Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and National Geographic and Chicago Tribune correspondent Paul Saulopek, is changing the world one step at a time by bridging cultures, languages and ethnicities. Paul began his 21,000-mile journey on foot, to trace the science of human migration. Paul’s decade long experiment in slow journalism began from Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa and will complete in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago, claimed by both Chile and Argentina in South America. Paul began walking from the rugged landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti. Now he has finally reached Pakistan.
It is considered that the first humans migrated from the cradle of Africa to Chile, in South America. Early fossils, such as those of Lucy, were found in Ethiopia, where our ancestors left their footprints. Genetic records suggest that humans started migrating between 60,000 and 70,000 years ago, mainly, in two different phases.
Paul’s walk around the globe, better known as the Out of Eden project, will take over a decade to complete. His adventurous travels take him across conflict zones, cultural and linguistic barriers, technological challenges and a highly securitised world. His journey aims to depict our ancestors’ interaction with nature and trace out their movement across continents over the centuries. It is unclear why our ancestors moved from Africa, says Paul; but they were certainly the first globalisers on planet Earth.
Paul’s interactions with native people are deep and meaningful. He spends a great deal of time learning about the exotic local cultures that he encounters on his way. His daily activities include eating at local shops, reading the history of the region and learning about their national sports, arts, literature, and political events. He occasionally lends a hand to local craftsmen, farmers, miners and cattle herders. Paul has bathed cattle in Saudi deserts; discussed hardships faced by Syrian soldiers; slept under the starry skies of the Central Asian states and heard folktales and personal stories from wanderers who crossed his path. Unlike most modern-day travellers, who have prior hotel bookings, tickets to amusement parks and pre-paid taxis waiting for them at the airport, Paul has only a map.
His journey along the Silk Road has now brought Paul to Pakistan, where he was greeted by a group of students from Hunza
Paul is not walking alone; he is often accompanied by locals on his journeys. Despite the fact that many wish to continue with him on his travels, they are unable to do so. This may have been possible in prehistoric times when national borders were non-existent. However, in today’s securitised world, travelling without visas and extensive security checks is hardly possible.
In 2016, Paul reached the famous Silk Road, which was established during the Chinese Han Dynasty. This is a road network which has been connecting goods, people, cultures and languages since 130 BCE. His journey along the Silk Road has now brought Paul to Pakistan, where he was greeted by a group of students from Hunza. Paul is extrapolating Pakistan’s past by visiting and re-capturing the essence of ancient civilizations that thrived in this region. Be it the Bactrian and Kushan coins which date back to about 2,300 years in Taxila; or the 2000 year old Stupa of Buddha carved in the Hellenistic style. Paul has also written about Ganish, a small town in Pakistan where he has found scripts of Ibex from the Stone Age, and of the lost empires of Khorosthi, Brahmi, Sorada, and Sogdian. Paul is currently walking the busy streets of Lahore, meeting vendors, shoe makers, historians, academics, barbers, fruit sellers and ordinary men and women. He is capturing these stories with his camera and writes in his note-pad, which he carries with him in his rug sack.
In a talk given to a group of university students in Lahore, Paul said that every day people miss out on so many opportunities by speeding through events and places. If only they could slow down a little and take a stroll through life, they could create deeper and more meaningful relationships with their environment. He encouraged the students to share their narratives with the people and cultures around them and to embark on meaningful journeys across the Earth, which has so much to offer. He once said, “There are 7 billion trails on the planet; I am only walking one”.
The writer teaches courses in Political Science and Gender at LUMS
Published in Daily Times, March 27th 2018.