Lost in translation
- 22 Nov 06, 04:43 PM
LONDON: My colleague John Simpson may have but I was almost incarcerated there.
Having been forced out of bed at midnight UK time - a healthy 5am in Islamabad - we journalists had been promised that we would get to Kabul in time to broadcast the news of the PM's first visit to news-hungry breakfast audiences. Our chopper landed in plenty of time but it was frustratingly close to, though not in reach of, our satellite dish in the Presidential compound.
The only way to get onto the Today programme was my trusty mobile. As I chatted to Ed Stourton I was aware of a growing queue of British and then Afghan officials waving at me and mouthing something about my mobile. I responded by mouthing back "on the radio" and walking in the other direction.
In the process of trying to talk coherently about Pakistan's policy towards Afghanistan and fob off requests to get off the phone eagle-eared listeners may have noticed that I confused my North Waziristan for North Wysteristan (one emailer sarcastically suggested that this may be where the Wysteria originated).
My punishment for ignoring these requests was to be ordered to sit in a car by the Hamid Karsai's security team. Apparently they had wanted to have the mobile sniffed by sniffer dogs. Oddly my explanation for my disobedience had been lost in translation. I thought everyone knew what the Today programme was.
They then decided that since I was incapable of obeying orders I would be banished from moving inside the Palace walls. And it would have stayed that way had it not been for the diplomacy of our man in Kabul. I am eternally grateful.
