So, I am currently in Zimbabwe after a bit of a whirlwind tour of central Africa (Ethiopia, and the Congos, and some thought of going to Gabon), going from office to office not really being able to accomplish anything, so it was felt that it is best that I come to Harare office, to try to sort out some of the problems here.
While I am here in the office for other administrative issues, it is almost impossible to ignore the cholera situation that is ACTUALLY happening all over Zimbabwe…unlike President Mugabe’s statement that “there is no cholera and that the situation is under control”…it is far from over, and in fact with all the rains right now it is only going to get a lot worse. While I work in a relatively sheltered area, away from the real Zimbabwean society, you pass many hospitals on your way to the office with longs queues of people waiting for treatment . It is terrible, and hard not to get involved in the meetings that are happening or going into the communities to try to educate people on not drinking the water…but they have nothing else. Our only real hope is that the rains stop so that cholera will not be pushed into other cholera free zones, but at this point it is very unlikely. While cholera is not contagious, so I am not at risk (as I don’t plan to get my drinking or bath water from the sewers or wells) it spreads very quickly, and it can kill in a matter of hours…many of the people here already have compromised immunities due to HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue fever etc., so it is very hard to fight off, especially really young children and the aged.
We hear lots from Mugabe here that it is the US and Britain that have done this to Zimbabwe so as to exert their control, and we know this is not true. However seeing this and actually witnessing it, makes you realize how easy it would be for terrorists or anyone else to attack any of the developed nations through our water networks and cause some serious damage to our people.
So, apart from that, all is ok. I am really in need of a break and am hoping to get a few days off at Christmas, but that is still to be decided and figured out. I am back to Brazzaville this weekend and should know for sure by then when and if I can take some time off! But, I will for sure be taking 2-3 weeks off when my parents and aunt and uncle come to meet up with me in Kenya and Tanzania for a 2 week safari in early March!!! Also, fingers crossed, there is some talk of sending me to Kuala Lumpur on a secondment for a couple of months, which would be so lovely…but because I want it to happen, I am sure it won’t!!
As I don’t think I will have time to write again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a really great Christmas and has a few glasses of red wine for me…i am with you in spirit, but I still say it is nice not be caught up in the whole gift buying and holiday madness that is always happening at this time of the year. And while there is a lot of rain here right now, I am not missing the -30 degrees I keep reading about back home!!
Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Quanza, etc to all and a really excellent 2009!
Baci, Andrea
jeudi 18 décembre 2008
vendredi 5 décembre 2008
My future forest...
My cross country adventures continue. I promised myself when I left Canada that when and if I ever settled somewhere, ideally Canada, I would plant one tree for every flight I take while over here working....not quite 6 months in, and so far I am planting about 55 trees! I will soon have my very own forest!
Anyways, I am in Kuala Lumpur this week...it is funny that we have meetings about things happening in Nigeria outside of Nigeria...but this is how the UN operates, for those that ever think "maybe I would like to work there". The thing is, no one really wants to travel to Nigeria, so really besides the jet lag and loss of sleep, I am not complaining of having to come out here! I get good food, a comfortable hotel, and I get to regain some sanity...you realize that once you are out of Nigeria, just how dysfunctional it is! As much as it is nice to get out, every time I have come to KL, I get more work to do! We here in WHO are currently in the process of implementing a brand new management system (computerized), however the non-computerized system doesn’t even function, so not sure how they think they can put in place a computerized one with all these steps and processes when the “current” one is ridiculously malfunctional! So, it is an interesting experience…I will not go into too much detail on this as it is a bit of a sore point with me, and it making me a little crazy…even more crazy now that I have to give up my Christmas holidays to support other country offices in Africa to get ready for it! Yes, I will no longer be hiking Mt Kenya, or sitting on a beach, or eating home cooked Italian food, or drinking drinks out of coconuts with little umbrellas…I will be spending my entire holiday working…however I do get to work in Kinshasa, which is a really fun city in DR Congo (yes the same country where the civil war has sort of started up again, but no worries, the fighting is days away by road), but I also have to be in Brazzaville, one of the most dull cities in all of Africa…I am really hoping they send me to Namibia or Mauritius so that I can get some beach time…but not looking so good at this point. There should be a few people that I will at least get to eat “Christmas dinner” with…consisting of some sort of sundried bush meat, muoi muoi (dried sweet potato) and palm wine! This just means I will have more holidays to take when I come home in May/June for the assortment of weddings and festivities I will be attending!
Don’t feel too sorry for me…I have already had a few decent holidays this year…and things always happen for a reason, so I will survive!
I am spending the night in Singapore and then leaving Saturday for Nigeria…only to pack again and head to Brazzaville on the 11th, until who knows when!
I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday festivities…here in KL there are actually signs of Christmas, unlike in Nigeria where there is absolutely no acknowledgement of its existence!
I am way past my bedtime here, as I am writing in the middle of the night…I just can’t seem to get on a schedule here…the 7 hours time difference is really messing up my sleeping schedule…but the good thing in KL, is we take a 2 hour siesta in the afternoons for prayer time! So, I just pray in my sleep!
Merry Christmas!
Andrea
Anyways, I am in Kuala Lumpur this week...it is funny that we have meetings about things happening in Nigeria outside of Nigeria...but this is how the UN operates, for those that ever think "maybe I would like to work there". The thing is, no one really wants to travel to Nigeria, so really besides the jet lag and loss of sleep, I am not complaining of having to come out here! I get good food, a comfortable hotel, and I get to regain some sanity...you realize that once you are out of Nigeria, just how dysfunctional it is! As much as it is nice to get out, every time I have come to KL, I get more work to do! We here in WHO are currently in the process of implementing a brand new management system (computerized), however the non-computerized system doesn’t even function, so not sure how they think they can put in place a computerized one with all these steps and processes when the “current” one is ridiculously malfunctional! So, it is an interesting experience…I will not go into too much detail on this as it is a bit of a sore point with me, and it making me a little crazy…even more crazy now that I have to give up my Christmas holidays to support other country offices in Africa to get ready for it! Yes, I will no longer be hiking Mt Kenya, or sitting on a beach, or eating home cooked Italian food, or drinking drinks out of coconuts with little umbrellas…I will be spending my entire holiday working…however I do get to work in Kinshasa, which is a really fun city in DR Congo (yes the same country where the civil war has sort of started up again, but no worries, the fighting is days away by road), but I also have to be in Brazzaville, one of the most dull cities in all of Africa…I am really hoping they send me to Namibia or Mauritius so that I can get some beach time…but not looking so good at this point. There should be a few people that I will at least get to eat “Christmas dinner” with…consisting of some sort of sundried bush meat, muoi muoi (dried sweet potato) and palm wine! This just means I will have more holidays to take when I come home in May/June for the assortment of weddings and festivities I will be attending!
Don’t feel too sorry for me…I have already had a few decent holidays this year…and things always happen for a reason, so I will survive!
I am spending the night in Singapore and then leaving Saturday for Nigeria…only to pack again and head to Brazzaville on the 11th, until who knows when!
I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday festivities…here in KL there are actually signs of Christmas, unlike in Nigeria where there is absolutely no acknowledgement of its existence!
I am way past my bedtime here, as I am writing in the middle of the night…I just can’t seem to get on a schedule here…the 7 hours time difference is really messing up my sleeping schedule…but the good thing in KL, is we take a 2 hour siesta in the afternoons for prayer time! So, I just pray in my sleep!
Merry Christmas!
Andrea
lundi 1 décembre 2008
UPDATE on the situation in Jos...
Hi,
Just a quick update on what I wrote on saturday...the situation got a lot worse over Saturday and Sunday...there are now at least 600 dead...we have been sent this week to set up refugee camps to provide water, food and shelter and are expecting a cholera outbreak of sorts. At least 20,000 people are homeless as their homes were burnt to the ground!
It is crazy, but we have received word that the situation is somewhat under control and no new deaths reported in the last few hours! So, hopefully it has come to an end!
Andrea
Just a quick update on what I wrote on saturday...the situation got a lot worse over Saturday and Sunday...there are now at least 600 dead...we have been sent this week to set up refugee camps to provide water, food and shelter and are expecting a cholera outbreak of sorts. At least 20,000 people are homeless as their homes were burnt to the ground!
It is crazy, but we have received word that the situation is somewhat under control and no new deaths reported in the last few hours! So, hopefully it has come to an end!
Andrea
samedi 29 novembre 2008
another day, another problem in Nigeria!
So, more adventures in this wonderful country of Nigeria!
We were on mission just a few hours north of Abuja, in a really nice area called Jos. We had just started a campaign to immunize kids against polio, measles and hand out malaria nets. Everything was going great…we had just taken a little side trip to visit the farm where I get all my organic fruit and veggies delivered from and met the people who run it, when they warned about some problems happening in the village below. Jos was having their elections on Thursday, and while in many areas these things go rather smoothly, Jos is a little different as it is not the most religious tolerant city. Mainly a Christian state, however as the north is predominantly Muslim, they are trying to take over all Northern states and make them Muslim…on this day they elected a Christian leader in this local government area, where it had been predicted (I.e., set up) for a Muslim to win…well, for whatever reason a Muslim did not win, and a Christian was elected…so basically, all hell broke loose. It started out rather innocently, just some verbal arguing, workers at the farm started to come and see us and ask what was going on, and at this point we really had to clue… but very quickly we started to see a lot of smoke not too far ahead of us…the Muslims were setting fire to garbage, houses and cars in the Christian areas, and to retaliate the Christians were doing the same in the Muslim areas..but then from what we hear, things went really wrong…2 muslims were razzing a church and a few of the local boys from the neighbourhood (Christians) were trying to defend their church…well, they were shot and killed,a s was the pastor of the church…so much for peaceful demonstrations….from the information we were getting via text message (from the Deputy Police Officer), all roads in and out of Jos were now being road blocked, and because we were in a marked UN vehicle, there were chances there could be problems, so we were told to go to the Military barracks and take cover, until we could be guaranteed safe movement out of the state…this was also made difficult by the fact that we had a muslim driver with us, who did not feel safe driving us there, nor did he want to enter the barracks (as the soldiers are primarily Christians)…I may be sounding as if this was really no big deal, but all of this was happening over a 4 hour period, and there was utter confusion at different points…our only communication was with our Abuja base (4 hours away) who could not get a clear idea of what was going on…the more time passed, the more things got shut down (they shut down all telecommunications, so our mobile phones were not really working), and even our high frequency radios in the car were compromised! At no time did I actually think we were in any real danger, but knowing that we were in the same area where there was active gunfire on other human beings just because of a silly election (that really in the scheme of things does not mean much – it is of course always about the money here). We finally made it to the barracks and it was a very odd sensation being the only female and hundreds of men just sitting around staring at you, I at least was with Thomas, another white guy (that is our WHO polio photographer based in Geneva), who has become a good friend during my time here, and he has lived and worked in Pakistan and Iraq, so he was pretty comfortable throughout the situation! We made it back to Abuja safe and sound yesterday evening, after a full day of just sitting in the army barracks being stared at, and we decided to go out for a few (or a lot) of beers! The update on the situation is that the violence is still ongoing, we have evacuated all staff from the area to Abuja, and there are over 80 people dead in the area, and it is not foreseen for the violence to end…the problem is that this is an ongoing battle going on for decades, and usually it is left to just sort itself out, so I can’t imagine how many more people are going to lose their life for this, but those who die, are said to die for a cause “martyrdom”…crazy shit is all I can say!
This will never come to Abuja, thankfully, as the military would not hesitate to just shoot and kill anyone who caused any problems! Nice to at least be in the capital city, where all we really have to worry about are house invasions and car jackings!
God bless Nigeria!
We were on mission just a few hours north of Abuja, in a really nice area called Jos. We had just started a campaign to immunize kids against polio, measles and hand out malaria nets. Everything was going great…we had just taken a little side trip to visit the farm where I get all my organic fruit and veggies delivered from and met the people who run it, when they warned about some problems happening in the village below. Jos was having their elections on Thursday, and while in many areas these things go rather smoothly, Jos is a little different as it is not the most religious tolerant city. Mainly a Christian state, however as the north is predominantly Muslim, they are trying to take over all Northern states and make them Muslim…on this day they elected a Christian leader in this local government area, where it had been predicted (I.e., set up) for a Muslim to win…well, for whatever reason a Muslim did not win, and a Christian was elected…so basically, all hell broke loose. It started out rather innocently, just some verbal arguing, workers at the farm started to come and see us and ask what was going on, and at this point we really had to clue… but very quickly we started to see a lot of smoke not too far ahead of us…the Muslims were setting fire to garbage, houses and cars in the Christian areas, and to retaliate the Christians were doing the same in the Muslim areas..but then from what we hear, things went really wrong…2 muslims were razzing a church and a few of the local boys from the neighbourhood (Christians) were trying to defend their church…well, they were shot and killed,a s was the pastor of the church…so much for peaceful demonstrations….from the information we were getting via text message (from the Deputy Police Officer), all roads in and out of Jos were now being road blocked, and because we were in a marked UN vehicle, there were chances there could be problems, so we were told to go to the Military barracks and take cover, until we could be guaranteed safe movement out of the state…this was also made difficult by the fact that we had a muslim driver with us, who did not feel safe driving us there, nor did he want to enter the barracks (as the soldiers are primarily Christians)…I may be sounding as if this was really no big deal, but all of this was happening over a 4 hour period, and there was utter confusion at different points…our only communication was with our Abuja base (4 hours away) who could not get a clear idea of what was going on…the more time passed, the more things got shut down (they shut down all telecommunications, so our mobile phones were not really working), and even our high frequency radios in the car were compromised! At no time did I actually think we were in any real danger, but knowing that we were in the same area where there was active gunfire on other human beings just because of a silly election (that really in the scheme of things does not mean much – it is of course always about the money here). We finally made it to the barracks and it was a very odd sensation being the only female and hundreds of men just sitting around staring at you, I at least was with Thomas, another white guy (that is our WHO polio photographer based in Geneva), who has become a good friend during my time here, and he has lived and worked in Pakistan and Iraq, so he was pretty comfortable throughout the situation! We made it back to Abuja safe and sound yesterday evening, after a full day of just sitting in the army barracks being stared at, and we decided to go out for a few (or a lot) of beers! The update on the situation is that the violence is still ongoing, we have evacuated all staff from the area to Abuja, and there are over 80 people dead in the area, and it is not foreseen for the violence to end…the problem is that this is an ongoing battle going on for decades, and usually it is left to just sort itself out, so I can’t imagine how many more people are going to lose their life for this, but those who die, are said to die for a cause “martyrdom”…crazy shit is all I can say!
This will never come to Abuja, thankfully, as the military would not hesitate to just shoot and kill anyone who caused any problems! Nice to at least be in the capital city, where all we really have to worry about are house invasions and car jackings!
God bless Nigeria!
mercredi 26 novembre 2008
The Annual Nigeria Durbar...
Hi everyone,
I am taking a little break from my day of trying to figure out our $400 million budget to write an update. i am not sure why they gave me, the numbers dyslexic person a budget to prepare, but I think everyone has to have a go at it...i only wish I had my high school report cards, where they basically gave me the credit as long as I promised never to take math again!
All is well. It is HOT here...and I mean day in and day out, it is over 38 degrees, and the problem is that it is not even the hot season yet...that comes in February...its not like I am outside all day long, but we are starting a campaign this weekend in the north, so I will be outside all day long, walking from house to house all covered up, as I am going to an area again where I can't show any skin.
