A story of cultural insensitivity

Last week we Westerners got a driver to bring us to Le Golf, a commercial area near the President's residence. Our Muslim driver parked a block away at our instruction from where we wanted to go -- a wine shop. Don made a joke of our stealth, crouching down like a spy on a mission, ducking into a video store before swinging next door into the wine shop. "This is a bad thing we're doing," Don kept telling us. "This is a sin." He had the clerk bag up our purchases in dark brown sacks and we hiked back to the car, laughing and in a good mood , contemplating a nice red wine with dinner.

We didn't get the significance of Don's joking until today. Our driver told the office manager not to pay him for day he took us shopping. He had heard our bottles rattling and so, he knew we had alcohol.

The Koran forbids the drinking, buying, selling or transport of alcohol. Because he realized we had liquor in his car, he was guilty. But it was his employer, so what could he do? As a good Muslim he decided to give up money for the day.

We felt terrible, of course, and will from here on in, walk to the wine shop instead of asking for a lift. The office manager will make sure he gets extra assignments to recoup the lost money and she has also suggested he is misinterpreting the Koran -- that transport there means moving liquor for sale. He has written to his imam asking for clarification.

In the meantime, we are not supposed to raise the issue with him directly because it would be embarrassing for all.