this should be a picture of Alex, just sitting there...
I get sick and the world bank will be making a visit.
Saturday September 27th, 2003
Today is a sick day. I have been feeling lousy. I am getting hot flashes, the runs, and I am achy. I’m not sure if I have Malaria, or something else, but my day consists of doing nothing much other than listening to music, playing my gameboy, and chilling out. I have some visitors, but not enough to really disturb me.
I do find out that the World Bank, and MINEF are coming on weds night for a Thursday meeting to discuss the portable saw initiative. I have to prepare the video footage for a little ‘virtual tour’ of the site. Apparently some minister is not signing the documents that will allow the wood to be loaded on trucks to be taken for export (so no exporters will even look at the wood until that signature is there). I think that Jaap, in an effort to keep the project alive, has tried to bring in some outside pressure. This is a good idea.
I don’t really think that most people understand that the community forest project, and sustainable logging techniques present a real threat to the status quo. There seems to be this naïve belief that people really want to do some good, and that once agreement is reached, progress will be made on its own. Unless the NGO’s really understand that they are at war here, they will end up doing more harm than good. Giving people the tools to make their own product is less than no good if you don’t provide a market for those goods, especially when the product is fundamentally subversive. The frustration of a half attempt will create more hostility than just neglect alone.. you know, a promise broken, and such.
I don’t really know all of the details, and the players involved, but I pretty much understand that the big lumber interests have been grudgingly going along with this whole community forest project because they know that without education, and legal support, they can buy all of the lumber that they want for even less than before from the villagers directly. Like candy from babies. They supported the creation of said forests for that reason; but they aren’t going to embrace real competition…or even a successful competitive model. Even Jaap (a pragmatist) was talking about how the exporters, and lumber companies would want to take some of the wood from these community forests so that they can look good. I laughed, and said: “They will agree to the publicity, but that doesn’t mean they will actually follow through, and since no one is really watching anymore…”
I’m off to bed early.
com
I go to Messok, and the dead start to walk. Coincidence?
Thursday September 25, 2003
I spent a couple of hours talking to Jaap (the Dutchman) this morning. He has been doing development work in Africa for almost 20 years now. Whew. It was a pretty depressing talk, not because of anything he said, but actually more because of what wasn’t said. Basically none of the NGO’s and Charities want to get their hands dirty. They are turning into consulting companies…telling others what to do, without doing it themselves. I guess its easier to raise money if you can always blame the locals for the failures. I then went back to the office to finish up some posters for the Messok branch opening ceremony. I am glad I know how to write neatly. Apparently my poster making skills should be enough to justify my presence for a while. The members of GECEC were impressed. I didn’t really do anything other than write out and letter some lists of things…but I guess that is enough. I’ll upload some images of them later.
At around… 3 pm we left for Messok. I knew little about the place before we left. I knew that it would be a drive of either 90 minutes, or 6 hours depending on the road conditions (and it rained this morning so we didn’t know). Fortunately, it was a pretty fantastic drive through the jungle… passing villages, and animals and birds (I saw some flying Toucans). There were only a few really rough spots, and a bridge over the big river had giant holes in it that I still don’t understand how we got past.
We passed Le Bosque on the way to Messok. For those of you who don’t know, or don’t remember, Le Bosque was the Baka encampment in the Africa documentary that I had running at my place before I left. It turns out that it is pretty much a fraud. OK, maybe fraud is a little strong, maybe selective with the truth is a better description. Apparently Le Bosque didn’t exist until the late 70’s when some nuns decided to come down here and create a Baka village. They rounded up the pygmies and collected them around the church facilities, which happen to be beautiful from the outside (and apparently positively western on the inside, running water, electricity plush accommodations, the works), with meticulously kept grounds and some of the best facilities (medical and educational in the whole eastern part of the country.. which isn’t really saying much, but you get the point). So the whole ‘quaint’ pygmy’s living by the side of the road with little or no contact with the outside world was a deliberately created illusion. The irony is that are such encampments, two outside Lomie for example, but they don’t look as picturesque… Now, don’t get me wrong, it is still pretty close to absolute primitive man, but the images were very selective, and they made sure that the Nun’s plush accommodations and hospital, and school weren’t shown.
