Greg Mortenson responds to '60 Minutes' questions about his 'Three Cups of Tea' story

Bestselling author Greg Mortenson has issued a written response to a "60 Minutes" report calling into question his philanthropic practices and his experiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mortenson chronicled those experiences in the books "Three Cups of Tea" and "Stones Into Schools" and leads the Central Asia Institute, an international charity that supports schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Steve Kroft's "60 Minutes" report cited accounts that contradicted essential parts of Mortenson's story, and calls into question the way funds are allocated by the charity. The report, which aired Sunday night, is embedded above; "60 Minutes" posted Mortenson's response on its website. The following is from that statement.

60 Minutes' question: Did you really stumble into Korphe after failing to summit K2? The two porters who accompanied you on your journey down from K2 have told us you did not. We have three other sources that support the porters' accounts. The evidence suggests that you did not step foot in Korphe until a year later.

Greg Mortenson: Yes, I first visited Korphe village, Braldu valley, Baltistan, Pakistan, after failing to summit K2 in 1993, and met Haji Ali, a long time dear mentor and friend. My second visit to Korphe was in 1994. I made two visits to Korphe in 1995, the year we built the bridge over the Braldu River. And I again made two visits to Korphe in 1996, the year we built the Korphe School.

Mortenson further told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "The time about our final days on K2 and ongoing journey to Korphe village and Skardu is a compressed version of events that took place in the fall of 1993." He also told the paper, "As the co-author of the book, along with David Oliver Relin, I am responsible for the content in the book. There were many people involved in the story and also those who produced the manuscript. What was done was to simplify the sequence of events for the purposes of telling what was, at times, a complicated story."

Mortenson's written response continued:

It is important to know that Balti people have a completely different notion about time. Even the Balti language -- an archaic dialect of Tibetan -- has only a vague concept of tenses and time. For example, "now" can mean immediately or sometime over the course of a whole long season. The concept of past and future is rarely of concern. Often tenses are left out of discussion, although everyone knows what is implied. And if a person is a day or a week late or early it doesn't matter. The Balti consider the western notion of time quite amusing.

Language and perceptions of time seem to be coming into some kind of conflict. In his written statement, Mortenson looks to language, and an underlying difference in worldview, to blame for accounts that contradict his own. That's the same position he takes when responding to the television show's next question.

Question: Were you kidnapped for eight days by the Taliban in Waziristan in 1996? Three of the men in the photo you published in "Stones Into Schools" deny that they kidnapped you and say they are not Taliban. We have two other sources of information that support their account.

Mortenson: Yes, I was detained for eight days in Waziristan in 1996. It was against my will, and my passport and money were taken from me. I was not mistreated or harmed, but I was also not allowed to leave. A blanket was put over my head any time I was moved by vehicle. A "Talib" means student in Arabic, and, yes, there were Taliban in the region. Waziristan is an area where tribal factions and clan ties run deep. Some people are Taliban, some are not, and affiliations change overnight often on a whim. The Pathan people of Waziristan are proud people who I greatly admire. In speaking to American audiences, I often talk about my admiration for their concepts of Pashtunwali, their unwritten code of honor and conduct, and Nenawastay, hospitality.

The answer doesn't exactly address the question. Read the responses from the Central Asia Institute's (at www.ikat.org) board of directors and Mortenson's responses to the television show's other questions here.

Perhaps Mortenson will speak up further about these issues and others raised by the "60 Minutes" report.

RELATED:

Investigation throws "Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson's charity work into doubt

-- Carolyn Kellogg

 

Comments

[AMQ]

It's not the first time 60 minutes has aired shoddy work. But this time it's particularly irresponsible.

Wouldn't a balanced report have shown at least one functioning CAI supported school? Talked to some teachers or parents in the villages? Interviewed some graduates?

The photo of Mr. Mortenson holding a weapon makes no sense. One American guy in a group of Pakistanis holding an AK47? Hello Photoshop! And we're supposed to believe that the guys 60 minutes interviewed were the ones in the photo? Who could tell? What IS believable is that over the course of time, with the mission of educating women in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mr Mortenson has angered some of the local guys and 60 minutes so irresponsibly gave these guys a voice. And the empty schools?...the people in that region are nomads. Some of the time those schools will be empty. Like our schools during vacation. Krakauer calling Mr. Mortenson a liar is a transparent publicity grab. Is he writing a book about Mortenson and trying to get some advance? He wasn't even on the trip in 1993. And yet he speaks with such authority on the matter!