Last weekend I headed north to a little town outside of Abuja, for the annual Northern Durbar. A Durbar is basically a ceremonial gathering all people from the northern states and from Niger, to celebrate the naming/incoming Emir of the various states. It usually happens just before Eid (which falls on 08 Dec, a muslim holiday like Ramadan). It is a showcase of the horses, jewels, and money that each has. It was insanely hot and dusty, so while it was amazing to see, we were tired and dehydrated the whole time...and no one was selling any water or anything. it was funny because more of the locals were taking pictures of us (the white folk) then we were of them! Photo taking of locals and local places is actually illegal in Nigeria, but yu take the risk. So, I have attached a lot of photos from the weekend...mainly horses and their riders. All the riders are essentially considered the Emir's soldier's (the Emir, is the head of each area in his given state). You may notice on some of the photos that a person may have bunny -like ear on his head -- that means he is the upcoming Emir, while others only have one, which means they are his closest confidants and protectors. The rest that just have turbans are the soldiers, always around to protect him. The durbar is an ancient ritual, and while the Emir is no longer followed around by horsemen and soldiers, he always has the soldiers by his side wherever he goes, as he is a target. There were also lots of elephants there, but it was horrible to see them, as they were severly malnourished and horribly treated...to the point where one went on a bit of a rampage, and the only way to control it was to shoot it dead! Its body was left there to be feasted on by the vultures! Nigerians, especially the northern nigerians, have absolutely no respect for animals, and so the horses, goats, dogs, elephants are all treated very badly and then they are eaten at the end of the usefulness, so while it was nice to see all these immaculately dressed up horses, if you tried to go near them, they would have definitely bitten or bucked you! There was lots of cat roasting going on up there, as I understand it to be a delicacy...so I just went hungry, no interest in cats!
I often have to meet with these Emirs, and these are the guys that cause me a LOT of headaches. They think very highly of themselves, and think they know everything, but really they are rather useless and just lucky to have been born into the family they are in. Some are more helpful than others though!
It was awesome to get to experience the Durbar, as it is a huge event here! I got some great photos, but I have like hundreds, so I only put up a few. The music played there was unbelievable as well...I wish I could post the videos I took, as the musicians are almost trans-like, and just sit and play for hours on their drums, horns, etc! It was really intense to watch, but an incredible experience!
Enough from me for now. Christmas is very soon approaching, and I actually heard my first christmas "carole" the other day...snapped me back to reality! Still not sure what my Christmas plans are, but I have to go to Kuala Lumpar again next week...and from there I have to come back here for a few days of a silly retreat...and then holiday time! So, not sure where I will end up, but most likely Italy or eastern Kenya...ideally a beach, with lots of cold beverages.
Happy holidays to all!
love ange
I am taking a little break from my day of trying to figure out our $400 million budget to write an update. i am not sure why they gave me, the numbers dyslexic person a budget to prepare, but I think everyone has to have a go at it...i only wish I had my high school report cards, where they basically gave me the credit as long as I promised never to take math again!
All is well. It is HOT here...and I mean day in and day out, it is over 38 degrees, and the problem is that it is not even the hot season yet...that comes in February...its not like I am outside all day long, but we are starting a campaign this weekend in the north, so I will be outside all day long, walking from house to house all covered up, as I am going to an area again where I can't show any skin.
Last weekend I headed north to a little town outside of Abuja, for the annual Northern Durbar. A Durbar is basically a ceremonial gathering all people from the northern states and from Niger, to celebrate the naming/incoming Emir of the various states. It usually happens just before Eid (which falls on 08 Dec, a muslim holiday like Ramadan). It is a showcase of the horses, jewels, and money that each has. It was insanely hot and dusty, so while it was amazing to see, we were tired and dehydrated the whole time...and no one was selling any water or anything. it was funny because more of the locals were taking pictures of us (the white folk) then we were of them! Photo taking of locals and local places is actually illegal in Nigeria, but yu take the risk. So, I have attached a lot of photos from the weekend...mainly horses and their riders. All the riders are essentially considered the Emir's soldier's (the Emir, is the head of each area in his given state). You may notice on some of the photos that a person may have bunny -like ear on his head -- that means he is the upcoming Emir, while others only have one, which means they are his closest confidants and protectors. The rest that just have turbans are the soldiers, always around to protect him. The durbar is an ancient ritual, and while the Emir is no longer followed around by horsemen and soldiers, he always has the soldiers by his side wherever he goes, as he is a target. There were also lots of elephants there, but it was horrible to see them, as they were severly malnourished and horribly treated...to the point where one went on a bit of a rampage, and the only way to control it was to shoot it dead! Its body was left there to be feasted on by the vultures! Nigerians, especially the northern nigerians, have absolutely no respect for animals, and so the horses, goats, dogs, elephants are all treated very badly and then they are eaten at the end of the usefulness, so while it was nice to see all these immaculately dressed up horses, if you tried to go near them, they would have definitely bitten or bucked you! There was lots of cat roasting going on up there, as I understand it to be a delicacy...so I just went hungry, no interest in cats!
I often have to meet with these Emirs, and these are the guys that cause me a LOT of headaches. They think very highly of themselves, and think they know everything, but really they are rather useless and just lucky to have been born into the family they are in. Some are more helpful than others though!
It was awesome to get to experience the Durbar, as it is a huge event here! I got some great photos, but I have like hundreds, so I only put up a few. The music played there was unbelievable as well...I wish I could post the videos I took, as the musicians are almost trans-like, and just sit and play for hours on their drums, horns, etc! It was really intense to watch, but an incredible experience!
Enough from me for now. Christmas is very soon approaching, and I actually heard my first christmas "carole" the other day...snapped me back to reality! Still not sure what my Christmas plans are, but I have to go to Kuala Lumpar again next week...and from there I have to come back here for a few days of a silly retreat...and then holiday time! So, not sure where I will end up, but most likely Italy or eastern Kenya...ideally a beach, with lots of cold beverages.
Happy holidays to all!
love ange
jeudi 20 novembre 2008
3 continents, 6 countries, 5 days....
Well hello friends, family and others!
All is well here, apart from whatever virus I am now carrying...but it could also just be jetlag or these damn Harmatan sand storms.
I made a very quick trip last week to California for Yvette's 40th birthday, where all the "De-Freitas women" were gathering for a celebration at my aunt's place in Palm Desert. It was a very last minute decision on my part, as i was supposed to be out in the field monitoring polio transmissions or something like that, but fate intervened and allowed me to get away for a few days!
So, as i had a meeting in Malabo, Equitorial Guinea on the Thursday, I was able to catch a plane from there to Germany and then direct to Los Angeles, where I then drove another 2 hours to get to my aunt's place to finally arrive on the Friday afteroon (good thing about traveling west is that the time difference is 9 hours to my advantage), but not so good for the jet lag! And, then I was back on a plane Monday morning, heading back to Africa for even more, never ending meetings! I came back exhausted, and even more exhausted after 3 days of meetings again In Malabo, and then in Accra, Ghana…but I was more than exhausted, I was flat out sick and so this last weekend, I spent almost the whole time in bed! But, all is good now…who knows what I had…I think it was just exhaustion! But, good thing I have Mary around…she is fantastic and knows all the non medicinal cures…although they don’t taste so good!
Work is very busy now, as we are just starting a major malaria, measles and meningitis campaign (along with polio vaccinations)…we are giving out over 60 million bed nets and measle and meningitis shots in the north parts of Nigeria over the next week, and then the second week of December we head south to do the same thing…so the next few weeks will be a bit of a whirlwind…but after that it will be holiday time again! That is turning into an interesting story into itself…and currently I am trying to figure out just where I will end up and when ( I at least have it narrowed down to one of 3 continents - Asia, Africa or Europe)…so I will keep you posted on that. But, you can be guaranteed it will be an adventure!
The one thing I will say that is really weird is that this is the first time ever that I am not constantly reminded that it is Christmas season…even though Nigeria is 50% Christian, there are no overt signs that Christmas is coming…no obnoxious Christmas music playing everywhere, santa claus standing on street corners, holiday shopping, peppermint flavoured this or egg nog flavoured that…it just does not exist here. I have yet to see one single decoration, hear a Christmas jingle or overhear people talking about what to buy or how difficult others are to shop for…While it is celebrated, it not like the developed world where we try to outspend one another and give/get things we don’t really need…people here plan for time with their families, and going to church, etc. So, it is actually quite refreshing for a change. I am not anti-Christmas or anything, but I do think we go a little too crazy with the whole thing. While I have been away for Christmas before, this is the first time that I really forget it is coming…and it is also 40 degrees (Celcius) everyday…so that also a bit of a change!
I keep hearing about the fires in California, but they really need to start talking about the ones here in Africa…on a daily basis, outside my office window, there is a huge fire destroying homes and farmer fields, and as there is really no such thing as a fire department, everything just burns to the ground…the few people with buckets are relatively useless as 50 people using buckets on a huge fire just doesn’t really work so well…so quite sad to see, but then you just see then rebuilding a few hundred metres away!
Anyways, that is it for me for now. I have posted some new photos, but should have more coming soon.
Hope you are all getting ready for the season, and enjoying the rain/sun/snow/ice/cold where ever you are!
A presto, Andrea
All is well here, apart from whatever virus I am now carrying...but it could also just be jetlag or these damn Harmatan sand storms.
I made a very quick trip last week to California for Yvette's 40th birthday, where all the "De-Freitas women" were gathering for a celebration at my aunt's place in Palm Desert. It was a very last minute decision on my part, as i was supposed to be out in the field monitoring polio transmissions or something like that, but fate intervened and allowed me to get away for a few days!
So, as i had a meeting in Malabo, Equitorial Guinea on the Thursday, I was able to catch a plane from there to Germany and then direct to Los Angeles, where I then drove another 2 hours to get to my aunt's place to finally arrive on the Friday afteroon (good thing about traveling west is that the time difference is 9 hours to my advantage), but not so good for the jet lag! And, then I was back on a plane Monday morning, heading back to Africa for even more, never ending meetings! I came back exhausted, and even more exhausted after 3 days of meetings again In Malabo, and then in Accra, Ghana…but I was more than exhausted, I was flat out sick and so this last weekend, I spent almost the whole time in bed! But, all is good now…who knows what I had…I think it was just exhaustion! But, good thing I have Mary around…she is fantastic and knows all the non medicinal cures…although they don’t taste so good!
Work is very busy now, as we are just starting a major malaria, measles and meningitis campaign (along with polio vaccinations)…we are giving out over 60 million bed nets and measle and meningitis shots in the north parts of Nigeria over the next week, and then the second week of December we head south to do the same thing…so the next few weeks will be a bit of a whirlwind…but after that it will be holiday time again! That is turning into an interesting story into itself…and currently I am trying to figure out just where I will end up and when ( I at least have it narrowed down to one of 3 continents - Asia, Africa or Europe)…so I will keep you posted on that. But, you can be guaranteed it will be an adventure!
The one thing I will say that is really weird is that this is the first time ever that I am not constantly reminded that it is Christmas season…even though Nigeria is 50% Christian, there are no overt signs that Christmas is coming…no obnoxious Christmas music playing everywhere, santa claus standing on street corners, holiday shopping, peppermint flavoured this or egg nog flavoured that…it just does not exist here. I have yet to see one single decoration, hear a Christmas jingle or overhear people talking about what to buy or how difficult others are to shop for…While it is celebrated, it not like the developed world where we try to outspend one another and give/get things we don’t really need…people here plan for time with their families, and going to church, etc. So, it is actually quite refreshing for a change. I am not anti-Christmas or anything, but I do think we go a little too crazy with the whole thing. While I have been away for Christmas before, this is the first time that I really forget it is coming…and it is also 40 degrees (Celcius) everyday…so that also a bit of a change!
I keep hearing about the fires in California, but they really need to start talking about the ones here in Africa…on a daily basis, outside my office window, there is a huge fire destroying homes and farmer fields, and as there is really no such thing as a fire department, everything just burns to the ground…the few people with buckets are relatively useless as 50 people using buckets on a huge fire just doesn’t really work so well…so quite sad to see, but then you just see then rebuilding a few hundred metres away!
Anyways, that is it for me for now. I have posted some new photos, but should have more coming soon.
Hope you are all getting ready for the season, and enjoying the rain/sun/snow/ice/cold where ever you are!
A presto, Andrea
mercredi 12 novembre 2008
Nigeria customs...
Well,
Sorry...meant to post this last week, but internet was really bad and then i went away for a few days....
Not much new to report on, in terms of my work and travel. I surprisingly did not get sick after eating a furry lamb’s tail! It is however, getting very hot again here, but at least we aren’t getting snow! So, instead of talking about work, I will talk about Nigeria customs and culture, as it is pretty fascinating stuff.
I am officially settled into my flat here in Abuja. It is slowly becoming a home. As is custom here, I am planning for my house warming party, where it gets blessed and then we drink and eat!! I have a huge bbq pit behind my flat, so we will have one heck of a cook up. The good thing is I have hired someone, Mary, who lives in my boys quarters (a separate building for hired help to live in), and she knows how to cook Nigerian, so I am sure she will be a huge help! She is very sweet and innocent…she said she was happy to find me, as every other house that she interviewed at, the men told her she “had to sleep with them” if she wanted the job. From what I have recently learned, this actually happens alot, and most women are desperate for work, that they have no choice…so clearly, sexual slavery is alive and well in Nigeria! She has asked if her sister Lydia can also live with her, as she needs out of her current situation (from the sound of it, this sister has been being abused by her employer)…I didn’t hesitate to agree…it is just one room they share, but whatever gets her out of her situation... They do everything for me, that I am a little nervous for when I return to the “developed” world, I will be a little useless, and not be able to take care of myself! I may just have to bring them with me, as they are of course desperate to get out of Nigeria…I am sure they would make really great nannies…too bad I don’t quite see kids in my near future.
I can now also be called a matchmaker…it just so happened that one of the driver’s (Soda) I use on weekends is single…he came to pick us up to take us to the market (she is an excellent negotiator, so I just give her the money, and that way I don’t get completely and ridiculously ripped off!!)…it was very cute, as they were very much flirting. Mary is from the north and her family all lives up there, so as I am now considered family, so Soda shows up at my door in his best suit and then asked me about her, and my permission to “accompany me and her to church”! He then proceeded to show my his CV, not quite a work CV, but a success CV!! The jobs he has held, and the money he saves monthly, and how much he sends home to his family, also in the north, as well as 2 letters of recommendation! I thought this was all great and sweet, but I was a little stuck with the church thing…in Nigeria church on Sunday is a full day affair, starting at 6am, going late into the evening. As a bit of a lapsed Christian…alright fully lapsed Christian, this was a bit much…but also because once you start this process, you are expected every week. So a bit of a dilemma…but another problem in all of this is that never once is Mary asked if she wants to go to church with him or if she is interested, as this is not custom. The African way, is the man chooses his wife, and she has no real say…I expected this from muslim, but not so much from Christians. But, thankfully she actually thinks he is very polite…interesting way to describe a man, but I guess that is important here! If everything works out, they are usually married within 3 months, so while I hope it works out for them, I really hope that I don’t lose her…yes, I know, I am spoiled, but it is a way of helping out locals here.
It is a good thing Obama won in the US…and an exciting time to be in Africa. There were big street parties all over Nigeria, and from what I understand, all over Africa when it was announced that he had won. People everywhere that day kept on coming up to me and congratulating me…they think that because I am white and don’t have a “funny” accent (like the Brits) that I must be American…but it was all good, and actually relatively peaceful, without gun shots ringing out to show their excitement, as this is the usual way of celebrating here ( a little known fact – about 500 people die a year here from people ‘celebrating’ with guns!!)
Anyways, I will write more soon…as work is starting to get interesting again.
Ciao, andrea
Sorry...meant to post this last week, but internet was really bad and then i went away for a few days....
Not much new to report on, in terms of my work and travel. I surprisingly did not get sick after eating a furry lamb’s tail! It is however, getting very hot again here, but at least we aren’t getting snow! So, instead of talking about work, I will talk about Nigeria customs and culture, as it is pretty fascinating stuff.
