Advertisement
Published: September 18th 2010
August/September 2010 - Kawambwa to Victoria Falls to Sydney and back again
Well, it is fair to say it has been a whirlwind 6 weeks or so!
First off, in the week before I went to Australia I ended up going to Victoria Falls with Taban, and it was awesome. We drove there in Taban’s car - it is about a 6 hour drive from Lusaka, and the road was surprisingly good. Although we only had two nights there I managed to squeeze in as much as possible. The falls truly are an amazing sight that is impossible to put into words. They are something like 1.7km across!
As you can see from the photos, I managed to do some white water rafting on the Zambezi River, which was great. The rapids were pretty scary and the photos do that fear no justice (we did grade 4 and 5 rapids, and the worst grade is 6 - so you get the idea). After that, I did a ‘microlight’ flight over the falls - which really did give me a better picture of what they look like and just how big they really are. When you are on the
ground there is just so much mist and spray that the falls are almost impossible to photograph, so going up was the only option!
After Livingstone we returned to Lusaka for one night, and then my flight home the following day. With it being a Friday night, Taban, I and some other UNHCR guys decided to go for a drink, so they could show me the Lusaka nightlife. We started with dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant which was very tasty - and spicy! They kind of just sit the dishes in the middle of the table, and you just grab handfuls of the food with Ethiopian bread (injera) and scoff it. Excellent stuff. After that we went to a few clubs - one in particular was massive - I reckon there must have been 500 people in it (and definitely only one white boy!) And man these people can dance - I was just standing there watching with my mouth open most of the time. Anyway it was a fun night in the end, and I am glad Taban and co took me out - because it is not something I would ever have done by myself (aside from
the embarrassment, travelling around alone at night is said to be unsafe).
My time in Sydney was awesome, probably up there with the best weeks ever. I got to spend time with my darling Julia, hang out with most of my good friends, eat great food, not work, watch Florence & the machine, eat room-service toasted sandwiches with Jules whilst drinking a beer and watching the bombers game at 1am, and cap it all off with a great weekend with my wonderful family at Sally and Luke’s wedding at Manly & Balmoral.
The wedding was super, and although I have already said it to them - I am so proud of and happy for the bride and the groom. Both of you deserve all the success and happiness you get, and I hope you had a relaxing time on your honeymoon.
It would be prudent of me to note however that Sally got Matty and I to sing ‘lean on me’ in the church (Matty played it on guitar). I can’t say we were too confident going in, and as those who were there will attest, I don’t think I have ever been so nervous. In the
end it was funny and provided something different to the normal background music, and Sall & Luke loved it which is the main thing.
It was definitely tough to have to leave Australia after such a week, especially having to leave Jules again, but I also kind of wanted to come back. I guess this is because I had a sense of wanting to properly finish something I started. I have been thinking about doing this 6 months in Africa for so long, I want to make sure I give it my all, and that the projects I work on at least have a chance to near completion before I leave. And I know that our Kawambwa office needs me - ever since our Protection Officer (who was my supervisor) left, we basically only have 3 members of the protection team, which is not many when you have a camp of 4,000 people, at least 200 vulnerable refugees with specific needs, and you are repatriating sometimes 500 people per week. More on all of this later.
On 16 August I arrived back in Lusaka. It was a bugger of a flight - because I left at 10am I
couldn’t sleep. When in Lusaka I went shopping, I was like a zombie from the jetlag and didn’t really pay any attention to the prices of what I was buying. Ended up buying like 4 slices of ham for $7 - which is 35,000 kwacha! I can buy two meals for that! Idiot. Whilst in Lusaka I was staying at Gosner Mission guest house - I think I have already told you about this but it is a great little place, and all the profit they make goes toward funding community projects. Anyway I was due to do two weeks in the Lusaka office - to get some experience on the stuff they do there. Unfortunately however UNHCR weren’t prepared for my arrival, so we organized for to return to Kawambwa on the Friday and I will go back again to get some experience in the Lusaka office in November. It kind of works out well that way because there is heaps for me to do in Kawambwa at the moment. When I go back in November I am hoping to get some experience in refugee status determinations - that is where the government determines whether someone is a refugee
or not - via a legal process.
Anyway, after my first week back in Kawambwa I wrote a summary of the week while it was still fresh in my mind, and it goes as follows:
“The week in Kawambwa has easily been busiest so far, and also probably the most interesting. With the impending closure of the camp at the end of the October, there is a lot happening in terms of refugees returning home to Congo on voluntary repatriation. By way of background, basically, if a refugee wants to return home, they register with our repatriation office to go on a certain date. The day before the departure date, UNHCR processes all of those who wish to go. It really is difficult to describe what it is like. Think 500 people, sitting in the sun outside a tiny office which is located just off a dusty road. Women with babies strung on their backs like backpacks, children playing in the dust, and UNHCR staff weaving in between the people from one place to the next.
