La
Licorne
MOUNTAIN
TRACK
Report to
Jean-Julien, Pierre-Hugues and Jørgen
on a mission to Northern Pakistan
- Prologue -
On Sunday the 17th of May 1992 I met your father for the first time. It was a strange encounter truly relevant to relate. I had landed at Islamabad Airport when it was still dark. Making it a sport to hire cheap transport I had ended up with a shabby cab that ran out of petrol after a few miles. Annoyed I had taken my baggage out to find myself back moonlighting on a deserted road. After quite some time another taxi emerged out of the morning haze. It slowed down at the uncommon sight of a white man lonesomely standing with his baggage on the roadside in the dark.
The middle-aged European passenger of that taxi looked bemused at the strange scene in front of him, and inquired if he could be of any help. While I stumbled some words in explanation of my queer situation he kindly interrupted by asking whether -by any chance- my name happened to be Peter. At that moment it sprang to me that the person in front of me had to be Jens. We had both been taken on for a project in Northern Pakistan, and on this first day of our assignment were on our way to Holiday Inn in Islamabad. So I got a lift and at the very hotel we met Rafique, a Forester, whom I already knew from another mission.
The following days we endured the obligatory meetings with the authorities. I arranged that we had done away with those formalities before the next Friday, which counted as the weekly public holiday in this Islamic country. We had to get to the real work, so I figured and besides I had to do something on my own.
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READ ON ABOUT
Roundtrip to Lahore
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On to Swat Valley
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Address in Kohistan
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Dir
Fortress |
Drive to Chitral
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Stopover in Peshawar
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Fire in Lahore
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THEN COME BACK
FOR THE EPILOGUE
- Epilogue -
Hectic days followed to put the mission report together with all the team members assembled in Lahore. On Thursday the 18th of June all of us flew to Islamabad for a presentation of our findings. The same day Mehjabeen and Rafique returned to their homes. The following day Mieke and I left Pakistan for Amsterdam and Jens took off to Paris to join his family.
We continued to have contact and I saw him a few more times, once in the company of your mother and the three of you in Bokhoven.
Some years after this dear person was taken from all of us for good.
C'est triste que la vie coupe sans
regard et trop tôt ce qu'on estime.