Chapter 14 10.luvished refugee camp

When a hunchback enters the grave, its back will naturally be straight. ——Russian proverb After the outbreak of the Gulf War, a large number of war refugees fled Iraq. During the chaos, most of them did not go through legal passport and visa procedures, so they were blocked at the Iraqi and Jordanian borders.In the vast # desert, tens of thousands of refugees from various countries live and sleep in the open air along the borders of Iraq and Jordan. Hunger, cold, and plague began to prevail... The United Nations Refugee Relief Organization quickly sent and rescued war refugees on the border, and built a three-story building on the border between Iraq and Jordan. A wartime refugee camp, named "Luweshed Refugee Camp" because it is close to the border station Luweshed.

When the war broke out on January 17, the photography department of Xinhua News Agency telegraphed me to try to cover the refugee camps near the borders of Iraq and Jordan, but I was not allowed to do so until the evening of January 18.The document, signed in both English and Arabic, states: "There is Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Shizeng who is authorized to go to the Ruweished refugee camp (excluding all military locations along the way). This pass is only for one day and must be Leave the Luvished border checkpoint before 2:00 p.m. on the same day and return." What I faced next was the traffic problem. The refugee camp was 296 kilometers away from Amman, where I was. The two text reporters at the branch had to take care of several telex machines day and night to send and receive text messages, so they couldn’t take me there.Although the branch has two Mercedes cars.But I have run 100,000 kilometers, the car is not in good condition, and my domestic driver's license has not been replaced with a Jordanian license, so I can't run long distances alone.But I don't want to miss my chance to be one of the first to enter the refugee camp.At this time, I thought of my Peking University alumnus and Kyodo reporter Kono who worked together in Baghdad.Sure enough, Kono was more interested than I was. He immediately took a taxi out of his wallet and told me on the phone that the Chinese embassy in Jordan, where I was staying, would pick me up at 6:00 tomorrow morning. I was only responsible for preparing food.

At 4 o'clock in the morning on January 19, I quietly got up, started the white "Mercedes", and rushed back to the branch to post photos, but the two German black backs (wolf dogs) of the embassy barked loudly, finally waking up the ambassador. At 6 o'clock in the morning, Kono's taxi arrived in front of the Chinese Embassy in Jordan on time.We set off immediately.In addition to the Jordanian driver, Kono and me, there was also Toshio Okawamoto, a photographer from Kyodo News.The Jordanian driver stated that it is strictly forbidden to take pictures along the way, and the camera must be put in the bag.

The car drove out of Amman and drove due east at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. The rising sun was oncoming, and the road was like a golden ribbon connecting us and the sun.Kono’s poetry was very popular, and he shouted in Chinese: “There is a golden road in front of me!” Da Heyuan was so excited that he picked up his Canon camera and was about to take pictures of the sun, so scared that the driver stopped him immediately, and our tenderness was lost! Because of the fear of the bombing by the multinational forces, the road was deserted, and from time to time, a giant oil tank truck with a load of 40 tons came oncoming.Kono asked if he was from Iraq, but the Jordanian driver firmly denied it.These "Mercedes", "Volvo" and "Man" brand trucks have protruding tire edges and tight leaf springs. They are obviously heavy vehicles.

80 kilometers east of Amman, you can see a huge radio position next to the road, and the antenna towers are dense like a spider's web.There are fixed and vehicle-mounted mobile radars on the hills in the distance, and the radar antenna rotates rapidly. There are groups of grass-green arched bunkers nearby, which are probably anti-aircraft missile launchers.There are many checkpoints along the way, constantly checking our documents, and writing down our names, nationalities, service units, passing time, etc. in the notepad.I kept greeting them with the few Arabic words I knew: "Sarama Rekon, Sinishabe, Sahafi, Ukran" (People's China reporter, hello, thank you), as soon as they heard China always keeps saying: "Sydney, Sodick" (China, friend).These soldiers on duty wear American-style bowl-shaped steel helmets with camouflage cloth wrapped around them, carry Italian-made M-style rifles, wear canvas armed belts around their waists, and bullet bags on the right side of their waists. They wear black high boots and leather boots, with their legs crossed Open, in an alert posture.On the highway, Land Rover military jeeps painted in camouflage sped by from time to time.There are blue-gray light wheeled armored vehicles on both sides of the road, and the lower half of the vehicle body is buried in the loess bunker.Groups of soldiers drinking coffee or tea.