We made it to Messok, which is essentially a row of shacks along the logging road. Strangely enough, the Secretary of Defense for Cameroon hails from this little community, and even more oddly, he never served in the military, and even more oddly, his training is as a Pastor. Anyway, his wife is Mayor of the town, and I think they run it like a little fiefdom from afar… the Secretary has a big place in Yaoundé, Lomie, and a concrete house in Messok. I doubt that they spend much time outside of Yaoundé, but I bet there is plenty of money flowing to Yaoundé. Anyway, we made it to Messok around dusk. We headed to the hotel/bar where our accommodations were. We got there, and pretty much immediately I was accosted (verbally) by a drunk man who was basically accusing me of taking away his livelihood with my occidental ways. The pastor (who, as a GECEC functionary, accompanied us on the trip), told the guy that if he wanted to talk to us, he had to get on the floor and prostrate himself, as he was not fit to talk to us. Soon, someone came and escorted the man away.
We were shown our rooms by Kerosene lamps. The rooms contained a wood bed frame with foam on top. Some sort of fabric covering, and a moth eaten sheet, and a chair. The lamp was left as the means of lighting. The floor was dirt, and the ground outside the room was pretty much just mud, with algae rich puddles. The chickens that wandered around were a sort of natural insect abatement program. The water to be used by all was rainwater collected in a used oil drum. Scrawled in chalk on a wall towards the toilet (unless noted otherwise from now on all toilets are holes in the ground) read the word Hilton.
We left our digs, and got ready to make the social rounds. Charlie went to find one of his girlfriends, and Alex and I went down some road, where we entered a mud house, greeted a friend of his, and sat to have a beer by lantern light. Soon Charlie joined us, and slowly a quorum formed. Talk was in a French/Zime hybrid, and was about tomorrow’s ceremony. It turned out that the Mayor would not be in town, as promised, and that the deputy mayor wasn’t sure about his appearance at the event, and the prefect was ill, or visiting family in some other town. They were discussing what to do. I suggested that he might actually be wanting a little something to –motivate- the deputy mayor… and I suggested an interview in the video that we were doing. This seemed to be well received as an idea, and after some more debate, we headed off to dinner in an other house somewhere. There were about 15 of us in someone’s house (again mud and wood), which was lit by a single kerosene lamp. We ate, and then Alex and I were sent back to the hotel to wait while the negotiations happened with the deputy mayor (it turns out I was right, with a little motivation he was prepared to attend). After sitting in the bar watching people dance to music emanating from blown speakers, I crashed.
A few general observations about Messok. First of all, this is the first time I really felt tall. Lomie has enough outsiders that I don’t feel so extraordinarily large, but Messok was another story. I was a giant. Sitting I was as tall as most while standing. For most people of Messok, the idea of going to Lomie was like visiting the big city. The idea of Yaoundé was positively outrageous, and the concept of life in the US is pretty much so far out there, I may as well have antennae. It is a full on Trucking town, and the wild west feel of Lomie is nothing compared to Messok. There was a saloon that served a local moonshine, there is a sheriff’s office, chickens, pigs, goat and dogs roamed freely, and houses, or huts were pretty much set up where ever people wanted to live. The truckers are pretty much like cowboys who, instead of cows, herd wood, taking it to market. The Hotel/Bar where I stayed was pretty much a brothel (although I use that term very loosely) if it needed to be, and every woman dancing there could be encouraged to share one’s company for some beer and ‘getting home’ money… say less than $1. I feel strange even putting that crassly. I think the truth lies closer to: there are no distractions in town outside of drinking, and having sex. I think it is a much to mark time, as it would be for money.
Next morning, I got up, and walked around town shooting some video. I got some really great images. Kids knocking fruit off of trees, a monkey tied to some man’s house (apparently just for the time that it takes for the monkey to get used to the new environment, then they get let go to roam free). The “salle de Fetes” where the day’s celebration was to take place, and a few other establishing shots. I did get a great shot of the ‘promotional’ poster announcing the upcoming event. A sheet of paper with marker writing. This was the only ‘advertisement’ in town. Alex met a friend who offered him breakfast, which consisted of a corn type gruel, beans, beignets, We headed back to the hotel, where I proceeded to letter the banner for the ceremony on a roll of fax paper. It took me a couple of hours. The man who was harassing me the night before made a command appearance. He started off accusing me (white man) of destroying pretty much everything in Africa. He thought that the GECEC was my company, that I was coming in to town to steal everyone’s… well, everything. When I explained that it wasn’t my company, he said… it was some French person’s company.. when I told him that wasn’t true, he was bewildered. He was positively stunned when I told him I was American. Then he asked if I had come to kill him. Anyway, this slightly unpleasant conversation went on for the entire time I was working on the banner. He did tell me that I couldn’t be Jewish because I didn’t have an evil look in my eyes.
