Friday, 5/10/13, the first day of lock down:  The Pakistan elections are tomorrow so we were to be in our houses by 2:00 this afternoon and will remain here till Sunday at the soonest.  So far the violence has all been outside of Islamabad, bombings in the FATA, shootings in Karachi… OK I’ll admit shootings in Karachi are not necessarily politically motivated any more than shootings in South Central LA were in the 80’s.  Ah, but my turf, last night I had to be at Nur Khan to receive an aircraft.  We weren’t finished with the customs clearance until perhaps 7:30 PM.  We then had to take the pilots to one of the houses to rest.  On the way we ran into mobs of mini-bikes and cars waving flags.  On the main boulevard we inched along between lights and finally took the “scenic route” past the city cemetery.  After all, no one excited about an election wants to be reminded of the dead on their way to a rally.  At one point we were heading south on 7^th Ave, now heading to my house, the pilots having been dropped at another place.  We suddenly saw a mob of perhaps 100 mini-bikes and dozens of cars heading North toward what turned out to be a political rally expected to draw 10,000.  People in America don’t get anywhere this excited about politics.  Sports championships perhaps, but politics… yawn.  It was a night of circuitous driving and patience. 

Today we only worked less than half a day, 8:00 till 12:30.  We had to be back at home before the dreaded hour of 2:00.  Why 2:00, who the fuck knows.  The State Dept personnel are simply being told to avoid rally’s and gatherings.  Us military types apparently need to be treated more cautiously.  Odd I know, but that is today’s military.  Hell back in the 80’s we’d be on liberty in South Korea during the student riots.  We would be told, just don’t go near any universities.  Which of course we would immediately do, out of curiosity, or because we were too drunk to garb the correct train to Inchon.  Oh, wait, perhaps that is why we’re locked down? 

OK, anyhow today was a good day.  I spend time cleaning the bike I plan to ride the hills on.  It hasn’t been well maintained.  The last guy to use it complained it shifted poorly.  No wonder the chain, sprocket and chain rings were all curded up.  All better now.  Then I smoked a stogie and read some more of “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72”, a highly recommended book as a primer on politics and elections.  Everyone should read this book if you care how your country is run and how elections are managed.  Anyway the rest of the day has been equally relaxing.  It’s a nice change of pace.  Forced to take a real weekend off, a rather odd concept for most of you I imagine.       

The Smell of this Place

Something I meant to include in my last post, but forgot, was the smell of this city.  When I first traveled to Korea the entire country reeked of Kimchee.  The Philippines, at least Subic Bay, smelled of tropical humidity and raw sewage.  The main sewage outlet from Olongapo was “Shit River”.  I think the river’s true name is the Olongapo River and perhaps they use that name now but for decades the sailors only knew it as Shit River.  Even my father called it that and he last visited was the mid 50’s.  So what is my primary olfactory sensation from Islamabad?  It is the pungent odor of wild marijuana.  Every day I notice more of it, it grows everywhere; on the diplomatic enclave, across from the US Embassy, across the street from one of our General’s houses, in the parks, in the shopping area planters, on Pakistan’s military bases.  The smell is not overpowering and I imagine most American’s don’t even recognize it, but I do.  I find it amazingly surreal to be in a capitol that has that distinct, pungent, smell ever present.

Cinco De Mayo in Islamabad

 

Cinco de Mayo in Islamabad Pakistan.  Seems odd to have a get together on this occasion.  Then again seems odd that America has so fully accepted a fake holiday.  OK, that’s a bit harsh.  It’s a real thing but a minor one to be sure.  Here we are bad mouthing Mexicans for wanting to come north for work but we gladly usurp a minor holiday celebrating a victory over the French in 1862?  OK, OK, I should not be surprised as Saint Patrick’s Day has changed from a Catholic Saint’s Feast day to an excuse to obliterate our livers through copious consumption of alcohol.  Whoa, OK how did I get here?  Oh yeah, the 5^th of May.  Today.  It was a good day in Islamabad, for me anyway.  Another hike up the Margalla Hills.  Faster this time with a smaller group of more dedicated hikers.  After that I came back and glazed the Chocolate Damnation cake I made for today’s baking contest.  We had a chili cook off and baking contest at the General’s house.  Many people, lots of entries, lots of beer, a good time.

I missed out on “best dessert” to a guy that works for me.  He’s about to depart and has always baked for events.  To be fair very few people tried my cake as the first few destroyed it as quickly as possible!  It was the first dessert to vanish.  When the winner was announced the three star general turned to me and said “I think you just got fucked”  Too funny!  Afterwards a number of us filled water balloons and then took a position on the general’s 2^nd floor while others did the same at the house across the street.  Then we used huge sling shots to stage a water balloon artillery duel.  So today was a good day.  Actually I suppose I should say I had a good weekend… all one day of it.

Pakistani Elections



Election flags in Islamabad

Another day another earthquake.  We had a 5.7 this morning.  Nothing frightening, at least not frightening to someone who grew up in California and spent time in Japan.  Still though, this is the fourth reasonable sized tremor in the past 30 days.  I haven’t been here long enough to know if this is “normal” so I suppose I should do a bit of research on that.  It’s just another thing to be aware of here.  Awareness is important for expats in Pakistan.  Even though we have reasonably free movement within Islamabad there are limits.  Hiking in the Margala Hills or attending an art show at the Marriott or Hotel Serena require a locator card from the Regional Security Office at the Embassy.  This is a way to know where larger groups of American are in case the shit hits the fan.  When hiking we are always in groups.  There are two trails cleared for diplomatic personnel.  This means they have a larger military/police presence.  Mind you, very few here have actual diplomatic status.  I am here on an “official passport”.  It is brown, not blue like my tourist passport.  It allows me to be here and do my job but does not include the diplomatic immunity that a red “diplomatic passport” conveys. 

So awareness, Pakistan has elections scheduled for the 11th (next Saturday).  Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been blowing people up in the Northwest.  They have a standing threat against Americans.  Karachi has more of a serious criminal element threat than an insurgent threat.  Here in Islamabad we have only had to deal with demonstrations and marches.  I haven’t seen any of them myself as I am at work during more daylight hours and also because we receive notice to avoid these areas.  Funny, back in the late 80’s in Korea we used to specifically check out the student demonstrations.  But back then the threat was more from teargas and police. 

Political flags and banners are everywhere.  Clearly there is a great deal of energy pent up and waiting.  We shall see what these next few weeks bring.  Still, this is one more element to be aware of.  We live in a city covered with check points and detours.  For myself and the people I work with we simply flash our blue embassy badge and have no hassle.  It is pretty annoying though to have so many road blocks.  You want to go straight up a street but have to turn left to avoid barriers and then make a U-turn mid-block and then a left back at the intersection.  All the time being aware you’re in a right hand drive country.  All the time watching out for other cars, motorbikes, horse carts, pedestrians, bicycles and anything else that might interrupt your plans.  Driving here is barely controlled chaos.  Whoever reaches an intersection first has the implied right of way.  Cars and motorbikes will pass on either side of you, or cut you off just to turn in front of you.  Driving here takes a particular degree of diligence and awareness.  You have to negotiate the road obstacles, the chaotic traffic and still be vigilant in case some dumb ass has evil intentions.  Some of my co-workers spend a great deal of time driving cursing other drivers and aggressively trying to force them to drive like someone in the US.  That is such a waste of energy and cause of needless stress.  It is much easier simply to drive as the Pakistani’s do.    

I feel like I have something of an advantage having grown up in LA during the violence of the 70’s and 80’s.  Having big city street smarts is quite helpful in places like Pakistan.