Near Azraq, we ran into three diplomatic vehicles coming from the direction of Iraq. After asking, we found out that they were Egyptian diplomats who had just been evacuated from Baghdad.The diplomat who drove a white Mercedes-280 said: "The situation in Baghdad is very bad. The embassies of various countries cannot communicate with each other. We can only listen to the radio and watch TV. As far as I know, except for the Soviet embassy, ​​all embassies in Baghdad are closed. Evacuated.” When we asked about the situation of refugees in the border area, the diplomat shook his head and said, “I can’t say it.” Kono asked, “Why can’t I say it?” The diplomat replied, “If you can’t say it, you can’t say it.” I couldn't resist getting into the car and pulling out my camera to capture these scenes.Da Heyuan of Kyodo News also took out his Canon T-90 for a burst of shooting, and then pressed the speed-rewinding device to eject the finished film. At this moment, a soldier with an M-16 rifle came striding forward. , took my Nikon camera away, and confiscated our Jordanian driver's driver's license.I took out the documents on my body and repeatedly said in Arabic: "China, the People's China!" This guy was a little loose, but firmly said: "Only take pictures in the Luweshed refugee camp!" After saying that, he opened it forcibly Camera back, confiscated my film.The taxi driver's face was pale with fright, and he squatted on the ground.Thanks to Kono who bravely stepped forward and spoke kindly to the soldiers, the soldiers turned their heads and walked back to the sentry post 50 meters away. Soldier.After groping for about 10 minutes, Kono finally asked for the taxi driver's license, but the taxi driver squatted on the sand and refused to drive any further!Kono begged repeatedly, until he forced me to put the camera into the equipment bag and tighten the zipper, then started the car with a grumble.I secretly admired Kono's penetrating tongue, and even more admired Da Heyuan's ability to quickly load the film.

At the Luwescheid border checkpoint, we first went through the formalities with the military, and then went through the formalities with the police at the border station.Here, a dozen Iraqi cars are waiting in a long line to enter Jordan, with all kinds of luggage strapped to the roof.A big Chevrolet had a punctured right rear tire and several people were fixing the tire.A Palestinian girl who drove from Iraq into Jordan by herself rested on her old Buick. She told us that she and her parents left Baghdad yesterday afternoon. "Baghdad is full of planes, gunfire and missiles. My friend witnessed Saw U.S. planes shot down and parachuted pilots caught."The girl bit her beautiful lips and said: "But I am not afraid at all. The Americans are launching a war against the whole of Arabia." Security police stopped.We showed him the document issued by the military and police that allowed us to take pictures, and he said, "It is only allowed in the Luwished refugee camp, and the refugee camp is 30 kilometers ahead." We watched the long queue of cars passing by. However, Da Heyuan and I looked at each other with wry smiles and remained silent.

At the entrance to the Ruwescheid refugee camp, the border police inspected our documents and told us that our documents were missing the signature and military rank of an officer, so we had to go back to the headquarters 30 kilometers away to get a replacement.We had no choice but to go back the same way. The Luwished Refugee Camp is located in the neutral zone on the Yiyo border. There are three large temporary camps along the highway. Each camp has 20 to 30 tents with an area of ​​nearly 100 square meters. Hundreds of Egyptian refugees are queuing up for registration.Several Sudanese are washing their feet around a makeshift tap.At the door of a grass-green tent, four Sudanese children are eating pancakes made of white flour.The women were tightly wrapped in black gauze, and reporters were not allowed to approach their tents.

I respectfully walked up to a Land Rover police car and asked an officer what I could photograph.He said in slow English: "Refugees in the camp. But don't take pictures of the police!" I told him the refugees refused to take pictures, "What if they attack me"?"I think you know what to do," the officer said deadpan. I seized the time to take photos carefully, trying not to capture the police or irritate the nervous refugees.I try to smile at everyone, quickly judging whether the subject will allow me to press the shutter.The sound of the Daheyuan Canon T-90's fast rewinding and rewinding motor echoed in my ears, tense and orderly.Kono was now away from us to interview the ICRC officials at the camp.

A quarter of an hour later, Kono ran over and called Da Heyuan and me that it was time to return.I aimed at the Egyptian refugees who walked into the camp with their luggage on their shoulders, pressed the last few cards, and reluctantly got into the car.Outside the window, a fleet of sky blue trucks bearing the UN logo was driving into the camp.But I dare not risk the exposure of the film anymore.I took out the big orange I brought, cut it open with a Swiss Army knife, and handed it to Kono, Daheyuan and Jordan drivers. "It's delicious, it's delicious!" Kono repeatedly praised.It is more than 300 kilometers away from Amman. Kono stretched his waist and said, "It will take a few more hours to drive, let's sleep for a while!" My Nikon F-4.