Gilgit 2

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that you all had a joyful and peaceful celebration. I’ll leave an account of my Easter weekend to the next instalment, as I realise it has taken me quite a while to continue the Gilgit story. This was partly due to writers block (in other words laziness in my case) and partly there has been yet more uncertainty because of a bomb in an Islamabad restaurant. It is not good as Islamabad usually has high surveillance, and it was specifically targeting foreigners – this is the first time that foreigners have been a target since 2002.

Anyway, I’ll move from that depressing note and back to the Gilgit story… The reason I went there was because I was with an MIED team who came for training at the Professional Development Centre of the Aga Khan Education Services. The Aga Khan is the Imam of the Ismaili sect of Islam, and he has had a huge impact in this area through the Aga Khan Development Network, of which AKES is part. The Professional Development Centre provides training for people working in the education sector – members of NGOs, teachers, head-teachers and government officials.

The Northern Areas of Pakistan are very interesting – they are in a crucial geopolitical position – on the east they border India, to the north China, coming round there is a few km next to Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, and then to the south the North West Frontier Province. It is so surprising how liberal parts of this area are given the conservative nature of their surroundings. The literacy rate is considerably better here than in the rest of Pakistan, and it was not unusual to see groups of young women wandering around, which is so different to everywhere else I have seen in Pakistan (except Islamabad). A major contrast to travelling up on the KKH through Indus Kohistan where there were no women around.

The first day we were in Gilgit we went on a field visit to Hunza, which is an area about three hours north of Gilgit on the KKH, and so beautiful! First we went to a school and met members of the community and mothers. The women were happy to speak out and tell us of their experiences and how they contribute to the running of the school. This was so inspiring as I hadn’t yet been to any community meeting where the women spoke out in front of the men. In addition, a woman who had had no education spoke about the importance of early childhood care and education, and why care is so important for children of this age. It really shows that attitudes can change towards the importance of education and particularly female education.

Then we drove to Karimabad – we went past Rakaposhi, one of the highest mountains in the world, but I couldn’t see the top because it was cloudy. We were able to visit the Baltit fort in Karimabad, which is a 700 year old fort that was the home of the ruling family of the area. It was influenced by Tibetan culture because one of the Prince’s married a Princess from Baltistan, and it does look slightly like the Potala Palace (not that I have seen that!). It was really interesting seeing where the family had lived for hundreds of years – the kitchen with huge stone pots and blackened ceiling due to centuries of wood burning, the jail and the private rooms. The Mir of Hunza donated the building to the Aga Khan to be conserved and restored.

The rest of the week in Gilgit I participated in the training course at PDCN, which was really excellent. I learnt a lot about problems with the education system in Pakistan, and theories of school improvement. The training centre was amazing – the trainers were really enthusiastic and couldn’t do enough to help us, the views were stunning, and the buildings very well resourced. I was even able to read the Economist!

I flew back, as there was a consensus that going back by road was a little too risky following the attack on Plan. It is meant to be a really spectacular flight, and taking off between the mountains was amazing. But then, you don’t need three guesses – I felt a little sick and so couldn't enjy the views to their full extent.

I could say that I have been run off my feet in Islamabad, but that would be rather a major embellishment of the truth. Don’t think that my whole life here is one big long exciting adventure – most of my time in Islamabad has been spent eating, sleeping, reading and watching DVDs (and a bit of shopping given that all the clothes I had with me when I flew from Gilgit were suitable for a Himalayan winter, and now it seems like a tropical summer). And doing some work.

The other day we went up to Mansehra so I could collect my things. It has been about a month since I have been there, and it was really depressing packing everything up. The last time I was there was for one evening between being in Islamabad and going up to Gilgit, and I remember thinking thank goodness I am home. Before the elections we had to pack up all our things in case of evacuation from the country, and I was certain then that we wouldn’t be leaving. Now, I realise that anything is possible, and situations change within a minute. I’m definitely learning not to take anything for granted.

Anyway, I am coming home for a bit in a couple of days Inshallah so would really like to catch up with as many people as possible!

