 |
| Stuck in the Salang Tunnel with no ventilation for 3.5 hours |
At 7:30 PM we descended out of the tunnel to be greeting by a massive blizzard. Cars and trucks were once again swerving off the road and we couldn’t see 50 feet ahead.
At 12:00 AM, almost 12 hours after departed Kabul some of our team members were starting to hallucinate and complain of frost bite plus our driver was complaining that he couldn’t keep driving in the blizzard. The snow was pounding against the window and if you stared at it long enough, it put you in a trance. We had 1 blanket for every four people. I was sharing a blanket and cuddling with people I never in my wildest dreams would imagine I would be sharing a blanket with or cuddling. But my only other option was to freeze to death. Although we tried our best to keep our spirits up by making jokes, clapping to folk music coming from my iPod or one of the guys’ mobile phones, we were starting to lose our strength and hope of surviving. We were in the middle of nowhere and the prospect of spending the night in the bus was out of the question. We would never survive the night. So we finally pulled into the next city we came to which was called Pul Khumri. The whole town, was one street long. Box Head Billy got out with our 20 year old producer Qais and found a guesthouse where we could pass the night.
This stopped being fun about 4 hours ago. Delirious with Frost Bite.
Trudi and I were told that we had to be smuggled in because the Guesthouse had a “no foreigners” policy. I quickly got worried and asked Box Head, “Then why are you taking us there?” But he told me it’s almost 1 AM and there is nowhere else to go. I believed him and watched as Trudi, a blond Australian, covered all her hair with a dark scarf and both of us followed Box Head in with our heads down. Miraculously, Trudi got in without anyone giving her a second glance, but I got stopped and interrogated because they didn't believe that I was "Afghan". I started speaking with Farsi with them to prove I indeed was from this country, but they just glared at me suspiciously and said I must have learned the language since I got to Afghanistan. They also stopped our lead actor/model because apparently he looked too "clean and good looking" to be an Afghan. Box Head Billy worked his magic and somehow got us inside.
Once we got to our room, Trudi and I looked around and realized the accommodations were horrendous. Box Head walked into our room and declared that he would be spending the night with us. I quickly asked him why? He responded that this place is not very safe and someone might try to break in. I could see Trudi getting worried and she responded, “Well, I guess that’s fine.” But I quickly refused. I told Box Head, I would rather risk getting raped than to have him sleep in our room. I could already see the drama unfolding once people found out we slept with Box Head in the same room. At this point, I was exhausted, freezing, losing patience by the second and just wanted to be left alone. Trudi suggested we check out the bathroom since we hadn’t been to one in over 14 hours. But after one look in there, I was ready to flee. She urged me to give it a try. I had to. So with my eyes closed and my breathing stopped, I did what I had to do. I’ll spare you the details of what we were greeting with in the bathroom.
 |
The Room
|
 |
| It was so much worse than what the pictures show. |
We rushed back to our room before anyone could stop us. We boarded up our door with a table and locked the windows. Despite all the precautions we took, 3 or 4 attempts were made to open our door throughout the night. The sheets were clearly soiled and neither of us were willing to put our head on the filthy pillows. We placed our clean clothes over them and tried our best to get a couple of hours of sleep. But at 7 AM, we were woken up to be smuggled back out before the rest of the staff arrived at the Guesthouse. I wasn’t about to start my day in that filthy bathroom again, so I just rinsed with mouthwash (I’m so glad I decided to bring it) and cleaned up with my wipes. We immediately left town and started driving. Fortunately, it had stopped snowing and the roads were clear.
