I've not been out of Europe since April.
My return to Cote d'Ivoire in mid-April was wonderful, only 4 days there, the flights with TAP (aka Take Another Plane) were terrible, even their ticketing system was atrocious with a flight change from Lisbon to Sal (Cabo Verde) then they obviously thought I could swim to Dakar to get my connection to Abidjan.
The whole saga happened on Easter Friday with my flight due to leave on the following Tuesday, it resulted in a drive to Barcelona over 300km away to get a shuttle to Lisbon to rectify the situation. On my return (my wonderful travel agent Dominique having given all my mobile numbers to TAP) I arrived at Abidjan airport and told Laji, my driver that I'd be fine. He went home & left me to it; 30minutes later I was in Air Senegal's office fighting with them to endorse my ticket to Air Ivoire as they had done with most of the other passengers as Air Senegal had cancelled the flight (& gone bust!); amazingly the lady who typed one handed whilst the other rested on her thigh (I was gnashing my teeth with her attitude) told me they didn't have any contact numbers for me & that I could have flown out with the contactable passengers the night before on Compagnie Aerienne de Mali - well thanks TAP for not passing my numbers on!!!
290euros lighter, thank god I'd taken my visa card with me; I was in the possession of an Air Ivoire ticket to Dakar, departure time 23.30, arriving in Dakar at 2.30am. Wonderful!!! My soon-to-be host, Alain in Dakar had the unpleasant surprise of a text from me announcing my 3am arrival at his place ... could he give me directions please. He said he'd meet me at a petrol station near his place, pleased I'd picked up some attieke for him from the market on the way to the airport.
During my ranting in the airport, I'd rung Tomas, a Czech friend living in Abidjan who told me to get into town & he'd run me to the airport. I finally found a taxi to Zone 4 at a reasonable 1,000CFA, the driver after hearing my sob story whilst watching the soldiers about to descend on us in his mirror dramatically dropped his price. We sped off to Zone 4. He dropped me at my favourite maquis opposite Prima, St Christophe run by Patrick and I dumped my bags & ordered a rather late lunch whilst waiting for Tomas to finish work. He took me back to catch my Air Ivoire flight, excellent flight & on time, with a few other delegates for the conference on board. Getting to the conference at 8.30am was very difficult however!!!
My four days in CI were a little crazy. There for work & to catch up with everyone & the children at the centre. I saw an Aussie friend I haven't seen for 6years, had an e-mail a few months earlier asking how safe CI was; the week she was there was also the week my friends John & Therese got married in typical Ivorian fashion!
My arrival was a lot less stressed than my departure. I flew in from Dakar in daylight, great to fly over Abidjan, the lagoon; thrilled to be back, stupid sentimental idiot that I am, I had tears in my eyes on landing. Either that or due to the 6hrs I'd spent at Dakar airport restaurant trying to sleep on 3 chairs in the company of several cockroaches and an over zealous soldier who I fell out with!
I'd called Yao before leaving home to ask him to pick me up from the airport; told a few friends I was on my way back, told others to keep quiet. Denis, my friends' husband was so confused by the secrecy of my return he wasn't even sure if I was on my way back. Yao, turned up in his van, big smiles and out of the back popped Bassman aka Assouman who owns a gorgeous little hotel in Bassam 'Hotel Atlantique', a surprise for me .. lots of laughter, greetings & kisses all round then JB showed up to greet his 'grande soeur'. Unfortunately we had to leave JB behind to get a taxi to Bassam alone to meet me there.
Denis had prepared a great meal of poulet braise & attieke for me. How did he know I'd been dreaming of that for months?!?! Yao & Bassman were invited in, confused by the situation which I'd created, in that they were all friends but Yao hadn't told Denis that he was picking me up! A little later JB had managed to arrive by taxi & met us at the nearest maquis where I bought lunch for him as I felt so guilty leaving him at the airport.
Shortly after I took JB with me to the centre, he'd never been before. We put the 30kg bag of clothes, shoes, games & medical supplies in a taxi and set off. I'd told Diouf, the assistant I was coming back as he's in charge of the children's health & had been communicating drug names for me to pick up; I was thrilled I'd managed to get 11months supply of a particular medicine for the child who has sickle cell. I had told him not to tell Erick the manager as I knew that he'd tell the children I was coming, I wanted to surprise them all.
Surprise them I did. I knocked & knocked & knocked at the gate, no noises inside .. I was really confused as to where they all were. Finally one of the boys answered the gate & gave me a massive hug, suddenly I had someone from behind me hugging me to; it was the Erick admonishing me at the same time for my unexpected visit! The children were all having a siesta! We woke them up, all very confused to see me there!!!
The children were all doing well. M is very happy, very settled and a little monster at times ... she is constantly in trouble for locking the smaller ones in the bathroom, breaking things & pushing people around. Mama Liza spends most of her time scolding her for getting in the way of cooking preparations!!! The others were doing very well at school, one of the boys had an exceptional report at school, the one who hopes to be a magistrate - I really hope he gets his dream. I went to see them everyday I was there, it was hard to say goodbye after such a short time. One of the smaller boys said that next time he's going to be my pilot!!!
My Aussie friend had been working for her company up country. I discovered that she'd been eating typical aussie food shipped in especially for them; she'd never had any typical Ivorian food. After several calls to her CI coordinator taking full responsibility for her welfare, she arrived, with her driver in tow. The driver, Moussa, had to accompany us everywhere, he was from Senguela in the north of the country where there had been a lot of fighting during the crisis.
After a couple of hours with him we started devising ways of losing him ... it worked to an extent! She met the children and then we headed for the beach at Assouinde. Arriving on the edge of the village in the rain, I asked Moussa to stop his sparkling blue Peugeot and called for Ama ... she was thrilled I was back, she hadn't forgotten my promise that if she got a good report & was top of her class I'd bring a present. I lifted her into the car to sit on my lap much to Moussa's disgrain but removed her muddy red dirt covered sandals for the final 200m to Jardin d'Eden.
Moussa was like a shadow, the only problem was that he was about 8inches shorter than both of us! He constantly had the car keys in his hand. I said to him that we were spending the night here & he might as well go back to Abidjan & pick us up the next afternoon, he wasn't prepared for his boss' wrath and so I arranged accommodation in the village for him. We went out, back to the Bleu Marin so K could enjoy a real night out. A little later she went outside the club to get some air, I suddenly heard a call and Martial wanted me outside as she'd collapsed! My worst nightmare, I had a friend sick, barely conscious in a village with the nearest hospital about 30km away. She slowly came round, I made her answer a lot of ridiculous questions and most of the Jardin d'Eden crew had gathered around us. Arsene, the owner who's been a great friend to me had already organised a car to drive us back the kilometre up the track to get K to bed. He wasn't having us stay in the beach shack where I normally stay, but opened up one of the hotel rooms for us.
Of course, the following morning Moussa got to hear of all this & gave me a lot of stick for not calling him. Basically she'd been working 15hour days for 15 days straight & it was sheer exhaustion. I made it clear to Moussa we were staying till the afternoon as she needed rest, he wandered off disgruntled & got his dirty muddy red Peugeot blue again with the hosepipe!
The other days there were fairly run of the mill, except of course the wedding!
A fantastic affair which I almost missed. I was with Tomas & his business partner in Riviera, waiting for them to drop me at Cocody Hotel de Ville, but his business partner mis-directed us to the mairie!! When I finally got dropped off Athere I saw endless wedding parties lining up outside & had a horrible feeling I'd missed it. Finally I found a few people from John & Therese's party around the corner, I'd just missed the ceremony & photos! Typical! I managed to get a lift in a UN vehicle to the reception, yet again no one knew where it was but a helpful taxi driver seeing 5 blancs in a UN 4x4 stopped to tell us where to go!! Lots of sermons, dancing, eating ... a beautifully staged reception in a garden; I began to wonder how to get back across the lagoon to Zone 4. A new friend who's a cameraman for Reuters offered me a lift, a bit earlier than I wanted but we went to Koumassi together & had a few drinks before heading to Zone 4 & meeting Tomas. The plan was to go to Parker Place that night for a bit of reggae, between the sun, the drink & general fatigue, I fell asleep!!!
My time there wasn't long enough, calls from Ayame, Binouan, Abengourou, Jacqueville ... all asking me to see them! Next time inshallah!
A late arrival in Dakar caused a lot of problems. The first day it was a case of keeping my eyes open with matchsticks at the conference. We arrived at Dakar airport at 2.30am, the baggage guys obviously needed waking before working and at just gone 3am I was fighting off taxi drivers & trying to find one to get me to Mermoz at the correct price of 2,500CFA. I finally accomplished this but not without insults from a few Senegalese stunned by my hard bargaining at that time of the morning. I was concerned about going in a clapped out VW Golf at 3am with a big Senegalese guy but he was honest enough!
Alain, originally from SW France, brought up in Cote d'Ivoire until the crisis started & now working in Dakar was a wonderful host. He got up in the early hours, rode his motorbike to the rendez-vous petrol station & my 'taxi' followed him back. My final night before my 2am departure on TAP; my American friend Sam took me out for an Indian that night. A rarity, he was a gem to choose Indian, can't get it in this corner of France!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
This doesn't even touch the reality ...
http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/untoldstories/blog/archive/2008_04_20_index.html
A Kenyan pilot friend of mine sent me this, its so true & so sad! More needs to be done!!! It's not just women, many are girls as young as 10, boys too ... where & when will it end?
A Kenyan pilot friend of mine sent me this, its so true & so sad! More needs to be done!!! It's not just women, many are girls as young as 10, boys too ... where & when will it end?
An update
An update on M's story.
She eventually went for her tests at an Abidjan hospital. Amazingly she's in fairly good shape. The story about her being raped has proved to be true; she doesn't have HIV at this stage (& hopefully the next test will also prove negative) but is slightly anaemic - a small problem in reality.
I spoke to her last weekend. She was thrilled to talk on the phone. It seems that she's integrating well in the centre. However she's not going to school with the other 37 children yet, paperwork needs to be done to have her ready to go & catch up with her studies.
Personally I can't wait to see her soon, it's going to be hard to keep my eyes dry in front of them all but I'll try! I'm taking another mountain of supplies to them all, including the Congolese boy who has sickle cell which is costing a fortune in medicine to keep him well.
She eventually went for her tests at an Abidjan hospital. Amazingly she's in fairly good shape. The story about her being raped has proved to be true; she doesn't have HIV at this stage (& hopefully the next test will also prove negative) but is slightly anaemic - a small problem in reality.
I spoke to her last weekend. She was thrilled to talk on the phone. It seems that she's integrating well in the centre. However she's not going to school with the other 37 children yet, paperwork needs to be done to have her ready to go & catch up with her studies.
Personally I can't wait to see her soon, it's going to be hard to keep my eyes dry in front of them all but I'll try! I'm taking another mountain of supplies to them all, including the Congolese boy who has sickle cell which is costing a fortune in medicine to keep him well.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
So what next?
I was horrified by M's story, arriving back in France I immediately broke down in tears in front of my neighbour who had come to pick me up from the airport. I'd already talked again to my old schoolfriend in Nigeria; we both think that something needs to be done.
Due to the situation in West Africa as it stands, its very difficult to stop this trafficking; only last year I had my 12 year old goddaughter with me who has a different surname & different nationality, not once did any 'official' ask what we were doing together & if I had parental permission. We crossed SIX borders together, no one thought to question us!!! Added to which I know that I could have easily paid someone off if I had been taking her along illegally.
The 'corridor' between Lagos & Abidjan strands 5 countries. Two are English speaking, three French speaking, however all along that corridor are signs asking travellers to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV. Fair enough, health is important too.
But what about all these kids that are trafficked???
My Nigerian friend has told me a story of the manager of one of her father's factories. She had no idea that it was so widespread. The daughter of this manager was kidnapped, he lost her for several months. After paying a lot of Naira he eventually (with the help of the original kidnappers) tracked her down to Libya. She has been reunited with her family.