I am officially settled into my flat here in Abuja. It is slowly becoming a home. As is custom here, I am planning for my house warming party, where it gets blessed and then we drink and eat!! I have a huge bbq pit behind my flat, so we will have one heck of a cook up. The good thing is I have hired someone, Mary, who lives in my boys quarters (a separate building for hired help to live in), and she knows how to cook Nigerian, so I am sure she will be a huge help! She is very sweet and innocent…she said she was happy to find me, as every other house that she interviewed at, the men told her she “had to sleep with them” if she wanted the job. From what I have recently learned, this actually happens alot, and most women are desperate for work, that they have no choice…so clearly, sexual slavery is alive and well in Nigeria! She has asked if her sister Lydia can also live with her, as she needs out of her current situation (from the sound of it, this sister has been being abused by her employer)…I didn’t hesitate to agree…it is just one room they share, but whatever gets her out of her situation... They do everything for me, that I am a little nervous for when I return to the “developed” world, I will be a little useless, and not be able to take care of myself! I may just have to bring them with me, as they are of course desperate to get out of Nigeria…I am sure they would make really great nannies…too bad I don’t quite see kids in my near future.
I can now also be called a matchmaker…it just so happened that one of the driver’s (Soda) I use on weekends is single…he came to pick us up to take us to the market (she is an excellent negotiator, so I just give her the money, and that way I don’t get completely and ridiculously ripped off!!)…it was very cute, as they were very much flirting. Mary is from the north and her family all lives up there, so as I am now considered family, so Soda shows up at my door in his best suit and then asked me about her, and my permission to “accompany me and her to church”! He then proceeded to show my his CV, not quite a work CV, but a success CV!! The jobs he has held, and the money he saves monthly, and how much he sends home to his family, also in the north, as well as 2 letters of recommendation! I thought this was all great and sweet, but I was a little stuck with the church thing…in Nigeria church on Sunday is a full day affair, starting at 6am, going late into the evening. As a bit of a lapsed Christian…alright fully lapsed Christian, this was a bit much…but also because once you start this process, you are expected every week. So a bit of a dilemma…but another problem in all of this is that never once is Mary asked if she wants to go to church with him or if she is interested, as this is not custom. The African way, is the man chooses his wife, and she has no real say…I expected this from muslim, but not so much from Christians. But, thankfully she actually thinks he is very polite…interesting way to describe a man, but I guess that is important here! If everything works out, they are usually married within 3 months, so while I hope it works out for them, I really hope that I don’t lose her…yes, I know, I am spoiled, but it is a way of helping out locals here.
It is a good thing Obama won in the US…and an exciting time to be in Africa. There were big street parties all over Nigeria, and from what I understand, all over Africa when it was announced that he had won. People everywhere that day kept on coming up to me and congratulating me…they think that because I am white and don’t have a “funny” accent (like the Brits) that I must be American…but it was all good, and actually relatively peaceful, without gun shots ringing out to show their excitement, as this is the usual way of celebrating here ( a little known fact – about 500 people die a year here from people ‘celebrating’ with guns!!)
Anyways, I will write more soon…as work is starting to get interesting again.
Ciao, andrea
dimanche 26 octobre 2008
The seasons are a changin'...
Hi everyone,
So, this week is a little bit more relaxed, so I have some time to write. We are being audited over the next 2 weeks, so work will be a little slow, which will be a nice change of pace.
Last week I was up north in Nigeria, is the North western zone..actually only about 3 hours north of Abuja, but very different. It is a town that is 50% muslim and 50% Christian, but is a state governed by Sharia law, which is interesting as it can impact on the Christians, but since the 90’s, they have lived relatively harmoniously. There were some positives and some negatives to this trip, but overall it was alright. The best part was that Kaduna has this amazing French café, with the best croissants I have had outside of France! The worst part was having to choose which cute, baby lamb to choose for slaughtering, and later eat for our dinner! My treat, as a first timer to Kaduna, was getting the speciality….sucking the marrow out of the still furry lamb’s tail!! Yummy! It was horrible, and I mostly faked it, as the whole idea was just so horrible, the sucking was not half as bad as me having to convince myself to actually put the furry tail in my mouth….I survived, but I will not ever do it again! I should also mention that we are now leaving the good season and entering the Harapin Sand Storm season…where the air is full of red sand blowing in from the Sahara, so at all times you are eating, drinking and breathing red sand…and on top of that it is also the aphid season…huge, flying, grasshopper like bugs that eat all remaining crops and nestle themselves into your bed, clothes and hair!! So, all in all very enjoyable at the moment, especially as the temperatures get up to 40 degrees some days!!
I have been getting some great questions from friends and family about my time here, so I should try to clarity some of them. First, so far from what I have seen of Africa, it is really a beautiful continent, some countries are of course nicer than others, as are some cities and towns, but overall it is a place to visit at least once in your lifestyle. The Arica that is portrayed on television, like kids sitting idling with snot running down their noses and covered in mosquitos is NOT the norm…sure it happens, and you do see it occasionally, but only when I am going to the camps where these (typically) refugees are living, and there has been an outbreak of cholera or dengue…it is not like everyone lives this way. Africa, as whole is actually very green, with lots of trees and farm land…however I have been visiting the various countries during rainy season…drought starts in March-June, so I am sure that will change, but on a whole, there is a lot of farming and agriculture. When I go on mission, it is usually to some pretty terrible areas, and it is for this reason that I am going on mission…we have to visit the bad areas, because they have a lot of illnesses and other problems, which is of course why WHO operates in the countries it operates in….so when I am on mission, it is not usually all the fun in terms of what I see and experience, but it is definitely educational and eye opening. The one thing I have definitely learned from it all is that we from the developed world often feel sorrow/pity/anger/sadness, etc for the way these people live, but for the majority, this is all they have ever known and all they see…they have a roof over their heads, yams and other root veggies growing in the garden, and God…they are not asking for a bigger television, nicer home, better clothes…they ask what every parent asks for..to keep their kids healthy! The problem is often with the officials (government and religious) who know what else is out there, and want a ‘piece’ of it. While Nigeria is known to be a corrupt country, the people themselves are wonderful, grateful people, who will literally do everything they can to make sure you are comfortable…while maybe not giving you their last dollar, they will certainly come to your assistance when you really need them! Nigerians are also extremely entrepreneurial, which is a nice change from many other neighbouring countries, where people just ask for a handout. Everyone is a business owner in some capacity or another…selling anything and everything you can imagine on the busy roads, or setting up booths to teach driving skills (which is kind of an oxymoron, because Nigerians really are the craziest /stupidest drivers I have ever seen), to traveling barbers, etc…they do not look for handouts, and surprisingly there are no people just standing at street corners looking for a free handout…if and when you do see it, they are typically polio survivors or blind from other diseases…yet they are still working, selling newspapers. Definitely puts those “squeegee kids” to shame who are just looking for drug money or just refuse to use the “system”. There is no social support network in Nigerian, so even more shameful that we have homelessness and other problems in our developed worlds. While I do complain from time to time about the food (only because I want the stuff that is bad for you like Doritos and candy, etc), the food is actually pretty good here…it is really spicy, sort of like a good west Indian curry. The really good news is that I found an organic farm that grows absolutely everything (including strawberries) and does home delivery!!! The bok choy and arugula is the best I have ever had, anywhere in the world, and that passion fruit is unbelieveable! I get a huge box of fresh fruit, herbs and veggies every week delivered right to my door! While it is a bit expensive, it is worth every single dime plus some! I am actually going to spend a weekend at the farm, as they encourage those who use them to come and stay and work for free. I see it as a really good opportunity to learn about farming in Nigeria, as they use no machines or animals, only human, physical hands to grow everything! Not sure when I will be able to go, but hopefully before Christmas!
As for the polio update this week…we have now infected 3 other countries…Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali all have had positive tests in the last week…these countries have not had polio in over 10-15 years and were considered eradicated! So, looks like we have even more work to do now!
Apart from that, all is well! I had my greatest dinner since arriving...real Indian food!! My neighbours are from India and are vegetarian, so they have invited me for dinner whenever I want to come…YAH!!! So excited about this!! No more semovita, such a relief!
Take care, and hopefully you in those snowy countries about to get winter don’t get any more early storms.
Andrea
So, this week is a little bit more relaxed, so I have some time to write. We are being audited over the next 2 weeks, so work will be a little slow, which will be a nice change of pace.
Last week I was up north in Nigeria, is the North western zone..actually only about 3 hours north of Abuja, but very different. It is a town that is 50% muslim and 50% Christian, but is a state governed by Sharia law, which is interesting as it can impact on the Christians, but since the 90’s, they have lived relatively harmoniously. There were some positives and some negatives to this trip, but overall it was alright. The best part was that Kaduna has this amazing French café, with the best croissants I have had outside of France! The worst part was having to choose which cute, baby lamb to choose for slaughtering, and later eat for our dinner! My treat, as a first timer to Kaduna, was getting the speciality….sucking the marrow out of the still furry lamb’s tail!! Yummy! It was horrible, and I mostly faked it, as the whole idea was just so horrible, the sucking was not half as bad as me having to convince myself to actually put the furry tail in my mouth….I survived, but I will not ever do it again! I should also mention that we are now leaving the good season and entering the Harapin Sand Storm season…where the air is full of red sand blowing in from the Sahara, so at all times you are eating, drinking and breathing red sand…and on top of that it is also the aphid season…huge, flying, grasshopper like bugs that eat all remaining crops and nestle themselves into your bed, clothes and hair!! So, all in all very enjoyable at the moment, especially as the temperatures get up to 40 degrees some days!!
I have been getting some great questions from friends and family about my time here, so I should try to clarity some of them. First, so far from what I have seen of Africa, it is really a beautiful continent, some countries are of course nicer than others, as are some cities and towns, but overall it is a place to visit at least once in your lifestyle. The Arica that is portrayed on television, like kids sitting idling with snot running down their noses and covered in mosquitos is NOT the norm…sure it happens, and you do see it occasionally, but only when I am going to the camps where these (typically) refugees are living, and there has been an outbreak of cholera or dengue…it is not like everyone lives this way. Africa, as whole is actually very green, with lots of trees and farm land…however I have been visiting the various countries during rainy season…drought starts in March-June, so I am sure that will change, but on a whole, there is a lot of farming and agriculture. When I go on mission, it is usually to some pretty terrible areas, and it is for this reason that I am going on mission…we have to visit the bad areas, because they have a lot of illnesses and other problems, which is of course why WHO operates in the countries it operates in….so when I am on mission, it is not usually all the fun in terms of what I see and experience, but it is definitely educational and eye opening. The one thing I have definitely learned from it all is that we from the developed world often feel sorrow/pity/anger/sadness, etc for the way these people live, but for the majority, this is all they have ever known and all they see…they have a roof over their heads, yams and other root veggies growing in the garden, and God…they are not asking for a bigger television, nicer home, better clothes…they ask what every parent asks for..to keep their kids healthy! The problem is often with the officials (government and religious) who know what else is out there, and want a ‘piece’ of it. While Nigeria is known to be a corrupt country, the people themselves are wonderful, grateful people, who will literally do everything they can to make sure you are comfortable…while maybe not giving you their last dollar, they will certainly come to your assistance when you really need them! Nigerians are also extremely entrepreneurial, which is a nice change from many other neighbouring countries, where people just ask for a handout. Everyone is a business owner in some capacity or another…selling anything and everything you can imagine on the busy roads, or setting up booths to teach driving skills (which is kind of an oxymoron, because Nigerians really are the craziest /stupidest drivers I have ever seen), to traveling barbers, etc…they do not look for handouts, and surprisingly there are no people just standing at street corners looking for a free handout…if and when you do see it, they are typically polio survivors or blind from other diseases…yet they are still working, selling newspapers. Definitely puts those “squeegee kids” to shame who are just looking for drug money or just refuse to use the “system”. There is no social support network in Nigerian, so even more shameful that we have homelessness and other problems in our developed worlds. While I do complain from time to time about the food (only because I want the stuff that is bad for you like Doritos and candy, etc), the food is actually pretty good here…it is really spicy, sort of like a good west Indian curry. The really good news is that I found an organic farm that grows absolutely everything (including strawberries) and does home delivery!!! The bok choy and arugula is the best I have ever had, anywhere in the world, and that passion fruit is unbelieveable! I get a huge box of fresh fruit, herbs and veggies every week delivered right to my door! While it is a bit expensive, it is worth every single dime plus some! I am actually going to spend a weekend at the farm, as they encourage those who use them to come and stay and work for free. I see it as a really good opportunity to learn about farming in Nigeria, as they use no machines or animals, only human, physical hands to grow everything! Not sure when I will be able to go, but hopefully before Christmas!
As for the polio update this week…we have now infected 3 other countries…Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali all have had positive tests in the last week…these countries have not had polio in over 10-15 years and were considered eradicated! So, looks like we have even more work to do now!
Apart from that, all is well! I had my greatest dinner since arriving...real Indian food!! My neighbours are from India and are vegetarian, so they have invited me for dinner whenever I want to come…YAH!!! So excited about this!! No more semovita, such a relief!
Take care, and hopefully you in those snowy countries about to get winter don’t get any more early storms.
Andrea
mardi 21 octobre 2008
Polio is again on the rise...
So, it has been a few weeks since I last wrote, and it is not because I have had nothing to say, but more because work is just a little out of control right now. I am sitting in the north of the country, in Borno state, right on the border of Cameroon, which is insanely hot, and the sandstorms have started, so it does not make for good times….however the hotel we are staying at is also our meeting location, so I have not actually gone outside in 5 days…apart from our trip across the border to eat fresh fish from Lake Chad in Cameroon!
Polio is worse than even. We now have over 900 cases of wild polio in Nigeria, and it has spread to neighbouring countries, like Niger and Ghana (they haven’t had a polio case in over 10 years!!). So, we are in pandemic planning and figuring how we can contain the virus and get government and religious officials on board to support the vaccination campaigns we are planning to do throughout November. I have been involved in day long and all night meetings for basically the last two weeks. I am still not sure why I go to these meetings, as I am not a technical person (meaning I know nothing about the disease), but there has been a lot of (unsuccessful) facilitation, but I am also pretty sure that my skin colour has something to do with it! We have brought in some very well respected Nigerian officials to help support our initiatives, so we hope this will have some impact on our results. Only time will tell! But, it is making time go by very fast…I have already been here 3 months, so only 8 more months to go here, before I figure out where to go next…I do have a bet on the line that if I lose “I won’t come back to Africa”…there is a possibility for Laos, in south east Asia, which could be interesting…but house prices are dropping in Toronto, so we’ll see
While in the north of the country, we paid a ‘courtesy’ visit to the man with 87 wives and 219 children (and counting), as he has become rather famous for his habit of marrying every woman born in his village…he was looking at me funny, with a sort of “maybe that oyibo can be #88?!”
I am again having some immigration issues here…got the strangest call from the Nigerian Embassy last week saying I must bring down passport photos within 24 hours or risk being “removed” from the country…I did not quite believe it…for a few reasons…we often get “threatening phone calls”, where people just call random numbers and make idle threats….they don’t know our name or where we live, so I am not sure how it works, but I will say, these Nigerians sure are “entrepreneurial”…the call turned out to be a real call, and I had to immediately bring down 2 photos…this is after I already gave them at least 10 other photos…so we will see what happens.
Anyways, that is it for me for now this week. I am going to be out on missions most of the month of November, so looking forward to a relaxing Christmas break, in a location still to be decided! I just hope it includes a white, sandy beach, crystal clear water and a swim up bar! We are also working on finalizing the Thompson family safari trip in East Africa in March, which will be very exciting…so lots to look forward to! Congrats again to my brother and Maggie, who are finally getting married…it’s about time!
Once I get back to Abuja later this week, I will be posting some photos of my new flat and the compound....apart from the noise from the highway, the gunshots, and the ridiculously annoying birds, it is a nice place!
Hope you are all well!
