|
Reporters notebook
In Kazakhstan, Vatican planners once again failed to anticipate
the modes in which hotels in Eastern Europe might not be in full conformity
with the moral protocol of papal travel. Last June in Ukraine, the party
accompanying Pope John Paul II was lodged in a hotel featuring the citys
first strip club, promising Slavic girls ready to excite your
most secret desires. This time in Astana, journalists covering the pope
had a surprise when they checked into their rooms at the Inter-Continental
Hotel: a complimentary three-pack of condoms. Given that most people traveling
with the pope were staying only three nights, one wonders what the hotel was
expecting.
* * *
Hostile world powers these days are no longer content to put the
squeeze on a rivals land; they also want to colonize the airwaves. When
journalists followed John Paul II to the Golan Heights in May, at one point
during the bus ride they found Welcome to Israel flashed on their
cell phones, although they were clearly on the Syrian side of the border. It
was a reminder of the bitter disputes that have scarred that part of the
world.
Few historical grudges run deeper, but Armenian antipathy to the
Turks, blamed for the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th
century, is a contender. Thus it was especially ironic that when reporters
arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, Sept. 25, their phones read, Welcome to
Turkey.
* * *
Psychologically, most people in Kazakhstan think of Afghanistan
and the Taliban as a million miles away. The moderate Sunni Islam dominant in
Kazakhstan bears no resemblance to the fanaticism of Taliban ideologues. In
response to a question from NCR, President Nursultan Nazarabyev said at
a Sept. 24 news conference that his country actually bans political parties
based on religion. Yet however calm things may seem, the truth is that
Afghanistan is only 180 miles from Kazakhstans southern border, and
reminders of the proximity are not hard to find. Most pointedly, it turns out
that a brother of Osama bin Laden, the lead suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States, is the general contractor on several new
buildings going up in Astana (though none of them was on John Pauls
itinerary). A government official reluctantly confirmed the rumor to reporters
just as the pope arrived, though insisting that bin Ladens brother had
repudiated terrorism.
* * *
On Sept. 24, John Paul attended a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan,
with representatives from the world of culture. The evening consisted largely
of an orchestra playing numbers for the pope under the guidance of a series of
conductors. At one point, a new maestro was calling the orchestra to attention
when a loud BOOM rocked the hall. Security agents began barking furiously into
their lapels, while the audience held its breath. In a moment it became clear
what had happened: The new conductor had inadvertently slammed his baton into
the microphone. The fear the noise had summoned, however, was a reminder of the
tense world context in which the trip unfolded.
-- John L. Allen Jr.
National Catholic Reporter, October 5,
2001
|
|