Monday - September 05, 2005
"But We're Socialists"
I get my hair cut by socialists. The
Azerbaijanis here at the dam are great soldiers, very proud of their discipline.
When I first got here, it wasn't uncommon to pass an Azerbaijani soldier in the
stairs and have him flatten himself against the wall as I passed. They make the
Marines look slovenly.
But they're
almost all conscripts. They come to the dam as part of the Multi-National
Forces. They serve here for a year, with no mail allowed. They are not
allowed off of the dam. They get no pay until they return home. They live an
austere life here. At the chow hall they eat as if they've never had food
before. We have to hold our noses to eat, but they pile up their plates every
meal.
I sit next to the Azerbaijani
commander, Major Shalbuzov, everyday at our staff meeting. Nice guy, very
quiet, as are all his soldiers. I've never met so many quiet people before.
By some strange turn of events, I went
looking for someone to cut my hair one day. It's a difficult thing for me, I
don't like imposing on my Marines to do it, and I'm not clever enough to cut my
own hair. I mentioned this conundrum to the Azerbaijanis off-handedly, and they
offered to cut my hair for me at their little barber shop.
My first trip to the Azerbaijanis side of the dam
had me a bit nervous, because the Iraqis who work and live in the dam are also
on that side. I was invited there by Major Shalbuzov, the Azerbaijani
commander, he gave me a bottle of wine, which I immediately reported to our
executive officer. Alcohol is strictly prohibited here, but I didn't want to
offend them by refusing the gift. The XO just laughed and asked, "only one?"
Apparently this is the favorite gift the Azerbaijanis give out around here.
Now I was going there to get a
haircut. The captain ushered me to their little barbershop and one of their
soldiers, who didn't speak a word of English, cut my hair. These guys are all
so nice, gentle, and disciplined. I offered to pay him, but he got offended and
the captain came over and told me that I had to keep my money. Cutting hair is
the soldier's job, and he is happy to do
it.
They've rotated about 70% of the
company back home, but I still get my haircut there by a new barber. He has the
same friendly manner, and they act so happy when I stop by for a
haircut.
I've often suggested to the
Captain that he should set up the barbershop to cut the Marines' hair for $5 a
haircut. He could collect a lot of money for morale items, they are woefully
short of comforts. I think a whole lot of Marines would love to take advantage
of that service. To me, a product of capitalism, this is a win-win situation.
Marines get haircuts, and the Azeri soldiers get money. Everybody is
happy!
The captain again refused. No,
this is not right, it is our job, we should not be making money. I said, it's
great capitalism to provide a service and get paid for
it.
His eyes got wide and he said in
his subtle accent, "But sir, we're socialists." It's so strange to my ears to
hear someone say that with pride.
But
then, they're also Muslims. I never dreamed that Muslims would be such nice
people. They aren't very religious, to be sure, but they are Muslim in some
sort of fashion. I've never seen them pray, I've never seen anything among them
that is anything but secular. Perhaps that's the result of their communist past
under the Soviet Union.
One time they
saw a video projector that was donated to our battalion. The commander loved it
so much, he had to have one to take back to Azerbaijan with him. We discussed
it and I agreed to procure one for him. He came back with a stack of hundred
dollar bills and eventually the projector arrived and everyone was
happy.
It's a shame that the major had
to buy this with his own money, or his military's money. If they had opened
their barbershop up for business, they could have easily raised enough money to
pay for it, and lots of other things besides. I hope they change and become
capitalists someday, but that's up to them.
The Azerbaijanis, at least from my
experience, have been the best of allies and friends to the United States. When
we think of the Global War on Terror, we should always remember that other
nations, even socialist Muslim nations, are out here on the front lines fighting
with us too.
Go Back to the Start, Do Not Collect $200 Send me your two cents
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