Devi Asmadiredja leave Germany for the sake of huts in
Chechnya
Devi Asmadiredja spends his time as a housewife in
Germany, but then her husband told her to pack up and leave the country.
He ended up staying at a secluded cabin in the mountains
of Chechnya and Georgia Pankisi valley, after traveling 3,000 km (2,000 miles)
A number of tourists who have visited this valley, know
him as the smuggling of narcotics and weapons, as well as a place to stay one
of the leaders of the Islamic State (IS), Abu Omar al-Shishani.
But for Asmadiredja Devi, a remote part of the
mountainous region of the Caucasus is a place of refuge.
Four years ago, she lived with her husband and three
children in Germany. But in early 2011 of a sudden her husband said that he no
longer loved her and told her to leave the house.
The husband ordered her to go to Pankisi to study the
Chechen language, the language of his ancestors.
"He knows that I can speak it, he thought I would
come back and teach," he said
"I have never traveled before," she said after
her husband bought a plane ticket and gave him money to eat.
He said that it was interesting and a chance to escape
from her husband. But leaving her three children aged five, eight and 12 years
are the toughest decisions.
"It was very difficult. I can not sleep every night
without them," he said. But he had no other choice.
Do not know anyone
Asmadiredja arrived in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia by
climbing a series minibus or marshrutki heading to the village of Duisi, the
first village he went through before five other villages.
He said that he did not know the local people, and then
he met someone and ask people who can teach the Chechen language.
Within 20 minutes, he got a lesson and free accommodation
arranged by local families.
He learned the language quickly and the local community
gave him the name that is derived from Khedijat Khedi [Khadija], the name of
Muhammad's wife.
But not infrequently presence invites suspicion, either
as a foreigner and a woman traveling alone. "They thought I was a spy
Russia," he said.
He does look different from the appearance without a veil
with seven tattoos, including a traditional Indonesian dagger in his left leg
and right caucasian dagger.
After receiving pressure from one of the Wahhabi mosque
imam, his host said he had to go and moved to the other Kist family, which now
he refers to as "my mother" and "my brother".
Kists family, are descended Georgia Chechnya who moved to
the valley in the 19th century.
Having lived for 18 months in the village, her husband
called and told him that he had been moved, so he does not need to go home.
Then he moved to the mountains, and lived in a hut in the
cowherd - simple building of stone without a heater, electric, or water.
But he has a cell phone and a solar-powered battery.
Two months Asmadiredja survive by relying on the feeding
of the herders who crossed the mountains and drinking water.
fall in love
Although he lived in harsh environments, but solitude and
life in the mountains was a blessing for him.
"I fell in love with the mountains," he said.
"I've never seen mountains like this before, people and extraordinary
light."
He said he only ate a little and warmed themselves by
walking into a number of other remote villages such as Khevsureti, Tusheti, and
Georgia.
He said he did not have any money so had no choice but to
walk.
Asmadiredja who had just mastered the Chechen language,
he is now able to speak the language of Georgia after the herders taught tush
and Khevsur origin.
He memorized the maze, the path from Pankisi to the
mountains, after he injured his ankle and lost, with no food and only drink
water from the river during the 12 days before the passersby found. "It
was very close," he admitted
Another challenge comes from the local community, some
herders pursued aggressively. They have not see women and women who live alone
as Asmadiredja, very attractive to them.
Asmadiredja showed sharp timber to expel the intruder but
sometimes he fought to face the aggressiveness of the herders. Then he returned
to the village after a long stay in the mountains.
got a job
A German travel agency offered him a job as a guide
pedestrians through the Caucasus with a salary of $ 100 per day, there are a
small tourist infrastructure and some of the locals speak English or German.
"I have to open a bank account," he said,
laughing
Other Asmadiredja friend gave him a used camera after
hearing his interest in photography and he began exhibiting photographs of
Pankisi in a number of galleries in Tbilisi. "I'm not an intruder, people
know me," he said
Early next year, for the first time Asmadiredja will show
their works in the international arena, at the Embassy of Georgia in Indonesia.
But his return to the village feel oppressive. "I'm
not a Chechen, Kist, even Georgia. I was born in East Germany. I need freedom.
I am an independent woman, who does not need permission to go anywhere. In the
tradition of Kist you have to follow your parents. I need time to alone, [in
place] where nobody knows. "
In March last year, his friend told him about a small
cave hidden in Samtskhe-Javakheti province south Georgia. Then he immediately
went, only armed with camping stoves, sleeping bags, and as well as fruits and
nuts.
But the arrival of two local cattle herders to change
their lives, they forced him to return home, but he refused.
I thought 'Why do not they leave me alone? ""
They asked him if he liked khinkali - traditional meat Georgia. "They left
me and half an hour later they came back with the khinkali and wine."
One of the Georgian shepherd, named Dato, visit her every
day and ask for her phone number. Finally he gave it and started to touch.
They plan to marry later this year. But the ceremony was
not held legally due Asmadiredja status is still married to her husband who was
in the German Chechnya. But the adoptive family has planned a traditional feast
Pankisi. "I never thought I would have a love like that," he said.
He knew that he could not live with him in various caves
and huts, the distance that separates the house in Pankisi and mountains far
enough, so she encouraged her husband to learn to drive, so he could work with
him to guide tourists.
'My house in the mountain'
Even now, Asmadiredja, 45, realized how much he had left.
Two children, each aged nine and 12, who initially lived with her husband, is
now being treated at the orphanage. With different partners, he also has a
teenage son, a daughter who lives with her father.
Asmadiredja sent a letter to his children on a regular
basis, but they did not reply. He was tempted to go back to Germany and
demanded custody of her children, but she does not have a guarantee that he
will succeed.
"I have a life here," he said. "This life
has absorbed much of my energy. To go back to Germany ... maybe I'll get my
kids again, maybe not, but even if I get them, [perhaps only for] a few years,
and for that, I should release all? I can not. Maybe I'm selfish, but I've been
building my life here. My name is known as a guide, photographer. Why do I have
to release it all to life with the assurance there? "
Mountains, he said, is the original home. "In my
mountain free." (BBC)
No comments:
Post a Comment