So many West African children are kidnapped, either for 'slavery' to work in rich homes across W.Africa or in Libya, or for the sex trade. Sad as it is these children are out there somewhere being used for profit by unscrupulous gangs. I also heard from my friend that she often has Togolese or Beninois children brought to the door with a distinctly English sounding surname, because the 'man in charge' is English speaking & given his name to the children that are brought to him to make that profit.
I have a sneaking suspicion that's what's happened to M who thankfully is now safe behind closed doors in Cote d'Ivoire. I think psychologically she's shut down the part of her memory that went through some sort of ordeal.
We are now looking to make something happen along the corridor, whether it be education or what I would like to see; more pressure on governments & compliance to international child law!
Due to the situation in West Africa as it stands, its very difficult to stop this trafficking; only last year I had my 12 year old goddaughter with me who has a different surname & different nationality, not once did any 'official' ask what we were doing together & if I had parental permission. We crossed SIX borders together, no one thought to question us!!! Added to which I know that I could have easily paid someone off if I had been taking her along illegally.
The 'corridor' between Lagos & Abidjan strands 5 countries. Two are English speaking, three French speaking, however all along that corridor are signs asking travellers to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV. Fair enough, health is important too.
But what about all these kids that are trafficked???
My Nigerian friend has told me a story of the manager of one of her father's factories. She had no idea that it was so widespread. The daughter of this manager was kidnapped, he lost her for several months. After paying a lot of Naira he eventually (with the help of the original kidnappers) tracked her down to Libya. She has been reunited with her family.
So many West African children are kidnapped, either for 'slavery' to work in rich homes across W.Africa or in Libya, or for the sex trade. Sad as it is these children are out there somewhere being used for profit by unscrupulous gangs. I also heard from my friend that she often has Togolese or Beninois children brought to the door with a distinctly English sounding surname, because the 'man in charge' is English speaking & given his name to the children that are brought to him to make that profit.
I have a sneaking suspicion that's what's happened to M who thankfully is now safe behind closed doors in Cote d'Ivoire. I think psychologically she's shut down the part of her memory that went through some sort of ordeal.
We are now looking to make something happen along the corridor, whether it be education or what I would like to see; more pressure on governments & compliance to international child law!
Friday, January 16, 2009
A very sad story ...
Then the story of M; I don't know where to start with her, she claims to be Beninoise/Togolaise, she doesnt speak French very well and then I started speaking in English to her, she understood me perfectly but replies in 'her' French.
She has been living on the beach for 3yrs she says, her parents died 3yrs ago and she has been alone ever since. She told me her father died in Cote d'Ivoire and her mother in Benin. However I don't think it's the whole truth I immediately felt she was Nigerian with her surname & the fact she knew Lagos well when we talked about it, her father worked there. I suspect she's been trafficked here ... I 'interviewed' her in English as Eric + Diouf dont speak a word, we went very slowly but after 4hrs I had the basics although there's a lot of missing information and we all felt that she was hiding something; the story doesn't quite add up. I have a good schoolfriend from Nigeria and called her to verify that the surname she'd given was in fact Nigerian as I suspected; my friend was great and came straight back to me to agree with me.
I was convinced she's not 13 but 11 or 12 - mentally we think she's ok but physically she wasn't good, been peeing blood for over a year she said and has been raped several times by the same two men when she slept in the market - she only went there when it rained on the beach. I was going to go with her and Eric to a school where we think she was enrolled, I find it strange that a '13' yr old cannot remember which school she went to 3yrs ago - hence our suspicions ... I was not happy I was leaving as there was a lot to be done with her .... we had hoped that that afternoon she would go to Abidjan to a laboratory to get a thorough health check. She was so sweet ... clung onto me and opened up more with me than the guys - why did I have to fly so soon???!!!
She has been living on the beach for 3yrs she says, her parents died 3yrs ago and she has been alone ever since. She told me her father died in Cote d'Ivoire and her mother in Benin. However I don't think it's the whole truth I immediately felt she was Nigerian with her surname & the fact she knew Lagos well when we talked about it, her father worked there. I suspect she's been trafficked here ... I 'interviewed' her in English as Eric + Diouf dont speak a word, we went very slowly but after 4hrs I had the basics although there's a lot of missing information and we all felt that she was hiding something; the story doesn't quite add up. I have a good schoolfriend from Nigeria and called her to verify that the surname she'd given was in fact Nigerian as I suspected; my friend was great and came straight back to me to agree with me.
I was convinced she's not 13 but 11 or 12 - mentally we think she's ok but physically she wasn't good, been peeing blood for over a year she said and has been raped several times by the same two men when she slept in the market - she only went there when it rained on the beach. I was going to go with her and Eric to a school where we think she was enrolled, I find it strange that a '13' yr old cannot remember which school she went to 3yrs ago - hence our suspicions ... I was not happy I was leaving as there was a lot to be done with her .... we had hoped that that afternoon she would go to Abidjan to a laboratory to get a thorough health check. She was so sweet ... clung onto me and opened up more with me than the guys - why did I have to fly so soon???!!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
And so it has to end ...
I left Jacqueville having spent my last evening with 'la blanche' having dinner together outside her house on the beach. Sad to be leaving ... why is it that I'm always so sad leaving places in Cote d'Ivoire??? We walked back to Hotel Grace in town with people going past us saying 'bonsoir' and then a guy comes up to me in the dark & says 'Bonsoir' to me ... bit confused I didn't recognise him in a suit, it was Guy, my young money changer looking very smart!
Getting up early I said goodbye to Dudu the owner of Hotel Grace and paid my final 3,000CFA for the night. Wandered down to the gare routiere to find transport directly to Abidjan, one company has a pirogue on the lagoon so that you don't have to wait for the 'bac' across. Took forever thanks to some short guy with a personality complex of inferiority ... decided to throw us all out of one van and into a brand new vehicle; great except a tyre needed changing and they had to go off to find one. I was not impressed as I wanted to be in Abidjan early to get a few things done!
Finally we were on the road, got into the second vehicle the Sogon side of the lagoon and within a few kilometres almost ran over a gazelle of some type, stunning creature! Finally we reached Treichville after endless bottleneck jams in Abidjan prior to crossing the lagoon. I found a taxi or woro woro (shared taxi without a meter) and an honest driver and hopped in ... to then find he wanted me to stay at his for the night - here we go again ... no I needed a hotel, cheap one in Treichville or Zone 4 (where I knew cheap hotels don't exist).
He took me to Hotel Treichville on a promise that I'd call him later to go out, like I didn't have better things to do!!! Hotel Treichville was 10,000CFA a night with air-con, but didn't have anything without air-con; they sent me to Hotel du Prince (with my ever annoying taxi driver) on Av. 23; found a room with a shower & basin for 6,000CFA with a fan, probably the cheapest place in Abidjan. Opposite my window was the mosque, I knew I would be in for a delight early next morning, but the calling to prayers doesn't usually bother me, in fact I enjoy it! I had my doubts as to 'what type' of hotel I'd just booked into but I'd been to worse & it was clean!
Dumped everything, showered, changed into clothes that were more fit for Abidjan and not as to look like I was some country bumpkin and set off into town. Had an interesting day, met up with a friend I'd met a few weeks previously who works for FIF and went out for dinner with a friend who is with the BBC in Cote d'Ivoire. Had some interesting conversations at a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the lagoon in Cocody!
I left early the next morning to head to Treichville market to buy some bits & pieces, I also wanted a couple of pintade to take down to Assouinde for everyone. But then the thought of carrying 2+ live pintade (guinea fowl) and my two backpacks was a bit much when a whole cage of them got loose in the market & I realised that I could cause complete mayhem in a minibus down to Assouinde!!! I found the market cafe, waited very patiently to be served. All the market traders were having breakfast there & I had to wait till 9am to change money at the bank so joined them. Yet again the smallest, dirtiest little street cafe produces good food & great coffee!!!
Eventually caught a minibus to Bonoua where I hoped to find Eme & his taxi. After a bit of a mouthful from the guy trying to fill taxis who said 'Oi, blanche, tu va ou?' I gave him a lesson in diplomacy and pointed out if I yelled 'oi, noir' it wouldn't go down well. Eme came up to see what all the fuss was about and made him apologise to me ... think he learnt his lesson & I left my bags to go shopping. I found a youngster had tagged along with me wanting to carry my bags, tried to get rid of him but he was persistent & looked an absolute mess, very skinny, shredded clothes etc, so I held onto him. He carried my bags full of avocados, pineapples & plantain that I was taking to Assouinde with me. I spotted someone cooking brochettes & rongions .. so I bought one each for us; my little helper was thrilled. He deposited the bags in the back of Eme's taxi and was about to run off when I called him back & handed him 100CFA, he was astonished that I'd bought him food & paid him!
Another couple of days at the beach, doing not very much at all, very lazy, great to be back. Met a lovely Lebanese guy Mimo a friend of JB's who seemed to know all the other Lebanese I'd met, lives in San Pedro near the Liberian border. I wanted to return Arsene's tapettes (jandals, thongs, flip-flops - whichever language you speak)! But Arsene had just gone off to Burkina that morning & it seems that I probably passed him on the road as he was getting the train from Abidjan. I rang him having handed over the tapettes to Mack his brother & he died laughing at me for bringing them back!!!
The leg wound was getting worse, deeper, I kept pouring the powdered penicillin I'd bought in Jacqueville into it, bathing it in the sea. Getting a lot of advice from all of them ... but the worst of it was keeping the flies away from the wound, disgusting!
Billie, the owner of Blue Marin, the nightclub in the village came up to eat at Le Jardin a few times & invited me down to the club with him. Then it all started. Bedie, the former President had been on a 'tour' around the Sud-Comoe region & I stupidly mentioned that he'd been through Bassam & Bonoua, my transport had been held up because of him. Turns out that one of my friends is pro-Bedie whilst another is vehemently against him ... the argument went on over dinner with me trying to steer the conversation away from it all. Finally I suceeded & said I'd go down to the village later & to the club.
Arriving at the club, Billie wanted me to hear his politics & got the waitresses to set up a table & chairs in a far corner in the garden of the club. He started telling me his background, tribal roots etc when the others arrived & it all blew up again. They kept asking me, my opinion of it all; I pointed out that it's not my politics but they were all talking about the past, surely there's someone out there that is 'new' & would be good for the future of the country???
I left early, needless to say!!!
So after a few days on the beach; my leg got some great sea water into it and I continued adding penicillin until I got back to Bassam - which was quite a journey, only about 30km by road but I was waiting for Eme's taxi again, when a Lebanese friend's friend pulled up outside the Maquis. Dudu is Lebanese/Ghanaian born in CI, huge guy - offered me a lift to Bassam as he was going up to Abidjan and had managed to find a car and driver as his car was in a garage in Abidjan. Journey started well; he realised I knew Mimo the Lebanese from San Pedro as Mimo had been staying with him. Then the weed came out - no problem they could smoke if they wanted to - until he offered the driver some which had our vehicle driving on both sides of the road, in the bush and never in a straight line - luckily he wasnt going too fast but nevertheless we had oncoming trucks heading to Nigeria fully laden which we had a few near misses with!!!
I spent the first evening with Denis and a friend of his at a maquis to be joined by Eric + Diouf from the orphanage with some alarming news. One of the kids had come back from his grandfathers after Christmas with some money and two days later ran away ... Eric spent days looking around town for him (didn't know that he had money as he'd told all the kids to hand the money in), he was on Bassam radio, with the police (utterly incompetent) finally after 5 days the boys uncle rang from Abidjan to say the boy was with them. The family want the boy to return but I dont blame Eric, he doesn't want him back ...
Getting up early I said goodbye to Dudu the owner of Hotel Grace and paid my final 3,000CFA for the night. Wandered down to the gare routiere to find transport directly to Abidjan, one company has a pirogue on the lagoon so that you don't have to wait for the 'bac' across. Took forever thanks to some short guy with a personality complex of inferiority ... decided to throw us all out of one van and into a brand new vehicle; great except a tyre needed changing and they had to go off to find one. I was not impressed as I wanted to be in Abidjan early to get a few things done!