Love, ange
Polio is worse than even. We now have over 900 cases of wild polio in Nigeria, and it has spread to neighbouring countries, like Niger and Ghana (they haven’t had a polio case in over 10 years!!). So, we are in pandemic planning and figuring how we can contain the virus and get government and religious officials on board to support the vaccination campaigns we are planning to do throughout November. I have been involved in day long and all night meetings for basically the last two weeks. I am still not sure why I go to these meetings, as I am not a technical person (meaning I know nothing about the disease), but there has been a lot of (unsuccessful) facilitation, but I am also pretty sure that my skin colour has something to do with it! We have brought in some very well respected Nigerian officials to help support our initiatives, so we hope this will have some impact on our results. Only time will tell! But, it is making time go by very fast…I have already been here 3 months, so only 8 more months to go here, before I figure out where to go next…I do have a bet on the line that if I lose “I won’t come back to Africa”…there is a possibility for Laos, in south east Asia, which could be interesting…but house prices are dropping in Toronto, so we’ll see
While in the north of the country, we paid a ‘courtesy’ visit to the man with 87 wives and 219 children (and counting), as he has become rather famous for his habit of marrying every woman born in his village…he was looking at me funny, with a sort of “maybe that oyibo can be #88?!”
I am again having some immigration issues here…got the strangest call from the Nigerian Embassy last week saying I must bring down passport photos within 24 hours or risk being “removed” from the country…I did not quite believe it…for a few reasons…we often get “threatening phone calls”, where people just call random numbers and make idle threats….they don’t know our name or where we live, so I am not sure how it works, but I will say, these Nigerians sure are “entrepreneurial”…the call turned out to be a real call, and I had to immediately bring down 2 photos…this is after I already gave them at least 10 other photos…so we will see what happens.
Anyways, that is it for me for now this week. I am going to be out on missions most of the month of November, so looking forward to a relaxing Christmas break, in a location still to be decided! I just hope it includes a white, sandy beach, crystal clear water and a swim up bar! We are also working on finalizing the Thompson family safari trip in East Africa in March, which will be very exciting…so lots to look forward to! Congrats again to my brother and Maggie, who are finally getting married…it’s about time!
Once I get back to Abuja later this week, I will be posting some photos of my new flat and the compound....apart from the noise from the highway, the gunshots, and the ridiculously annoying birds, it is a nice place!
Hope you are all well!
Love, ange
mardi 7 octobre 2008
Icelandic adventures!
So, I am back from what seemed like the fastest vacation ever! 10 days goes by way too quick! It was nice to be back in somewhat civilization, where I am relatively anonymous again...no driver following me around everywhere or being called "Oyibo" (White person) where ever i went!
I was staying with my friend Catherine, and on my second night we met up with a couple of friends from Rome, who I hadn't seen in about 4 years, and luckily was in London at the same time, as she lives in Colombia...it definitely did not seem like it had been 4 years! Had a great dinner and of course some local drink...and now looking forward to our reunion holiday to Jordan next year!
Now on to the real part of the holiday...ICELAND!!! It was incredible. The Icelandic folk love their bathing and toilet facilities, which is a nice treat from the standards found in Africa (more on this later)!! Iceland is a really beautiful country, and even prettier when it snows, and lucky for us, we got to see it both ways, as for some reason, Iceland had a freak snowstorm and got like a foot of snow! Catherine and I rented a car upon arrival, and so it was nice because we could easily get around. We had a great Mexican meal our first night, complete with Icelandic lobster...very, very good! Our first day we intended to go south east, but fate always works in our favour, and we ended up going north (good thing about holidays is that you don't really HAVE to be anywhere at any point). So, we headed for the Icelandic fjords. A long 8 hour journey on roads full of potholes, gravel and windy, mountainous and sea cliffs along the way...but the views were incredible. Almost everything in Iceland shuts down after tourist season ends in early September, so finding a place to stay is quite difficult. Luckily the gas station attendant knew a place in her town about "2 mountain passes away"...we settled in and the nice surprise that awaited us was the shower...it's not often that I get excited by showering, however this is one of those showers that had 8 showers heads coming from all different angles...and it had a built in radio and crazy blue lights! So, it was very enjoyable...and after 4 months in Africa it is nice to know that if i open my mouth and drink some of the water that I won't get giardia or dysentry or something like that...the water in Iceland is said to be the cleanest and purest in the world! From here we went the the western most point of Europe, and only 300kms away from Greenland... to these amazing cliffs to see the birdlife...it was a beautiful sunny, crisp (about 6 degrees) day, so we spent the morning there exploring, while I think I worried my friend a little, as I for some reason like to get really close to the cliff drops off 400 metres below to rocky ocean floors!!
After leaving the west, we woke up at 3am to take the ferry to the south...however when we got to the ferry at 430am, for the 630 boarding, it did not show up...so we had to do the whole drive all over again...however, as it had snowed, and everything looked so much different! We headed back to Reyjavic (Iceland's capital) for the evening as we had been driving all day...we went to the famous Blue Lagoon for some relaxation and pampering...and it really is as beautiful as the pictures look...note to anyone else that goes...go in the evening, as the geothermal water is this really eery magnetic blue colour and is really amazing (see photos) and after that, we decided we needed a drink or two and found a quaint little pub, hosting a Metallica night! All Metallica, all night long...that same night, we found ourselves in the freak snow fall that was blanketing all of Iceland, and our intentions of heading all the way to the west were hampered by the fact the roads were closed due to the storm. So, we hung out in the area and went to Vik beach...one of the world's top 10 beaches...as it is pure black, volcanic sand! Again, it was a sunny, crisp and fresh day...but I had to take a dip in the North Atlantic Ocean...so off came the clothes and in I went...my legs went numb in the first 10 seconds and then a wave got me and brought me down...Catherine was filming from the sidelines, and I would imagine it was pretty funny...due to the graphic nature of my language and almost nakedness, I will not be publicly posting the video, as I don't want to ruin my future ambitions as Prime Minister! We also got to see the famous Geysirs erupt, which is quite cool although I have never enjoyed the rotten egg smell that comes with sulphuric water! There are lots of big and small waterfalls everywhere, some which I was very tempted to stand under, but as it is all glacier water, it was way too cold, but they did make for some superb waterfalls, which are practically everywhere...the Gulfoss falls were pretty incredible close up, and you can surpringly get right up to them!
Overall, Iceland is a really chill country...the people are very nice and the fish and lobster is superb, especially the lobster soup from the famous Fisherman's Hut...and I had the best salmon that I have ever had...Iceland is however, extremely expensive...after Nigeria, it did not seem that bad, but compared to the rest of Europe and North America, prices are quite steep. But, it was worth every dime. Catherine and I both enjoyed it...and I would definitely go back, but probably not any time soon...they really need to work on the roads...for those wanting to cycle, you can really only get so far there, and the wind is pretty incredible...but if you like a challenge, definitely one counyry to attemp!
Once back in London, we again met up with some friends from my past...Nicole, my flatmate from New Zealand who I went to Costa Rica with in March, and my friend Grant who I met in Nepal last year! We had a very good night out in London!
I am now back in Abuja...and back to work right away. It seems that while I was away, there were 200 new cases of polio, some in areas that have never been infected, so we are now dealing with somewhat of an epidemic (I have finally learned the difference between pandemic, endemic and epidemic)! So, it is very serious, and we are at a loss, with lots of running around trying to organize major vaccination campaigns. We are also severly affected by the economic crisis, as donor countries are starting to cut back or not even send the last quarter payments...so this crisis truly is a global crisis!
Anyways, I am in my flat now...slowly settling in...no more cockroaches though!
I have updated some photos, so have a look! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78
Andrea
I was staying with my friend Catherine, and on my second night we met up with a couple of friends from Rome, who I hadn't seen in about 4 years, and luckily was in London at the same time, as she lives in Colombia...it definitely did not seem like it had been 4 years! Had a great dinner and of course some local drink...and now looking forward to our reunion holiday to Jordan next year!
Now on to the real part of the holiday...ICELAND!!! It was incredible. The Icelandic folk love their bathing and toilet facilities, which is a nice treat from the standards found in Africa (more on this later)!! Iceland is a really beautiful country, and even prettier when it snows, and lucky for us, we got to see it both ways, as for some reason, Iceland had a freak snowstorm and got like a foot of snow! Catherine and I rented a car upon arrival, and so it was nice because we could easily get around. We had a great Mexican meal our first night, complete with Icelandic lobster...very, very good! Our first day we intended to go south east, but fate always works in our favour, and we ended up going north (good thing about holidays is that you don't really HAVE to be anywhere at any point). So, we headed for the Icelandic fjords. A long 8 hour journey on roads full of potholes, gravel and windy, mountainous and sea cliffs along the way...but the views were incredible. Almost everything in Iceland shuts down after tourist season ends in early September, so finding a place to stay is quite difficult. Luckily the gas station attendant knew a place in her town about "2 mountain passes away"...we settled in and the nice surprise that awaited us was the shower...it's not often that I get excited by showering, however this is one of those showers that had 8 showers heads coming from all different angles...and it had a built in radio and crazy blue lights! So, it was very enjoyable...and after 4 months in Africa it is nice to know that if i open my mouth and drink some of the water that I won't get giardia or dysentry or something like that...the water in Iceland is said to be the cleanest and purest in the world! From here we went the the western most point of Europe, and only 300kms away from Greenland... to these amazing cliffs to see the birdlife...it was a beautiful sunny, crisp (about 6 degrees) day, so we spent the morning there exploring, while I think I worried my friend a little, as I for some reason like to get really close to the cliff drops off 400 metres below to rocky ocean floors!!
After leaving the west, we woke up at 3am to take the ferry to the south...however when we got to the ferry at 430am, for the 630 boarding, it did not show up...so we had to do the whole drive all over again...however, as it had snowed, and everything looked so much different! We headed back to Reyjavic (Iceland's capital) for the evening as we had been driving all day...we went to the famous Blue Lagoon for some relaxation and pampering...and it really is as beautiful as the pictures look...note to anyone else that goes...go in the evening, as the geothermal water is this really eery magnetic blue colour and is really amazing (see photos) and after that, we decided we needed a drink or two and found a quaint little pub, hosting a Metallica night! All Metallica, all night long...that same night, we found ourselves in the freak snow fall that was blanketing all of Iceland, and our intentions of heading all the way to the west were hampered by the fact the roads were closed due to the storm. So, we hung out in the area and went to Vik beach...one of the world's top 10 beaches...as it is pure black, volcanic sand! Again, it was a sunny, crisp and fresh day...but I had to take a dip in the North Atlantic Ocean...so off came the clothes and in I went...my legs went numb in the first 10 seconds and then a wave got me and brought me down...Catherine was filming from the sidelines, and I would imagine it was pretty funny...due to the graphic nature of my language and almost nakedness, I will not be publicly posting the video, as I don't want to ruin my future ambitions as Prime Minister! We also got to see the famous Geysirs erupt, which is quite cool although I have never enjoyed the rotten egg smell that comes with sulphuric water! There are lots of big and small waterfalls everywhere, some which I was very tempted to stand under, but as it is all glacier water, it was way too cold, but they did make for some superb waterfalls, which are practically everywhere...the Gulfoss falls were pretty incredible close up, and you can surpringly get right up to them!
Overall, Iceland is a really chill country...the people are very nice and the fish and lobster is superb, especially the lobster soup from the famous Fisherman's Hut...and I had the best salmon that I have ever had...Iceland is however, extremely expensive...after Nigeria, it did not seem that bad, but compared to the rest of Europe and North America, prices are quite steep. But, it was worth every dime. Catherine and I both enjoyed it...and I would definitely go back, but probably not any time soon...they really need to work on the roads...for those wanting to cycle, you can really only get so far there, and the wind is pretty incredible...but if you like a challenge, definitely one counyry to attemp!
Once back in London, we again met up with some friends from my past...Nicole, my flatmate from New Zealand who I went to Costa Rica with in March, and my friend Grant who I met in Nepal last year! We had a very good night out in London!
I am now back in Abuja...and back to work right away. It seems that while I was away, there were 200 new cases of polio, some in areas that have never been infected, so we are now dealing with somewhat of an epidemic (I have finally learned the difference between pandemic, endemic and epidemic)! So, it is very serious, and we are at a loss, with lots of running around trying to organize major vaccination campaigns. We are also severly affected by the economic crisis, as donor countries are starting to cut back or not even send the last quarter payments...so this crisis truly is a global crisis!
Anyways, I am in my flat now...slowly settling in...no more cockroaches though!
I have updated some photos, so have a look! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78
Andrea
lundi 22 septembre 2008
And finally, a home...well almost!!
So, I have finally moved into my home, only to have to move out again…as you know, Nigeria is a very warm place, and because the flat did not get cleaned after the last guy moved out, and he was a bit of disaster, there was a little cockroach problem…luckily I don’t really have a problem with them, unlike my issue with mice and rats, which is a possibility in these parts, and there weren’t really all that many…but it is being taken care of and will be fumigated while I am on holidays. And with the apartment, came a pet, so I will not be living alone…I now have a pet gecko (these things are everywhere)…he is very friendly, and likes to eat ants and grapes. I have given him to my neighbor until I move back in after my holidays, as I don’t want the fumigators to kill him…and not sure he will ever come back, or if I will know he is the same one!
I live in a very expensive compound, with tennis, basketball and badminton courts, and they are building a pool, supposedly to be ready in 2 months, for when the really hot season sets in, but I have my doubts. All my neighbours are either UN staff or Israeli or Egyptian embassy staff, so not so bad.
Just an update on all the issues you may or may not be hearing about Nigeria, as I get some emails about concerns…there are a lot of issues happening south in terms of kidnappings and killings on the oil fields by the “Movement of the Emancipation of Nigeria” militia…this is all happening far from where I am based…comparison would be I live in Kansas and the attacks are in Florida…it is quite a distance from me, and they have no interest in coming up here, as they will just be shot and killed by the overzealous military here! They have also called a cease fire yesterday, so we will see how long that holds…but I think the militia are finally realizing that by attacking the oil fields that they are mostly hurting their own people and not helping them…
Work has been alright, but some of the meetings I have had to attend have really made me question people’s rationality and sanity…most recently, the meeting we attended was a facilitated discussion on strategic planning for our next round of immunization campaigns. There were groups from the south and groups from the north. The discussion got quite heated for quite some time, as the groups from the south were making the threats. The long story short…the south of Nigeria barely has any cases of polio and TB, while the north has hundreds of cases of polio and thousands of cases of TB…so, when you break this down, it all comes down to money. As the south is relatively clean, they get very little funding for polio, while the north gets the majority due to the high numbers (makes sense, right?!)…well the south is threatening to “infect” their children again because they want the “free” money and “free” cars that are provided to them, for the purpose of eradicating polio. While we don’t give cars, the money we do give is often inappropriately used by the local officials to buy new BMWs for themselves, instead of giving it to their people. And because we are considering withholding payment to the north, we are starting to hear rumours of the local officials telling their people that these 3 little drops the kids are to receive is actually our way of sterilizing the children, so as to control the population in these areas, or that these drops are in fact the HIV/AIDS virus! So, it is constantly an uphill battle…2 steps forward, and a mile back!
All that to say, a think my upcoming holiday will be well deserved! I look forward to seeing some old friends who I have not seen in years, and to of course eating Doritos, drinking beer, and eating cheese on everything! Also quite excited to see Iceland…my friend Catherine who I am going with, has ‘planned’ an exciting adventure for us…it is funny when I tell my colleagues where I am going, and they look at me like I am nuts, only because when people take leave here it is usually to go to Dubai or Doha for duty free shopping!
Good bye for now…and I will most likely write after I return from my adventures in Europe!
Andrea
I live in a very expensive compound, with tennis, basketball and badminton courts, and they are building a pool, supposedly to be ready in 2 months, for when the really hot season sets in, but I have my doubts. All my neighbours are either UN staff or Israeli or Egyptian embassy staff, so not so bad.
