Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25233
SPECIAL FOCUS: TO GO OR NOT TO GO Text: Marelle Obersteiner Mareile Obersteiner, age 27, had lived in Pakistan for nearly two years on 9/11. She initially visited to work to protect the snow leopard of the Karakoram mountains, and during her stay worked teaching English, and as a graphic designer/photographer with her boyfriend Matthieu. She is currently traveling elsewhere in Asia. In summer 1999 when the Kashmir Conflict and the bombings between Pakistan and India were hot news, we had just made plans to spend some time trekking and teaching English in the mountains of Northern Pakistan - a few 100 kilometers from the infamous Siachen glacier-the danger zone! Pakistan was stamped as a dangerous place, a country full of black-bearded fundamentalist Muslims and ter- rorists, hiding nuclear weapons in the lap of a corrupt government Maybe it was natural curiosity, or my optimistic belief in the" good" in the world , but we wanted to go and see for ourselves_ Once in Pakistan, we found nothing but friendly, hospitable people, leading normal lives without kalashnikoffs or starving terror-stricken children living on UN food rations_ The war itself was more present in the sensation-savvy news of Europe and America, than in the country itself_ Now, that terrorists have struck America, suddenly the whole world seems a dangerous place_ It is not the world that is dangerous! It's the media's distorted portrait of the world that paints it as such. News, whether coming from Europe, Asia or America, tempts us to judge a country by what we hear about its government and politics. What do you actually know from real experience about the Afghan people? Or about the Palestinians? Or the Israelis? What do you know about Ali who makes the best chai in Gilgit? About the Indians in Kashmir? Who is the Indonesian teenager with the flashy bandana and why is he yelling anti-American slogans on CNN live? If you think you know who he is, then don't be surprised if he also thinks he knows who you are: He likely believes you are a rich foreigner from an ignorant nation, hating Muslims and feeling superior in a well-protected free coun- try. Not true? That's exactly my point! Now, turn to yourself and you might find that you could reconsider your own first judgements_ The world is full of misconception and prejudice caused by you, by me, by anyone out there. One way to change this is to go discover and find your own truth. This doesn't mean that you have to run into every war-torn or politically unstable country to be able to say: "It's so different from what I expected." It might be exactly what you expected. It might be better or worse. The point is: you have the choice! For us Westerners it is easy to go travel. A couple of bucks for a discount air-ticket, a visa stamped in our passports and the world is open to us. On the other side, on the 3rd class deck of our vessel we call the world, many Asians spend annual salaries, risk lives and have to break laws to get to Western nations as immigrants. As a reward for their efforts they are often regarded with suspicion, even hate. We travelers are the missionaries of the global village. If you feel uncomfortable with the thought of going to Pakistan right now, don' t go. But don't forget, there are plenty of other countries and people to meet out there. The American embassies warned people not to travel to Pakistan even before the 9/11 attacks, which, in my opinion, was as not justified in the first place. I've met plen- ty of Americans who fell in love with Pakistan and its people just like I did and they never felt they were treated differently just because they are Americans (if you disregard the extra charge on the visa fee). Glued to the TV in a small mountain village I watched the World Trade Center collapse live on CNN. I thought about my many friends in downtown NY, where I had lived just before coming to Pakistan. I had difficulties understanding and puzzling the picture together. But I felt lucky to be in Pakistan, away from it all the chaos, the pain, the worried phone calls. My perception changed in the days and weeks that came as talks of a planned attack in Afghanistan became more immediate. Up in the mountains, not much had changed. But the possibility of not being able to leave Pakistan in the case of a war did start to worry me (for us freedom loving people a rather discom- forting thought). But on a day without BBC we felt happy and safe, like the ostrich with his head in the sand. But it was the pressure of the media, the worried phone calls of my parents and the lack of convincing justifications to stay that ulti- mately made me leave the country. But not for long, I hope. Since leaving Pakistan, I have traveled to Thailand and Burma, both of which feel far from the politics of Afghanistan. The climbers are sti ll hanging from the cliffs in Krabi; the Burmese temples are sti ll glowing golden in the sunset. Traveling is not for the worried and insecu re (although it's good thera- py for that). Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it! Travel is about having the right attitude. Be open-minded. Be informed about the country, religion and customs. Be ready to change your views and make friends with people who don't speak your language. It's up to you. Go see for yourself. The choice (where to go) is yours. 40