February 19, 2008
Journalist Schmidle, SIS ’05, and wife deported from Pakistan
(Photo by Jeff Watts)
Newlywed Nicholas Schmidle set out for that hottest of honeymoon spots, Pakistan, on Valentine’s Day 2006. Months after earning a master’s degree from the School of International Service (SIS) and marrying his sweetheart, Rikki, Schmidle arrived in Karachi determined to uncover through reporting and research the many truths of a country shrouded in shades of gray.
After an enriching two years both personally and professionally the young couple had grown attached to many of the people and places of their adopted Asian home. They learned to speak some Urdu and navigate the subtleties of the culture and customs, relishing the opportunity to travel, learn, and form lasting friendships along the way. But shortly after the turn of the year, in less than one week their stay came to an abrupt and frightening conclusion. Five harrowing days after Schmidle, 29, published an insightful article in the New York Times Magazine detailing the increased activity of a new generation of Taliban in Pakistan, they were on a plane back home to the United States, no longer welcome by the government of a country they were devastated to leave.
Last Tuesday, just weeks after essentially fleeing Pakistan, the couple shared their fascinating story during a talk sponsored by SIS, the School of Communication, and the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Schmidles’ odyssey began when Nicholas landed a fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs. He originally intended to spend the two-year appointment in Iran, but when political circumstances there delayed that, he lobbied to be sent to Pakistan. Though relatively unfamiliar with the country, he speculated that its medley of ethnic, political, and religious cultures would make it an enriching place from which to report.
He was right. Schmidle spent his days traveling to some of the country’s most dangerous outposts, tribal areas along the Afghan border where militants, not the Pakistani government, exert power. Once he watched as 15,000 Muslims gathered outside a madras to observe three alleged kidnappers punished publicly in accordance with strict Muslim law.
“The youngest of the criminals, who appeared to be still in his teens, scaled the steps to the platform,” Schmidle wrote in the Times. “He looked as if he might collapse, legs wobbling with fear, as hundreds of heavily armed Taliban spread out around him. I stood among them, waiting to see the boy receive 15 lashings—the appropriate Islamic punishment, according to Fazlullah.
“The boy lay face-down on the platform. Taliban held his arms and legs so he wouldn’t flop around. Another jihadi, clutching a thick, leather whip, roughly two feet long, wore a camouflage shalwar kameez and a ski mask over his face. Every time the whip crashed on the boy’s back, the crowd called out the corresponding number of lashes, as if counting the final seconds of a basketball game. The teenager’s body convulsed under the crack and thud of each lash; when he finally stood up, he was shaking and drenched in tears.”
Previous Schmidle stories were published in the Washington Post, Mother Jones, Slate, the New Republic, but it wasn’t until his Times piece that Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, seemed to take more than cursory notice of him.
“I worked as a journalist, except I didn’t have the pressures of a daily deadline or editors back in D.C.,” he said. “I was able to do some digging. I kept coming back to these areas along the border. The great thing about Pakistan is that everyone has an opinion.”
As her husband uncovered information on the impact of the Taliban, Rikki, 27, dived into the culture in her own way. A nutritionist by profession, she helped out at a local health club, and eventually enrolled in the International Islamic University, becoming the only non-Muslim American ever to do so. She studied Arabic and the Koran, and was able to travel to India and other countries in the region.
But the Schmidles soon would be forced to flee Pakistan as quickly as they had embraced it. Two days after Nicholas’s article headlined “Next-Gen Taliban” ran in the Jan. 6, 2008, edition of the Times Magazine, police showed up at their Islamabad house with documentation that their visas had been cancelled and orders to drive them to the airport—immediately. A few desperate phone calls from some well connected friends convinced the police to leave them alone that night, but the Pakistanis sentiments were clear. They were no longer welcome.
Three days later, now “jumpy” and fearing for their safety, the Schmidles packed a few belongings and caught a flight out of Pakistan. The next night, they landed in Washington, D.C.
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Nicholas published a piece on the ordeal in the Post, and he plans to devote the next few years to writing a book, a first person narrative account of his reporting in the country.
“We had an amazing two years, our connection with the people, our experiences,” Rikki told the audience in the SIS lounge. “We hated to leave.”
She has managed to keep in touch with friends halfway around the world, many of whom initially were reluctant to reciprocate her contact after the Schmidles’ virtual expulsion made news in Pakistan.