Just an update on all the issues you may or may not be hearing about Nigeria, as I get some emails about concerns…there are a lot of issues happening south in terms of kidnappings and killings on the oil fields by the “Movement of the Emancipation of Nigeria” militia…this is all happening far from where I am based…comparison would be I live in Kansas and the attacks are in Florida…it is quite a distance from me, and they have no interest in coming up here, as they will just be shot and killed by the overzealous military here! They have also called a cease fire yesterday, so we will see how long that holds…but I think the militia are finally realizing that by attacking the oil fields that they are mostly hurting their own people and not helping them…
Work has been alright, but some of the meetings I have had to attend have really made me question people’s rationality and sanity…most recently, the meeting we attended was a facilitated discussion on strategic planning for our next round of immunization campaigns. There were groups from the south and groups from the north. The discussion got quite heated for quite some time, as the groups from the south were making the threats. The long story short…the south of Nigeria barely has any cases of polio and TB, while the north has hundreds of cases of polio and thousands of cases of TB…so, when you break this down, it all comes down to money. As the south is relatively clean, they get very little funding for polio, while the north gets the majority due to the high numbers (makes sense, right?!)…well the south is threatening to “infect” their children again because they want the “free” money and “free” cars that are provided to them, for the purpose of eradicating polio. While we don’t give cars, the money we do give is often inappropriately used by the local officials to buy new BMWs for themselves, instead of giving it to their people. And because we are considering withholding payment to the north, we are starting to hear rumours of the local officials telling their people that these 3 little drops the kids are to receive is actually our way of sterilizing the children, so as to control the population in these areas, or that these drops are in fact the HIV/AIDS virus! So, it is constantly an uphill battle…2 steps forward, and a mile back!
All that to say, a think my upcoming holiday will be well deserved! I look forward to seeing some old friends who I have not seen in years, and to of course eating Doritos, drinking beer, and eating cheese on everything! Also quite excited to see Iceland…my friend Catherine who I am going with, has ‘planned’ an exciting adventure for us…it is funny when I tell my colleagues where I am going, and they look at me like I am nuts, only because when people take leave here it is usually to go to Dubai or Doha for duty free shopping!
Good bye for now…and I will most likely write after I return from my adventures in Europe!
Andrea
lundi 15 septembre 2008
Map of Nigeria...
As some of you have asked, I have added this map of Nigeria so that you can see where I have been and where I am going. Nigeria is divided into 36 states, just like the USA...basically the south part (Enugu, Delta, Cross River, Rivers) is the really bad area that you read about in the newspapers with all the kidnappings, as this is the oil part of the country. Up north, especially the north east, is the strict muslim area, where Sharia law has been adopted, and where polio is rampant at this point in time. I live in FCT, of which Abuja is the capital.vendredi 12 septembre 2008
Mission to Enugu!
So, another week over….this time full of adventure. I will say that this week has been my craziest yet since arriving in Nigeria, and not one I wish to soon repeat. The mission itself is 9 hour drive each way on really bad roads, but absolutely stunning scenery, in which we listened to Christian rock/gospel/reggae (who knew there was such thing, but there is!!) the entire way, so at first while I half joked that I had “found the Lord” by the end of each trip, I think it may have helped on our mission!
I did not go into detail about my most recent mission nor about the “BER” months because there was a little bit of chaos involved in it, and wanted to make sure I came back without causing any worry. I spent all of last weekend basically trying to convince my direct supervisor to not make me go on mission….I was being sent to Enugu, which is by far one of the worst areas of Nigeria for unprovoked violence. The “BER” months basically represent the most dangerous and crazy months for the entire year….people are robbing others like crazy as the goal in this region is to produce as much ‘tax’ money as possible…those who pay the most (to the government officials of course) are given titles and privilege as a ‘christmas’ gift and therefore are known as elite in these parts of the country… For some reason, it was felt that I (the white girl who is a bit of a novelty in these parts) would be best to represent WHO Nigeria here, after 2 of our vehicles were sprayed with bullets (no one thankfully injured) and then an ambush on another vehicle, and then another ambush with the driver being shot through the thigh and the administrative assistant left completely traumatized as they held a machine gun to her head and threathened to shoot as she sat a foot away from him in the passenger seat with over a million naira (about $8,000USD) being stolen…so that’s to say she is still in a bit of shock..even being from here, she said she had never expected such violence. It is suspect here that there is some sort of internal arrangement between the various bank branches and local bandits, so that if we go and withdraw a certain amount of money to pay staff salaries, that some or a staff at the bank calls a bandit to attack our vehicles and then they share in the loot. The bullet that was removed from our driver is a police issued bullet, which also means that the pistols and machine guns (the weapon of choice) are police issued, which also means that the police are ‘renting’ out their weapons to known bandits for a fee!!! Of course if you somewhat imply any of this to a police official you will be arrested and probably sentenced to death or something… Myself and another colleague were sent here to more or less plead with the bank officials and senior police officials and government people to better support our work. Many of you that know me, know that I am not one that deals well/appropriately with authority figures, and that I won’t just call someone “Sir” or “Chief” because of their direct role, but I had to bite my tongue and swallow my pride and give in…as I was here representing WHO and the lives of the 30 or so staff that work in this region. This was by far the hardest thing I have had to do…the police are by far the most corrupt I have yet to meet (and I have met many in my short time in Nigeria) and are despicable human beings…lying to our faces about the investigations they are doing ( I should mention that when we entered the Deputy Police Chief’s office he was watching The Office – UK version)…if only I could send you a copy of the police reports on these incidents, it is actually comical….it is even tough to explain it in words, but I have learned that if ever I am in trouble I will NEVER EVER call the police for help, as they are usually involved in whatever crime is being committed…if you do need help, you had better have at least a bottle of Hennessy or Jack Daniels with you to just get your case heard!
I also got to witness my very first car jacking…basically men dressed in camouflage, although full faces showing, armed with shotguns and machine guns jumping off their motorcycles and out of their ‘Peugots’ while blocking travel taking whatever they can from the car they are attacking…one thing we were lucky about is we had a very good driver that knows the area and the problems well, and can get us out of trouble…Bimbo(real name, not making it up!!!) our driver on this mission, got us out of quite a lot of trouble on this mission…we also passed two road blocks where boards with hundreds of sharp nails were lined up along the highway, in an effort to get cars to drive over them and when forced to stop to change the tire, they would be robbed!! I don’t want you to think I took this lightly…by the time you figure out what is going on, it is over…it is actually rather scary to see, and you can’t imagine being the one who is being carjacked.
So, a very exhausting and stressful week. I have to say since getting here I have never really been concerned or stressed about travel, but this time I was a little freaked out and am happy to be back in Abuja…which I never thought I would say! While carjackings are normal here, the violence is not in Abuja, so it is nice to be back, and even nicer to know I am going on holiday to quiet and subtle London and Iceland!
It is actually quite depressing to know what we are up against and who we are dealing with…the governments and police say they support our work, but if they don’t get anything out of it, then they have no reason to help. WHO is a respected agency, that many locals want to work with as we pay our staff directly, where as many other UN agencies that UNICEF, FAO, UNDP pay the local governments who take their own ‘cut’ before giving what ever remains to the people it is intended for, but we still get screwed because of this…the citizens here just don’t seem to see that we are here to help them, so it is an unforgivable and almost impossible battle…although I am an optimist, so I hope for the best.
I am not sure if the work I am doing and the issues we are faced with inspires me to want to work harder or if I should just start to behave like most others who have been here awhile and just give in and do what little you can…as a Taurus and a horse, I should want to fight it out, but I am sure it will be a pointless, useless battle, but we’ll see, I am not quite ready to say “They win”!!
So, all that to say I am safe although somewhat disillusioned by the Nigerian system, and really realizing for the first time that there is a reason that Nigeria has such a bad name in the media and around the world…it truly is a corrupt country…more than one could ever imagine!
Enough is enough…I am sure I will be arrested of something for writing this blog entry..but we’ll see…I still have a bit of fighting power left in me.
Attached are some new photos, taken from this most recent adventure! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78/MissionToEnugu
Enjoy, Andrea
I did not go into detail about my most recent mission nor about the “BER” months because there was a little bit of chaos involved in it, and wanted to make sure I came back without causing any worry. I spent all of last weekend basically trying to convince my direct supervisor to not make me go on mission….I was being sent to Enugu, which is by far one of the worst areas of Nigeria for unprovoked violence. The “BER” months basically represent the most dangerous and crazy months for the entire year….people are robbing others like crazy as the goal in this region is to produce as much ‘tax’ money as possible…those who pay the most (to the government officials of course) are given titles and privilege as a ‘christmas’ gift and therefore are known as elite in these parts of the country… For some reason, it was felt that I (the white girl who is a bit of a novelty in these parts) would be best to represent WHO Nigeria here, after 2 of our vehicles were sprayed with bullets (no one thankfully injured) and then an ambush on another vehicle, and then another ambush with the driver being shot through the thigh and the administrative assistant left completely traumatized as they held a machine gun to her head and threathened to shoot as she sat a foot away from him in the passenger seat with over a million naira (about $8,000USD) being stolen…so that’s to say she is still in a bit of shock..even being from here, she said she had never expected such violence. It is suspect here that there is some sort of internal arrangement between the various bank branches and local bandits, so that if we go and withdraw a certain amount of money to pay staff salaries, that some or a staff at the bank calls a bandit to attack our vehicles and then they share in the loot. The bullet that was removed from our driver is a police issued bullet, which also means that the pistols and machine guns (the weapon of choice) are police issued, which also means that the police are ‘renting’ out their weapons to known bandits for a fee!!! Of course if you somewhat imply any of this to a police official you will be arrested and probably sentenced to death or something… Myself and another colleague were sent here to more or less plead with the bank officials and senior police officials and government people to better support our work. Many of you that know me, know that I am not one that deals well/appropriately with authority figures, and that I won’t just call someone “Sir” or “Chief” because of their direct role, but I had to bite my tongue and swallow my pride and give in…as I was here representing WHO and the lives of the 30 or so staff that work in this region. This was by far the hardest thing I have had to do…the police are by far the most corrupt I have yet to meet (and I have met many in my short time in Nigeria) and are despicable human beings…lying to our faces about the investigations they are doing ( I should mention that when we entered the Deputy Police Chief’s office he was watching The Office – UK version)…if only I could send you a copy of the police reports on these incidents, it is actually comical….it is even tough to explain it in words, but I have learned that if ever I am in trouble I will NEVER EVER call the police for help, as they are usually involved in whatever crime is being committed…if you do need help, you had better have at least a bottle of Hennessy or Jack Daniels with you to just get your case heard!
I also got to witness my very first car jacking…basically men dressed in camouflage, although full faces showing, armed with shotguns and machine guns jumping off their motorcycles and out of their ‘Peugots’ while blocking travel taking whatever they can from the car they are attacking…one thing we were lucky about is we had a very good driver that knows the area and the problems well, and can get us out of trouble…Bimbo(real name, not making it up!!!) our driver on this mission, got us out of quite a lot of trouble on this mission…we also passed two road blocks where boards with hundreds of sharp nails were lined up along the highway, in an effort to get cars to drive over them and when forced to stop to change the tire, they would be robbed!! I don’t want you to think I took this lightly…by the time you figure out what is going on, it is over…it is actually rather scary to see, and you can’t imagine being the one who is being carjacked.
So, a very exhausting and stressful week. I have to say since getting here I have never really been concerned or stressed about travel, but this time I was a little freaked out and am happy to be back in Abuja…which I never thought I would say! While carjackings are normal here, the violence is not in Abuja, so it is nice to be back, and even nicer to know I am going on holiday to quiet and subtle London and Iceland!
It is actually quite depressing to know what we are up against and who we are dealing with…the governments and police say they support our work, but if they don’t get anything out of it, then they have no reason to help. WHO is a respected agency, that many locals want to work with as we pay our staff directly, where as many other UN agencies that UNICEF, FAO, UNDP pay the local governments who take their own ‘cut’ before giving what ever remains to the people it is intended for, but we still get screwed because of this…the citizens here just don’t seem to see that we are here to help them, so it is an unforgivable and almost impossible battle…although I am an optimist, so I hope for the best.
I am not sure if the work I am doing and the issues we are faced with inspires me to want to work harder or if I should just start to behave like most others who have been here awhile and just give in and do what little you can…as a Taurus and a horse, I should want to fight it out, but I am sure it will be a pointless, useless battle, but we’ll see, I am not quite ready to say “They win”!!
So, all that to say I am safe although somewhat disillusioned by the Nigerian system, and really realizing for the first time that there is a reason that Nigeria has such a bad name in the media and around the world…it truly is a corrupt country…more than one could ever imagine!
Enough is enough…I am sure I will be arrested of something for writing this blog entry..but we’ll see…I still have a bit of fighting power left in me.
Attached are some new photos, taken from this most recent adventure! http://picasaweb.google.com/angelynne78/MissionToEnugu
Enjoy, Andrea
lundi 8 septembre 2008
"BER" months
"BER" refers to the months ending in BER...SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER, DecemBER...while it should be somewhat tranquil at this time, owing to Ramadan and all (which typically means a hold or end to violence while the holiday is observed), it has been anything but quiet and tranquil here in Nigeria and especially not for WHO or other UN agencies. I won't go into detail about it now, as I am leaving for an emergency mission south of Abuja (About 9 hours drive) for the next week, to do some meeting/pleading with local government officials and police officials to better support us...so wish me luck!
On another note, the President of Nigeria is back in Abuja...seems to still be alive, but from what we hear, he is barely alive...so looks like trouble could be brewing...good thing I am off on holidays at the end of the month...maybe I will have to stay in London for an extended period of time?!!
Apart from that all is well...I think I have found a flat, although there are always problems with that and they want to rent in advance for the next year...but who has $45,000USD to pay rent all at once, so trying to also get that taken care of by WHO, as they are the ones ultimately paying the rent anyways...so if anyone does come to visit, be sure to bring a tennis racket and swim suit, as it has both available!
I will update once I am back from my mission!
ciao, andrea
On another note, the President of Nigeria is back in Abuja...seems to still be alive, but from what we hear, he is barely alive...so looks like trouble could be brewing...good thing I am off on holidays at the end of the month...maybe I will have to stay in London for an extended period of time?!!
Apart from that all is well...I think I have found a flat, although there are always problems with that and they want to rent in advance for the next year...but who has $45,000USD to pay rent all at once, so trying to also get that taken care of by WHO, as they are the ones ultimately paying the rent anyways...so if anyone does come to visit, be sure to bring a tennis racket and swim suit, as it has both available!
I will update once I am back from my mission!
ciao, andrea
mardi 2 septembre 2008
Thought of the day...
So, Sunday was the first day of Ramadan...basically for the whole month of September all muslims (except children, pregnant women and the elderly) fast from sun up to sun down NO liquids, no food)....this is an interesting concept, especially in a workplace where you sit in meetings all day long...by 2pm most of those in the fast usually fall fast asleep...and we are only on Day 3, so this will be an interesting month to see how far we get with everything...you learn very quickly to only plan meetings in the morning, and just go home early every day!
Also, I have finally got back on Skype, so anyone out there who uses Skype, my username is andrealynne78, or just enter my angelynne_thompson@hotmail.com account and you will find me...however, I can only use it when I am at work, as I don't have internet at my hotel (well I do but it is $30 USD per hour), but I often come in on weekends to do school work and stuff, so if ever interested in chatting just let me know, otherwise I am online during the day until about 6pm Nigeria time most days.
Nigeria is also in a bit of a state of confusion right now...we keep hearing the President is paralyzed or in a coma or dead...he is supposedly in Saudi Arabia, doing the mini hajj, but may actually be dead (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion)...so the country is going a little crazy, so you may start to hear about escalated violence and stuff happening here...but, so far, so good, although there have been a few threats on the government, but I don't think that is really anything unusual for here!! All is well, but I will let you know if anything changes.
Also, I have finally got back on Skype, so anyone out there who uses Skype, my username is andrealynne78, or just enter my angelynne_thompson@hotmail.com account and you will find me...however, I can only use it when I am at work, as I don't have internet at my hotel (well I do but it is $30 USD per hour), but I often come in on weekends to do school work and stuff, so if ever interested in chatting just let me know, otherwise I am online during the day until about 6pm Nigeria time most days.