Finally we were on the road, got into the second vehicle the Sogon side of the lagoon and within a few kilometres almost ran over a gazelle of some type, stunning creature! Finally we reached Treichville after endless bottleneck jams in Abidjan prior to crossing the lagoon. I found a taxi or woro woro (shared taxi without a meter) and an honest driver and hopped in ... to then find he wanted me to stay at his for the night - here we go again ... no I needed a hotel, cheap one in Treichville or Zone 4 (where I knew cheap hotels don't exist).
He took me to Hotel Treichville on a promise that I'd call him later to go out, like I didn't have better things to do!!! Hotel Treichville was 10,000CFA a night with air-con, but didn't have anything without air-con; they sent me to Hotel du Prince (with my ever annoying taxi driver) on Av. 23; found a room with a shower & basin for 6,000CFA with a fan, probably the cheapest place in Abidjan. Opposite my window was the mosque, I knew I would be in for a delight early next morning, but the calling to prayers doesn't usually bother me, in fact I enjoy it! I had my doubts as to 'what type' of hotel I'd just booked into but I'd been to worse & it was clean!
Dumped everything, showered, changed into clothes that were more fit for Abidjan and not as to look like I was some country bumpkin and set off into town. Had an interesting day, met up with a friend I'd met a few weeks previously who works for FIF and went out for dinner with a friend who is with the BBC in Cote d'Ivoire. Had some interesting conversations at a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the lagoon in Cocody!
I left early the next morning to head to Treichville market to buy some bits & pieces, I also wanted a couple of pintade to take down to Assouinde for everyone. But then the thought of carrying 2+ live pintade (guinea fowl) and my two backpacks was a bit much when a whole cage of them got loose in the market & I realised that I could cause complete mayhem in a minibus down to Assouinde!!! I found the market cafe, waited very patiently to be served. All the market traders were having breakfast there & I had to wait till 9am to change money at the bank so joined them. Yet again the smallest, dirtiest little street cafe produces good food & great coffee!!!
Eventually caught a minibus to Bonoua where I hoped to find Eme & his taxi. After a bit of a mouthful from the guy trying to fill taxis who said 'Oi, blanche, tu va ou?' I gave him a lesson in diplomacy and pointed out if I yelled 'oi, noir' it wouldn't go down well. Eme came up to see what all the fuss was about and made him apologise to me ... think he learnt his lesson & I left my bags to go shopping. I found a youngster had tagged along with me wanting to carry my bags, tried to get rid of him but he was persistent & looked an absolute mess, very skinny, shredded clothes etc, so I held onto him. He carried my bags full of avocados, pineapples & plantain that I was taking to Assouinde with me. I spotted someone cooking brochettes & rongions .. so I bought one each for us; my little helper was thrilled. He deposited the bags in the back of Eme's taxi and was about to run off when I called him back & handed him 100CFA, he was astonished that I'd bought him food & paid him!
Another couple of days at the beach, doing not very much at all, very lazy, great to be back. Met a lovely Lebanese guy Mimo a friend of JB's who seemed to know all the other Lebanese I'd met, lives in San Pedro near the Liberian border. I wanted to return Arsene's tapettes (jandals, thongs, flip-flops - whichever language you speak)! But Arsene had just gone off to Burkina that morning & it seems that I probably passed him on the road as he was getting the train from Abidjan. I rang him having handed over the tapettes to Mack his brother & he died laughing at me for bringing them back!!!
The leg wound was getting worse, deeper, I kept pouring the powdered penicillin I'd bought in Jacqueville into it, bathing it in the sea. Getting a lot of advice from all of them ... but the worst of it was keeping the flies away from the wound, disgusting!
Billie, the owner of Blue Marin, the nightclub in the village came up to eat at Le Jardin a few times & invited me down to the club with him. Then it all started. Bedie, the former President had been on a 'tour' around the Sud-Comoe region & I stupidly mentioned that he'd been through Bassam & Bonoua, my transport had been held up because of him. Turns out that one of my friends is pro-Bedie whilst another is vehemently against him ... the argument went on over dinner with me trying to steer the conversation away from it all. Finally I suceeded & said I'd go down to the village later & to the club.
Arriving at the club, Billie wanted me to hear his politics & got the waitresses to set up a table & chairs in a far corner in the garden of the club. He started telling me his background, tribal roots etc when the others arrived & it all blew up again. They kept asking me, my opinion of it all; I pointed out that it's not my politics but they were all talking about the past, surely there's someone out there that is 'new' & would be good for the future of the country???
I left early, needless to say!!!
So after a few days on the beach; my leg got some great sea water into it and I continued adding penicillin until I got back to Bassam - which was quite a journey, only about 30km by road but I was waiting for Eme's taxi again, when a Lebanese friend's friend pulled up outside the Maquis. Dudu is Lebanese/Ghanaian born in CI, huge guy - offered me a lift to Bassam as he was going up to Abidjan and had managed to find a car and driver as his car was in a garage in Abidjan. Journey started well; he realised I knew Mimo the Lebanese from San Pedro as Mimo had been staying with him. Then the weed came out - no problem they could smoke if they wanted to - until he offered the driver some which had our vehicle driving on both sides of the road, in the bush and never in a straight line - luckily he wasnt going too fast but nevertheless we had oncoming trucks heading to Nigeria fully laden which we had a few near misses with!!!
I spent the first evening with Denis and a friend of his at a maquis to be joined by Eric + Diouf from the orphanage with some alarming news. One of the kids had come back from his grandfathers after Christmas with some money and two days later ran away ... Eric spent days looking around town for him (didn't know that he had money as he'd told all the kids to hand the money in), he was on Bassam radio, with the police (utterly incompetent) finally after 5 days the boys uncle rang from Abidjan to say the boy was with them. The family want the boy to return but I dont blame Eric, he doesn't want him back ...
Sunday, January 11, 2009
And so to hospital ...
What a drama, waited a while; finally got into a 'consulting room' where the doctor or was she a nurse??? was more interested in the Nollywood soap opera in the little room off it than her 3 patients. One girl lying on a bed with a fever (also glued to TV) and a small boy with his mum who didnt look good at all. She asked me if it hurt; I said yes, it stings a little - so that was my consultation -20mins later (of which ten was spent glued to TV) she produced a list of stuff I needed and a bill of 9,400CFA plus a 1,000CFA consultation fee which got laughter all round ... lots of smirks, la blanche was going to pay for everyone or so they thought!
I asked to see the list so I could read it myself (I was meant to go to the pharmacy 2km away to get this stuff too) and found all kinds of serum, vaccinations and a pair of sterile gloves ... I told her to scratch most of it off and start again, got it down to 7,500CFA plus the consultation fee of 1,000CFA. I went out into the corridor to re-join my new friend who'd been waiting patiently and we decided to leave - the list came down to a pair of gloves, betadine to clean the wound and a plaster ... I could do that myself!
However, the hospital receptionist was not letting me get away without paying the consultation fee. I said 'what consultation fee???' I'd had three words said to me 'Ca fait mal?' but no she'd already written out my consultation ticket & had to pay for it. To save an argument I handed over the 1,000CFA and we left laughing!
So a quick trip to the pharmacy I came out only 1,500CFA lighter after advice from the pharmacy staff with a bottle of penicillin powder and the necessary bits and pieces ... my leg was still a mess, but at least it was healing!
I asked to see the list so I could read it myself (I was meant to go to the pharmacy 2km away to get this stuff too) and found all kinds of serum, vaccinations and a pair of sterile gloves ... I told her to scratch most of it off and start again, got it down to 7,500CFA plus the consultation fee of 1,000CFA. I went out into the corridor to re-join my new friend who'd been waiting patiently and we decided to leave - the list came down to a pair of gloves, betadine to clean the wound and a plaster ... I could do that myself!
However, the hospital receptionist was not letting me get away without paying the consultation fee. I said 'what consultation fee???' I'd had three words said to me 'Ca fait mal?' but no she'd already written out my consultation ticket & had to pay for it. To save an argument I handed over the 1,000CFA and we left laughing!
So a quick trip to the pharmacy I came out only 1,500CFA lighter after advice from the pharmacy staff with a bottle of penicillin powder and the necessary bits and pieces ... my leg was still a mess, but at least it was healing!
The coast beckons!
Leaving Bouake I had no idea where I was going. South, sea, sand, beach ... were all in my mind plus the salt water would do my infected leg the world of good. So I headed for Dabou on the 'coast' - actually on a lagoon.
I got to Bouake's gare routiere at 7am, it was hell. Reminded me of Senegal, touts all over who all spotted 'la blanche' at once; I walked off to the market & ignored the lot of them! Re-emerging from the market not having spotted anywhere for a coffee, I braved finding a minibus driver to get a front seat on something heading to Yamassoukro, still not sure of my final destination of Dabou.
The driver told me where to get off in Yamoussoukro to get transport for Abidjan. Either he didn't know Yamoussoukro or he wasn't listening but I ended up about 2km away from the gare routiere for Abidjan. Yet again touts descended on me and when I asked the price for a ticket to Eboli, about 80km short of Abidjan they gave me some ridiculous price. My phone came out, I rang Ibi - he was worried for me & wanted to come & help but there was no need, I just needed the price of a ticket to Abidjan so I could work out how much less it should be to Eboli.
Got on a very hot minibus and headed south for Abidjan. Finally we reached the Eboli checkpoint on the autoroute. According to my map there was a village at Eboli but I couldn't see one, yet the driver wanted me off there ... I refused & asked him to drop me at the edge of the village. I walked off the autoroute and 2km through the village asking around for a taxi, I found the gare routiere with taxi's bound for Sikensi where apparently I'd find a taxi for Dabou. It was HOT!!! I got lucky & found a taxi that was ready to leave once I was on board. However I then discovered that the taxi's for Sikensi left from Becedi, not Sikensi. So I had to get another taxi to Becedi which is where I met Abru.
Abru was a lovely guy, saw I was exhausted, stunned I'd managed to get from Bouake since the morning and asked if I'd eaten yet. I said no, so he offered me lunch. Yet again I had another offer of sincere Ivorian hospitality. We got to Becedi & right next to the gare routiere was a maquis. He ordered rice & sauce, or so I thought, but out of the kitchen came the most wonderful piece of meat with a fantastic sauce; turned out to be venison. Abru was telling me about a festival in his village which one day I'd love to go to, gory as it sounded. Apparently they slit their stomachs open so the intestines are showing and then push the folds of skin together and bind it shut with an egg!!! I kid you not! Not for the faint-hearted but would be amazing to see ....
11hrs, 2 minibuses, 6 taxi's, a kilometre walk off the motorway through a village in the middle of the day and a boat later (with a very short temper by the time I got there!!) I was in Jacqueville having been persuaded to go there by Abru. I wasn't too enamoured with Dabou when I went through it, so spent an hour or so in the gare routiere there waiting for transport & being chatted up by a Malinke!
Jacqueville was gorgeous; blew me away; reminded me so much of NZ; so many bachs/cribs - great people; good vibe - I was thrilled except I couldn't swim as the sea was too dangerous! I met a Franco-Ivorienne who lives there, near retirement in France she was happy in Jacqueville and very confused when people met her off the Abidjan transport to tell her that another 'blanche' had turned up. What confused her further was I'd been asking around for someone to change my euros on the black market & everyone had said she might be interested. Unfortunately she wasn't and my 'day off' was looking doomed with an enforced trip into Abidjan just to change money. However a lovely guy called Guy finally sorted it all out for me!
My new 'blanche' friend examined my leg wound which was a bit of a mess by the time I got to Jacqueville and we decided to go to hospital ...
I got to Bouake's gare routiere at 7am, it was hell. Reminded me of Senegal, touts all over who all spotted 'la blanche' at once; I walked off to the market & ignored the lot of them! Re-emerging from the market not having spotted anywhere for a coffee, I braved finding a minibus driver to get a front seat on something heading to Yamassoukro, still not sure of my final destination of Dabou.
The driver told me where to get off in Yamoussoukro to get transport for Abidjan. Either he didn't know Yamoussoukro or he wasn't listening but I ended up about 2km away from the gare routiere for Abidjan. Yet again touts descended on me and when I asked the price for a ticket to Eboli, about 80km short of Abidjan they gave me some ridiculous price. My phone came out, I rang Ibi - he was worried for me & wanted to come & help but there was no need, I just needed the price of a ticket to Abidjan so I could work out how much less it should be to Eboli.