 |
| Had to use my hair clips to keep the voyers from looking into our room. |
We stopped in the town of Samangan about an hour and a half later to get some breakfast. We were given Kabobs which smelled horrible but everyone gobbled them up. I asked if I could get a cup of coffee. The boys found some instant coffee and mixed it with tea. It was horrible but Trudi and I drank it anyways. I asked for a can of coke because the coffee didn’t really do the trick and was given a can that had expired in 2007! Our photographer, Walid, told us there was a famous place in town called “Taqht Rostam” where the Shahnama Emperor ruled and we all decided to stop and see it. Who knows if we would ever come back this way again. It turned out to be a gorgeous place. The landscape, the serenity, the peace was overwhelming. I finally felt at ease and let myself just relax enough to enjoy the moment. We took some pictures and began our trek once again. The rest of the way was uneventful. The scenery was breathtaking, especially when we got to Tashqhurghan. I think there are just some places in this world that God has spent a little extra time on. Its natural beauty was magnificent. Colorful, mineral rich mountains surrounded us. The sun was out and we had gorgeous blue skies above. We arrived at a stretch in the road, where a pass in the middle of two massive rock mountains, just wide enough for two cars to pass through, appeared. Walid, told me that people believe, Ali – Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son in law, had sliced the mountain in half with his sword while he was passing through on his way to Mazar.
We finally arrived in Mazar at 1:30 PM, and were greeting by our Director who had secured housing for us at a local hotel. Which although, inadequate (no heating, very little electricity, and no working bathroom), was a welcomed relief. As we drove in, I couldn’t help but notice how clean the roads were and how few people were out on the streets (especially women). But it was Friday (family day) and Friday prayer was about to start at Raowza Sharif. As we approach the massive shrine, I had to pinch myself. I couldn’t believe I was finally here in front of this place that I had been dreaming of visiting for so long. No picture has ever done justice to the magnificence of this structure. Walid jumped out of the car and said he’ll meet us at the hotel. He wanted to make it to Friday prayer at the mosque. The shrine is located at the center of the city, and seems to have a magnetic attraction pulling you towards it. Our Hotel was located within walking distance and so I made my plans to come back later in the day. Once we got settled into the hotel, we realized we weren’t going to get warm there. The electricity was so weak that it wouldn’t power up the electric heater in the room.
 |
| Our palatial hotel. |
We were told to get ready to leave to go and see the location of where we were going to do the shoot the next day. Once again, we found ourselves, in a wide stretch of desert with majestic mountains surrounding us. I could already see how breathtaking this would look on camera. We went to dinner that night to an upscale (as upscale as Mazar can get) Turkish restaurant. They had heaters which they placed around our table and as soon as we sat down, Trudi and I ordered coffee. The first sip was just heaven. By the time, we finished dinner, we had started to thaw from the icicles we had turned into. It was also the first time, I finally got a look around the table at our team. I was told our lead actor used to be a model in India. He was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe he was on the bus with us the whole time and I never noticed him. I then saw a man sitting to my left who looked really familiar. I was told he played the evil Taliban in the Kite Runner. I looked closer and realized that really was him.
 |
| Dinner in a Turkish Restaurant with the Kite Runner "Taliban" in front left of the photo. |
When we got back to our rooms that night, we got into our beds still wearing all our clothes and covered ourselves with 4 blankets each. I mentioned to Trudi, that I never realized we had so many famous important people on the bus with us. She said, “Well, yes. It was all about us and our suffering in the bus so we sort of forgot that there were others with us.” We laughed for a good hour. We laughed at everything that had happened to us so far. We so needed that laugh. We had so much tension built up that it was either crying or laughing. And laughing did the trick. We sort of never stopped laughing after that. Everything that happened from then on, whether it was funny or not, we just laughed at. It’s really the only thing that got us through everything.
The next morning, I woke up early and was told I had a couple of hours before the shoot so I decided it was as good a time as any to visit Rowza. Trudi and I tried to make a run for it before Box Head found us but he caught us at the last minute. I was getting really annoyed with him shadowing me everywhere and was starting to figure he wasn’t just taking his job seriously but might have actually developed a crush on me. That’s the last thing I needed at that moment. I found Walid, our photographer and dragged him with us. As we walked to Raowza, I was surprised how few people were staring at us. It was so nice to be able to just walk around and not be gawked at the way we are in Kabul. I was slowly starting to fall in love with Mazar Sharif and its people. Everyone was so polite and gracious. It reminded of what Kabul was like when I first arrived 9 years ago.
