Shouting from my shed

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September 11: My view from the road

big hill Tz.jpg

I am looking at a World seemingly on the brink of war. And, since September 11th, I feel that I am not really part of that world. I am cycling around the planet, heading from England towards Asia and beyond.
The terrorist attacks on America have highlighted to me what an unusual position I am in. Whilst on my bicycle I have no access to newspapers, radio, television and rarely even to any people who do (my Hungarian is nonexistent). I knew almost nothing of the situation for five days after the Twin Towers destroyed. And yet at the same time I feel integrally tied up in the whole situation as my journey heads inescapably towards Iran and Pakistan. The result of all this is that my viewpoint is short on hard facts but also unclouded by hype, hysteria and Western media opinion. I am also deeply conscious of the potential implications for my journey as I ride towards the focus of the world’s gaze.
Knowing now the full scale of the catastrophe, I find it astonishing that for days I knew virtually
nothing of what had happened. A half-understood exchange in German was all I had to go on as I
imagined what could have happened. Was it true? Who did it? How did they do it? Why did they do it?
Even “what happened?” I just did not know.
Eventually I sat awestruck and horrorstruck in front of CNN. I was amazed at how much we take
instant coverage of the entire world for granted. How could I not have known about this?! I wasn’t
exactly in the middle of nowhere: I was cycling through Germany, but sleeping rough in the forests, the
language barrier and a week of incessant rain meant virtually zero human contact. CNN gave me facts but
it only gave one stance- America’s New War, it screamed. Why not America’s Tragedy? I wonder how
Muslim TV stations are covering it?
And then I had another ten days of silence, popping up now for an update in Budapest. English
headlines on tourists’ newspapers scream ‘War’. And so now I am hunting for information, opinions,
viewpoints. What will happen next? And what are the implications for my journey? My intended route
passes through Iran and Pakistan. Is this still realistic, or even feasible, or even appropriate? Should I try
and head north through Russia instead? Will the whole area become a war zone? How will I be treated by
ordinary Muslim people: as an ordinary (ish) bloke on a bicycle or as a ‘westerner’- a representative of
Blair and Bush? So many questions, so few concrete answers.
Even two weeks after the planes crashed every paper, publication and programme is still saturated
with the story. I had never realized before just how removed I am from external influences when
travelling on my bicycle. I know the essentials: terrorist attacks, Bin Laden, Afghanistan, Western
response… but I feel I have had two weeks’ isolation from the world, running scenarios through my head, trying to think of the reasons, the consequences, the solutions, the rights and the wrongs. A giant, tangled spider diagram in my head, but at least it’s my own spider diagram. The horrors of September 11th have highlighted to me the sheer enormity of the power of global media in all its guises. Yes, it provides rapid, detailed information, but it also forms people’s opinions for them and I am not sure that is always a good thing…

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