Got on a very hot minibus and headed south for Abidjan. Finally we reached the Eboli checkpoint on the autoroute. According to my map there was a village at Eboli but I couldn't see one, yet the driver wanted me off there ... I refused & asked him to drop me at the edge of the village. I walked off the autoroute and 2km through the village asking around for a taxi, I found the gare routiere with taxi's bound for Sikensi where apparently I'd find a taxi for Dabou. It was HOT!!! I got lucky & found a taxi that was ready to leave once I was on board. However I then discovered that the taxi's for Sikensi left from Becedi, not Sikensi. So I had to get another taxi to Becedi which is where I met Abru.
Abru was a lovely guy, saw I was exhausted, stunned I'd managed to get from Bouake since the morning and asked if I'd eaten yet. I said no, so he offered me lunch. Yet again I had another offer of sincere Ivorian hospitality. We got to Becedi & right next to the gare routiere was a maquis. He ordered rice & sauce, or so I thought, but out of the kitchen came the most wonderful piece of meat with a fantastic sauce; turned out to be venison. Abru was telling me about a festival in his village which one day I'd love to go to, gory as it sounded. Apparently they slit their stomachs open so the intestines are showing and then push the folds of skin together and bind it shut with an egg!!! I kid you not! Not for the faint-hearted but would be amazing to see ....
11hrs, 2 minibuses, 6 taxi's, a kilometre walk off the motorway through a village in the middle of the day and a boat later (with a very short temper by the time I got there!!) I was in Jacqueville having been persuaded to go there by Abru. I wasn't too enamoured with Dabou when I went through it, so spent an hour or so in the gare routiere there waiting for transport & being chatted up by a Malinke!
Jacqueville was gorgeous; blew me away; reminded me so much of NZ; so many bachs/cribs - great people; good vibe - I was thrilled except I couldn't swim as the sea was too dangerous! I met a Franco-Ivorienne who lives there, near retirement in France she was happy in Jacqueville and very confused when people met her off the Abidjan transport to tell her that another 'blanche' had turned up. What confused her further was I'd been asking around for someone to change my euros on the black market & everyone had said she might be interested. Unfortunately she wasn't and my 'day off' was looking doomed with an enforced trip into Abidjan just to change money. However a lovely guy called Guy finally sorted it all out for me!
My new 'blanche' friend examined my leg wound which was a bit of a mess by the time I got to Jacqueville and we decided to go to hospital ...
Friday, January 9, 2009
Yamoussoukro & into 'rebel zone'
Entered the capital Yamoussoukro from Abengourou; long & seemingly expensive minibus ride of 6.5hrs because of the driver who really didnt know how to drive or change gear!!! Overjoyed to be in town at 6pm having not eaten for 11hrs but had drunk several litres of water I found a lovely taxi driver called Ibi.
Ibi took me to a few hotels before I found something seemingly 'suitable' - turned out it was another brothel but I was too tired to move and it seemed OK; at least the security was better than a Bassam hotel; it was cheaper and the door locked well!!!! I had Ibi's number and he picked me up and drove me all over the place! I had planned to move 'hotels' in the morning, to find one that preferably had water when you turn the shower on; so that I ddin't have to scream down corridors to get it all working!!!
Unfortunately I didn't spend long in Yamoussoukro or go up to Koussou, to the NW. Tired but getting text messages from a friend in Bassam I decided I had to visit my friend's hometown of Bouake and maybe onto Katiola. I had some fascination of Katiola, I still don't know why; my hotelier friend's wife in Assinie is from Katiola & maybe that drove me to wanting to go there.
Yamoussoukro is weird. It's not an African capital. It's European, with a modern architectural/town planning influence but with the most gorgeous lily lakes in the centre .. it feels like the city's still not fully formed. People there were lovely, very open and arriving in town I discovered I had a military convoy as company whilst Ibi was trying to find a cheap hotel for me; all very surreal!
Ibi dropped me at a Lebanese restaurant that served burgers in a nouvelle cuisine sort of style for a price that could be paid in any large city. I wasn't impressed, it was my fault, I'd seen an internet cafe and realised the restaurant was next door but I was miles from anything else & my weary body wasn't in the mood to move any further!!! Spent a few hours between sending e-mails, eating & refreshing myself before I realised there was a far better option just around the corner. More fool me!
The following morning I had a look at the cut on my leg I did on the way to Assouinde. It didn't look good. I went off in search of a pharmacy and found one nearby and bought a cream, crossing the road to Yamoussoukro's version of my Starbucks I met Ibi. Apparently he lived nearby; didn't start work till 2pm so we sat and had a coffee together and a chat ... he was telling me that work has really dried up.
During the crisis things were bad but now it was even worse, taxi drivers were driving around empty for hours on end ... He organised a taxi for me that I commandered to take me past the Basilicia for a photo then down to the gates of the Presidential Palace where there's a crocodile pool. Amazingly at the crocodile pool some guy quietly asked if I'd like to buy a chicken to throw to the crocs, no pressure; just asked & being money conscious I turned the offer down. Nowhere else in Africa would you get that, it would be constant pressure to pay for one!
Having explored the market, had a coffee & been clock watching I had two choices; to go to Bouake that afternoon or to move hotels by 12pm. I chose Bouake, I needed to do laundry, I needed a different hotel and seeing as Bouake was just over an hour away I thought it wouldn't hurt doing a short journey despite being tired.
Getting into Bouake was an eye-opener, just on the edge of town is 'La Corridor Sud', essentially a checkpoint set up by the rebels to divide the Cote d'Ivoire between north & south. On the way there there were more & more checkpoints manned by CI soldiers. Getting there I had a young unfriendly militaire & for the first time this year ask for a cadeau, the guy next to me gave him 500CFA I did the usual shrugging of shoulders, don't speak French routine and stayed firmly in the van. He told me to get out and go through the control, but strangely enough I didnt understand French. Interesting thing was that the others on my minibus said I should have been stamped into Bouake, so I kept my fingers crossed the police didn't ask for my passport ... oh well such is life in Africa!!!
Sitting in Bouake I decided not to carry on north as I was too tired! Bouake was a little 'hot' shall we say ... leaving Yamoussoukro I asked around and everyone said it was fine but being there was another thing, people are certainly suspicious as to 'why' I was there, the friendliness had gone and I got the feeling its still a little jittery - the UN were all over the place I wasn't too worried. It was sad seeing so many of the buildings around town that had been shelled during the crisis.
Had some great conversations there about the situation past and present. Firstly I met a Burkinabe who had a restaurant in town who sat and chatted with me, telling me about how he stayed put during the crisis & gunfire happening 15m away from his front door. Whilst he was telling me this I had a boy come over. He said he was 12, at school, but his parents had returned to Burkina Faso & he had nothing. The story really didn't add up, I asked him over & over again what exactly was going on. I offered to call Abidjan and take him back with me to the centre which gave him a look of shock in his eyes. Finally I lost patience with him having conferred with the restaurant owner about the boys background which was in fact far better than he was making it out to be, the boy was well known as a scrounger!
That evening I went to an allocodrome next to the auberge I was staying at (having done all my laundry & hoping it would dry by the morning). The lady who owned it was a head teacher, she came and had a drink with me telling me about the delay on getting registered to vote, she'd only registered the week before yet the elections should have been held on 30th November 2008. She went through hell during the conflict, her house was almost gutted and left for a year to stay with relatives in Yamoussoukro. However her neighbour, a gendarme, came home to find nothing left of his house, even the ceilings had gone! Then I had an interesting chat with a young guy Jean-Marcel who was one of the rebels but accepted the 80,000CFA x 2 payout to leave and is now setting up a phone kiosk at La Corridor!
Spending the night in Bouake, it was fine, the rebels are still very much in charge there although seemingly weaponless; cadeaux were demanded at any point but with my refusal to understand or speak French they didnt get very far with me! I managed to get a pic of La Corridor Sud on my way back south which is 'the boundary' between north and south, the north being controlled by the rebels; they werent happy with my camera being out but knew I was the 'difficult one' who didn't speak or understand French so couldn't do much about it!
My Irish friend was a well-known man in Bouake!!! Everyone I talked to about imprisoning foreigners came up with the story of one of my camerades who was in jail in Bouake on 17th March 2007, got laughs all round when I confessed to meeting him in a brothel in Bissau!!!
Ibi took me to a few hotels before I found something seemingly 'suitable' - turned out it was another brothel but I was too tired to move and it seemed OK; at least the security was better than a Bassam hotel; it was cheaper and the door locked well!!!! I had Ibi's number and he picked me up and drove me all over the place! I had planned to move 'hotels' in the morning, to find one that preferably had water when you turn the shower on; so that I ddin't have to scream down corridors to get it all working!!!
Unfortunately I didn't spend long in Yamoussoukro or go up to Koussou, to the NW. Tired but getting text messages from a friend in Bassam I decided I had to visit my friend's hometown of Bouake and maybe onto Katiola. I had some fascination of Katiola, I still don't know why; my hotelier friend's wife in Assinie is from Katiola & maybe that drove me to wanting to go there.
Yamoussoukro is weird. It's not an African capital. It's European, with a modern architectural/town planning influence but with the most gorgeous lily lakes in the centre .. it feels like the city's still not fully formed. People there were lovely, very open and arriving in town I discovered I had a military convoy as company whilst Ibi was trying to find a cheap hotel for me; all very surreal!
Ibi dropped me at a Lebanese restaurant that served burgers in a nouvelle cuisine sort of style for a price that could be paid in any large city. I wasn't impressed, it was my fault, I'd seen an internet cafe and realised the restaurant was next door but I was miles from anything else & my weary body wasn't in the mood to move any further!!! Spent a few hours between sending e-mails, eating & refreshing myself before I realised there was a far better option just around the corner. More fool me!
The following morning I had a look at the cut on my leg I did on the way to Assouinde. It didn't look good. I went off in search of a pharmacy and found one nearby and bought a cream, crossing the road to Yamoussoukro's version of my Starbucks I met Ibi. Apparently he lived nearby; didn't start work till 2pm so we sat and had a coffee together and a chat ... he was telling me that work has really dried up.
During the crisis things were bad but now it was even worse, taxi drivers were driving around empty for hours on end ... He organised a taxi for me that I commandered to take me past the Basilicia for a photo then down to the gates of the Presidential Palace where there's a crocodile pool. Amazingly at the crocodile pool some guy quietly asked if I'd like to buy a chicken to throw to the crocs, no pressure; just asked & being money conscious I turned the offer down. Nowhere else in Africa would you get that, it would be constant pressure to pay for one!
Having explored the market, had a coffee & been clock watching I had two choices; to go to Bouake that afternoon or to move hotels by 12pm. I chose Bouake, I needed to do laundry, I needed a different hotel and seeing as Bouake was just over an hour away I thought it wouldn't hurt doing a short journey despite being tired.
Getting into Bouake was an eye-opener, just on the edge of town is 'La Corridor Sud', essentially a checkpoint set up by the rebels to divide the Cote d'Ivoire between north & south. On the way there there were more & more checkpoints manned by CI soldiers. Getting there I had a young unfriendly militaire & for the first time this year ask for a cadeau, the guy next to me gave him 500CFA I did the usual shrugging of shoulders, don't speak French routine and stayed firmly in the van. He told me to get out and go through the control, but strangely enough I didnt understand French. Interesting thing was that the others on my minibus said I should have been stamped into Bouake, so I kept my fingers crossed the police didn't ask for my passport ... oh well such is life in Africa!!!
Sitting in Bouake I decided not to carry on north as I was too tired! Bouake was a little 'hot' shall we say ... leaving Yamoussoukro I asked around and everyone said it was fine but being there was another thing, people are certainly suspicious as to 'why' I was there, the friendliness had gone and I got the feeling its still a little jittery - the UN were all over the place I wasn't too worried. It was sad seeing so many of the buildings around town that had been shelled during the crisis.
