The New Civil andshy;Service
and#160;
I watched two men enter the lobby of the Hotel andshy;Mowafaq.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Most Afghans seemed to glide up the center of the lobby staircase with their shawls trailing behind them like Venetian cloaks. But these men wore Western jackets, walked quietly, and stayed close to the banister. I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the hotel andshy;manager.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Follow them.and#8221; He had never spoken to me andshy;before.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Iand#8217;m sorry, no,and#8221; I said. and#147;I am andshy;busy.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Now. They are from the andshy;government.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; I followed him to a room on a floor I didnand#8217;t know existed and he told me to take off my shoes and enter alone in my socks. The two men were seated on a heavy blackwood sofa, beside an aluminum spittoon. They were still wearing their shoes. I smiled. They did not. The lace curtains were drawn and there was no electricity in the city; the room was andshy;dark.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Chi kar mikonid?and#8221; (What are you doing?) asked the man in the black suit and collarless Iranian shirt. I expected him to stand and, in the normal way, shake hands and wish me peace. He remained andshy;seated.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Salaam aleikumand#8221; (Peace be with you), I said, and sat andshy;down.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Waleikum aandshy;-andshy;salaam. Chi kar mikonid?and#8221; he repeated quietly, leaning back and running his fat manicured hand along the purple velveteen arm of the sofa. His bouffant hair and goatee were neatly trimmed. I was conscious of not having shaved in eight andshy;weeks.and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;I have explained what I am doing many times to His Excellency, Yuzufi, in the Foreign Ministry,and#8221; I said. and#147;I was told to meet him again now. I am andshy;late.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; A pulse was beating strongly in my neck. I tried to breathe slowly. Neither of us spoke. After a little while, I looked andshy;away.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The thinner man drew out a small new radio, said something into it, and straightened his stiff jacket over his traditional shirt. I didnand#8217;t need to see the shoulder holster. I had already guessed they were members of the Security Service. They did not care what I said or what I thought of them. They had watched people through hidden cameras in bedrooms, in torture cells, and on execution grounds. They knew that, however I presented myself, I could be reduced. But why had they decided to question me? In the silence, I heard a car reversing in the courtyard and then the first notes of the call to andshy;prayer.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Letand#8217;s go,and#8221; said the man in the black suit. He told me to walk in front. On the stairs, I passed a waiter to whom I had spoken. He turned away. I was led to a small Japanese car parked on the dirt forecourt. The carand#8217;s paint job was new and it had been washed recently. They told me to sit in the back. There was nothing in the pockets or on the floorboards. It looked as though the car had just come from the factory. Without saying anything, they turned onto the main andshy;boulevard.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; It was January 2002. The Americanandshy;-andshy;led coalition was ending its bombardment of the Tora Bora complex; Usama Bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar had escaped; operations in Gardez were beginning. The new government taking over from the Taliban had been in place for two weeks. The laws banning television and female education had been dropped; political prisoners had been released; refugees were returning home; some women were coming out without veils. The UN and the U.S. military were running the basic infrastructure and food supplies. There was no frontier guard and I had entered the country without a visa. The Afghan government seemed to me hardly to exist. Yet these men were apparently well andshy;established.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The car turned into the Foreign Ministry, and the gate guards saluted and stood back. As I climbed the stairs, I felt that I was moving unnaturally quickly and that the men had noticed this. A secretary showed us into Mr. Yuzufiand#8217;s office without knocking. For a moment Yuzufi stared at us from behind his desk. Then he stood, straightened his baggy pinandshy;-andshy;striped jacket, and showed the men to the most senior position in the room. They walked slowly on the linoleum flooring, looking at the furniture Yuzufi had managed to assemble since he had inherited an empty office: the splintered desk, the four mismatched filing cabinets in different shades of olive green, and the stove, which made the room smell strongly of gasoline.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The week I had known Yuzufi comprised half his career in the Foreign Ministry. A fortnight earlier he had been in Pakistan. The day before he had given me tea and a boiled sweet, told me he admired my journey, laughed at a photograph of my father in a kilt, and discussed Persian poetry. This time he did not greet me but instead sat in a chair facing me and asked, and#147;What has andshy;happened?and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Before I could reply, the man with the goatee cut in. and#147;What is this foreigner doing andshy;here?and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;These men are from the Security Service,and#8221; said andshy;Yuzufi.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; I nodded. I noticed that Yuzufi had clasped his hands together and that his hands, like mine, were trembling andshy;slightly.