Nigeria is also in a bit of a state of confusion right now...we keep hearing the President is paralyzed or in a coma or dead...he is supposedly in Saudi Arabia, doing the mini hajj, but may actually be dead (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion)...so the country is going a little crazy, so you may start to hear about escalated violence and stuff happening here...but, so far, so good, although there have been a few threats on the government, but I don't think that is really anything unusual for here!! All is well, but I will let you know if anything changes.
lundi 1 septembre 2008
On the mend!!
Well, this week is so far starting out very good. I am finally healthy! The bout of giardia left me lactose intolerant, but that won’t stop me from eating copious amounts of cheese when I get to London in about 3 weeks!! So, for anyone who will be in London or anywhere in Iceland the week of September 27-Oct 4th, let me know and we can visit…I will be in London the weekends of the 25th and again the next weekend the 4th and 5th before flying back to Nigeria. The malaria was a good experience, but hope it stays away for a long time, but I did manage to lose a couple of pounds, so I highly recommend the giardia/malaria diet, you eat whatever you want (which in Nigeria means semolina and rice and bush meat), and you won’t gain a pound because it all exits your body just as quickly as you consumed it!!! Enough about that…it was an experience, but I do miss the hallucinations…it just put a different perspective on things here!
As for the work here, it is really nuts. Our most recent results show that polio is way out of control, with over 60 new cases reported last week alone. So, we are in trouble. That is the only nice way too put it. One major issue is that the staff we have currently hired to support the program (well over 400 national Nigerian staff), from nurses, to immunizers, to medical doctors, are not being compliant. Many of them feel that if we eradicate polio that they will be out of a job, and therefore are not collecting samples or immunizing the children as many times as they need to be in order for them to be immunized for life. We had a major country wide blitz where consultants were brought in from countries like Pakistan and India and Egypt where they have been able to basically eradicate the disease and the consultants noticed that many of these staff were just not doing their jobs appropriately, and more or less taking advantage of their roles and responsibilities. It is a scary thing to consider that these people were sacrificing the quality of life for these children. The thing is with polio is that we want to eradicate it, as a country’s future depends on its future workers being healthy and able to function and work. Polio is not the only disease in Nigeria and Africa in general…there is always another new disease out there that we have not yet experienced, or are not able to commit funding and resources to because polio still exists. So nobody will ever be unemployed in the health sector here. If we eradicate polio, maybe we can then really start to work on reducing HIV/AIDS rates (which is my opinion, having seen what it does firsthand, is way more serious than anything else)…This being said, this is why health human resources (meaning people who work in the health care industry eg. Pharmacists, nurses, doctors, lab technician, vets, epidemiologists, occupational/physio therapists, dieticians, etc…)is such a huge problem here…there are not enough people to do the work. This is of course not the only issue or concern. We are still facing significant denial from the northern, muslim states, who refuse to vaccinate their children, saying that it is “Allah’s will” that chooses the course of life for the child. Now I have never read the Koran, but I doubt that anywhere within it does it say to not do everything you can to protect your child from illness/death?! So, that is one of the major things happening here. Beyond that, everyday is still a constant struggle with my own team. They are nice people on a day to day informal basis, but trying to get anything done is a real learning curve (READ=impossibility), one that I am completely perplexed about…I may not be the most experienced manager, but even the most experienced one would be driven to drink…drinking I find brings out my ‘creative’ side, and a few of us often go out for drinks during the week to brainstorm new ideas…so far, nothing…so anybody with any ideas please send them my way. But, I do think I have decided on what my masters MBA thesis will be about…culture and change! I have a living case study at my disposal, so it will turn out to be interesting and educational I think…although it may turn into a phd wit the amount of information I can collect here!
Some good news…besides me regaining my health…I have found a house! Well, a flat. It is in a nice compound, with many other UN and embassy staff from all over, with tennis courts and a pool is being built…It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and is a nice space, with lots of space for visitors! I have hired a person to help me out (basically mandatory here)…so she will do my shopping and cleaning, and not sure what else, but she will probably watch tv 6 hours of the day and look busy when I come home from work!! But, I have no real problems with that…she will live on my property, but there is separate housing for house workers…a very interested (sad) life…as their ‘house’ is about the size of a small closet or one of those half washrooms that has only a sink and a toilet)…often they live in it with a spouse and a child or two…not sure how, but they manage…and it is good work for them, as we pay them well, and we cover them for health insurance, so not a bad set up really, I guess. But, at least I am getting a home, and not a hotel…the hotel has been great, but it is still a hotel at the end of the day. My flat is extremely expensive ($45,000 USD) a year, and trust me in Toronto for that amount, you can buy a house for less than than…but that’s what it costs to be an international here! At least I don’t have to pay all of that, but still such a waste of our resources.
Anyways, that is it from me for now. Life is good. I am settling in, but definitely looking forward to my holiday in Iceland at the end of the month. It will be nice to see old friends, some of which I have not seen for about 4 years. It will definitely be a well deserved party, and I look forward to seeing those that are able to make it to London…my mobile number is 0803 9600875, but will probably get a SIM card for London once there…speaking of which, if anyone ever wants to call…from overseas, this is how I think you call me….011 234 803 960 0875…I may be wrong (so my actual number is above just in case)…take care, andrea
As for the work here, it is really nuts. Our most recent results show that polio is way out of control, with over 60 new cases reported last week alone. So, we are in trouble. That is the only nice way too put it. One major issue is that the staff we have currently hired to support the program (well over 400 national Nigerian staff), from nurses, to immunizers, to medical doctors, are not being compliant. Many of them feel that if we eradicate polio that they will be out of a job, and therefore are not collecting samples or immunizing the children as many times as they need to be in order for them to be immunized for life. We had a major country wide blitz where consultants were brought in from countries like Pakistan and India and Egypt where they have been able to basically eradicate the disease and the consultants noticed that many of these staff were just not doing their jobs appropriately, and more or less taking advantage of their roles and responsibilities. It is a scary thing to consider that these people were sacrificing the quality of life for these children. The thing is with polio is that we want to eradicate it, as a country’s future depends on its future workers being healthy and able to function and work. Polio is not the only disease in Nigeria and Africa in general…there is always another new disease out there that we have not yet experienced, or are not able to commit funding and resources to because polio still exists. So nobody will ever be unemployed in the health sector here. If we eradicate polio, maybe we can then really start to work on reducing HIV/AIDS rates (which is my opinion, having seen what it does firsthand, is way more serious than anything else)…This being said, this is why health human resources (meaning people who work in the health care industry eg. Pharmacists, nurses, doctors, lab technician, vets, epidemiologists, occupational/physio therapists, dieticians, etc…)is such a huge problem here…there are not enough people to do the work. This is of course not the only issue or concern. We are still facing significant denial from the northern, muslim states, who refuse to vaccinate their children, saying that it is “Allah’s will” that chooses the course of life for the child. Now I have never read the Koran, but I doubt that anywhere within it does it say to not do everything you can to protect your child from illness/death?! So, that is one of the major things happening here. Beyond that, everyday is still a constant struggle with my own team. They are nice people on a day to day informal basis, but trying to get anything done is a real learning curve (READ=impossibility), one that I am completely perplexed about…I may not be the most experienced manager, but even the most experienced one would be driven to drink…drinking I find brings out my ‘creative’ side, and a few of us often go out for drinks during the week to brainstorm new ideas…so far, nothing…so anybody with any ideas please send them my way. But, I do think I have decided on what my masters MBA thesis will be about…culture and change! I have a living case study at my disposal, so it will turn out to be interesting and educational I think…although it may turn into a phd wit the amount of information I can collect here!
Some good news…besides me regaining my health…I have found a house! Well, a flat. It is in a nice compound, with many other UN and embassy staff from all over, with tennis courts and a pool is being built…It has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and is a nice space, with lots of space for visitors! I have hired a person to help me out (basically mandatory here)…so she will do my shopping and cleaning, and not sure what else, but she will probably watch tv 6 hours of the day and look busy when I come home from work!! But, I have no real problems with that…she will live on my property, but there is separate housing for house workers…a very interested (sad) life…as their ‘house’ is about the size of a small closet or one of those half washrooms that has only a sink and a toilet)…often they live in it with a spouse and a child or two…not sure how, but they manage…and it is good work for them, as we pay them well, and we cover them for health insurance, so not a bad set up really, I guess. But, at least I am getting a home, and not a hotel…the hotel has been great, but it is still a hotel at the end of the day. My flat is extremely expensive ($45,000 USD) a year, and trust me in Toronto for that amount, you can buy a house for less than than…but that’s what it costs to be an international here! At least I don’t have to pay all of that, but still such a waste of our resources.
Anyways, that is it from me for now. Life is good. I am settling in, but definitely looking forward to my holiday in Iceland at the end of the month. It will be nice to see old friends, some of which I have not seen for about 4 years. It will definitely be a well deserved party, and I look forward to seeing those that are able to make it to London…my mobile number is 0803 9600875, but will probably get a SIM card for London once there…speaking of which, if anyone ever wants to call…from overseas, this is how I think you call me….011 234 803 960 0875…I may be wrong (so my actual number is above just in case)…take care, andrea
lundi 25 août 2008
It's a miracle!!!
Well, the drinking of (and in copious amounts) alcohol seems to have worked!! I am feeling much better, not quite 100%, but I would say about 85% better! If alcohol really does 'cure' malaria, then I hope I get it more often ; )!!! Any excuse to have a couple of drinks (too many) and play table tennis all weekend is alright by me! However, I seemingly got quite lucky, as my case was very mild and clearly my super strong immune system kicked in and helped me out, as two of my assistants are out sick with the more serious cases of malaria, and one is even in the hospital..i told him to try drinking, but he is a good muslim and doesn't drink, and now he is in the hospital and I am at work?! But, hopefully he will recover soon. Apart from that it was a relaxing weekend. It is the long rains season, so it basically rains from the early afternoon until the night, and by rain I mean pouring rains and thunder showers! You may or may not have read in the papers or seen on the news that most of west africa is suffering from major flooding. We are lucky here in Abuja as it is a relatively high city, however, places in the north and south are really suffering...therefore there is major disease (malaria, yellow fever, TB, among other diseases) and malnutrition as crops are being destroyed. But, Nigeria is better off than most other countries all around us, but we still have 2 months of the long rains to go, so not sure we will continue to be so 'lucky'.
Nothing too exciting to report on this week...although my friend Catherine and I finally chose our holiday destination for the first week of October....we are going to Iceland!!! Yes, Iceland! It is supposed to be beautiful and neither of us have been, so we figured why not. I look forwarding to getting away for a week and not having to do any work, but I know that the next month leading up to this will be a bit rough, as I will be first in Botswana and then Brazzaville, Congo again, so will have lots of work to do...but at least I have something to look forward to!
Also, i just realized that today is officially my 2 months since I arrived in Africa, and it has definitely gone by in a bit of a whirl...which I think is a good thing!
hope you are all having fun wherever you are!
baci, andrea
Nothing too exciting to report on this week...although my friend Catherine and I finally chose our holiday destination for the first week of October....we are going to Iceland!!! Yes, Iceland! It is supposed to be beautiful and neither of us have been, so we figured why not. I look forwarding to getting away for a week and not having to do any work, but I know that the next month leading up to this will be a bit rough, as I will be first in Botswana and then Brazzaville, Congo again, so will have lots of work to do...but at least I have something to look forward to!
Also, i just realized that today is officially my 2 months since I arrived in Africa, and it has definitely gone by in a bit of a whirl...which I think is a good thing!
hope you are all having fun wherever you are!
baci, andrea
vendredi 22 août 2008
Malaria?!?!?!
Wow, what a long, frustrating week it has been. But, I finally get a 'day off', but only because we are not sure if I have malaria or not.
I have had one positive and one negative malaria result. I started showing symptoms last week, but basically put it down to jet lag and hectic work schedule. But then came the hallucinations, which in all honesty, I rather enjoyed. But, I have shown a positive and a negative result over the week, so the doctor's solution to this..."try drinking...gin or vodka is best, but beer and wine will also do"...I should mention the UN doctor here is from the former Soviet Union, so I think she recommends alcohol for everything...but doctor's orders must be followed! No need to worry, as I really don't feel all that bad, so who knows...but no matter, even if it is malaria, it was caught early, so no effects to be had from this! So, going over to the Canadian embassy housing to have follow my doctor's orders, and play a cribbage/euchure tournament for the day!
I have uploaded some more photos...I realize that as I am the one always taking the photos when on mission that I am never in them....and I don't have much from the northern states, as cameras are kind of banned..in fact, it is a law in all of Nigeria (i found this out the hard way), that I must request permission from the President of Nigeria to publish any photos...they just want money out of people and want to make sure that no one profits from anything in Nigeria without them getting a cut of it!! God bless Nigeria!
I have had one positive and one negative malaria result. I started showing symptoms last week, but basically put it down to jet lag and hectic work schedule. But then came the hallucinations, which in all honesty, I rather enjoyed. But, I have shown a positive and a negative result over the week, so the doctor's solution to this..."try drinking...gin or vodka is best, but beer and wine will also do"...I should mention the UN doctor here is from the former Soviet Union, so I think she recommends alcohol for everything...but doctor's orders must be followed! No need to worry, as I really don't feel all that bad, so who knows...but no matter, even if it is malaria, it was caught early, so no effects to be had from this! So, going over to the Canadian embassy housing to have follow my doctor's orders, and play a cribbage/euchure tournament for the day!
I have uploaded some more photos...I realize that as I am the one always taking the photos when on mission that I am never in them....and I don't have much from the northern states, as cameras are kind of banned..in fact, it is a law in all of Nigeria (i found this out the hard way), that I must request permission from the President of Nigeria to publish any photos...they just want money out of people and want to make sure that no one profits from anything in Nigeria without them getting a cut of it!! God bless Nigeria!
dimanche 17 août 2008
From Asia and back to Africa
Hello everyone,
I hope this finds you all well wherever you may be. This has been one very long, and I must say difficult week...tougher than any week I have had yet here...but I have officially as of today, been in Nigeria for one month!
I came back from Malaysia on Thursday morning, and immediately had to go on mission in the south west area of Nigeria, so definitely completely exhausted at this point as I have been on the move for two full weeks.
The past mission was the toughest to date. We were in the south west to try to convince local governments and also the Anglican bishop that kids need to be vaccinated, and that it is not about "those who are worthy of the vaccine" who get it (basically, this means, those who can 'afford'to bribe the workers to give it to them will get it)...the area we were in is one of the poorest in Nigeria, so you can imagine that really no one can afford it...and WHO gives these vaccines to the government at no cost, as it is all donor money who pays for our vaccine programs....so far this year, we have spent over $550 million USD on vaccination programs, and we still have 4 months to go! Last year's budget for the entire year was $400 million (these figures are all just operational costs, and do not include salaries, which are probably another $20-40 million), so you can see just how bad it is getting here...I should mention that these vaccines are not just for polio, but are for yellow fever, malaria, tuberculosis, as well, although the polio program is about 2/3 of the budget! We visited a couple of local orphanages, where every child has HIV/AIDS, and while we were there 2 children died...it was completely heartbreaking, and it is something that will never, ever leave me. These orphanages cannot afford the live saving HIV drugs that the kids need, so basically they are provided with the best life they can be given, but usually die very young, as they are prone to TB, fever, and other illnesses that they cannot fight.