Had some great conversations there about the situation past and present. Firstly I met a Burkinabe who had a restaurant in town who sat and chatted with me, telling me about how he stayed put during the crisis & gunfire happening 15m away from his front door. Whilst he was telling me this I had a boy come over. He said he was 12, at school, but his parents had returned to Burkina Faso & he had nothing. The story really didn't add up, I asked him over & over again what exactly was going on. I offered to call Abidjan and take him back with me to the centre which gave him a look of shock in his eyes. Finally I lost patience with him having conferred with the restaurant owner about the boys background which was in fact far better than he was making it out to be, the boy was well known as a scrounger!
That evening I went to an allocodrome next to the auberge I was staying at (having done all my laundry & hoping it would dry by the morning). The lady who owned it was a head teacher, she came and had a drink with me telling me about the delay on getting registered to vote, she'd only registered the week before yet the elections should have been held on 30th November 2008. She went through hell during the conflict, her house was almost gutted and left for a year to stay with relatives in Yamoussoukro. However her neighbour, a gendarme, came home to find nothing left of his house, even the ceilings had gone! Then I had an interesting chat with a young guy Jean-Marcel who was one of the rebels but accepted the 80,000CFA x 2 payout to leave and is now setting up a phone kiosk at La Corridor!
Spending the night in Bouake, it was fine, the rebels are still very much in charge there although seemingly weaponless; cadeaux were demanded at any point but with my refusal to understand or speak French they didnt get very far with me! I managed to get a pic of La Corridor Sud on my way back south which is 'the boundary' between north and south, the north being controlled by the rebels; they werent happy with my camera being out but knew I was the 'difficult one' who didn't speak or understand French so couldn't do much about it!
My Irish friend was a well-known man in Bouake!!! Everyone I talked to about imprisoning foreigners came up with the story of one of my camerades who was in jail in Bouake on 17th March 2007, got laughs all round when I confessed to meeting him in a brothel in Bissau!!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Heading into the wild north ...
Arriving in Binouan was like arriving in the wild west; its in the centre of cocoa, coffee, banana and rubber plantations. There hasnt been anyone white through this way since before the war - from Ayame onwards the amounts of gasps I heard and 'ohhh, une blanche' was hysterical.
My new-found friends in Ayame called a friend in Binouan to look after me. I was in the front of the minibus with a guy who knew my Binouan contact so he set me up at a new hotel in Binouan behind the pharmacy; then I went off for food + drink after a hot, dusty 3hr ride from Ayame! I was soon at my new contacts place, 2km the other end of the village. He had sent a boy on a motorbike to get me; a great guy, Nigerian by origin who was born in Cote d'Ivoire speaks French and Yoruba but finds English difficult! His youngest was 15months and was very sick that night with stomach cramps and fever. Yet again, Ivorian hospitality came in abundance, a Flag was put in front of me on arrival and then his wife cooked for me; they refused to let me pay for anything including the refreshments!!! I have a lot of making up to do on my return!
The next morning I walked the length of Binouan with my 2 packs .. had coffee with the family whilst waiting for transport. The transport never arrived. I then found my pack being strapped onto the back of a motorbike by my friend. Some 16yr old driver he'd found was going to take me through the bush to pick up transport further north. Hesitantly I hopped on behind him to do a 15km journey through the bush to Attiekro to pick up transport there. I warned him before we set off not to go too madly but he didnt listen so about 1km out of Binouan he got his ear twisted ... we were friends by the end of the 40min journey!!!
At Attiekro I sat in the sun for an hour or so waiting for transport, got on a 22seat minibus which after an hour decided to stop! We were to change, but the village where we stopped had another 22 odd people already waiting to go to Abengourou, I could see it was going to be a fight to get on! At Attiekro, I'd met Francois a student, who tried to organise the front seat for me, but that wasnt going to work. So when the minibus turned up, Francois + friends ran onto it and grabbed seats followed by another 35 or so all trying to get on. The big guy in charge argued with Francois until he saw me asking the driver for the front seat and told me to take the place Francois had got me, but with 35 odd trying to get on board I had to climb onto the fuel tank and go in via the windowless windows!!! Once seated we were 6 across each row unlike 4 across in the other ones I've been in here due to the sheer volume of passengers! Lots of arguments yelling etc going on ... but then the driver told me to get out again (via window of course!) and get in the front!!!
So I got to Abengourou, it was lovely; fresher than further south, my friend from Binouan rang a friend of his who worked for the former French company, Unifoods. He met me in Abengourou and I was installed at his house with his wife and 4kids who bent over backwards to make me welcome!!!
Leopold is a classic example of what has happened to people since the crisis started in 1999. He & his wife were at school together, went to university together. She became a teacher & luckily has kept her job. Leopold meanwhile has been unemployed since 2004; their eldest daughter of 14 is at school in Grand Bassam and he wants to send her to the UK to train as a doctor. The house isn't finished, he started doing it up whilst he had a job. The company he worked for was French, the managers all fled the Cote d'Ivoire during the crisis and left the company floundering; it's now been bought by the Lebanese who have tightened their belts and not offered Leopold his job back. He's desperate for something to do other than being a house husband.
The following morning their daughter, gave me a doughnut at around 7am for breakfast but then I discovered we were off to church, Pentecostal church and I had to dance (I don't do Sunday mornings, church or dancing in or on either, but I tried to smile!!!). I left a few hours later to get transport to the capital Yamoussoukro, famished!
My new-found friends in Ayame called a friend in Binouan to look after me. I was in the front of the minibus with a guy who knew my Binouan contact so he set me up at a new hotel in Binouan behind the pharmacy; then I went off for food + drink after a hot, dusty 3hr ride from Ayame! I was soon at my new contacts place, 2km the other end of the village. He had sent a boy on a motorbike to get me; a great guy, Nigerian by origin who was born in Cote d'Ivoire speaks French and Yoruba but finds English difficult! His youngest was 15months and was very sick that night with stomach cramps and fever. Yet again, Ivorian hospitality came in abundance, a Flag was put in front of me on arrival and then his wife cooked for me; they refused to let me pay for anything including the refreshments!!! I have a lot of making up to do on my return!
The next morning I walked the length of Binouan with my 2 packs .. had coffee with the family whilst waiting for transport. The transport never arrived. I then found my pack being strapped onto the back of a motorbike by my friend. Some 16yr old driver he'd found was going to take me through the bush to pick up transport further north. Hesitantly I hopped on behind him to do a 15km journey through the bush to Attiekro to pick up transport there. I warned him before we set off not to go too madly but he didnt listen so about 1km out of Binouan he got his ear twisted ... we were friends by the end of the 40min journey!!!
At Attiekro I sat in the sun for an hour or so waiting for transport, got on a 22seat minibus which after an hour decided to stop! We were to change, but the village where we stopped had another 22 odd people already waiting to go to Abengourou, I could see it was going to be a fight to get on! At Attiekro, I'd met Francois a student, who tried to organise the front seat for me, but that wasnt going to work. So when the minibus turned up, Francois + friends ran onto it and grabbed seats followed by another 35 or so all trying to get on. The big guy in charge argued with Francois until he saw me asking the driver for the front seat and told me to take the place Francois had got me, but with 35 odd trying to get on board I had to climb onto the fuel tank and go in via the windowless windows!!! Once seated we were 6 across each row unlike 4 across in the other ones I've been in here due to the sheer volume of passengers! Lots of arguments yelling etc going on ... but then the driver told me to get out again (via window of course!) and get in the front!!!
So I got to Abengourou, it was lovely; fresher than further south, my friend from Binouan rang a friend of his who worked for the former French company, Unifoods. He met me in Abengourou and I was installed at his house with his wife and 4kids who bent over backwards to make me welcome!!!
Leopold is a classic example of what has happened to people since the crisis started in 1999. He & his wife were at school together, went to university together. She became a teacher & luckily has kept her job. Leopold meanwhile has been unemployed since 2004; their eldest daughter of 14 is at school in Grand Bassam and he wants to send her to the UK to train as a doctor. The house isn't finished, he started doing it up whilst he had a job. The company he worked for was French, the managers all fled the Cote d'Ivoire during the crisis and left the company floundering; it's now been bought by the Lebanese who have tightened their belts and not offered Leopold his job back. He's desperate for something to do other than being a house husband.
The following morning their daughter, gave me a doughnut at around 7am for breakfast but then I discovered we were off to church, Pentecostal church and I had to dance (I don't do Sunday mornings, church or dancing in or on either, but I tried to smile!!!). I left a few hours later to get transport to the capital Yamoussoukro, famished!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Another Christmas & New Year in West Africa
Christmas was great; started on 23rd for me with a great party at the centre with Noel celebrations. The kids were super excited as Pere Noel (in the form of Etienne, one of the guys in the Abidjan office) was coming and I had promised to spend the night at the centre with the kids. I was presented to all and sundry; sat between the Mayor of Bassam and the King of Old Bassam whilst trying to butter up the representatives of the 43eme regiment from France to bring out more stuff to the orphanage for me!!!
Decided to head down to Assouinde on 24th to see Ivorian & Burkinabe friends there. The journey started well; got a taxi to Samo from the Grand Bassam gare routiere. However as I got out and held the door open with my leg (as you do with old bangers!) and got a rusty nail in the side of my leg! Blood streaming out I sat on the side of the road with my bits of a first aid and sewing kits putting myself back together! Lots of expats and Lebanese drove past in flash cars and when I finally stood up I had an offer of a lift from two Ivorian guys - wish I hadnt turned it down - it took another hour to get the taxi filled before we were on the move!
The guys in Assouinde were disappointed Dani wasnt with me, even little Ama now known as 'Princesse' Ama asked where she was! But they were all as kind as ever, spent 4 great days at the beach, listening to an endless collection of reggae, drinking too many Flags, getting meals from strange men who were eating at the maquis and lots of attention from Ama who I met last year who's now 5 and grown!! Spent just about every night at Dani's favourite nightclub, Blue Marin!!!
I headed off rather sadly for Ayame, a town that sits on the edge of a lake which has the second largest dam in CI and produces a lot of electricity. Got a taxi in Samo from Assouinde where a lady told me I have feet like Mme Gbago (Presidents wife) - it was meant as a compliment but Im dying to find a photo of her feet!!! I had a good laugh over that one!
In Ayame I got out of the taxi + pounced on by the deputy mayor who took me to an auberge for 4000CFA and completely under his wing with a group of friends of his. Lovely spot but it was soo hot, everyone was complaining and Ayame was no exception!!! They would not let me leave before New Years Eve, even rang the Mayor in Abidjan to tell him of my arrival. The deputy Mayor's wife who became a good friend; cooked meals daily for me and refused payment - another prime example of Ivorian attitude!
On New Years Eve, he and I went to Aboisso for me to use the internet and send an email and for him to do some banking! We were driven there by a mad elderly Italian nun, Sister Ana who was 80-odd apparently, lived in CI for 35yrs and would rival any Formula 1 rally driver, overtaking on blind bends with the horn pressed hard! I said my prayers that morning for the first time in a very long time!
New Years started around lunchtime New Years Eve and finished sometime around 10pm New Years day, I did manage to get some sleep; non-stop music, food, dancing ... it was all a bit mad.
New Years Day I was invited to the Mayors house for a champagne breakfast ... had an interesting chat with him about people I know in Cote d'Ivoire!!! He took me off to meet the village elders as on 31st the village chief had died, weird being sat next to the mayor on the best chairs the elders could provide us, discussing the arrangements for the chief's burial; very sad time ... women were crying endlessly ...
I finally left Ayame in a minibus to go the 66km up to Binouan, the first 15km was tarred then it turned into piste, lots of snakes around ... then horror of horrors, a truck just like the one I got in
Guinea had just overturned in front of us .. held us up a bit whilst they arranged a winch around a tree to pull it upright again, luckily the driver wasn't hurt! Made my heart pound a little!!!
Decided to head down to Assouinde on 24th to see Ivorian & Burkinabe friends there. The journey started well; got a taxi to Samo from the Grand Bassam gare routiere. However as I got out and held the door open with my leg (as you do with old bangers!) and got a rusty nail in the side of my leg! Blood streaming out I sat on the side of the road with my bits of a first aid and sewing kits putting myself back together! Lots of expats and Lebanese drove past in flash cars and when I finally stood up I had an offer of a lift from two Ivorian guys - wish I hadnt turned it down - it took another hour to get the taxi filled before we were on the move!