When I was done, we headed to the “salle de Fetes” to set up the room. I put up posters, and set up the video. The festivities were about to commence.
The opening ceremony was broken into three parts. The initial presentation, the ribbon cutting ceremony, and the food afterwards. The initial presentation was a dull affair, with French style speeches (pompous with lots of flourish, positively Baroque) read from paper. A presentation of the posters that I did by Charlie, which seemed to go over well. The biggest moment of the proceeding came when Charlie explained that I was going to be working for the GECEC, and that I was American… lots of murmurs and an expression of surprise. We broke, went to the GECEC office for the ribbon ceremony, which went as expected, and came back for food. There was a benediction, then the plenipotentiaries were fed, followed by the women, men and then the stray people who had heard that there was food. There was a bottle of horrid champagne as celebration.
After the celebration, came some interviews. The interview with the deputy mayor was a hoot. He put on his ceremonial ribbon which looked like it was left over from a beauty pageant, and pontificated in extreme ceremonialeese. There were a few other interviews, and then a trip back to the bar, where the deputy mayor forced Charlie to buy a round of drinks, and give him a free ride to Lomie. We waited around for a few more hours until everyone was ready to go. I stood outside and played with some kids, and crazy people. I am a serious magnet for drunks, crazy people and kids… and when I mean crazy, I mean it. The kids stand around and make fun of the crazy people, and think that I am the strangest creature around.
While the whole ceremony was unfolding, there was apparently another drama in town… a dead child came back to life. The story goes a little something like this: when someone dies here, they lay the body out for two days, and on the third burry it. As the mass for burial began, the child started to warm up, and sweat even. The mourners were stunned, and started to try to revive the child. After some time, the child woke up, and asked what everyone was doing there? He is slated to be back in school on Monday. Most people seemed focused on the dead coming back to life, but for some reason I just kept thinking about how many people actually get buried alive.
Our return was uneventful. I started to feel pretty ill. I had only one meal in the 36 hours of activities, no water (note to self: always bring water), and several beers that had been foisted on me (although I was able to keep it to less than 3 the whole trip). I’m not sure how sick I am really, but I have one hell of a headache.
a photo from my first or second day...
motorcycle madness and the mayor of Lomie.
Wednesday September 24, 2003
I am doing a timelapse experiment today. A few hours of Lomie life compressed into a few minutes. I went to meet the Mayor today. That was quiet an experience. First of all, he has a big house on top of the highest hill in town (he is not the most powerful man btw.) There were a few city vehicles parked in his yard, including some sort of land mover. There were a half dozen people hanging out on his veranda, including Benjamin (the VP of the advisory board for GECEC). We all shook hands, and went inside to wait for the Mayor. I heard a little about how most local traditions have been replaced by Western ones, except the power of the Uncle. Apparently the uncle has an estimed position here, and can pretty much ask for whatever they want of the cousins…since it is the uncles that bury the cousin, and in sort of an advance payment type of thing, you are endebted to your uncle during your life. Death and the “deuil” (I guess like sitting shiva) are a big part of the social structure here. There have already been several deaths since I’ve been here of people I am connected to, but I have yet to go to a Deuil. On the way to Lomie, we passed a deuil, where a bunch of people were sitting around two bodies. When they saw us coming they raised a rope across the road. We stopped, and some people in the van gave money. Apparently the tradition in that neck of the woods involves soliciting money from all who pass the body, and well, since the village is on the road, why not stop all traffic for a collection.