I have seen more here than I could have ever imagined, nor ever wanted to experience. For a country that is so wealthy, however so very corrupt, these sorts of things should not be happening. The work is incredibly fulfilling, however dealing with government officials is horrible, but the worst are the religious groups. I am not sure what version of the Bible these leaders have read or follow, but it is no version that I have ever seen or heard of. For those who don't know, Nigeria is an Anglican faith based country, equally split with Muslim, but the Anglican church seperated from the Church of England 2 years ago, for some reasons I don't fully understand, and have basically started their own Anglican faith of some sort...the Arch Bishop of Nigeria (his name has escaped me) is basically the Mugabe of the Anglican church...he is a pretty evil man, and was last year named to Time's most interesting figures of 2007, but not interesting in a good way...full stop, he is crazy and totally corrupt. He is based here in Abuja and you know he is around when you see a convoy of brand new BMWs, Mercedes and his personal Rolls Royce stopping traffic...not sure anywhere else in the world that the head of a religion gets a Rolls Royce?! I am sure that money could be better used to put back into the church, and help people 'as per God's will'...but again he has his own Bible that he reads from! BBC or CNN (can't remember which one) recently did a really good special on religion here in Nigeria, so if you can find it, you should have a look at it, as it is pretty good introduction to religion here!
Apart from all that, everything is going well. I am slowly settling into life here, and the daily battles to get anything done. I will be in Abuja for at least a few weeks, but then going into the field for a week in the northern area of Kano to actually supervise an immunization campaign, and then off to Botwana for a meeting in early September...I will finally be taking a week off at the end of September, and flying out to London for a couple of nights (only because I am desperate for nachos and beer), and then off to I think Cyprus...although we have changed locations so many times, that this could again change...basically my friend Catherine and I want to go somewhere that neither of us has ever been (which is tough when we have both traveled a lot), but that is still safe (Read: not being bombed at the moment), and isn't Muslim, only because the end of Ramadan is October 1st, so basically any country that celebrates Eid will just shut down for that week, and this is the only week I can take off, as we only word a 2 day work that week (as we get Eid off here in Nigeria as well).
Anyways, still no luck with housing, but I would have to be in Abuja to actually look, but I thinking that as I only have 10 months left that I will just stay at the Hilton, but who knows?
Well everyone, that is it for this week...sorry if I have depressed you, but I haven't explained a quarter of it.
Ciao belli, andrea
I hope this finds you all well wherever you may be. This has been one very long, and I must say difficult week...tougher than any week I have had yet here...but I have officially as of today, been in Nigeria for one month!
I came back from Malaysia on Thursday morning, and immediately had to go on mission in the south west area of Nigeria, so definitely completely exhausted at this point as I have been on the move for two full weeks.
The past mission was the toughest to date. We were in the south west to try to convince local governments and also the Anglican bishop that kids need to be vaccinated, and that it is not about "those who are worthy of the vaccine" who get it (basically, this means, those who can 'afford'to bribe the workers to give it to them will get it)...the area we were in is one of the poorest in Nigeria, so you can imagine that really no one can afford it...and WHO gives these vaccines to the government at no cost, as it is all donor money who pays for our vaccine programs....so far this year, we have spent over $550 million USD on vaccination programs, and we still have 4 months to go! Last year's budget for the entire year was $400 million (these figures are all just operational costs, and do not include salaries, which are probably another $20-40 million), so you can see just how bad it is getting here...I should mention that these vaccines are not just for polio, but are for yellow fever, malaria, tuberculosis, as well, although the polio program is about 2/3 of the budget! We visited a couple of local orphanages, where every child has HIV/AIDS, and while we were there 2 children died...it was completely heartbreaking, and it is something that will never, ever leave me. These orphanages cannot afford the live saving HIV drugs that the kids need, so basically they are provided with the best life they can be given, but usually die very young, as they are prone to TB, fever, and other illnesses that they cannot fight.
I have seen more here than I could have ever imagined, nor ever wanted to experience. For a country that is so wealthy, however so very corrupt, these sorts of things should not be happening. The work is incredibly fulfilling, however dealing with government officials is horrible, but the worst are the religious groups. I am not sure what version of the Bible these leaders have read or follow, but it is no version that I have ever seen or heard of. For those who don't know, Nigeria is an Anglican faith based country, equally split with Muslim, but the Anglican church seperated from the Church of England 2 years ago, for some reasons I don't fully understand, and have basically started their own Anglican faith of some sort...the Arch Bishop of Nigeria (his name has escaped me) is basically the Mugabe of the Anglican church...he is a pretty evil man, and was last year named to Time's most interesting figures of 2007, but not interesting in a good way...full stop, he is crazy and totally corrupt. He is based here in Abuja and you know he is around when you see a convoy of brand new BMWs, Mercedes and his personal Rolls Royce stopping traffic...not sure anywhere else in the world that the head of a religion gets a Rolls Royce?! I am sure that money could be better used to put back into the church, and help people 'as per God's will'...but again he has his own Bible that he reads from! BBC or CNN (can't remember which one) recently did a really good special on religion here in Nigeria, so if you can find it, you should have a look at it, as it is pretty good introduction to religion here!
Apart from all that, everything is going well. I am slowly settling into life here, and the daily battles to get anything done. I will be in Abuja for at least a few weeks, but then going into the field for a week in the northern area of Kano to actually supervise an immunization campaign, and then off to Botwana for a meeting in early September...I will finally be taking a week off at the end of September, and flying out to London for a couple of nights (only because I am desperate for nachos and beer), and then off to I think Cyprus...although we have changed locations so many times, that this could again change...basically my friend Catherine and I want to go somewhere that neither of us has ever been (which is tough when we have both traveled a lot), but that is still safe (Read: not being bombed at the moment), and isn't Muslim, only because the end of Ramadan is October 1st, so basically any country that celebrates Eid will just shut down for that week, and this is the only week I can take off, as we only word a 2 day work that week (as we get Eid off here in Nigeria as well).
Anyways, still no luck with housing, but I would have to be in Abuja to actually look, but I thinking that as I only have 10 months left that I will just stay at the Hilton, but who knows?
Well everyone, that is it for this week...sorry if I have depressed you, but I haven't explained a quarter of it.
Ciao belli, andrea
samedi 9 août 2008
Africa to Asia....
Well, hello from Kuala Lumpar! Ok, not exactly KL just yet, but I will be there tomorrow for the next 3 days, as I have been sent here for some meetings. So, currently I am sitting in a beautiful boutique hotel in Singapore with fast internet and actual 24 hour electricity supply!!!...although I am only here for another 6 or 7 hours before I have to catch my morning flight to KL, and due to the jet lag, it doesn’t look like I will be sleeping, hence why I am writing now in the middle of the night! I haven’t been back to Singapore in a few years, but it is nice to be in a place where you can walk around at night without much concern for personal safety. This was relatively last minute, as I was not told about the meetings in KL until Thursday while I was still on mission…so had to hurry back to Abuja to pack and leave yet again…I wish I had more time here as I really need a new laptop, as my personal one is getting a little slow, but it will do for now I guess! I am told that I will be back to KL in a couple of months, so maybe I can plan to stay for a day or two in Singapore again. I will say one thing, I flew over on Qatar Airways through Doha, Qatar, and it is an incredible airline, with 5 star service, even in economy! And Doha looks like a really nice place to spend some time, so will have to come back for sure!
This whole last week has been an adventure, as I was up north in Nigeria in the Maiduguri state (Nigeria is like the US, in that the country is broken into 37 states), so we traveled through 5 to get up here, on the border between Chad and Cameroon on a polio mission…this is basically the last place in Nigeria before it hits Niger and the Sahara Desert so you can imagine just how hot it gets, although right now is rainy season (even though they only get about 60mm of rain a year) but it really cold in the nights. We (myself, and 2 others from my office and our driver) visited Local Government Areas (LGAs) which are basically where local governments have set up housing (mud huts actually) for people to live…based on the conditions that they live in, it becomes a lot more understandable why polio is still a huge problem, and actually getting worse, as it is understandable that yellow fever, measles and malaria is also expanding. They have no drainage system as it is really flat, so when it does rain it just accumulates into these big holes of water, breeding malaria infested mosquitos…so fingers crossed I don’t get it, although I did get bitten quite a few times…the mosquito nets for sleeping just have so many holes in them… While we were there, 2 new cases of polio were discovered in areas that have not actually had polio in over 4 years, so not good…however this actually isn’t true…what we are finding during these missions is that the health care workers that we use to go into the villages haven’t really been doing it, and have really just been pretending to pick up samples for testing, but taking the money for what they are supposed to be doing. Nigeria just had their national election last year, so there is a lot of money, and some commitment from these new governments to support the initiative, however they aren’t doing enough…the more you travel here, you really do see that Nigeria is a very wealthy country, with a lot of resources, however, those who really need them don’t have any access to them. As mentioned in the last blog entry, dealing with men is an interesting endeavour here, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be…I was actually able to speak on my own behalf, however whenever they actually had questions or comments they were always asked to the men I was traveling with, and not to me, but I was still able to answer. I only had to wear a full head covering in the field, but in meetings, I just had to cover the shoulders down, so not too big a deal…although it does get really warm outside in full covering! I also don’t have as many photos as I would have liked to take, as we were asked not to take photos in the villages, but still got some decent shots, which I will add in due course (most likely once I am back from this next week of circling Asia and Africa)! Fortunately, in this whole mission up north, we had no bad experiences, and this included actual good road conditions..we had one close call, but our driver Cola (very common name here) saw a bit of a commotion happening ahead on one of the small roads we were driving on, and did not think it safe to continue. So, he pulled a bit of a manueuvre and turned us around…we read in the paper the next day that the driver in the one of the cars just ahead of us was shot and killed by the gangs that were waiting ahead as he tried to outrun them. Basically, this is a fairly common thing up here, as the rebels cross over from Chad or Cameroon trying to get whatever they can from those who choose to drive up there…it was the middle of the day, so really hard to imagine, and really too bad, but good thing for Cola…he has been doing this for 20 years and is from here, so he knows what to expect everywhere! But we were fine, and the 12 hour road trip each way was actually really nice. We got to see a lot of the country, and it really is beautiful as everything is just so green, so really pretty.
I will be back in Nigeria on Thursday as I have more meetings in the south of Nigeria until next weekend…so lots of moving around! But, after that, as far as I know, I am staying in Abuja for a little bit…until a meeting in mid September in Botswana! I am still in the hotel, as not enough time to search for a flat, but I am beginning to accept the fact that I may just be living in the Hilton for the next 10 months, and it really isn’t all that bad!
I hope you are all well…I will get the photos downloaded over the next couple of weeks and update my photos for everyone to see.
This whole last week has been an adventure, as I was up north in Nigeria in the Maiduguri state (Nigeria is like the US, in that the country is broken into 37 states), so we traveled through 5 to get up here, on the border between Chad and Cameroon on a polio mission…this is basically the last place in Nigeria before it hits Niger and the Sahara Desert so you can imagine just how hot it gets, although right now is rainy season (even though they only get about 60mm of rain a year) but it really cold in the nights. We (myself, and 2 others from my office and our driver) visited Local Government Areas (LGAs) which are basically where local governments have set up housing (mud huts actually) for people to live…based on the conditions that they live in, it becomes a lot more understandable why polio is still a huge problem, and actually getting worse, as it is understandable that yellow fever, measles and malaria is also expanding. They have no drainage system as it is really flat, so when it does rain it just accumulates into these big holes of water, breeding malaria infested mosquitos…so fingers crossed I don’t get it, although I did get bitten quite a few times…the mosquito nets for sleeping just have so many holes in them… While we were there, 2 new cases of polio were discovered in areas that have not actually had polio in over 4 years, so not good…however this actually isn’t true…what we are finding during these missions is that the health care workers that we use to go into the villages haven’t really been doing it, and have really just been pretending to pick up samples for testing, but taking the money for what they are supposed to be doing. Nigeria just had their national election last year, so there is a lot of money, and some commitment from these new governments to support the initiative, however they aren’t doing enough…the more you travel here, you really do see that Nigeria is a very wealthy country, with a lot of resources, however, those who really need them don’t have any access to them. As mentioned in the last blog entry, dealing with men is an interesting endeavour here, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be…I was actually able to speak on my own behalf, however whenever they actually had questions or comments they were always asked to the men I was traveling with, and not to me, but I was still able to answer. I only had to wear a full head covering in the field, but in meetings, I just had to cover the shoulders down, so not too big a deal…although it does get really warm outside in full covering! I also don’t have as many photos as I would have liked to take, as we were asked not to take photos in the villages, but still got some decent shots, which I will add in due course (most likely once I am back from this next week of circling Asia and Africa)! Fortunately, in this whole mission up north, we had no bad experiences, and this included actual good road conditions..we had one close call, but our driver Cola (very common name here) saw a bit of a commotion happening ahead on one of the small roads we were driving on, and did not think it safe to continue. So, he pulled a bit of a manueuvre and turned us around…we read in the paper the next day that the driver in the one of the cars just ahead of us was shot and killed by the gangs that were waiting ahead as he tried to outrun them. Basically, this is a fairly common thing up here, as the rebels cross over from Chad or Cameroon trying to get whatever they can from those who choose to drive up there…it was the middle of the day, so really hard to imagine, and really too bad, but good thing for Cola…he has been doing this for 20 years and is from here, so he knows what to expect everywhere! But we were fine, and the 12 hour road trip each way was actually really nice. We got to see a lot of the country, and it really is beautiful as everything is just so green, so really pretty.
I will be back in Nigeria on Thursday as I have more meetings in the south of Nigeria until next weekend…so lots of moving around! But, after that, as far as I know, I am staying in Abuja for a little bit…until a meeting in mid September in Botswana! I am still in the hotel, as not enough time to search for a flat, but I am beginning to accept the fact that I may just be living in the Hilton for the next 10 months, and it really isn’t all that bad!
I hope you are all well…I will get the photos downloaded over the next couple of weeks and update my photos for everyone to see.
vendredi 1 août 2008
Working in Africa...
Some of you faithful readers and friends have been asking about what it is like to work in Africa, and so while internet is actually working today, I thought I would briefly answer...this is one of the biggest problems, internet is very hit and miss, even in a relatively established country like Nigeria. The bigger problem is however, electricity...I would say we have no electricity on average about 4 hours a day, however we do have major generators that kick in and get us sort of up and running most days. So, it makes for interesting work, when at this moment in time WHO, and the UN as a whole, are migrating to a new computer system where everything will be done online and sent electronically around the whole UN system...from filling in vacation requests, to governments donating and awarding money for campaigns, to salary allocation... so this of course is going to probe to be very interesting in most of Africa, as Nigeria is actually pretty 'lucky' to only be without power for 4 hours a day ...many countries still can't even access internet or only have power for 4 hours a day. For us accustomed to working on computers all day long, it is actually a welcome relief here to getting back to the flipcharts and white boards (where as a facilitator I feel so comfortable) to work on strategies...no more powerpoint presentation for anything and everything we do! But, as we are a paper based world, it also makes for everything to be done very slowly, with a lot of errors...and everything must be signed off by at least 10 different people!
Another difficulty, at least within my direct team, is that I am the first caucasian woman ever leading the team, and I am young, so this makes it quite difficult depending on where we are and what we are doing. I have been 'tested' many times by my colleagues in ways that are more cultural and ethnical, but so far so good, and I think we are all warming up to one another. My boss here is the WHO representative for Nigeria, and he is from Uganda originally, but studied in Canada and his children are there, so he has given lots of much needed advice! And, I am slowly learning to be a bit more disciplined in my approach, rather than my typical 'trust that everything will get done' approach to management! Next week, however, will be a new experience. I am leaving for the northern Nigeria states (Maiduguri), where it is strictly muslim states, where Sharia law is followed, to the point that I even need to wear a burka (without face covering). It is a 2 day drive in good conditions, and as it is rainy season, we are told to be prepared for a 3 day journey each way...all that for a 4 hour meeting (this is where teleconference or video conference would really help)!! It is also where I have to bring a male 'interpreter' with me (besides the 3 other colleagues I am going with), and not a language interpreter, but someone who will speak to the men on my behalf, even though I am in the room and doing the talking...it is a bit convoluted, but I think I am finally getting it...i speak softly, he 'transmits' the message and all questions asked by participants are filtered through him to me, even though I am still sitting right there! I look forward to the road trip, even if it is days to get there, as we go through the National Park area, so kind of like driving up north in Ontario, where we can get lucky and see deer, moose, bear, etc...only here it is elephants, giraffe, and monkeys. So, hopefully we will see lots, and because it is wet season, it is very likely! The other problem with Nigeria is that animal poaching is still alive and well, with no real laws around it...and bush meat is a real favourite, so I think my vegetarian side will come out very strongly, so that means casava, casava paste, and some rice for me...but I have learned to travel with peanut butter and lebanese bread wherever I go, so it won't be too bad!