The guys in Assouinde were disappointed Dani wasnt with me, even little Ama now known as 'Princesse' Ama asked where she was! But they were all as kind as ever, spent 4 great days at the beach, listening to an endless collection of reggae, drinking too many Flags, getting meals from strange men who were eating at the maquis and lots of attention from Ama who I met last year who's now 5 and grown!! Spent just about every night at Dani's favourite nightclub, Blue Marin!!!
I headed off rather sadly for Ayame, a town that sits on the edge of a lake which has the second largest dam in CI and produces a lot of electricity. Got a taxi in Samo from Assouinde where a lady told me I have feet like Mme Gbago (Presidents wife) - it was meant as a compliment but Im dying to find a photo of her feet!!! I had a good laugh over that one!
In Ayame I got out of the taxi + pounced on by the deputy mayor who took me to an auberge for 4000CFA and completely under his wing with a group of friends of his. Lovely spot but it was soo hot, everyone was complaining and Ayame was no exception!!! They would not let me leave before New Years Eve, even rang the Mayor in Abidjan to tell him of my arrival. The deputy Mayor's wife who became a good friend; cooked meals daily for me and refused payment - another prime example of Ivorian attitude!
On New Years Eve, he and I went to Aboisso for me to use the internet and send an email and for him to do some banking! We were driven there by a mad elderly Italian nun, Sister Ana who was 80-odd apparently, lived in CI for 35yrs and would rival any Formula 1 rally driver, overtaking on blind bends with the horn pressed hard! I said my prayers that morning for the first time in a very long time!
New Years started around lunchtime New Years Eve and finished sometime around 10pm New Years day, I did manage to get some sleep; non-stop music, food, dancing ... it was all a bit mad.
New Years Day I was invited to the Mayors house for a champagne breakfast ... had an interesting chat with him about people I know in Cote d'Ivoire!!! He took me off to meet the village elders as on 31st the village chief had died, weird being sat next to the mayor on the best chairs the elders could provide us, discussing the arrangements for the chief's burial; very sad time ... women were crying endlessly ...
I finally left Ayame in a minibus to go the 66km up to Binouan, the first 15km was tarred then it turned into piste, lots of snakes around ... then horror of horrors, a truck just like the one I got in
Guinea had just overturned in front of us .. held us up a bit whilst they arranged a winch around a tree to pull it upright again, luckily the driver wasn't hurt! Made my heart pound a little!!!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sharing ...
I was invited round to have lunch with my airport pickup mechanic & his family, to meet his wife, baby + kids. They live in a compound of several families, they all have two rooms each with the cooking done outside by the women. He and his wife spoilt me cooking fufu + talapia which was Dani's favourite meal here!!! I had their little baby in my arms for hours, she was 3 weeks but tiny; too thin and desperately needed multi-vitamins. Later he took me in a clients car down to the beach and we sat and sorted the world out!!! I was glad that a friend had given me a few brand new shirts which I passed onto my new friend & some clothes I gave to his wife for the children!
Whatever the Ivorians have, they share. I've been to Africa since I was 10 years old; I've been to several countries all over the continent, but no where is as hospitable and friendly as Cote d'Ivoire. How the country got into the crisis it did since 1999 I will never fathom out; wonderful people who graciously share.
Spent just over a week at the same hotel as last year in Bassam; it was terrible this year, they have lost the toilet seats, mould growing around the taps, filthy shower tiles, mattress was so thin I had a sore back most mornings. The restaurant was almost non-existent, just a clutter of tables & chairs and to top it off the staff were telling me that the Malinke owner seems to use it as his own exclusive brothel, which was quite funny in retrospect as he had been ringing me for months asking me to come back!!!
Whatever the Ivorians have, they share. I've been to Africa since I was 10 years old; I've been to several countries all over the continent, but no where is as hospitable and friendly as Cote d'Ivoire. How the country got into the crisis it did since 1999 I will never fathom out; wonderful people who graciously share.
Spent just over a week at the same hotel as last year in Bassam; it was terrible this year, they have lost the toilet seats, mould growing around the taps, filthy shower tiles, mattress was so thin I had a sore back most mornings. The restaurant was almost non-existent, just a clutter of tables & chairs and to top it off the staff were telling me that the Malinke owner seems to use it as his own exclusive brothel, which was quite funny in retrospect as he had been ringing me for months asking me to come back!!!
Where's Dani???
Didn't sleep much the first night then at about 5.30 there was a torrential downpour, Grand Bassam was looking very wet + bedraggled but the sun came up and I had my morning coffee at a place that I swear makes better coffee than Starbucks; hygiene isnt quite to the same standards its a shack on the corner of the street just down the road from the internet cafe.
Saturday having sent the first of the mass e-mails; my phone didnt stop ringing ... I left the internet cafe + headed up the road to catch up with my airport pickup who said to me - I remember you were here last year but with your daughter - I explained about my goddaughter http://dani-travels.blogspot.com and he wondered what she'd done wrong to be left behind this time!
I then met up with some new friends who I'd been communicating with for a while. We went off to see their farm, very impressive, they have had to start from scratch having previously lived in Guinea until the strikes kicked off in January. They used to live outside a large town in Guinea + her husband was sure he saw me there just before the riots started when I managed to get out in time - whilst they lost everything and moved home to Cote d'Ivoire.
After a good lunch where I decided chicken was decidedly more appealing than agouti (you could say its a large rat but in fact its not - nevertheless Ive still not got round to eating it!!!) I headed back for a siesta to be woken up an hour later by a great friend who I now refer to as mon p'tit frere. Overjoyed to see him; hes been through a lot this year since losing his father last year + now has to manage the whole family including his fathers last wife; we went out for a few drinks with friend of his who said - wheres your daughter??? He had driven us down to Assinie from Samo a few times last year and remembered her; had to give him a bit of a geography lesson in the sand to explain Australia + NZ! Whilst we were drinking some guy came up and shook my hand saying hello - the other two were waiting for an introduction but I didnt think I knew this guy; who turned out to be one of the guys from EMSF; yet again I got 'wheres your daughter??"
The following day was lovely; went into the centre of town to have my 'starbucks' and then headed over to the centre. The kids were thrilled to see me and the 22kg of goodies I brought for them, the gate was opened and the kids almost pushed me back through it screaming Tatie ... they all sat down, said a prayer for me then we had a Question + Answer session - the first being "wheres your daughter?" they all remembered her and were thrilled when I told them that there were a lot of her old clothes in the bag for them!
That night in search of a friend who worked at a Maquis last year. I got there and found she'd moved on but of course the lady who is still there said 'Wheres your daughter?' so I sat + had a drink telling them about Dani + then waited for my friend's husband who had called to say he was going to join me as his wife works in Abidjan during the week. Together we went off in his car in search of my friend; whos got a job at a good restaurant here; she was delighted to see me but of course asked the obvious - where's Dani???
Saturday having sent the first of the mass e-mails; my phone didnt stop ringing ... I left the internet cafe + headed up the road to catch up with my airport pickup who said to me - I remember you were here last year but with your daughter - I explained about my goddaughter http://dani-travels.blogspot.com and he wondered what she'd done wrong to be left behind this time!
I then met up with some new friends who I'd been communicating with for a while. We went off to see their farm, very impressive, they have had to start from scratch having previously lived in Guinea until the strikes kicked off in January. They used to live outside a large town in Guinea + her husband was sure he saw me there just before the riots started when I managed to get out in time - whilst they lost everything and moved home to Cote d'Ivoire.
After a good lunch where I decided chicken was decidedly more appealing than agouti (you could say its a large rat but in fact its not - nevertheless Ive still not got round to eating it!!!) I headed back for a siesta to be woken up an hour later by a great friend who I now refer to as mon p'tit frere. Overjoyed to see him; hes been through a lot this year since losing his father last year + now has to manage the whole family including his fathers last wife; we went out for a few drinks with friend of his who said - wheres your daughter??? He had driven us down to Assinie from Samo a few times last year and remembered her; had to give him a bit of a geography lesson in the sand to explain Australia + NZ! Whilst we were drinking some guy came up and shook my hand saying hello - the other two were waiting for an introduction but I didnt think I knew this guy; who turned out to be one of the guys from EMSF; yet again I got 'wheres your daughter??"
The following day was lovely; went into the centre of town to have my 'starbucks' and then headed over to the centre. The kids were thrilled to see me and the 22kg of goodies I brought for them, the gate was opened and the kids almost pushed me back through it screaming Tatie ... they all sat down, said a prayer for me then we had a Question + Answer session - the first being "wheres your daughter?" they all remembered her and were thrilled when I told them that there were a lot of her old clothes in the bag for them!
That night in search of a friend who worked at a Maquis last year. I got there and found she'd moved on but of course the lady who is still there said 'Wheres your daughter?' so I sat + had a drink telling them about Dani + then waited for my friend's husband who had called to say he was going to join me as his wife works in Abidjan during the week. Together we went off in his car in search of my friend; whos got a job at a good restaurant here; she was delighted to see me but of course asked the obvious - where's Dani???
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Back to travelling ...
A mad flight over, 3 of us hooked up from Toulouse, the Ivoirienne married to a Frenchman and a Burkinabe born in CI whos a musician in Toulouse.
The Ivorienne + I managed to get out to the free Royal Air Maroc hotel, the Burkinabe couldnt come with us; one rule for one African and another rule for others and its always the Burkinabes that get shafted, no matter how much I begged for him.
We later joined the others later on back at the airport as we were joined by a group of 3 off to Ouagadougou who caused a lot of noise in the cafe area in Casablanca and had had a fair few beers! Two French guys who had never flown before and were shocked how modern Casa airport was; took them 2hrs to get out of immigration and 3hrs to get back in - a story that caused a lot of hilarity!
Anyway; arriving in Abidjan only just over an hour late, I was 2nd to get off the plane but my pickup missed me in the immigration hall. I had an argument with Mr Immigration who wasnt happy about me doing my landing card on his desk; reminded him that CI needs a few happy immigration guys and a 'bienvenue' wouldnt go amiss. Just about to clear customs and a soldier comes running up to me with a piece of paper with my name misspelt!
"Is this you????"
"Why?"
My pickup, a mechanic; had managed to get airside for me but as he missed me he was getting a little worried he'd lose me altogether! I was ushered out by 5 soldiers pushing my trolley through a hole in the wall at the side of the airport (turned out he'd managed to get me into the Presidential parking area!) ... alarm bells were ringing and I asked the poor guy 6million questions about who he is etc ... told me the soldiers were his friends -
We drove up to the barrage and he left me in the car for about 45mins while he negotiated with the military to get us through at 3.45am, I sat in the car trying to be inconspicuous listening to the waves on the shore just the other side of this shanty area known as La Corridor and we parted with 5,000CFA to get us through! So all was well; no coup d'etat happening we talked at length about it driving back ... all seemed quiet! At 4.30am he drove me around town for half hour or so + bought me 5 baguettes, quite WHY I needed so much bread Im not sure! However that's typical Ivorian hospitality for you ..
The Ivorienne + I managed to get out to the free Royal Air Maroc hotel, the Burkinabe couldnt come with us; one rule for one African and another rule for others and its always the Burkinabes that get shafted, no matter how much I begged for him.
We later joined the others later on back at the airport as we were joined by a group of 3 off to Ouagadougou who caused a lot of noise in the cafe area in Casablanca and had had a fair few beers! Two French guys who had never flown before and were shocked how modern Casa airport was; took them 2hrs to get out of immigration and 3hrs to get back in - a story that caused a lot of hilarity!
Anyway; arriving in Abidjan only just over an hour late, I was 2nd to get off the plane but my pickup missed me in the immigration hall. I had an argument with Mr Immigration who wasnt happy about me doing my landing card on his desk; reminded him that CI needs a few happy immigration guys and a 'bienvenue' wouldnt go amiss. Just about to clear customs and a soldier comes running up to me with a piece of paper with my name misspelt!
"Is this you????"
"Why?"