So I haven’t even met the Mayor yet.. who comes out in his undershirt, scratching his balls (with the left hand) and shakes my hand as Charlie introduces me. We exchange some pleasantries, and the talk moves from French to the French/Zime patois which I try to follow. Here is what they talked about (from my understanding). The mayor’s son rode his motor-bike to another town in the area to pick up a friend of his…as they were leaving town, the local constabulary pulled them over, accused them of trying to flee, and handcuffed the friend. Apparently the daughter of the mayor of this other town was pregnant, and fingered the friend. After much debate, the police asked/told the mayor’s son to escort the suspect back to Lomie where due process was supposed to unfold. As they passed the friend’s village, he became agitated/tried to jump off the bike while handcuffed. An accident ensued, resulting in the mayor’s son ending up in a coma for a few hours. The mayor (of Lomie) went to this other town to kick ass and take names…the kicker in all of this (as if it needed one) was that the friend had been in town for a month, and the daughter’s pregancy was several months along.
Then talk shifted to business, as we ate… it was around 10:30 am…but it looked like luch to me. They pulled out a plate for me (they were eating on saucers) which I declined in favor of adopting the local method. The food was good. A plantain mush and porcupine (which is a slightly fatty meat with a rich flavor).
Raymond and Dianna, two VSO volunteers in Bertua made a surprise visit, and Jaap (from the SNV, and the godfather of the portable saw project) drove them here. It was good to meet Jaap who is pretty much synonimous with development in Lomie.. as he was here for years, I really didn’t click with Raymond and Dianna. It may be because of the the earlier reports I got on them, or just because I didn’t. I’m not sure if I’m going to go through a “I hate all Cameroonians, they are all theives and liars” stage like they are, but it is ugly to hear. We did connect on the general mess of VSO Cameroon’s office…but they seem to expect something that I just don’t really expect: support. The VSO office is pretty disfunctional, with a total –respond to crisis only- mode of operation. There have been some general requests for help from Caroline, but I don’t want to go down that sink hole. I have enough to do right here for an organization that doesn’t have the resources that VSO has, I sort of laugh (tragically) at the VSO Cameroon situation, and fully expect to have to get help elsewhere, while they (Raymond and Dianna) still expect something which leads to a different response… although I do think that their professional situation, especially hers is bad. They were very kind, and brought tomato’s and oranges, which I will very happily devour.
This is the image I was referring to... of Alex at the Bart Station in SF.
Getting leafy greens and water.
Tuesday September 24, 2003
I went to the market this morning early… after spending some time in bed debating whether or not I wanted to get up. I had some feelings of anxiety, and claustrophobia… which are unusual for me. I’m wondering if the Meflaquine is making me feel weird. Its hard to tell if I am just looking for some private time and space to recuperate from (I get very little of either,and process (new job, new language…sort of… new culture) all the stimulus coming in; or if the drugs are making me feel strange… anyway, nothing serious yet, but worth keeping an eye on. Brigitte (one of my co-workers) was there, and helped me get some of the food I wanted with a minimum of hassle. I wanted to get some lettuce, but the guy selling wanted 600CFA (about $1) for each head… normally they are 100CFA each. I didn’t want to hassle, so I didn’t bother haggling. I got green peppers, tomatoes, and a pineapple (which is out of season, but looks good). One of my neighbors brought me lettuce at 100CFA a head… which I washed in water that I added a little bleach to. Yummy, leafy, green and kind of bleachy tasting. Mmmm.
I went to the drinking water well for the first time today. I worked my arms pretty well… and carried the water back. The old man who runs the well hassled me for cutting in line (there were a bunch of kids filling up buckets ahead of me). In my defense, I was just following Alex and another neighbor. Apparently the old man was just giving me shit. When he asked if I had payed my “abonnement”, and I told him Alex had, he said “oh, that bastard… I don’t deal with him”. It’s the first time I’ve heard a Cameroonian swear (except for the occasional –merde-)… anyway, it was a good workout, and carrying the water back was even better of a workout (my arms are sore). I need to learn to carry it on my head because that is the way people don’t spill any.
I worked on a bunch of lists at work. To do lists, 3 month plans…etc. After work I played my GameBoy for the first time in a while (Advance Wars 2), and drew in my sketchbook a bit. It made me want to have the energy to work on the flower/bug game artwork. I felt a little bit better after that. I took a picure of Alex earlier in the day, and I put him in a picture I took in a SF BART station. He pretty much flipped out when he saw himself in the US. I think we are going to put him in a few other pictures from the us, and we are going to print them out… most likely so that he can tell people that has been to the US. It cracks me up. Then I went to sleep… a turgid, strong dream filled sleep. Meflaquine again? Malaria? Over stimulation? Whatever the reason, it felt good.
