Columbians mediate with Azerbaijani lawyers
By Sydney Kornegay
Cub@TheColumbiaStar.com

Mary Bryan pours Tom Kohlsaat a cup of tea from a pitcher from Azerbaijan.

Editor's note: Azerbaijan is a country of Transcaucasia north of Iran on the Caspian Sea. It was a constituent republic of the USSR, known as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, from 1936 to 1991. Baku is the capital. Population: 7,910,000.

"Lawyer speak," with all its confusing clauses and legal lingo, is often impossible to understand. It's even harder when it's in Azerbaijani.

Mary Bryan and Tom Kohlsaat of Columbia, however, learned not only how to interpret the language of lawyers but how to address it within the context of another culture. The two were part of a trip to Azerbaijan that focused on mediation training among young law students there. Their presentation to the Explorer's Club March 9 chronicled their June 2006 excursion.

The two were first invited to Azerbaijan through their friend Ann Furr, a Columbia municipal judge. As a liaison for the American Bar Association and CEELI organization, Furr organized a group of nine judges from Azerbaijan to come to S.C. last March to study the American legal system. Kohlsaat and Bryan were among the group of Americans who, in turn, traveled to Azerbaijan later that summer.

Their first stop was the capital of Baku, which dates back to the 11th century city. The "Old Town" section, found within the original walls of the city, is full of narrow streets, medieval architecture, and archeological sites. The more modern part of the city is found outside the walled fortress with buildings dating back to the Soviet Union Era. It also contains the extravagant oil baron's homes, built during the late 19th century when oil was first found in the region.

While in Baku, Bryan, a professor at Columbia College, started her mediation training with members of the Azerbaijani law community. She admitted it was difficult to talk about communication in a different language but attributes the program's success to the excellent translators.

Meanwhile, Kohlsaat, a former employee of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, traveled 50 miles south to the Gobustun region. The area is home to harmless mud volcanoes that bubble from the earth's surface, as well as limestone structures that exhibit ancient petroglyphs and artifacts. Some have theorized the ancestors of present- day Scandinavians created the cave drawings.

After Baku, the group traveled to Seki, a town found on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. Here, Bryan led another workshop of young, up- and- coming lawyers she termed "the CEELI kids." They were enthusiastic and fun loving, and Bryan described the "kids" as young for their age. Though in their late 20s, it was normal for them to still live at home with their parents.

The group also did several hiking excursions in the Caucuses. One of the most memorable was Kohlsaat's excursion to the mountain town of Xinalia, a village so remote that it had its own language.

The two recalled many other vivid aspects of Azerbaijan: the music in the cafes, the ornately painted churches, and the experiences with the "CEELI kids" but also mentioned several challenges they believed Azerbaijan faced. These included the current conflict with neighboring Armenia, recovering from the Russian legacy of pollution, developing a more diverse economy based on products other than just oil, and being able to successfully support NGO's working in the area.

The greater Piedmont Chapter of the The Explorers Club meets monthly in Columbia. For information, contact Nena Powell Rice, 803-777-8170 or nrice@sc.edu.