My role in this process is to monitor those refugees who are in the ‘vulnerables’ database - orphans, single mothers, teenage
pregnancies, the disabled, the elderly etc. I make sure their needs are attended to and that we inform the UNHCR office where they are going, so they can be continually monitored. I am also constantly asked to review proposed family splitting or merging cases. For example, a child’s mother might be with her in the camp, while the father is in Congo. The mother comes to me and says she wants to send the child back to his father, and that his uncle will take him. The repatriation team will ask Protection (of which I am a part) if this is ok. It is an unfortunately sometimes a rushed process, and as a result we are extremely hesitant to split families up. Only after I have had the opportunity to interview the child, the mother and the uncle, and done some background investigation, only then will such a request be approved by the protection team. The more serious cases of families breaking up are referred to the Lusaka office for a ‘Best Interests Determination’ - I think I outlined that process in a previous entry.
I know it sounds like these kinds of issues wouldn’t happen often, but they
damn well do! We have had two repatriation convoys this week, moving 500 people each time. On both ‘pre-departure’ days I have spent 7am to 7pm doing nothing but deal with these issues. This child wants to go with that family; this family wants to split up so the children can get back before school starts in Congo; these parents have divorced and the father wants to take some children and the mother the others; these people have married and want to take this child - it never stops. But I do find it extremely interesting and also incredibly important. Without this supervision by UNHCR, we would effectively be facilitating the breaking up of families left right and centre, which is firmly against our mandate and which harms the most vulnerable - children.
We had one case today where a child had been taken from the camp by someone, and then just left at a nearby village on her own. This child was meant to be repatriating the following day, so at 5pm when we found out the story we had to dispatch the driver to this village to find the child and pick her up. It took a
long time to find her, as apparently she was deep in the bush, but eventually we sorted the situation, and got the child on the convoy to be reunited with her father.
I still get what I call ‘the rockstar’ reception at the camp -at least from the kids anyway! The children are just so amazing - you cannot wipe the smile from their faces. They are often running up to me to shake hands, to exchange greetings in Swahili or English, or to ask me for a ‘chikopo’. These kids make it impossible to have a bad day, or to stay angry. They also love the camera - as you may notice from the photos! I have managed to print some of the photos to give to some of the kids - which they absolutely loved.
The adults are suitably more circumspect with their greetings, but once you say hello to them, and start up a conversation, more often than not they are extremely friendly and welcoming. For example, a few days ago I was visiting a house to interview some orphaned children who were staying with their aunt. The aunt was keeping 3 orphans, and had
9 children of her own - so it is safe to say that life is not easy for such a large family. When I arrived, the aunt and the children were picking cassava leaves from the branches and putting them in a large container. In Zambia, these leaves are used to make a dish called ifishachi - which is basically made by pounding the cassava leaves, then frying them, then adding water, peanut powder, and other things I don’t know about. The result is a kind of vegetable dish that is really tasty. Anyway, during the interview, I asked if I could buy some of the leaves. The aunt responded by giving me a huge bag of the leaves, and refusing to take any money from me. Here you have a woman, with 9 children of her own to care for, willing to care for 3 nieces and nephews who have lost their own parents, is about to return to her country of origin to re-start her family’s life after running from war over 10 years ago, and she is not even willing to take some small money from a comparatively rich muzungu for her produce. Such generosity is unfathomable
- women like her are what I believe to be the true treasure of Africa.”
(End of the entry).
So, as you may have noticed, I love going to work at the camp, and for the past few weeks it has been all day every day. But damn it takes it out of you! I don’t know if it is the sun, the dust, or having to deal with a constant stream of people all day, but I always come home buggered.
Aside from my work with the convoy, I have also been continuing with the best interest determinations I have explained earlier, and assorted other work. The BIDs have led me to continue interviews with orphans and their care-givers, home inspections, and drafting the forms for the panel which meets monthly. It has been hard to fit all of this in, but it is important work - it ensures the most vulnerable children are ok, and that they can get any assistance they need - clothing, blankets, food rations etc.
With the camp closing it really is interesting to get a perspective on the end of the refugee process - being the return of people
to their homes. You really do come to appreciate that being a refugee has many phases, and that each is equally important. Making sure refugees return to their home country voluntarily, in safety and with dignity is obviously a crucial phase, and it has been a unique experience for me to be involved in it, and also to be involved specifically in working on the many protection issues that come up during such a complicated process. The Congo is certainly not the safest of places, whilst the refugees here are going back to a region that is considered ‘safe’ by UNHCR - there are still plenty of areas in Congo where fighting, theft and mass rape continue. By and large, the fighting is over natural resources, particularly coltan, which apparently is a valuable mineral that is used to make mobile phones.
Here are two interesting news articles on recent problems in Congo, should you be interested: The first is an article on mass rapes in Congo and the link with the mining of coltan -
Article . The second is on alleged Genocide in DRC, and the link with Rwanda (the whole issue traces back to the 1994 genocide
in Rwanda, after which the perpetrators fled to Congo) -
Article I have a new housemate - he works for the government and I just call him doc. He is a nice man and we get along fine. I managed to cook spaghetti bolognaise from scratch the other night - I made the sauce from tomatoes, onions and basil. The doc really liked it - and I have to it admit it tasted better then when I used pre-made sauce in Australia. In terms of social life, the doc and I usually watch the football (the only sport that is on) at the local bar on the weekend, which is good. I am becoming a premier league expert, I have to say. Not much else happening really. I am officially addicted to Football Manager 2010, have read a few good books, and started watching ‘deadwood’ - which is a decent HBO television series that is set in the Wild West.