The reality of raising funds in the jungle crests the horizon
Monday September 22, 2003
Today was a good work-day and a frustrating one; I’m sure a harbinger of things to come. The day started out well. I wrote some email to prospective donors, and friends. I had my first real work meeting with Charlie, and we went over the 3 month plan. It is pretty ambitious, and I am feeling (mostly self imposed) pressure to show some results. I also went over the overall list of things that I want to get done. I got a few emails back… all of which were pretty much along the lines of: that’s nice that you want money and equipment… we have some, but you are going to have to jump through some bureaucratic hoops to get it. Nothing really serious, but I know what is coming.
Chris, the former volunteer here filed out a request for a small grant through the VSO/British Council program to get computers for GECEC. It got accepted, but they won’t release the computers unless someone is here to transport the computers, and since he was leaving, the whole thing has now had to start back at the beginning… and then I found out that the fund is out of money for the year… so I have to wait until January to start the whole process again. Which means no computers until…oh maybe next September. For me to do my work (the list that Charlie and I worked on today) I need a printer, some paper, and ink. The whole thing would cost about 300$. I could get that money through one of the various funds out there, but it would take at least 6 months (my guess at this point). So that is going to be a big frustration for me. I am going to have to go to Yaoundé and spend some of my own money to be able to get my job done, which I don’t really mind. Mostly I’m annoyed at the needless wait, and the lack of coordination between the volunteer organizations, and the donor organizations. I mean how hard should it be to get a rapid deployment fund ready for each volunteer of around 500$ for quick cheap projects that could help with productivity in the short term. I really wonder what percentage of the money actually makes it all the way through the bureaucracy? All in the name of accountability probably.
Sunday is Meflaquine day
Sunday September 21, 2003
Sunday evening. Tonight is Meflaquine night. That is my anti malarial medication. Possible side effects include psychosis, hallucinations and crazy dreams, and stomach aches. I had a great dream the first time I took it, but since then I pretty much just get the stomach aches… unless I stuff myself. I think I will grab another “bar de maniok” and try it with peanut butter. I hope that will help.
The reason I am thinking about has to do with the large number of insect bites I seem to have gotten over the last 48 hours. I’m not sure they are mosquito bites, some of the groupings are not right for that. There may be some biting bugs in my bed (I have my net up, so it isn’t mosquitoes at night), or in the house… I’m just going to have to wait and see… but in any case, I am making super sure that my Meflaquine is not missed. I also need to get some fabric that I can hang over my front door so that I don’t have to keep it closed. The door closing seems to present two problems. One, no air is getting in. Two, people think that I don’t want them to stop by and say hi. This social thing is going to get me down later I know it. I am in the center of town, and everyone stops by going to and from wherever to say hi. I guess if I can get to the point where I don’t have to stop what I am doing while they are here, I’ll be good.
I did yoga today. I love doing yoga in a tropical environment, I stretch like a rubber band without really having to do the hard work. It makes me feel healthy even when I’m not. I do know that I am not very strong anymore, and I really will need to work on that. I also know that I was sweating up a storm. There were puddles on the floor. I am actually sweating a lot more than I thought I would here. Its not really that hot, it’s the humidity that gets me, and more than that, the stagnant air inside. I positively start to flow whenever I get shut in a room with no breeze. I’m hoping this is an adjustment, and that my doing yoga will help re-set my body thermometer. If not, well everyone here is going to have to get used to the sweating giant.
This thing with Alex is a little strange. He pretty much has decided that I am his father figure already. I’m torn. Part of me wants to pretty much stay out of that kind of role, the other part of me is thinking… if I’m not here to help like this, then why did I come. Oh, and I found out he is the cousin of Charlie, and that he had been living in Yaounde until he came back here for some reason this summer. I suspect that I will really be helping Charlie by taking in Alex, as much as Alex. Charlie is pretty much the man of the house (I think he’s in his late 20’s), and I think the man of a few houses. All of the kids and women there are not his offspring. I think that they are his brothers and cousins. It seems to me that he is pretty much supporting a family of 6 or 7. I am going to have to do some real work setting boundaries if this is going to work out… but I am trying to be careful. Sigh. George (the other VSO volunteer) is pretty much supporting a family as well… although it is his girlfriends, so there is a different kind of responsibility there.
