionals” literally pulling on each other and crushing forwards and backwards like waves at the beach. Pushing, swearing and even fighting each other to enter a doorway that is less than 5 feet high and 2and a half feet wide it becomes a contact sport. I regret not bringing a cup on this trip. I did however follow the wisdom of my self-proclaimed “hero” Chris Wildt, I followed my blocker all the way in.
I met Goran. Goran is a shooter for Reuters based out of Cairo, I am not a small man here but he is 6’ 5” and fairly wide, so I followed the big man in. stayed close, kept my elbows out and in the faces of the local TV guys and boom, in like sin. Once your in though, you cant relax now…. hell no. Now you step over all living things to get the best angle you can. It’s not unlike chess. Just because you’re up front doesn’t mean you have the best spot. You have to get all Dubyah on it and strategerize the situation.
Spell check is unhappy with Stategerize for some reason?
Me, I went where the guys who recently won all the awards went. Yes. Shameless idol worship. It worked a too. Still there was some late comers who smile sheepishly and try like hell to worm their way in like being in a line at a bar or club looking for their friends who got there earlier to join them. But, this is not a club this is work. Work is not for making friends.
But you know me! I can be friends with anyone!
My buddy Hughes on the other hand, he was nice to someone and regretted it quickly. He allowed a TV camera man to step in front of him “to shoot some pictures” when after 5 minutes the guy didn’t leave Hughes politely informed him he couldn’t stay there because WE needed to shoot from that spot too. He refused and so Hughes moved him after a few more decreasingly polite requests, from another photographer as well. Security got involved and the man moved. Not before nearly starting a fist fight though. I told Hughes about a rule I heard from a Marine once. Professional, NEVER polite.
Me? I just got all pointy elbows and knees. When the press conference finally started at 10 something. (Which is 7-730 Pakistani time apparently) I had three smaller guys trying to duck and squirm their way in front of me. They did not succeed. I did let a NYTimes shooter get in front of me though because Johan and I could take turns, he loaned me his long zoom and I gave him a spare battery when his died. We rotated positions and in the end we both got shots we couldn’t have any other way. Plus we kept the late guys behind us. Win Win really.

Before endearing myself to the local media, who in fairness did nothing to make me think highly of them, I spent the afternoon hanging out with Danish at his shop. So far we sit, talk politics, religion, books, conspiracy theories and drink tea. He is eager for me to read more and understand Islam better, I am eager to learn more and love that he wants me know that he is not trying to convert me but maybe if I understood more about Islam one day I may decide its right for me. He loves that some of the guys in the shop next to him thought I was trying to convert him. Neither one of us seems to likely to convert in a market in Islamabad, but that’s me.
We have talked about America’s current wars, their meanings, purposes and what we can do. I was shocked to hear that he believes (as others do) that the US has and does use chemical weapons in Iraq. Both in 1992 and now, I explained to him that our soldiers were suffering from strange diseases, birth defects among their children etc. if we would have used them we would have protected out own troops better. He didn’t believe me.
He told me how our media doesn’t show our own dead and that we lie about the body counts of “insurgents” and “Taliban”. I said that might be true, I don’t know. I do know that no one will know better if we cant get better information out of Iraq and we wont get better information out while journalists are being targeted and murdered regardless of their ethnicity or organization.

We moved on to the idea of Democracy, one he does not believe in. He explained that no country can be Muslim and Democratic, Democracy is ruled by law and by the people. Islam has its own laws, the Sharia laws. Any laws other than Sharia cannot be accepted if the country is truly Islamic. Therefore the can be no Islamic Democracy.
We argued that one for a good 30 minutes. Without budging on either side.
Again we aren’t likely to convert to the others side over a cup of tea but we both love the debate. We both keep making sure that we aren’t offending the other as well, which I find relieving. I want to make sure I don’t offend my host or stumble into being THAT American, he wants to make sure he doesn’t offend his guest and it seems he wants to pass on a good representation of his country as well.

I will hopefully work on getting a good portrait shot of Danish today or tomorrow since it currently time for Friday prayers and he most likely will be at the mosque for a while.

Time for lunch.

AND...yes, the guy next to me is watching porn....I love busting people here! its sick i know. I know sexuality is more than a bit repressed here but its got to blow a few minds to go from complete repression to hard core porn!? i almost want to hand out a few swimsuit issues or something to ease people to the middle ground. But, i am too busy discussing Islam and meeting people in gun stores. you guys understand right?