Gilgit

There is a real phase at the moment among Pakistani girls of sending encouraging and prewritten text messages around. This is one I received earlier:
‘BEAUTIFUL people reflect ALLAH in their lives. They think his thoughts, speak his words and love without reason. May you remain a beautiful person always!’
These gems of grace make me smile and are part of the reason I want to stay in this beautiful country even when there is unbelievable human brutality.

We still do not know why Plan was attacked, but it was well planned and their target was clearly an International NGO, which just changes everything (as NGOs have not previously been a target in this area). The Director and another MIED guy came down the other day and it was really great seeing them – they seemed quite optimistic for the future, which is good. But they both went to the Plan Office after the attack so it was harrowing talking to them. No decisions have been made yet, so it looks like I’ll be in Islamabad for a little longer. The uncertainty has been bad – it was horrible saying goodbye to MIED people in Gilgit and not knowing whether I am going to see them again. And I am not going to be allowed back to Mansehra so my life there is at an end.

But anyway, that is enough misery – I want to tell all about my trip to Gilgit cos it was so amazing and I want to make you all jealous! The journey to Gilgit is up the Karakoram Highway (the name is slightly misleading, don’t imagine a motorway, imagine the smallest and bendiest mountain road you’ve ever been on). But anyway the road takes you up through Battagram (where there have been bombs against NGOs), through Besham (outlying region of Swat where there is army action) and Indus Kohistan (tribal and bandit country). Pretty exciting (though was slightly nervous before going)! The road was built throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a partnership between China and Pakistan, as it goes all the way from Islamabad to Kashgar in China, and it is also known as the China – Pakistan friendship highway. It is 1300km long and one person died for every kilometre in its construction because it goes through such treacherous terrain, particularly the valley of the Indus.

We were meant to leave at 6 in the morning but we actually left Mansehra about 7am. The first part of the journey up to Battagram passed in a bit of a haze cos I was still quite sleepy. But we had breakfast in Battagram which woke me up. Battagram in many senses looked like a normal Pakistani town, but the one major thing that stood out was that there were NO women on the streets. It was a town full of men.

So after Battagram we joined the river Indus at Thakrot - it was very exciting seeing the Indus for the first time. We followed the Indus up through Allai, which was breathtakingly beautiful.

MIED had a project in Allai but I wasn’t allowed to visit (Allai is next to Shangla where there is army action). The project has been completed now though. So we carried on up through Besham, another town with no women around. We stopped and I got off the bus to stretch my legs hoping that I wouldn’t stand out (seeing that so many people have told me I look Pakistani and I had completely covered my head). But as there were no other women around I did stand out slightly!

We then carried on and passed into Indus Kohistan. This was a huge area – we spent the best part of the journey travelling through this area – it must have been about seven or eight hours. The scenery was spectacular – the road was cleaved out of the hard granite rocks that towered above us, and on the other side there was a steep drop to the river Indus.

We stopped off for lunch at Dasu, the major town, and then a couple of hours later for chai in what must be known as KKH style service station. There was a wooden construction with people selling tea, some wooden beds for exhausted drivers to collapse on, and a stream had been diverted where people could wash their hands and faces. I wandered off a little bit and a little boy came up to me and started talking to me. I couldn’t understand what he was saying, and told myself he must have been speaking Kohistani cos I would have definitely understood had he been speaking Urdu :). But one of the guys from MIED came up and said he had been asking whether I was Muslim, and he said yes. But the little boy said I couldn’t have been as my face wasn’t covered. The boy can’t have been more than 6.

Driving through the towering rocks at dusk was kind of spooky – with the lengthening shadows and the mountains and granite rocks close all around us it was really quite a threatening landscape. But we still had miles to travel after nightfall, and I was disappointed because it meant that when we drove past Nanga Parbat (one of the highest mountains in the world) and the place where the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Himalayas meet I wasn’t able to see anything.

We finally got to Gilgit at 11 o’clock. The little coaster had done us very well and it was only towards the end when we stopped for a break it wouldn’t start again and had to be pushed a little. We then had dinner at about midnight at the centre in Gilgit and I was shattered.

So, that ends the epic trek up the KKH. Adventures in Gilgit and Hunza, as well as the reason why I went to Gilgit, will follow shortly…….