My pickup, a mechanic; had managed to get airside for me but as he missed me he was getting a little worried he'd lose me altogether! I was ushered out by 5 soldiers pushing my trolley through a hole in the wall at the side of the airport (turned out he'd managed to get me into the Presidential parking area!) ... alarm bells were ringing and I asked the poor guy 6million questions about who he is etc ... told me the soldiers were his friends -
We drove up to the barrage and he left me in the car for about 45mins while he negotiated with the military to get us through at 3.45am, I sat in the car trying to be inconspicuous listening to the waves on the shore just the other side of this shanty area known as La Corridor and we parted with 5,000CFA to get us through! So all was well; no coup d'etat happening we talked at length about it driving back ... all seemed quiet! At 4.30am he drove me around town for half hour or so + bought me 5 baguettes, quite WHY I needed so much bread Im not sure! However that's typical Ivorian hospitality for you ..
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Out goes Guinea's Conte ...
I have to be honest and say that I was very happy to hear of Conte's demise; watching France 24 in Bassam I was literally turning cartwheels ... then suddenly stopped!
Hearing about a possible coup d'etat happening, the confusion amongst the Guineans I was concerned that things could quickly get out of hand. Confusion reigned, the anchor on France 24 was talking to a variety of people, each giving their own conflicting story to the previous person! It was a worrying time not knowing what was going on in Guinea ...
All ended well, there had been a coup d'etat by Captain Moussa Camara ... I hope he will lead the country as it deserves to be lead. Having met him two years previously whilst in Guinea at Sobane when he drove myself & Gianni to Douprou on his way to a funeral. http://deeper-in2-west-africa.blogspot.com/2007/01/millionaires-at-last.html He seemed like someone who had morals & values. I'd often wondered about his role in the strikes that followed a few weeks after meeting him.
Fingers crossed that Guinea will re-enter the stage in W.Africa, there are enough resources there to drive the economy forward; as long as the politicians or international conglomerates don't plunder them!
Hearing about a possible coup d'etat happening, the confusion amongst the Guineans I was concerned that things could quickly get out of hand. Confusion reigned, the anchor on France 24 was talking to a variety of people, each giving their own conflicting story to the previous person! It was a worrying time not knowing what was going on in Guinea ...
All ended well, there had been a coup d'etat by Captain Moussa Camara ... I hope he will lead the country as it deserves to be lead. Having met him two years previously whilst in Guinea at Sobane when he drove myself & Gianni to Douprou on his way to a funeral. http://deeper-in2-west-africa.blogspot.com/2007/01/millionaires-at-last.html He seemed like someone who had morals & values. I'd often wondered about his role in the strikes that followed a few weeks after meeting him.
Fingers crossed that Guinea will re-enter the stage in W.Africa, there are enough resources there to drive the economy forward; as long as the politicians or international conglomerates don't plunder them!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Cyber cafe life
Here I am; been in Cote d'Ivoire for a few days now and thrilled to be back!
I am here for work + play; so spending a fair amount of time in a internet cafe checking e-mails etc.
On the flight over I met Amy, an Ivorienne who left 10 years ago for the US but is now happily married in France. She told me about her sister who is still in the USA and due to be married here in January. Her sister has met a guy through the internet who lives here in CI, they've never met and apparently the sister has sent her 'fiancee' quite a bit of money over a year or so.
Amy had arranged a meeting on behalf of her mother the day we landed; I'm still waiting to hear from her to see how things went. We were both of the opinion this fiancee was probably just out to grab what money he could and a US green card!
So, spending my time in internet cafes has been quite an eye opener. The amount of PC's being used by 2 people, being quite nosey I realised that the girls were in front of the webcams whilst the guy beside them sent a message back to the guy probably somewhere in Europe telling them how much she loved them! Later this will all get far more serious with requests for money to get a passport and visa; flight ticket etc etc - the girl of course will never be seen again!
There are almost 2,000 messages in two threads alone about this on www.routard.com this one in particular has almost reached 1,000posts alone! http://www.routard.com/forum_message/207462/mariage_et_arnaque.htm
I am here for work + play; so spending a fair amount of time in a internet cafe checking e-mails etc.
On the flight over I met Amy, an Ivorienne who left 10 years ago for the US but is now happily married in France. She told me about her sister who is still in the USA and due to be married here in January. Her sister has met a guy through the internet who lives here in CI, they've never met and apparently the sister has sent her 'fiancee' quite a bit of money over a year or so.
Amy had arranged a meeting on behalf of her mother the day we landed; I'm still waiting to hear from her to see how things went. We were both of the opinion this fiancee was probably just out to grab what money he could and a US green card!
So, spending my time in internet cafes has been quite an eye opener. The amount of PC's being used by 2 people, being quite nosey I realised that the girls were in front of the webcams whilst the guy beside them sent a message back to the guy probably somewhere in Europe telling them how much she loved them! Later this will all get far more serious with requests for money to get a passport and visa; flight ticket etc etc - the girl of course will never be seen again!
There are almost 2,000 messages in two threads alone about this on www.routard.com this one in particular has almost reached 1,000posts alone! http://www.routard.com/forum_message/207462/mariage_et_arnaque.htm
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
What is the world coming to???
Beginning to wonder what is going on? Is it in the air?
Not sure now which was first, the attempted coup in Guinea Bissau at Nino's home or the terrorist attacks in Mumbai? Luckily the Bissau one left far less dead than Mumbai's attacks. Then there's Congo, is that going to calm down or not?
Getting reports from a friend in Nigeria; Benin City that she's hearing gunshots and the power has been down for a few days. Towards the north of the country around Jos & Kaduna things aren't good; people being killed there. I've just heard about a possible coup plot in Cote d'Ivoire; great news a week prior to departure! Demonstrations in Thailand ... the list goes on!
When will it all end? Do we really need endless battles?
Life's too short!
Not sure now which was first, the attempted coup in Guinea Bissau at Nino's home or the terrorist attacks in Mumbai? Luckily the Bissau one left far less dead than Mumbai's attacks. Then there's Congo, is that going to calm down or not?
Getting reports from a friend in Nigeria; Benin City that she's hearing gunshots and the power has been down for a few days. Towards the north of the country around Jos & Kaduna things aren't good; people being killed there. I've just heard about a possible coup plot in Cote d'Ivoire; great news a week prior to departure! Demonstrations in Thailand ... the list goes on!
When will it all end? Do we really need endless battles?
Life's too short!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Travel guide books
So you're looking for a travel guide? Which one do you go for?
The biggest? heaviest? cheapest? glossiest?
I've developed a little library of travel guides over the years, some Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Bradt, Routard & even a Frommer whilst living in Japan trying to find a guide for Beijing but the accomodation was a little out of my league!
So, the last guide I bought was this time last year. Lonely Planet's West Africa, French edition. Thrilled with my purchase; the fact I was able to get it in a nearby bookshop, I didn't even think to check the contents as surely it would just be the same as the English edition.
Opening it at home, there was a chapter missing. I flicked the pages, convinced my eyesight was going but no, the Cote d'Ivoire hadn't been included in the French edition - madness! I wasn't too thrilled as it was the main reason I'd bought it & felt like a complete mug!
Late summer this year I received messages from someone who turned out to be Lonely Planet's author asking me for information on the country. As the English edition (which a friend in Dubai kindly scanned my missing Cote d'Ivoire pages to me) was lacking in up to date information I sent a message back asking if the author intended to be in the country to update the guide.
'Yes' was the response.
'Not really' would have been nearer the truth. Lonely Planet's author spent two weeks solely in Abidjan updating the new guide, asking local expats for information about the country.
Makes me realise now that my money is better spent over there; than on western publications that haven't come to terms with honesty!
The biggest? heaviest? cheapest? glossiest?
I've developed a little library of travel guides over the years, some Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Bradt, Routard & even a Frommer whilst living in Japan trying to find a guide for Beijing but the accomodation was a little out of my league!
So, the last guide I bought was this time last year. Lonely Planet's West Africa, French edition. Thrilled with my purchase; the fact I was able to get it in a nearby bookshop, I didn't even think to check the contents as surely it would just be the same as the English edition.
Opening it at home, there was a chapter missing. I flicked the pages, convinced my eyesight was going but no, the Cote d'Ivoire hadn't been included in the French edition - madness! I wasn't too thrilled as it was the main reason I'd bought it & felt like a complete mug!
Late summer this year I received messages from someone who turned out to be Lonely Planet's author asking me for information on the country. As the English edition (which a friend in Dubai kindly scanned my missing Cote d'Ivoire pages to me) was lacking in up to date information I sent a message back asking if the author intended to be in the country to update the guide.
'Yes' was the response.
'Not really' would have been nearer the truth. Lonely Planet's author spent two weeks solely in Abidjan updating the new guide, asking local expats for information about the country.
Makes me realise now that my money is better spent over there; than on western publications that haven't come to terms with honesty!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Leaking like a sieve
Africa that is ...
Money's being poured in, sucked out by the middle men & finally someone's taking notice. A great documentary finally documenting what most people fear ... the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer.
For years I've tried telling people who haven't had the opportunity to travel around Africa that this is the case; finally BBC produced Panorama tonight & I hope DFID & other government organisations will sit up & take notice. It's about time a serious in depth documentary was made on the 'fat middle man' reaping the rewards; often those in power ... leaving the ordinary man on the street still suffering & trying to find a way to scrape together a few coins to pay for the basics.
When will it stop? African nations might be able to stand on their own two feet if the funds that were destined for the good of the nation actually made it down the line.
The buck doesn't stop here ...
Money's being poured in, sucked out by the middle men & finally someone's taking notice. A great documentary finally documenting what most people fear ... the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer.
For years I've tried telling people who haven't had the opportunity to travel around Africa that this is the case; finally BBC produced Panorama tonight & I hope DFID & other government organisations will sit up & take notice. It's about time a serious in depth documentary was made on the 'fat middle man' reaping the rewards; often those in power ... leaving the ordinary man on the street still suffering & trying to find a way to scrape together a few coins to pay for the basics.
When will it stop? African nations might be able to stand on their own two feet if the funds that were destined for the good of the nation actually made it down the line.
The buck doesn't stop here ...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Why?
I am seething having read this article ...
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_18656.shtml
Yet again, another boatload of refugees have tried to make it to Europe. The most astonishing thing is that they were so close and they had all come from Conakry.
126 of them crammed into a fishing vessel, usually used within a few miles of the coast by fishermen; not worthy of a long journey like this. The amazing thing is that did get there in such a small vessel!
I have met so many Guineans desperate to leave. It's a sad state of affairs, made even sadder by the news in the last 24hrs that the army are firing tear gas at civilians who are protesting over fuel prices. In the chaos, the army have shot a police officer. The country is once again in tatters ... http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=252152&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21 Will someone try to topple Lansana Conte, the President? Or will a civil war start? It's anyone's guess!
My first 'escaping' Guinean I met in Nouakchott, Mauritania December 2005, he was working at an auberge telling myself & an Italian friend how wonderful his country was but there was nothing there for him. Apparently the streets of Europe are paved with gold & he had to get there. He was earning 30euros a day he told us, not a bad 'pay' for a young immigrant in a country that doesn't take kindly to sub-Saharan immigrants. He needed to raise 300euros to get a boat from Nouabidhou across to the Canary Islands. He couldn't swim (like many Africans), he refused to listen to us ... his destination was Europe and no one was going to dissuade him!
On Africa's only archipaelago, the Bijagos, just off Guinea Bisaau I met a young educated man called Eduardo. He was writing a book about the immigrants & their travels; I'd love to know if he finished it. He was from Bubaque Island and had studied in Europe; he told me that many of the locals felt that if they sailed for a few hours they would reach Europe, maybe even Britain. They had no concept of the length of the journey having seen world maps ...
The second group was in 2006, I travelled with them on a large old truck between Guinea Bissau (Quebo) & Guinea (Boke). We were all on top clinging on for dear life for 40 odd hours, I had some very interesting conversations. They were all determined to go to Europe, along with the same friend we did our best to paint Europe in a bad light ... I don't think it had any effect!