On another note, the GameBoy is a hit. I’m going to need a few more games sent. Aside from Metroid, and somewhat WarioWare, the games I have are not interesting enough for the kids around here. I think some platformers would work great. I’ll never touch the unit again of course… it has pretty much been adopted by Alex, and his friends. They wear it around like jewelry. I’m sure if I put up a stink I could get it back for a night here and there, but I’m ok with them enjoying it.
On the work front, I am starting to send out email requests for information so that I can do some fund-raising. I realized that I might as well give in to it, and try to put some development dollars to work if I can. It’s a skill that will be useful in the future as well.
this is a quick view from my office. Welcome to downtown Lomie.
I know this isn't cameroon, but before it gets lost in my mind, I wanted to show that Slough really exists. For those who have seen "the office", Slough really does exist.. which is hard to believe. It is near Heathrow, and the passengers on the bus looked like they should work at "the office".
this is an interior of a well off cameroonians house. Charlie is my boss. that is his picture on the table.
ah, home again
Saturday September 19, 2003
Today, I believe, the rainy season started. It poured this morning, and now again this evening. I spent the day talking to Alex, my temporary house-mate, a I think, younger brother of Charlie about what I can teach him for the next two years, and what he can do for me. I told him that if he takes care of me (including helping keep my digital wonders in my possession, shopping, cleaning and helping out with video shoots), I would teach him how to shoot and edit video, and that when I got ready to leave, I would give him a video camera, and a computer so that he can go into business on his own… I was pretty clear about what I expect from him, and told him that if he breaks the contract, the deal is off…but I’m not sure what all of this will come to. I feel a little strange. I sort of have a house-boy, and apprentice all in one, and it wasn’t really of my choosing. I think that Charlie wants him to find a skill or job that pays. I was asked, but I didn’t really have a lot of latitude. The power imbalance makes me uncomfortable. I’m not even really sure how literate he is. My suspicion is that this will either be a fantastic experience for both of us, or a total disaster. We shall see. He has been helping me set up my place, buying stuff, and having stuff brought to the house.
Speaking of the house, it is pretty much set up. My bed is in place, along with my mosquito net (I’ve been getting absolutely mauled lately), an armoire, my table with all of my computer stuff is up and working. I have been teaching Alex how to log and capture in FCP, and I have been pulling down some of the footage I shot. I have some serious “Africa” cliché shots that are… both cliché and amazing. I also tried out my satellite modem again today. This morning I chatted with Gwinn for an hour or so. If my little bandwidth calculator is at all accurate, it is a cost effective way for me to stay connected with people. I am set to chat with Eric in about 15 minutes. Being here, and having this technology is a bewildering experience. I’m not sure that I have internalized it enough to really break it down. We’ll see how it goes. As a work tool, it is stunningly powerful. Not the tool itself, but the access that it can bring. Today I asked Gwinn to do some research on the mining company that is coming to town, and I got some immediate responses. The biggest reason I hope that I can keep this equipment up and running is that the amount of work I can get done here will be 5 fold with this. Ok. Time to chat with Eric.