I managed to attend my first African mass the other day. It was at the ‘lighthouse church’ which is within Christianity. Anyway it was definitely interesting. I was invited by some friends from work. Basically, things start off
at 9am, and people pray for about 2 hours. Then they have singing, which goes for an hour. Then they have preaching, which goes for another hour. Luckily I only turned up halfway through the singing bit; otherwise I am sure the novelty would have worn off pretty quickly.
Although I am sure the congregation doesn’t have too many muzungu’s at their masses, they were nonetheless very welcoming - the preacher stopped halfway through his sermon to welcome me, and at that point everyone came up to shake my hand to say welcome.
The church itself was a relatively small, mud-brick building that seated around 50 people. It had windows along the sides for light and large bench seating made from wood. Naturally, there are no fans, so I am sure it would get pretty damn hot in hot season.
From my experience over the past 3 months, it appears to me that religion here is huge. I am yet to meet someone who isn’t a Christian, and most attend church more than once a week. Although I am conscious that Father Gary is a subscriber to this blog, religion here is obviously much more popular then
it is at home. When you talk to any person about it here, they have a distinct passion about God, and are able to articulate why God is so important in their lives. And when you consider that Christianity essentially was a product of European colonialism - and that colonialism was rejected so resoundingly during each African nations fight for independence, it has got me thinking - why wasn't Christianity rejected as a relic of European colonialism? Why is religion (and particularly Christianity) so popular in Zambia (and other Southern & East African countries) today?
I obviously do not know the answer to that question, but it is something to ponder. In this excellent book I just finished reading about Africa that Simon gave me - called ‘the shadow of the sun’, the writer, Ryszard Kapuscinksi, who is a journalist who worked in Africa for more than 40 years, offers some interesting insights on the subject. Instead of attempting to summarise or paraphrase the man, I will just put in a quote from the book:
“Africans, or at least those I have encountered over the years, are deeply religious. I would always wait for this question (to be asked if he believed in religion/god)…and I knew that the one questioning me would at the same time be observing me carefully, registering every twitch of my face. I sensed the way in which I answered would determine our relationship. And so when I said ‘yes, I believe’, I would see in his face the relief this brought him, see the tension and fear attending this scene dissipate, see how it brought us, how it allowed us to overcome the barriers of skin colour, status, age. Africans valued and liked to make contact on this higher, spiritual plane.”
Whilst my discussions with people about religion have not had the same degree of intensity as Mr Kapuscinksi, I can nonetheless identify with much of what he has written. Religion here seems to me to be a pervading force over society, in such a way that the government could not be said to be secular (and nor does it claim to be).
Anyway, nice segway - moving on.
Oh yeah - I finally got malaria, which was no fun. It happened last week - I just started to feel like a bad flu was coming on - headache, head cold, aches and pains, fever etc, and then one night I just started vomiting uncontrollably. I went to the hospital the next morning, and ended up staying for the night for observation. I was allowed to go home the following day - but had to spend the whole week at home. The drugs they gave me were so strong - a side effect is a constant ringing in the ears which brings with it partial deafness. But in the end the drugs did their job - as I feel much better now. Plenty of people have told me that now I have had malaria I have been to the ‘real Africa’. Malaria is just so common here. I don’t really know the accurate stats - but just about everyone in the office has had it since I’ve been here. The problem is that you can’t stop it - how do you stop mosquito’s biting you? You can sleep under a net, but sooner or later one will get to you. And the fact that I was taking anti-malarial prevention drugs and still got malaria is a fairly solid interaction as you their usefulness. Thanks for that one travel "doctor".
I am still really recovering, but I will get there! Time has really flown - I have already been back here for a month! I only have 6 weeks left in this office, then 3 weeks in the Lusaka office. Then Dad is coming to Zambia on 13 November and we are going to do 10 days of Zambian adventure - a few safaris and another trip to Vic falls - this time I might have a crack at the bungee! Dad and I will then fly home together - on 23 November. It is a bit earlier then first planned but with the camp closing there really isn’t much use me staying working at a refugee camp with little or no people in it.
Thanks for reading, apologies that it is so long. I won’t write again until toward the end of October, so I might only have two more entries.
Peace out team.
Oh yeah - here are two more really interesting articles I found online - for those who have a bit of time and are interested in some African news.
Food crisis in Niger and the actual effect of speculation in commodity markets by investment banks -
Article Article which provides a different view on the world cup (and black activism) in South Africa -
Article
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 6; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0479s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Sally Eagle
non-member comment
Hey Red - great blog. Glad your feeling better too. The pictures of the kiddies look so cute - i think you could crack out a "lean on me" for them ! Love you lots and miss you lots. Ps you owe me an email x