The sad situation is that Europe continues to feed & clothe immigrants; it's the right thing to do but only encourages more to come over & many die in transit. Spain seems to be starting to pay people to go home ... I'd like to see the outcome of this & whether they'll successfully do it or if they risk the chance of others coming over with the hope of some government cash to return home.
In Senegal, there are many houses paid for by a member of the family in Europe, often Spain. In a journey from Kedougou in the far south east to the capital Dakar, I saw almost one in each village, instantly recognisable by the architecture & colours on the wall, often imitating the Spanish flag, I wish I had taken a photo of one of them!
What is the future? How do you try to educate people and persuade them it isn't worth the risk to do these trips?
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_18656.shtml
Yet again, another boatload of refugees have tried to make it to Europe. The most astonishing thing is that they were so close and they had all come from Conakry.
126 of them crammed into a fishing vessel, usually used within a few miles of the coast by fishermen; not worthy of a long journey like this. The amazing thing is that did get there in such a small vessel!
I have met so many Guineans desperate to leave. It's a sad state of affairs, made even sadder by the news in the last 24hrs that the army are firing tear gas at civilians who are protesting over fuel prices. In the chaos, the army have shot a police officer. The country is once again in tatters ... http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=252152&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21 Will someone try to topple Lansana Conte, the President? Or will a civil war start? It's anyone's guess!
My first 'escaping' Guinean I met in Nouakchott, Mauritania December 2005, he was working at an auberge telling myself & an Italian friend how wonderful his country was but there was nothing there for him. Apparently the streets of Europe are paved with gold & he had to get there. He was earning 30euros a day he told us, not a bad 'pay' for a young immigrant in a country that doesn't take kindly to sub-Saharan immigrants. He needed to raise 300euros to get a boat from Nouabidhou across to the Canary Islands. He couldn't swim (like many Africans), he refused to listen to us ... his destination was Europe and no one was going to dissuade him!
On Africa's only archipaelago, the Bijagos, just off Guinea Bisaau I met a young educated man called Eduardo. He was writing a book about the immigrants & their travels; I'd love to know if he finished it. He was from Bubaque Island and had studied in Europe; he told me that many of the locals felt that if they sailed for a few hours they would reach Europe, maybe even Britain. They had no concept of the length of the journey having seen world maps ...
The second group was in 2006, I travelled with them on a large old truck between Guinea Bissau (Quebo) & Guinea (Boke). We were all on top clinging on for dear life for 40 odd hours, I had some very interesting conversations. They were all determined to go to Europe, along with the same friend we did our best to paint Europe in a bad light ... I don't think it had any effect!
The sad situation is that Europe continues to feed & clothe immigrants; it's the right thing to do but only encourages more to come over & many die in transit. Spain seems to be starting to pay people to go home ... I'd like to see the outcome of this & whether they'll successfully do it or if they risk the chance of others coming over with the hope of some government cash to return home.
In Senegal, there are many houses paid for by a member of the family in Europe, often Spain. In a journey from Kedougou in the far south east to the capital Dakar, I saw almost one in each village, instantly recognisable by the architecture & colours on the wall, often imitating the Spanish flag, I wish I had taken a photo of one of them!
What is the future? How do you try to educate people and persuade them it isn't worth the risk to do these trips?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Aid ... comes in all shapes & forms ... or does it?
Africa needs assistance ...
There's various ideologies; from the UN's various departments such as http://www.unv.org/en/how-to-volunteer/volunteer-onsite.html down to the small NGO's such as the one in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire www.emsf.org; another in Cameroon www.fundacionkapsiki.org
or this one in Ghana http://www.fundacjafreespirit.pl/eng/index0_eng.html . Added to all these and many others, there's a village I know in Guinea Bissau, a gorgeous spot right on the beach. They didn't have access to the outside world for 10months due to an Oxfam truck with 10tons of rice that fell into a river & broke the bridge & their lifeline as a consquence; that village needs assistance in many forms!
However, having spent the last two weeks ranting about a certain airlines' lack of assistance in getting my much needed humanitarian goods to Abidjan with me in a few weeks, I've decided to rant on-line especially having seen a piece from the guys on www.africansurfer.com.
There's too much money out there not being channelled correctly!!!
Why is it that Royal Air Babouche (amongst others) are refusing to take these much needed supplies? They've admitted to me that they USED TO allow humanitarian goods to travel with passengers. I've been told to cough up 15euros per kilo ... I pointed out I do not have the resources of a bank (& most banks lately seem to have been bailed out by their governments anyway - I'm sure Sarko won't do that for my excess luggage bill).
Why is it that there are thousands of 'organisations' out there that GAP year kiddies parents can PAY to send them to a foreign land to 'voluneteer'. Do they help out??? I somehow doubt it ...
Why then is money flowing to send un-needed adolescents to 'do good' in countries that could get the money in other forms; send your kids there to see what's happening but FOR GOD SAKES don't pay these unscrupulous 'organisations' to put them to work ... send your money elsewhere to a smaller NGO that needs the money you were thinking of paying Mr Fat Cat.
Just look at this 'google' list http://www.google.fr/search?q=volunteer+africa&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a all I did was tap in 'volunteer africa' and thousands of pay-to-volunteer organisations were listed!
It's full of 'volunteer' opportunities - 900 euros screamed out at me from one site to 'secure your place' - EXCLUDING flights ... There's even a 'lo-cost' volunteering option - Ryanair's Mr O'Leary will be in on the act soon ... lo-cost flights, no frills with lo-cost volunteering - I ask you!!! What is the world coming to?!!!
So if anyone wants to send me some cash to pay RAM to fly my 'excessive' supplies to www.emsf.org - I'd gladly accept it!!!
There's various ideologies; from the UN's various departments such as http://www.unv.org/en/how-to-volunteer/volunteer-onsite.html down to the small NGO's such as the one in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire www.emsf.org; another in Cameroon www.fundacionkapsiki.org
or this one in Ghana http://www.fundacjafreespirit.pl/eng/index0_eng.html . Added to all these and many others, there's a village I know in Guinea Bissau, a gorgeous spot right on the beach. They didn't have access to the outside world for 10months due to an Oxfam truck with 10tons of rice that fell into a river & broke the bridge & their lifeline as a consquence; that village needs assistance in many forms!
However, having spent the last two weeks ranting about a certain airlines' lack of assistance in getting my much needed humanitarian goods to Abidjan with me in a few weeks, I've decided to rant on-line especially having seen a piece from the guys on www.africansurfer.com.
There's too much money out there not being channelled correctly!!!
Why is it that Royal Air Babouche (amongst others) are refusing to take these much needed supplies? They've admitted to me that they USED TO allow humanitarian goods to travel with passengers. I've been told to cough up 15euros per kilo ... I pointed out I do not have the resources of a bank (& most banks lately seem to have been bailed out by their governments anyway - I'm sure Sarko won't do that for my excess luggage bill).
Why is it that there are thousands of 'organisations' out there that GAP year kiddies parents can PAY to send them to a foreign land to 'voluneteer'. Do they help out??? I somehow doubt it ...
Why then is money flowing to send un-needed adolescents to 'do good' in countries that could get the money in other forms; send your kids there to see what's happening but FOR GOD SAKES don't pay these unscrupulous 'organisations' to put them to work ... send your money elsewhere to a smaller NGO that needs the money you were thinking of paying Mr Fat Cat.
Just look at this 'google' list http://www.google.fr/search?q=volunteer+africa&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a all I did was tap in 'volunteer africa' and thousands of pay-to-volunteer organisations were listed!
It's full of 'volunteer' opportunities - 900 euros screamed out at me from one site to 'secure your place' - EXCLUDING flights ... There's even a 'lo-cost' volunteering option - Ryanair's Mr O'Leary will be in on the act soon ... lo-cost flights, no frills with lo-cost volunteering - I ask you!!! What is the world coming to?!!!
So if anyone wants to send me some cash to pay RAM to fly my 'excessive' supplies to www.emsf.org - I'd gladly accept it!!!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Guinea's 50 years of Independance
I had to laugh when I saw via the press the message sent from North Korea's Kim to Guinea's President Lansana Conte ...
Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Monday sent a message of greetings to Lansana Conte, President of Guinea, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its independence.
And what 'great successes' have the Guineans had from their two presidents in the last 50years???
Not much, very little in fact ...
Toure ruled with an iron fist & let what was left of the French legacy go to rack & ruin. Conte, the current ailing President is doing a good job of finishing the country off ... The people are being squeezed from every angle, small bribes at every military checkpoint, lack of food, massive inflation, no real utilities; even in the capital, Conakry.
A country filled with natural resources which at this stage are being plundered by the Chinese. A population, full of hope for the future who lost over 100 people on 23rd January 2007 in killings by the army ordered by the President.
When I crossed the border in December 2006, I came from Guinea Bissau. http://deeper-in2-west-africa.blogspot.com . The few kilometres between the two countries gave a stark contrast in the character of the people I got to know whilst on a truck for two days carrying me & 45 Guineans. The Guineans of Guinee Conakry were so friendly & hospitable; they have very little, far poorer than some of their neighbours such as Senegal but so much more open & welcoming.
Leaving the country was hard for me, mentally & physically - the petrol strike had already taken grip. What was even harder was hearing the news of the strikes & killings that went on just after I'd left; knowing that those that were on the truck with me would be somewhere in Guinea, most of them were heading for Conakry after Boke.
I hope that Guinea's next 50years will be easier after the last 50. Conte won't be around forever & if the corruption can be capped; maybe they'll have it a bit easier .....
... but this is Africa where corruption is widespread ...
Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Monday sent a message of greetings to Lansana Conte, President of Guinea, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its independence.
Kim in the message noted that over the past five decades since the independence of the country the Guinean people have achieved great successes in the struggle for the national unity and the building of a new society, and the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Guinea have steadily grown stronger in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.
And what 'great successes' have the Guineans had from their two presidents in the last 50years???
Not much, very little in fact ...
Toure ruled with an iron fist & let what was left of the French legacy go to rack & ruin. Conte, the current ailing President is doing a good job of finishing the country off ... The people are being squeezed from every angle, small bribes at every military checkpoint, lack of food, massive inflation, no real utilities; even in the capital, Conakry.
A country filled with natural resources which at this stage are being plundered by the Chinese. A population, full of hope for the future who lost over 100 people on 23rd January 2007 in killings by the army ordered by the President.
When I crossed the border in December 2006, I came from Guinea Bissau. http://deeper-in2-west-africa.blogspot.com . The few kilometres between the two countries gave a stark contrast in the character of the people I got to know whilst on a truck for two days carrying me & 45 Guineans. The Guineans of Guinee Conakry were so friendly & hospitable; they have very little, far poorer than some of their neighbours such as Senegal but so much more open & welcoming.
Leaving the country was hard for me, mentally & physically - the petrol strike had already taken grip. What was even harder was hearing the news of the strikes & killings that went on just after I'd left; knowing that those that were on the truck with me would be somewhere in Guinea, most of them were heading for Conakry after Boke.
I hope that Guinea's next 50years will be easier after the last 50. Conte won't be around forever & if the corruption can be capped; maybe they'll have it a bit easier .....
... but this is Africa where corruption is widespread ...
Off again in 7 weeks & counting
So, despite the credit crunch, the rise & fall of oil prices & the general doom & gloom in Europe, I'm off to Cote d'Ivoire again ...
Thrilled to be returning, I'm flying again with Royal Air Maroc who seemingly doesn't want to help it's neighbours after my request for an extra luggage allowance to take the endless kilos of clothes, shoes, glasses & medical equipment with me. I've decided to drive most of the stuff that's filling up my sitting room to a garage in Montpellier which has some space; a container will be leaving in a few months for Togo & hopefully take the rest to www.emsf.org - the orphanage in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire, overland.
Thrilled to be returning, I'm flying again with Royal Air Maroc who seemingly doesn't want to help it's neighbours after my request for an extra luggage allowance to take the endless kilos of clothes, shoes, glasses & medical equipment with me. I've decided to drive most of the stuff that's filling up my sitting room to a garage in Montpellier which has some space; a container will be leaving in a few months for Togo & hopefully take the rest to www.emsf.org - the orphanage in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire, overland.
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