August 01, 2004

I fought the law...

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

And I thought Tajikistan had a heavy military presence...

My first week here in Tashkent (interminably waiting for visas) and I've been stopped by the police in the metro thirteen times. At first I thought they were looking for a chance to confiscate "counterfeit" money but now I'm not so sure.

The encounters are usually fairly friendly, although by about number ten my patience started wearing out. Sometimes it's just a fairly quick check of the passport, sometimes they haul you off to an office for more thorough questioning.

The interrogation usually runs along the lines of:

Them: "Criminal?"
Me: "Nyet"
Them: "Narkotik?"
Me: "Nyet"

End of intense interrogation.

They usually want to check my backpack as well but even then they only check the top section (full of books and such) and not the bottom (with camera and money). In any case, a request to see their ID usually puts a halt to proceedings.

The last time I was hauled off to the same office for the third time I started to lose patience. "Look", I said, indicating a big poster on the wall behind them with about a hundred mugshots, "Terrorist", then pointing to me, "Tourist", pointing to the mugshots "Terrorist", me, "Tourist". "Understand?"

I actually can't work them out. I don't think they are angling for money. They can't seriously think I'm a potential terrorist. Their checks for drugs are cursory. I think maybe they're just bored and it's much more interesting to flick through a foreigners passport, with all those exotic stamps, than a locals.

Posted by David at August 1, 2004 12:37 AM