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;I will translate to make sure you understand what they are asking,and#8221; continued Yuzufi. and#147;Tell them your intentions. Exactly as you told andshy;me.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; I looked into the eyes of the man on my left. and#147;I am planning to walk across Afghanistan. From Herat to Kabul. On foot.and#8221; I was not breathing deeply enough to complete my phrases. I was surprised they didnand#8217;t interrupt. and#147;I am following in the footsteps of Babur, the first emperor of Mughal India. I want to get away from the roads. Journalists, aid workers, and tourists mostly travel by car, but Iand#151;and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;There are no tourists,and#8221; said the man in the stiff jacket, who had not yet spoken. and#147;You are the first tourist in Afghanistan. It is midandshy;winterand#151;there are three meters of snow on the high passes, there are wolves, and this is a war. You will die, I can guarantee. Do you want to andshy;die?and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Thank you very much for your advice. I note those three points.and#8221; I guessed from his tone that such advice was intended as an order. and#147;But I have spoken to the Cabinet,and#8221; I said, misrepresenting a brief meeting with the young secretary to the Minister of Social Welfare. and#147;I must do this andshy;journey.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Do it in a yearand#8217;s time,and#8221; said the man in the black andshy;suit.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; He had taken from Yuzufi the tattered evidence of my walk across South Asia and was examining it: the clipping from the newspaper in western Nepal, and#147;Mr. Stewart is a pilgrim for peaceand#8221;; the letter from the Conservator, Second Circle, Forestry Department, Himachal Pradesh, India, and#147;Mr. Stewart, a Scot, is interested in the environmentand#8221;; from a District Officer in the Punjab and a Secretary of the Interior in a Himalayan state and a Chief Engineer of the Pakistan Department of Irrigation requesting and#147;All Executive Engineers (XENs) on the Lower Bari Doab to assist Mr. Stewart, who will be undertaking a journey on foot to research the history of the canal andshy;system.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;I have explained this,and#8221; I added, and#147;to His Excellency the Emirand#8217;s son, the Minister of Social Welfare, when he also gave me a letter of andshy;introduction.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;From His Excellency Mir andshy;Wais?and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Here.and#8221; I handed over the sheet of letterhead paper I had received from the Ministerand#8217;s secretary. and#147;Mr. Stewart is a medieval antiquary interested in the anthropology of andshy;Herat.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;But it is not andshy;signed.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Mr. Yuzufi lost the signed andshy;copy.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Yuzufi, who was staring at the ground, nodded andshy;slightly.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The two men talked together for a few minutes. I did not try to follow what they were saying. I noticed, however, that they were using Iranianand#151;not Afghanand#151;Persian. This and their clothes and their manner made me think they had spent a great deal of time with the Iranian intelligence services. I had been questioned by the Iranians, who seemed to suspect me of being a spy. I did not want to be questioned by them andshy;again.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The man in the stiff jacket said, and#147;We will allow him to walk to Chaghcharan. But our gunmen will accompany him all the way.and#8221; Chaghcharan was halfway between Herat and Kabul and about a fortnight into my andshy;journey.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The villagers with whom I was hoping to stay would be terrified by a secret police escort. This was presumably the point. But why were they letting me do the journey at all when they could expel me? I wondered if they were looking for money. and#147;Thank you so much for your concern for my security,and#8221; I said, and#147;but I am quite happy to take the risk. I have walked alone across the other Asian countries without any andshy;problems.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;You will take the escort,and#8221; said Yuzufi, interrupting for the first time. and#147;That is andshy;nonnegotiable.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;But I have introductions to the local commanders. I will be much safer with them than with andshy;Heratis.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;You will go with our men,and#8221; he andshy;repeated.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;I cannot afford to pay for an escort. I have no andshy;money.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;We were not expecting any money,and#8221; said the man in the stiff andshy;jacket.
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;This is nonnegotiable,and#8221; repeated Yuzufi. His broad knee was now jigging up and down. and#147;If you refuse this you will be expelled from the country. They want to know how many of their gunmen you are andshy;taking.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;If it is compulsory, andshy;one.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; and#147;Two . . . with weapons,and#8221; said the man in the dark suit, and#147;and you will leave andshy;tomorrow.and#8221;
and#160;
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The two men stood up and left the room. They said goodandshy;-andshy;bye to Yuzufi but not to andshy;me.
and#160;
Copyright and#169; Rory Stewart 2004
Illustrations copyright and#169; 2006 by Rory Stewart
and#160;
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