A BLAST FROM THE PAST.

Some of you will know that Mark, at one stage, has been in jail. Yes, as upstanding and civic minded as he is now, he has been on the wrong side of a cell door - one of Saddam Hussein’s cell doors at that.

Mark was imprisoned in Fallujah, just outside of Baghdad in April, 1990. It is a very long story and for those of you who have heard it zoom down to the bottom of the post and the pictures to see why it is being revisited now. 

Essentially Mark met an American guy, Chris Cantelmi, in Amman, Jordan at The Cliff hotel – a renowned travellers’ hangout. Chris was planning to hitch-hike the 1,000 Kms into Baghdad and persuaded Mark to join him. 

Chris delayed his departure or Iraq by a day so Mark could get an Iraqi visa. Setting off in rain from Amman, they caught lifts on a variety of trucks, driving at breakneck speeds along a highway littered with the burned-out remains of trucks that had either been targeted in the Iran/Iraq war or simply run off the road. Having just met the day before they whiled away the hours trying to chat to their drivers or sharing their own stories of travels and life at home. 

They crossed the border in the wee small hours and caught a lift with a truckie who, at one stage, Mark saw slapping himself to stay awake as he weaved around the potholes and shell blast craters in the road. The next day they found themselves being dropped off on the freeway just 60 kms from Baghdad. As they walked along the freeway to get to the Baghdad turnoff and, with the end so close, they saw a highway patrol car drive past them, slow down, do a U-turn and come back. 

Two hitch hiking foreigners were a slightly unusual sight in Iraq and the boys were walking on the freeway – an offence in most countries including Australia. A cursory search of their bags on the road produced cameras and long lenses. This was enough to warrant being driven to the local police station where further incriminating evidence was found, not the least being a snorkel that Chris had brought with him. There was a series of ‘interviews’ largely in Arabic about who they were and what they were doing. All through this they kept hearing the word ‘Bazoft’ and couldn’t work out what it meant. 

It was all quite polite and calm even though Chris persisted in, unknowingly, offending the station chief by sitting with his legs crossed in a way that showed the soles of his shoes to the captain. A grave insult in the Middle East. Eventually Mark & Chris were ushered into a cell. Up until now they were not too worried more anxious to get on their way to Baghdad. The sight of a large room filled with perhaps 40 men and cell bars caused some consternation. It was only in the cell that they realised what the word ‘Bazoft’ was all about. Click on the link to read what it meant. Bazoft

It was Ramadan and soon food was brought in by the prisoners’ families to break the fast as the sun went down. Mark & Chris accepted their cell-mates' offers to share the food. Around communal dishes some of the men tried to tell Chris and Mark that they were in for murder and shooting down planes. What they were really in for was never found out.

As well as the implications of ‘Bazoft’  the boys were concerned about what may lay ahead for them that night in a room with so many men many of whom would have been in the recently ended Iran/Iraq war and who may not be of entirely stable minds. Both Mark & Chris had seen ‘Midnight Express’ a movie about an American’s time in a Turkish jail. Requests to call embassies were ignored but eventually they were moved into a separate room for the night. Perhaps saving them from experiences they might not have wanted to recount later.

The next day a local English speaking high school teacher was brought in to translate. Two hours of questions followed again all fairly polite and calm but Mark & Chris were becoming increasingly concerned about just when all this would end. It was when the translator got up to leave that they asked him what was going to happen now. As Mark recalls the teacher said "You will be taken to a different district where you will be judged”. With a high degree of trepidation and some reluctance they were put into an army jeep and driven to an army base farther away from Baghdad.  Once in the army base they waited in an office to be questioned further. Now that the military appeared to be involved Mark & Chris were very worried. After a tense wait, through the office door walked a tall casually dressed Iraqi man who smiled and said, in the purest of New York accents, “ Hi guys, what’s happening ?"

This was not at all what Mark & Chris had expected and through sheer nervous tension both cracked up laughing, a move which could have been unfortunate but luckily wasn’t. After a fairly brief questioning the ‘officer’, who had studied in The US, apologised explaining they had just come out of the war with Iran and, of course, Bazoft. He drove them to the local bus station with wishes for an enjoyable stay in Iraq.

Once in Baghdad Mark & Chris decided to inform their respective embassies. Mark was able to get into the US embassy with Chris, an experience in itself given all the security even then. The Americans were suitable ‘impressed’ and concerned, taking copious notes over several hours. By the time they got to the Australian Embassy, it had closed. They walked up the unguarded path and knocked on the door. There was no answer. By chance an embassy officer drove past, wound down his window to see what they wanted. They explained what had happened, he asked if they were Ok and, seeing they were, wished them well and suggested they come back on Sunday when the embassy re-opened.

They didn’t.

Mark & Chris went on to have a great time in Iraq. They found the Iraqi's to be friendly, honest & generous. At that stage they were eager to re-start their lives after the previous disastrous years of war. Of course they were all just a few months out from the 1st American war and the consequences that would be so disastrous. Mark & Chris also made use of the favourable street exchange rates by going to the Sheraton hotel for what amounted to $2 breakfasts as well as attending Easter Sunday church service. They visited Basra ,and its Sheraton, in the south and what would become Kurdistan in the north. Although they considered catching a bus back they hitched out again a few weeks later. This time uneventfully.

So why all this story and the post title A BLAST FROM THE PAST ? 

Chris was briefly in London and, after 20 years, came around for dinner last night. Having 'dined out' on this story for so many years it was great to actually relive it with Chris, to see that most of what had been remembered was accurate and to be reminded of things forgotten.

Below are some pictures taken after their release and more recent ones. Don't forget you can click on the pictures and they will open up at a higher resolution.

How could they have suspected
 these two of no good ?

 Catching up on local news
at the Baghdad Sheraton, 1990.

Chris, in Baghdad,
with the offending snorkel.

Like good whisky, 
they really have aged incredibly well.....

Catching up on local news in East Finchley, 2011.

As a teacher Mark has used all sorts of stimuli to get students to write. Early in his teaching in Canberra he motivated his class by earnestly informing them he had been to jail with an American called Chris. 
They had to imagine why. 

Here are a few of them that were scanned and kept.