The CAI travel expenses seem reasonable. In these times Mr. Mortenson certainly would need a professional security team even for domestic trips. There are probably plenty of extremists that don't like the idea of educating Muslim girls. For CAI to spend more on travel and advertisement now to leverage the book's popularity is sound management. People have short attention spans. Who even thinks about Haiti now since the Deep Water Horizon and earthquake in Japan? CAI has to leverage their channels now while they have our attention.

Three cups of tea has sold 4 million copies since 2006. At 50 cents a copy going to Mr Mortenson, that doesn't really come out to be an outrageous amount, especially after taxes. According to the CAI board of directors, Mr Mortenson has donated hundreds of thousands to the organization since the book came out. Before the book came out, he worked for 12 years for nearly nothing. He's doing dangerous work. Hopefully he is making enough to take care of his family if anything happens to him.

The world is a better place because of Greg Mortenson's and my best thoughts will be with him as he recovers from his heart surgery this week. He is an exceptional person with great integrity. Shame on 60 minutes for a biased, cynical and shoddy report.

[Steve]

"this report was irresponsible and damaging to a person and an organization, which are trying to make a difference in the world. I am truly disappointed!"

If he hadn't lied about his work in print, twice, and built a big production based on public sentiment elicited by those lies, then there wouldn't be any story.

[Steve]

The people that he lied about kidnapping him are lucky that they weren't killed

[Lea Frey]

I am frankly outraged by the 60 Minutes "expose" of Greg Mortenson. I don't
know what motivated this, other than a need to come up with a story that would shock people. Mortenson is obviously a gentle, generous, humanitarian person who has dedicated his life to improving conditions for girls education in countries that most of us don't care about. I consider the program on 60 Minutes nit-picking in the extreme. Isn't it enough that he cares little for himeslf in the process? Should he have no salary, wear sackcloth and burlap slippers to convince skeptics that he is a good and decent man? Give me and all your viewers a break, Sixty Minutes! I used to think better of you than this!!

[dwfain]

How did people buy in to this guys stories? He doesn't come off as even remotely intelligent... and his attempt to refute the accusations put forth by 60 minutes are comical. You've been exposed Greg, now put on your helmet and go sit in the corner.

[Richard A. Conner]

I believe a grave injustice has been laid on one of the most dedicated men to a worthy cause. Mortenson has sacrificed much of his life to this cause. Who else has made this kind of sacrifice to provide education to you girls in two countries who do not value women at all. I believe a lot more evidence needs to be obtained before many years of such work is destroyed. I have read both books and feel Mortenson has contributed more towards peace than all the billions but into the war effort by the U.S. What a shame. Again, he has done what no other person or country has attempted to do. I still believe he deserves the Noble prize for peace.

[Pam Logan]

As president of a charity doing education projects in Tibet, I can easily understand why some of Mortensen's schools stand empty: no one is providing money to run them. Building schools is easy; finding donors to pay for operational expenses is much harder.

[Deb]

I know that humans tend to find weaknesses in others to bring them down... yet how many of the rest of us actually try to make a difference in the lives of so many thousands of young women (and men) in the world? Even if he has ‘enriched’ his story, it has made it more interesting and attracted more people/funds for a cause that would have otherwise gone un-recognized.

Just some thoughts from a mere mortal who has a lot of fallacies that I hope others don’t find out about.

[lilith anderson]

Like many of you I was moved to tears over the wonderful work that Greg Mortenson had claimed he had done.

I now look at Greg Mortenson through very different eyes. I suspect very strongly that he is a Sociopath, or has extremely strong Sociopathic tendencies; he doesn't know the sense of right and wrong because he has no conscious.

In a sense we all played into his hands and that of others who prey on our emotions. He told us what we wanted to hear and listed things on his taxes that he felt no one would check. A school is not a building and it teachers, books, etc….

[Sandy]

If anyone is skeptical of Jon Krakauer's information that he has collected, read his 66 page publication that just came out. It is FILLED with facts proving how Moretenson has been lying and cheating the system in many many ways. It has names of people, dates, emails exchanged, etc, etc, etc. More proof than necessary to make anyone realize how much of a liar and scam artist Mortenson is. I am extremely sorry for CAI because it is a wonderful idea and should be supported. However, NOT with Mortenson involved in it. He should be replaced immediately so CAI can continue with it's beautiful mission to help educate children.

www.byliner.com

This is the link to download Jon's publication.

[Julie Merrill]

Who really cares if his story is not EXACTLY how it happened. The man has done some remarkable work in an area where no one else would go. Haven't you ever heard of story telling? 60 Minutes must be desperate for stories, which is odd since there are so many serious issues they should be uncovering, not Greg Mortenson.