palm wine and peace corps
Friday September 19, 2003
Today is moving in day. I moved in. The place is clean enough, and way to big for me. I didn’t really go to work, but I had some surprise guests: the Peace Corps. It turns out that they are pretty well represented in this neck of the woods. They were here because there is a Johns Hopkins project that is going to start in the jungle later this year, and the Peace Corps are going to help staff it. It’s a pretty cool idea, part lab technician, part development worker. Anyway, from what I understand of the project they are going to be looking at bat disease (and rodent) transmission patterns in the jungle. So, from a totally practical standpoint, they treated me to dinner. That is two great dinners with interesting people in two days. Not really what I expected being out here, but I’m not complaining. I get the feeling that this is a real oddity, and I should enjoy it while it lasts. I did do some business as well… we talked about the project construction using wood from the communal forests. I am pretty much a salesman at this point. After dinner Kara, Tara and I went to the palm wine bar area about 100 meters from their hotel (Peace Corps pays for nice hotels, food, and they have big 4X4’s with American flags painted on them). It was very laid back, and we were pretty much the biggest entertainment around. Three white people drinking palm wine and chatting with the locals. One man called me a messiah. I told him that I stepped in a puddle on the way over and I sunk… so clearly I am no messiah. I seem (from anecdotal reports) to engender a pretty different response from the locals. I am not really getting called white man so much (except in the local dialect Zime), and I don’t get the regular marriage proposals that others seem to be getting. I am locally known as the giant, and seem to intimidate many people. Maybe I’m just getting a grace period because of my boss, maybe it is the sign of something different. Who knows… all I know is that if anyone else calls me a messiah, I am going to freak out on them. I really don’t want that kind of responsibility. I think that is really has more to do with the fact that they think I have come with money. Oh, and the CIA thing came up again with the Peace Corps. If this keeps up, I’m going to contact them and at least see if they will pay me to be the representative that many people think I am. So after dinner, and palm wine which I didn’t really like, I walked back in the pitch black. I walk so much faster than everyone here it seems to freak them out a bit. It felt really good to walk. Oh look. Cockroaches….well, I think that is my sign to end this evening’s writing.
Into to bush, and video footage
Wednesday September 17th:
This morning we went into the ‘brusse” or bush. We were going to leave early in the morning to go and visit the GECEC’s largest debtor: CODEVIR. They are a doing: Expoitation Indepandante De La Foret Commonunataire Par La Scierie Portative with the CETI du DIANG (from what I gather is pretty much a guy named Herve). In english: “La Scierie Portative” is a portable sawmill project that the Dutch relief organization SNV organized. The idea is that each village (or a collection of smaller villages… in this case CODEVIR) can buy and run its own sawmill, managing its own community forest, using sustainable logging techniques, selling the milled lumber (which gets a higher price than the logs alone) directly, employing local labor, and enhancing the wealth and livelihoods of the village. GECEC is the credit agency that made the loan, and is helping with the financial manegment.
Apparently there was some grumbling/miscommunication amongst some of the ‘interns’ (the apprentice sawmill operators) about getting paid, or having access to money. Charlie, who is a total hustler (and I mean that with respect), saw a triple opportunity that a visit would bring. 1) Setting the record straight that owning your own business as a community would involve real sacrifice and hard work before any rewards would/could be realized. 2) Making a pitch for some of the other GECEC services, like advances on salary (when it starts coming). 3) Bringing out the white man with the camera to impress the hell out of the locals.
I was introduced as the person who is going to be doing marketing and publicity for GECEC, and that the footage I was taking was part of either an ad, or a documentary about them that would be seen world-wide. I don’t know about that, but what I do know is that I got some astounding footage, our guide chopped the head of a poisonous snake off on the way in, and I got my first taste of the rainforest. Astounding, and I want more… is all I will say for now. We headed back, and looked at some of the footage on Charlie’s TV (did I mention that he has cable? A neighbor has satellite cable, and sells access to a few people. We can watch one channel at a time, whatever the owner happens to be watching). No plumbing, no phones, but soccer matches on cable. Priorities are clear here. I rested a bit, and drank some water that I really shouldn’t have. After almost a week of constipation due to the high protein, high carbohydrate, low fiber diet, I got the shits. I had to walk into town to get some toilet paper, and I barely….barley made it to the toilet in time. Did I mention that there is no plumbing in town? My thighs are getting stronger daily, both from the walking and the squatting. The evening was my coming out party. I met all of the town’s functionaries, plenipotentiaries, and social luminaries except maybe one or two. I smiled a lot, and tried to improve my casual French chatting skills. The power went out for about 30 minutes during the proceedings, but all in all it was a pretty big success.
