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Sent: 22 September 2003 03:19
To: David Clark; Jen Clark
Subject: You’re Crazy
I've been here seven weeks now, and the time seems to be passing quickly. It’s a
good bunch here, and that makes it better.
We were driving through Kabul last week when I had a couple of interesting
encounters. I was leading two Iltis back to camp and I had taken an alternate route
through downtown. It was very congested, but that is normal. I fell in behind a black
Mercedes driven by a young Chinese woman. I figure that it was a diplomat. We
moved in behind her, as she cleared out the traffic in front. The locals were quite
surprised to see a woman behind the wheel.
As I passed by the sidewalk, a teenager ran out and said, “You’re crazy!” Our jeeps
do not have doors on them, so conversation is quite easy. I was not quite sure what
he meant. Was I crazy because I was going around town in an unarmoured jeep?
Was I crazy because I thought that our presence in Kabul was going to change
anything? Was I crazy because I sold my Mortgage Fund mutual funds and bought
US Index RRSP right before the crash?
I confirmed his suspicions by smiling and waving.
Immediately after another teen ran out and swore at me. To be fair, most kids seem to
like us.
I have been told that the locals respect us if we are in jeeps, and don’t like us if we are
in armoured vehicles. I am told that it is because by going in a jeep we are meeting
them on their level and displaying courage. Interesting theory.
My other interesting encounter occurred on the Jalalabad Road (a major boulevard).
We noticed a western looking man on his own surrounded by kids. He was waving at
us, so we stopped to see what was going on. He was a civilian worker with the
Italian contingent whose car had broken down. The kids swarmed me, and I think
that they wanted something. I shook their hands, and that seemed to satisfy them.
We took him on board and dropped him off at his camp (after checking his ID). He
was actually Croatian, and he had visited Quebec and Montreal some years ago.
Things are still busy here, and I am in a routine. The gym, kitchen and mess are
operational, so I can’t complain about my comfort level. I haven’t met any scary
critters yet, but I guess it is a matter of time.
Love
Iain
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