[Tara Sobrio]

The issues that have arisen about the accuracy of Greg Mortensen's published account is legitimate. A non-fiction book should be as such.
Mortensen has raised the awareness about the plight of Afgahani and Pakistani girls and their lack of access to education, but this could be considered common knowledge for the average American. He has also raised some money (even though financial records indicate that much of that has ended up in Mortensen's private bank account).
What this story concerns is the personal integrity, responsibility and accountability of Mortensen. Sadly we live in a time and culture where embellishment, self-aggrandizing and outright lies have become the norm in the financial, academic, political and literary worlds. I think it is time for the resurgence of some good ol' truth telling even if it doesn't paint what one says or does in a beautiful light. Time for humility, service and honesty. I feel that Mortensen may have just had the chance to come clean, but stayed on a path of deceit (suggesting instead that the discrepancies between what is written in his book and other eyewitness accounts lie in some ridiculous cultural miscommunication). Quite silly really and quite a pity.

[Curtis Mortenson (no Relation)]

Thanks 60-minutes for proving the the point, 'no good deed goes unpunished'

[Helen Andrews]

What a silly waste of time for your mud slinging and why? This gentleman has done more for education and understanding between to very different cultures and all you can do is try to catch him up in dates and times. Why don't you spend your time looking into the mess in America of our lack of support for education, health care and the poor.

[Barbara]

COME ON, REALLY? LEAVE GREG MORTENSON ALONE.

[eyenever]

As always, just follow the money.

Mortenson, along with his two other board member/cronies (fox guarding the hen house), has already admitted to spending millions of dollars in donated funds to promote the sale of his books, while also admiiting to receiving no money from the sale of said books. That money goes to Mortenson personally. This is a form of what is known as "conversion." Their lame excuse is that promoting Mortenson for his own personal gain results in more donations to CAI. Con men love circular arguments like this, but no sane or even semi-intelligent person is going to buy it.

Read "CAI Board Responds to 60 Minutes Questions," to understand the full scope of Mortenson's financial fraud.

[sheila]

sodid he even build one school? it says he built the school in korphe but didnt anywhere eles.in the book it says he built a ton of schools?

[Jordan Bell]

First of all, I find it extremely humorous that people would believe something like "60 minutes" to be a viable source for finding "evil people". This is an example of media doing its best to make everything loud, trap people, be cynical and maybe actually rightfully accuse people. Next I'm going to find people citing Fox News.

I have been to a talk by HIS MOTHER, and find in all of my research that statements supporting CAI and Greg Mortenson are AT LEAST as viable as anything "60 minutes". I challenge you to look at the REPLIES to the 60 minute traps. They are far more intelligently stated and offer real evidence instead of things like, "they said you lied."

www.ikat.org

I agree with the challenge to find the SOURCES for 60 minutes allegations. I can easily accuse people of terrible things, but that doesn't make me right. The problem with our society today is that we believe horrific things just because someone said so.

Really, please use your brains and realize this whole scandal is ridiculous. Remember that there is not one person in the world who is perfect, and wonderful selfless people are ALWAYS accused. As a high school student I see the same thing. "you're gay!" why do people say that? Because they are jealous that some human beings actually do something to help the world.

Great, now I have a headache.
:D

[Deborah Madsen]

I have had the amazing opportunity to meet and speak with Greg on numerous occasions. I am happy that he has responded to these horrific allegations. I believe him. He has shown the world insight into life and structure of people on the other side of the world. Not everyone lives by American standards. It is very damaging to believe everything in our media. Greg is not a materialistic, opportunistic person, I wonder what John Krakauer's real motivations are? Greg is doing great work, I hope that this does not deter him from his path. We need more love and light in the world!

[Matt]

Lets not get too ahead of ourselves. It's an obvious conflict of interest for the men 60 mins interviewed to disclose that they ever did anything wrong, especially to a Western reporter.

[kaStromberger]

I find the efforts of GM and his helpers inspiring and self-less. The typical mud slinging that appears in our news seems to be done without any particular requirements( proving with actual facts)and has become a terrible pattern in our lives in the US. There are no rules, somehow, about what kind of charges a person can bring against someone else...libel doesn't seem to enter into the fray.

60 Minutes could find much more worthy stories without going into who said what about whom.

[Chris Wilkins]

60 Minutes plays at producing unbiased stories, when in reality they spin a story to get the most impact out of it. The question here is who has left the more important details out of their story.

Did it occur to anyone that the amounts spent in the US on speaking tours may seem disproportionately larger than what is spent in Central Asia because of the cost of living? They can build a school for $20,000 in Central Asia. In the US you are lucky if you can get a piece of ground for that money.

I'm so tired of media spin, and where is the follow up regardless of whether it's sensational? Will 60 Minutes produce as big a story when they find out that Mortenson used funds appropriately?