He gave a talk about what was happening in the mountain and answered a lot of questions - some good and meaningful, but many unrelated to what had just been saud. What can you do with mountain people?

After two hours' talk we were left alone, and I started to ask him personal questions.

"Tell me your real name and what area you come from? Come on. Tell me. I know many people there."

He smiled at me and said it is not really important to know his name or where he comes from. "What is important is how we live in the mountain and how the bears live," he said.

"Bears!", I said.

"We mountain people sometimes face realy dangerous situation. I was responsible for the place where we put all our flour and food, and there was always a big bear around that used to come in the morning, perhaps to see if I was there or not. He then left.

"One day he came early and then left. After that I went to find a friend, who was going to take the responsibility of looking after the food, but I could not find him. When I came back to where the food was, what a surprise! The bear was sitting near the food. I thought of shooting him, but as he was not threatening my life, I decided not to. Mountain people do not shoot animals. I observed the bear for some time.

"In the mountains we ahve a kind of pudding called hallawa. The pudding is very good. The winters are very cold and there is always snow. The opened a hallawa and ate all of it, and do you know what he did?"

I said, "He opened another one?"

He said no. "When he finished eating the hallawa, he shit inside the box and closed the box and the bear put it back where he got it."

Kamal asked me if I would like to live in the mountains. I said, No thanks!