Palm wine and trucks
Tuesday September 16th:
The second day of work was a little smoother than the first… not that the first wasn’t smooth, but I had a little bit more work I could do. I now have a few well organized lists of things that I can work on, and things that I need. My computer is in working order. There was a meeting of the local NGO’s to discuss getting a VSO volunteer to do some marketing, networking and fundraising. I just listened. There is a lot of work that can be done here to help out. After work, we went out for drinks, and we went looking for the Geovic/Geoaid folks who were rumored to be in town. I saw the Palm Wine area just south of town. It is a field with about a half a dozen semi-established huts that serve palm wine. We didn’t stay. On the way back, I saw a few people who were staggering, and one that had pretty much decided he was sleeping on the road for the evening. I hope he didn’t get crushed by the “grumiers”… the large logging trucks that are ever present in Lomie. The trucks, if not driving through town carrying up to 4 giant tree trunks, are parked along side the road, waiting to leave… or sampling the beverages, and women of Lomie. This is a town straight out of the wild west. Total frontier town.
I started work today...
Monday September 15th:
Today was my first day of work. The main part of town is pretty much familiar to me now, and the office is a concrete building at the beginning of the main strip. Work started at around 8, and we had a company wide meeting. I was the main topic, and was introduced very well by Charlie to the rest of the staff. Brigitte the credit officer, Thomas the head of operations, Viviane the teller, Irene the cashier and Bertrand the collections officer. I can almost remember all their names.. but that has never been my strong suit. I am bound to offend someone in the near future by not remembering their name. After a brief staff meeting of about 45 minutes, the day began. I set up my computer in the ‘office’ area, and began cleaning out my computer, and preparing it for the job ahead. Lunch break is from ~12-2, and we finish work at 5ish. From here on in, all numbers relating to hours should be taken with a large grain of salt. I started to take some preliminary notes on what all I thought I could do, and I spent some time reading the documents that GECEC has (which number roughly 4) about its activities and what they want from me.
Town orientation, meeting George, and a porcupine dinner
Sunday September 14th:
I went on an orientation tour of Lomie with Charlie. The town has one main road. The buildings are all in various states of decay. Most of the houses are mud and sticks, the fancy ones with corregated metal roofs. The less fiscally endowed settle for a thatch wood hybrid. They are rectangular, and single story. In the center of town the buildings are wood paneled. The fancy houses are concrete. My tour started by walking down one of the secondary roads, and meeting Benjamin (the vice president of the board and a close friend of Charlie), and George (the other VSO volunteer in town). We rounded out our tour by heading to the main strip at dusk, in time for a beer or two, and some more introductions. After sitting a spell, and chatting, we headed back to Charlie’s for dinner that consisted of Porcupine and fried plantain.
first day in Lomie
Saturday September 13th:
A full day of travel started with 3 hours at the bus depot in Yaounde. The (small) bus held 21 people, children included. It was the size of a large econoline van. I kept my backpack with my precious electronic cargo on my lap to prevent it from getting whacked to bits. The road leaving Yaounde was totally passable. Paved and in pretty good shape. The main arteries of Cameroon are well tended. Both Charlie, and Eric traveled with me, so I had some minders to make sure that I didn’t go astray. The countryside was stunning. Cameroon is one of the richest (resource wise) places I have ever seen. Food pretty much falls from the forest. Things seem to grow well. The red earth is moist from the rains, and it seems easy to till. We drove for 3 hours in the van to Among M’Bang, the junction town between Lomie and Bertua (the regional capital, clocking in at a whopping 8,000 people and apparently an internet café). We paused, and all of the luggage was handed down (including the goat) from the roof where it had been meticulously placed before. It was pretty easy for the locals to spot the White Guy gear and hand it to me. We paused for a few hours in town waiting for the van to Lomie. I was introduced to Olivier the external controller who verifies the books for GECEC. We chatted, while the new van was loaded, and then we were loaded. This (smaller) van held about 17 people. In front we were crammed in 6 across. I was one of those. The road to Lomie was not paved, and it started to get pretty bumpy, but all in all still much better than I had expected. Apparently the rainy season is starting late this year. We drove for about 4 hours through some amazing jungle. The road was wide enough for the logging trucks, but that was about it. I was touching… or rather the jungle was touching me, through the open window. Darkness fell (and I do mean fell.. it goes from daylight to darkness in about 20 minutes here), and we were still about 50km from Lomie. We started to see the hunters returning from the forest with their catch. We stopped a few times to inspect it.. and the driver and Charlie both got Porcupines. The last hour of travel was shared with a few fresh carcasses, and the odor of wild animal. We got to Lomie at around 8:30. A total journey of around 12 hours. Remarkable timing. I was then carted off to Charlie’s house where I went to sleep.