Last year I trekked into the Moroccan Sahara desert on a very trusty camel named Aszu. In the evening, my guide, Jusef, a sixth grade educated Berber nomad, surprisingly fluent in six languages, fixed me a tantalizing chicken tangine. All that it lacked was a glass of wine, unfortunately verboten for Muslims just days before Ramadan. At night we slept under the incredible desert night skies. Never before had I seen so many stars, stretching from one horizon to the other – the stars so bright and numerous, it was difficult to make out the constellations. That was Morocco, a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, smells, and experiences. From Morocco I traveled on through much of Europe, Russia, Mongolia, China, and finally concluding my trip in Japan. This year's trip will take me to Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Central Asia, India, Nepal, Southwest China, and Indochina. At times I hope to report back on my experiences and observations, perhaps posting a few pictures and videos that may be of interest. I've posted below a few pictures and videos from some past trips. For my blog on my travels through East Europe check out my blog at http://tallinntovarna.blogspot.com.

I’ve been asking myself lately, is there a theme to all this? Maybe not, but one thing I can say that piques my interest, is the dangerous nexus between religion and politics that engulfs the world today. In Morocco, where the King is both the head of Mosque and State, a Muslim, during Ramadan, can end up in jail for doing nothing more than drinking a glass of water under the scorching daytime heat – his crime, the thirsty Muslim broke the fast. Imams in Morocco claim that such an abhorrent act defies the teachings of God, infringes on the religious liberties of practicing Muslims, and is deserving of serious sanction. Of course, such a violation of an individual’s personal freedom could never happen in America. Or could it? As I write this, the U.S. Catholic Bishops are ferociously attacking President Obama’s Affordable Care Act for requiring institutions to provide birth control under their insurance policies. Like the Imams, the Bishops consider it not just an affront, but an existential threat, to their religious liberties. A poor woman, without the means to support a family, let alone a brutally raped woman, should not expect any sympathy from these Catholic institutions, as they, like their Muslim brothers, are scripturally bound to impose their beliefs on others. Does it matter that no one is telling Muslims that they cannot fast or Catholics that they cannot abstain from sex?

Now that I think of it, I’d like to dedicate this blog to Americans United, a terrific nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to preserving the principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom. Before I move on though, I’d like to share with you this political satire piece I wrote a few months ago when Senator Rick Santorum had a chance of being the Republican nominee. It pretty much sums up my take on what a large segment of the American population would like to see should their wildest dreams come true. Finally, I begin this blog with three postings from last year’s trip just to give you an idea of who I am and what you may or may not come to expect as I embark on this year's trip. If you have something nice to say, I'd love to hear from you.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Bride Kidnapping


Bohom Gorge
“Last year there were over 1,500 bride kidnappings reported,” Cholpon explained, as we wound our way through the Bohom Gorge on our way from Bishkek to Lake Issyk-Kul. “These are the ones that were reported, but since many more go unreported, because it’s the tradition, we have no idea how many bride kidnappings there have been. During soviet times, it was called ‘cattleknapping.’ Now it’s illegal and carries a sentence of three to seven years, yet it’s still practiced. When a family wants to kidnap a bride they conduct an investigation into the girl’s family and background, whether she comes from a good family, is good at housework, and will be well suited to her new family. It’s then they decide to kidnap her. The girl may be walking alone on a street when suddenly a car pulls up with a bunch of men and they force her inside. She may yell, bite, and scream, but they don’t pay attention, and take her to her new home, which has been prepared for the wedding. The old women in the household will have a white scarf ready for her. They will place it on her and tell her, ‘don’t worry, you’re going to be happy. We welcome you into our home. If she resists, they will do everything to persuade her to stay. They will tell her, that if she resists, she will be breaking with tradition and will be unhappy for the rest of her life. An old woman will take a piece of bread and lie down in the doorway and say, ‘If you step over an old woman and this piece of bread, which is sacred to us, you will be cursed for the rest of your life.’ The threat of a curse from an old lady is scary for us and so finally the young girl agrees to stay. She stays also because to escape kidnapping is viewed by the community as having been married and divorced, so men in the village will no longer want to have anything to do with her. Sometimes the parents of the girl are upset, but other times they’re okay with it as they can see that the groom comes from a good family. My cousin, 21, very pretty, and attending the university, was kidnapped in Bishkek, but in her case it was someone we knew, a distant relative, and so, at first, my cousin didn’t even know that she had been kidnapped. It began with her being asked to come to their house to babysit their daughters while they went out to eat. But instead of taking her to their house, they took her to another house where an old lady had the white wedding scarf prepared for her. That’s when she knew that she had been kidnapped and immediately started complaining. When her brothers found out what had happened, they gathered their friends, and with guns came after her. As a result, we now have a very bad relationship with these relatives. What’s most irritating about her abduction was that the man was 31 years old, had been married twice, had a daughter, and had just divorced his second wife two days earlier. I think he wanted to prove to his previous wife that he could marry someone young, smart, and beautiful.”
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