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It Was Those Eyes!
Burqa-style Islamic veils - I?m not going to offer an opinion on whether or not these veils should be worn in the good ol? USA, but I?ll tell you of my lone experience with the subject. Of course, my view will be a little slanted because I have never traveled to a country where the wearing of such clothing is common. Had I done so, I would have been more conditioned to it.
I made a "disturbance" call to an apartment complex. The neighbors had called about a lot of yelling and screaming. As it turned out, the occupants of the apartment were a foreign "military" family connected with the local Air Force base. Upon entering the apartment, the first thing I noticed was a woman standing in the corner of the living room. She was wearing a Burqa that covered her whole body.
The only thing visible was her eyes, seen though that narrow slit. First, as I said, I was not used to seeing this attire up close. Not a problem since I?m tolerant of all religions and lifestyles as long as they aren?t trying to kill me! But to add to the "strangeness" of the situation, the woman would not speak to me. When I asked what the problem was, she just stared at me. Now I?ve heard of some foreigners who have some "royal" connection who refuse to speak to people whom they believe are "beneath" them. I didn?t know yet if this was what I was dealing with. It has happened with a few NATO pilots before they were "clued in" to how things work over here!
The husband spoke up and said it was a little matter of disciplining a child and everything was ok. We inquired as to the location of the child so that we could make sure everything was ok. We were led to a bedroom where a small child was found. The child had whelps all over the body that perfectly matched a wire coat hanger lying nearby. The investigation revealed that it was the Burqa-adorned mother who had administered the punishment. Although on civilian property, the case was handled by military authorities and I heard that their stay in Texas was very short.
But it was those eyes!