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.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Chinese Dissident


“Where are you from?” a young man on the side of the street in Lijiang asks. It is the auspicious beginnings of a lengthy conversation with a dissident that moves from the street corner to a dark corner in a nearby café. “I can’t tell you my name or the party I’m affiliated with. It’s too dangerous. If you write something you can only use my English name, ‘King.’ A couple years ago when I was studying at Beijing University, I got caught participating in our party’s online chat forum. The police hauled me in and wouldn’t release me until I signed a statement that I wouldn’t say anything bad about the communist government any more. What a bunch of crap! They told me I couldn’t leave the country either and every couple months they came to my apartment to check on me. I came to Lijiang to get away from them. When I traveled here, I couldn’t use the train or plane because I would have had to use my ID and then they would have known where I was. So I traveled by bus and bike. Now, they don’t know where I am and I have a house in the mountains that has a secret hiding place. They’ll never find me there.

“Incredible,” I say. “I keep running into people that are happy with their lives here. “Yes, people in China think they have it good. They have more things than they ever had before. But they’re only happy because they’re comparing to what they didn’t have in the past and not to what could be or to what other countries have. In China, 80% of the wealth is owned by 20% of the people and 90% of the 20% are those in power and that’s fucking bad! Our party wants to change that. We want democracy. We want to choose our leaders. We want more transparency in government. We want a bill of rights.” “Are you familiar with Liu Xiaobo?” I ask. “Yes, I know about him and many others like him. I know he won the Nobel Peace Prize. I know he’s in prison and even where he’s in prison, but I can’t say more. My party has ways of keeping me informed and we sometimes get information out to others by writing things on bills. People don’t throw money away, you know, and so that’s often a good way to circulate news.”

“I’d like to see your blog,” he says. “I can use my laptop computer. It’s old but it still works.” “It’s blocked,” I say. “Let me try.” He types in the URL, “Yes, it is blocked, but I have another way.” He types away, we wait, he sighs, “Ah, It’s really blocked. Okay, I know another way,” he laughs; now enjoying the challenge. He turns off Windows and types some commands in DOS. The Windows screen comes back up. He types in my blog address. We wait a minute. “There it is, my blog! Wow, where did you get the software to do that?” “In college, from the Falungong. They developed it and are now distributing it for free. It accesses a server in the United States.” “Can the government track this?” “They can, but the risk is low because there’s too much activity for them to do much about it. Now I’ve bookmarked your blog and can access it anytime.” “Do many people use this program?” “No, but when more people know about it, they will. What do you think? What do Americans think? Do we have a chance?” “I don’t know.”

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