As we approached Raowza, an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. There was something tugging at my heart. I was so taken by the powerful emotions which touched a spiritual part of me that hadn’t been touched in a long time. I wanted to go inside the shrine but couldn’t take Trudi with me. I really didn’t want Box Head to come with me because I knew that I needed to do this on my own. Trudi tried to keep him outside with her but he refused. I was mad but I didn’t want to let him ruin this experience for me. I kept close to Walid who understood what I was experiencing and respected my need for space. As we entered the shrine, I felt like I was in the presence of a very holy spirit. I don’t know how to really explain the feeling. It was just so strong. I am not a very religious person but as I stood in front Ali’s tomb, I started to finally break down. I cried and prayed. I prayed for my family and my friends and for the people of Afghanistan who have suffered so much. For once, I really felt like my prayers were being listened to. I tried my best to remember everything that I needed to pray for and as I finished, I looked around and saw men and women walking up to the caged tomb, crying and praying. They were peering inside and kissing the outside of the cage. Everyone was chanting Ali’s name. I did the same. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. As I was leaving, the people who sit inside and offer prayers to people, gifted me a Koran. I will take it to my mom. I know it will mean a lot to her.
On the way back to the hotel, we saw a woman in a burqa sitting on the side of the road. Her head was down and she wasn’t moving. On her lap was a baby girl, wrapped tightly in a blanket. As I approached them I thought the little girl was not breathing. My heart almost stopped. She looked lifeless. I started yelling and asked if she was ok. Walid reassured me that she wasn’t dead. He explained that some people give their babies opium to put them in this state where they don’t feel the cold and don’t suffer. I looked at her face again and she looked so peaceful and almost euphoric. The same look that people on drugs have. It broke my heart. I wasn’t sure why God put her in my path that day but I can’t get her little face out of my mind. Every time I close my eyes, I see her. I wanted to pick her up and take her with me. But I couldn’t. She didn’t belong to me. I have heard stories of women doing this to their babies, but seeing it with my own eyes was so devastating. On the way back, I had the bus stop and had one of our assistants place a “nazar band” I had purchased at Raowza around her neck to protect her.
We finally arrived at the location of the shoot and the rest of the day went smoothly. Everyone pulled together and despite all the obstacles of a non-working generator and lack of props, we completed
a very successful shoot. At the beginning of the day I started communicating with Kabul, demanding that we get flights back for the entire crew because there was no way, we were willing to risk anyone’s live going back the way we came. At 8 PM in the evening, we still had no confirmation. At that point, we were told that two tickets would be purchased for Trudi and I but the rest of the team were to travel back by bus. At that point, we decided to just prepare for us all to return by road since Trudi and I were not willing to let the crew go back on their own. Before we went to bed, I counted my money and realized I had enough to buy tickets for the entire group but we still weren’t sure if we could get seats on the flight. We had no way to book the tickets then and just decided we would try in the morning. If we couldn’t get tickets we would just drive.
Fortunately, in the morning, our Director was able to call in some favors and managed to get us all confirmed on the flight which left 3 hours after it was scheduled to depart. We had to send two staff members back with the bus to accompany the equipment. To say they weren’t very happy was an understatement but it was a decision that had to be made.
 |
| That's a wrap! |
We managed to make one more visit to the shrine before leaving and a little beggar girl read my fortune from the palm of my hand. She had some interesting things to say and I was captivated by her. She looked so innocent but she was so wise and mature way beyond her years. I think I gave her all the money I had left in my pocket and we took off. We managed to walk around in town a bit more and I couldn’t get over how peaceful it was in Mazar. No one bothered us and couldn’t really care less that we were there. It was so liberating. We would never have had that experience in Kabul.
After passing through 7 check points at the Mazar Airport, we boarded the plane and arrived in Kabul 35 minutes later. None of us could believe we made it back in one piece. Despite all the challenges, obstacles and near death experiences, this trip was an amazing experience. I made 13 friends that I would never have made if this trip hadn’t happened. It was really hard to say good bye after experiencing so much together. We had bonded in a very strong way and had been through a lot together. I got to see another side of Afghanistan. I experienced the beauty of the country, the hospitality of the Afghan people and found a side of myself that brought me closer to my roots. As bad as it was, I returned home that evening grateful for the experience and for the new friends I had made.
 |
| Good bye Mazar. |
. 
Comments
Post a Comment