That's it for now...I get to have my Saturday to myself and then leave on Sunday for my mission up north, and then back next weekend. I am really hoping to fly out to Nairobi next weekend to meet a friend, however still have not gotten my passport back...so won't know until next week!
Hope everyone is well!
Another difficulty, at least within my direct team, is that I am the first caucasian woman ever leading the team, and I am young, so this makes it quite difficult depending on where we are and what we are doing. I have been 'tested' many times by my colleagues in ways that are more cultural and ethnical, but so far so good, and I think we are all warming up to one another. My boss here is the WHO representative for Nigeria, and he is from Uganda originally, but studied in Canada and his children are there, so he has given lots of much needed advice! And, I am slowly learning to be a bit more disciplined in my approach, rather than my typical 'trust that everything will get done' approach to management! Next week, however, will be a new experience. I am leaving for the northern Nigeria states (Maiduguri), where it is strictly muslim states, where Sharia law is followed, to the point that I even need to wear a burka (without face covering). It is a 2 day drive in good conditions, and as it is rainy season, we are told to be prepared for a 3 day journey each way...all that for a 4 hour meeting (this is where teleconference or video conference would really help)!! It is also where I have to bring a male 'interpreter' with me (besides the 3 other colleagues I am going with), and not a language interpreter, but someone who will speak to the men on my behalf, even though I am in the room and doing the talking...it is a bit convoluted, but I think I am finally getting it...i speak softly, he 'transmits' the message and all questions asked by participants are filtered through him to me, even though I am still sitting right there! I look forward to the road trip, even if it is days to get there, as we go through the National Park area, so kind of like driving up north in Ontario, where we can get lucky and see deer, moose, bear, etc...only here it is elephants, giraffe, and monkeys. So, hopefully we will see lots, and because it is wet season, it is very likely! The other problem with Nigeria is that animal poaching is still alive and well, with no real laws around it...and bush meat is a real favourite, so I think my vegetarian side will come out very strongly, so that means casava, casava paste, and some rice for me...but I have learned to travel with peanut butter and lebanese bread wherever I go, so it won't be too bad!
That's it for now...I get to have my Saturday to myself and then leave on Sunday for my mission up north, and then back next weekend. I am really hoping to fly out to Nairobi next weekend to meet a friend, however still have not gotten my passport back...so won't know until next week!
Hope everyone is well!
dimanche 27 juillet 2008
The chaos that is Lagos!
My new experience of the week, is my trip to Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria. I am on my first official mission with WHO, going out into the field for actual campaign projects (we are giving vaccines in the south of the country). This city has 17 million people in a very small space. It is an absolute mad house here…cars and people everywhere. The 8 lane highways are basically 16-20 lane highways,….there is absolutely not more than a centimeter of space between each car…instead of signaling (with your lights) you simply tap on the car beside you to tell them you are coming over into their ‘lane’ and then you fight your way into that space!!! I for one will say that the WHO drivers who have to come and pick us up from airports/hotels/meetings, do not get paid nearly enough to do what they do…If only we in North America drove like them, we may never have traffic jams like we do on our little 6 lane highways! (Although the more congestion you have, the crazier it is)…I should also mention that there are no legal traffic laws on the highways, so it is a complete free for all…and on top of this, even though you are on the ‘highway’ there are people selling things out your car window(everything from meat pies to click radios and phone cards, to little kittens and puppies (personally I wanted to buy every one of them)….I personally saw two guys get completely knocked off their feet by cars hitting them!! Insane! Now I said that Abuja was expensive, was Lagos is a little out of control..I am staying at one of the nicest hotels in Africa in Abuja (the Hilton for about $200 US), and here in Lagos I am staying at the equivalent of those little motels found on the side of the highways (not quite as bad as the hourly motels you find in most major cities, but no Howard Johnson or Holiday Inn that’s for sure)…and we are paying (with UN discount) $425 US a night!!! With that you get luke warm showers, 6 hour daily power outages, and no breakfast…it is unbelievable! But, food and drink is cheap, much cheaper than Abuja…so if you are wondering why we can’t eradicate polio, its because we have to pay so much for hotels, so can’t afford to vaccinate people!! Lagos is also a city of immense wealth and extreme poverty…those who work in the oil and bank industries here make approximately $20,000 US a month!! And those day labourers, maybe make $2 a day…so it is absolutely polar extremes…flashy brand new BMWs and Mercedes, alongside people begging along the highways, without even shoes to wear, so a little hard to see and really get, but I guess it really is no different from one country to the next…we all have it, but doesn’t seem to hit home until you see it in this perspective.
I am traveling with a Nigerian, Ethiopian and Kenyan on this mission, and so far so good…it is good to have a Nigerian with us, as he knows the way and the local dialect, so he deals with everything! We headed south to Delta and River states, where things are a little crazy down there (in terms of kidnappings and ethnic violence), but they have never attacked a UN convoy…and as we were getting there, there was a kidnapping, and 8 people in the oil industry were kidnapped including the Minister's father, so we got turned around, as it was deemed too dangerous for us to go further, so back to Lagos we went!
I am now back in Abuja...Manchester United and Portsmouth are here playing a friendly preseason game, and of course all the players are staying at my hotel, so it is nuts...I have no clue who any of the players are, but met a couple of them, and they could not really believe that I did not know who they were (I think they were somewhat expecting me to be some sort of a groupie, ready and waiting for them, but no such luck)...so I don't think I made any friends there, but whatever! But they seemed pretty nice, and got free tickets to the game, so I will go check it out...gives me something to do on a sunday night, I guess! And there will be a huge concert with many local nigerian artists, and like the cinema here, they have some incredible musicians!
Anyways, all is well...I am in Abuja for the next week and them off on mission for about 2 weeks to the north (muslim states)...so my burka is getting made as we speak! Also, finally got my passport back with my Nigerian visa, only for it to be immediately cancelled, and I have to go through the whole process again, although I can actually stay in the country this time, while WHO takes care of it and gives me a work permit and a visa...but my passport is almost full (with various African country visas), so now have to go to the Canadian embassy for a new passport!! It never seems to end!
I have posted a few new photos, but will get a few more from Lagos up soon!
hasta luego, ange
I am traveling with a Nigerian, Ethiopian and Kenyan on this mission, and so far so good…it is good to have a Nigerian with us, as he knows the way and the local dialect, so he deals with everything! We headed south to Delta and River states, where things are a little crazy down there (in terms of kidnappings and ethnic violence), but they have never attacked a UN convoy…and as we were getting there, there was a kidnapping, and 8 people in the oil industry were kidnapped including the Minister's father, so we got turned around, as it was deemed too dangerous for us to go further, so back to Lagos we went!
I am now back in Abuja...Manchester United and Portsmouth are here playing a friendly preseason game, and of course all the players are staying at my hotel, so it is nuts...I have no clue who any of the players are, but met a couple of them, and they could not really believe that I did not know who they were (I think they were somewhat expecting me to be some sort of a groupie, ready and waiting for them, but no such luck)...so I don't think I made any friends there, but whatever! But they seemed pretty nice, and got free tickets to the game, so I will go check it out...gives me something to do on a sunday night, I guess! And there will be a huge concert with many local nigerian artists, and like the cinema here, they have some incredible musicians!
Anyways, all is well...I am in Abuja for the next week and them off on mission for about 2 weeks to the north (muslim states)...so my burka is getting made as we speak! Also, finally got my passport back with my Nigerian visa, only for it to be immediately cancelled, and I have to go through the whole process again, although I can actually stay in the country this time, while WHO takes care of it and gives me a work permit and a visa...but my passport is almost full (with various African country visas), so now have to go to the Canadian embassy for a new passport!! It never seems to end!
I have posted a few new photos, but will get a few more from Lagos up soon!
hasta luego, ange
mardi 22 juillet 2008
Ah...'beautiful' Abuja...
So, as previously mentioned, I am now at my “home away from home” in Abuja, Nigeria for the next year! I arrived Wednesday after a very long day of traveling, but so far so good. Lagos airport was absolutely insane…as you may or may not know, Lagos (former capital of Nigeria) is the biggest city in Nigeria (and Nigeria is the biggest country in Africa), with about 17 million people Lagos, a city about the size of about New York city! So, it is nuts here…if ever you are coming to visit me, give me advance notice and I will come meet you with help, because the airport is absolutely not doable without help…and it is a very good likelihood that you will have your luggage stolen, as this is a favorite past time of some of the locals (Lagos is a major hub for trading in west Africa, so everything gets sent through here)…make sure you keep you luggage tags, because you actually have to show them over and over again at all the checkpoints in the airport!
I didn’t get to see as much of Ethiopia as I wanted, but I did get out into the country side a bit, and I definitely want to see more. It is a remarkable country with a really long history, and amazing culture, so definitely hope to get back soon.
I just moved into the Hilton Hotel, which is a very, very nice hotel. I am here for a month, so if anyone wants a little break, feel free to come stay with me, I have a HUGE room…and you can use the massive pool, get massages, play tennis, or just eat all day long. You almost forget you are in Africa staying here, that is until you walk out of the hotel entrance, and then you are back in a typical African city! Although Abuja is not that big (only about 1.5 million people), there is still a lot going on…and I can honestly say that this is probably the most expensive city in the world that I have ever visited! Nothing is cheap, even the local restaurants and grocery store are quite costly, so this is going to be quite the year…I am in the process of trying to find a place to live, although now being at the Hilton, I almost don’t want to leave, as I can really get used to it here, but WHO doesn’t want to continue paying what they charge to stay here. But, I have been told that it may be very nearly impossible to find a place for only 11 months, so we’ll see!
Abuja is the “Federal Capital Territory” of Nigeria, and is basically in the exact centre of the country. It is very, very green here (not so much in the environmental sense, as it is actually really green)! It is rainy season so everything is fully alive and so green, the roads are all red because the ground is red clay, and there are massive boulders surrounding the city (basically the only tourist sites in Abuja)! Most of the world’s embassies and consulates are based here, as are many other UN agencies, so hopefully there will be people to meet, or this could become a long year! It sort of reminds me of Las Vegas as there are a lot of lights, but really it looks nothing like it. When I first got here, all I would hear were people making this hissing sound to get your attention (sort of like if I were to snap to get a waiter’s attention), followed of course by “oyibo” (=white person)…still a little odd, as I can’t imagine calling people by their skin colour, but ‘c’est la vie’ I guess?! One thing I cannot get enough of is “Nollywood”, basically the Nigerian cinema here…sort of like Bollywood…it is pretty hilarious, even though I understand very little of the “English” they are speaking, but is a major industry, as most Africans from all over Africa can actually relate to it, as it deals with typical African stories, unlike traditional Hollywood films...I will have to get a few to come home with me, whenever I actually make it back to Canada.
As for work, it is going well. It is also a little overwhelming, when you are sat down on day 2 and given $200 million (USD) that has to spent in the next year, and told to go and ‘eradicate polio’!! Polio is worse than ever before, and we are not really able to explain it…there have been many long meetings to try to figure it out…without a lot of luck. So, I will be going around the country over the next couple of months doing some vaccination blitzes…I will be buying my first burka, as I am going into strict muslim areas, where Shiite law is in place, and therefore we must dress appropriately…although I won’t do the full burka, I will cover all skin, and full head, leaving my face exposed,,,and I should mentioned it gets up to the mid 40’s up there (or 115 degrees). But, the one really good thing about Nigeria is that it is really safe…the kidnappings you hear about are only on the oil rigs, so there is no worry…the ‘ninjas’ have never, ever attacked a UN staff member, so I will be just fine!
I am already planning my first holiday or two…meeting up with my friend Lani early August somewhere as yet undetermined, and then taking a week off in early October to meet up with another friend Catherine, again in a yet to be decided location. But, there is lots to do, and many, many places I have never been, so looking forward to seeing parts of this awesome continent! Remember everyone, I get lots of holidays, so if you are thinking of taking a holiday, consider Africa!
Hope you are all well wherever this finds you…Vietnam, Berlin, Canada, Italy, US, UK, Australia, NZ, etc….Hopefully I can see you all soon! I have posted a couple of more photos, mostly of Abuja as I lost one of my cards with shots from Ethiopia, so hopefully I find it again…
Odaaro,
Andrea
I didn’t get to see as much of Ethiopia as I wanted, but I did get out into the country side a bit, and I definitely want to see more. It is a remarkable country with a really long history, and amazing culture, so definitely hope to get back soon.
I just moved into the Hilton Hotel, which is a very, very nice hotel. I am here for a month, so if anyone wants a little break, feel free to come stay with me, I have a HUGE room…and you can use the massive pool, get massages, play tennis, or just eat all day long. You almost forget you are in Africa staying here, that is until you walk out of the hotel entrance, and then you are back in a typical African city! Although Abuja is not that big (only about 1.5 million people), there is still a lot going on…and I can honestly say that this is probably the most expensive city in the world that I have ever visited! Nothing is cheap, even the local restaurants and grocery store are quite costly, so this is going to be quite the year…I am in the process of trying to find a place to live, although now being at the Hilton, I almost don’t want to leave, as I can really get used to it here, but WHO doesn’t want to continue paying what they charge to stay here. But, I have been told that it may be very nearly impossible to find a place for only 11 months, so we’ll see!
Abuja is the “Federal Capital Territory” of Nigeria, and is basically in the exact centre of the country. It is very, very green here (not so much in the environmental sense, as it is actually really green)! It is rainy season so everything is fully alive and so green, the roads are all red because the ground is red clay, and there are massive boulders surrounding the city (basically the only tourist sites in Abuja)! Most of the world’s embassies and consulates are based here, as are many other UN agencies, so hopefully there will be people to meet, or this could become a long year! It sort of reminds me of Las Vegas as there are a lot of lights, but really it looks nothing like it. When I first got here, all I would hear were people making this hissing sound to get your attention (sort of like if I were to snap to get a waiter’s attention), followed of course by “oyibo” (=white person)…still a little odd, as I can’t imagine calling people by their skin colour, but ‘c’est la vie’ I guess?! One thing I cannot get enough of is “Nollywood”, basically the Nigerian cinema here…sort of like Bollywood…it is pretty hilarious, even though I understand very little of the “English” they are speaking, but is a major industry, as most Africans from all over Africa can actually relate to it, as it deals with typical African stories, unlike traditional Hollywood films...I will have to get a few to come home with me, whenever I actually make it back to Canada.
As for work, it is going well. It is also a little overwhelming, when you are sat down on day 2 and given $200 million (USD) that has to spent in the next year, and told to go and ‘eradicate polio’!! Polio is worse than ever before, and we are not really able to explain it…there have been many long meetings to try to figure it out…without a lot of luck. So, I will be going around the country over the next couple of months doing some vaccination blitzes…I will be buying my first burka, as I am going into strict muslim areas, where Shiite law is in place, and therefore we must dress appropriately…although I won’t do the full burka, I will cover all skin, and full head, leaving my face exposed,,,and I should mentioned it gets up to the mid 40’s up there (or 115 degrees). But, the one really good thing about Nigeria is that it is really safe…the kidnappings you hear about are only on the oil rigs, so there is no worry…the ‘ninjas’ have never, ever attacked a UN staff member, so I will be just fine!
I am already planning my first holiday or two…meeting up with my friend Lani early August somewhere as yet undetermined, and then taking a week off in early October to meet up with another friend Catherine, again in a yet to be decided location. But, there is lots to do, and many, many places I have never been, so looking forward to seeing parts of this awesome continent! Remember everyone, I get lots of holidays, so if you are thinking of taking a holiday, consider Africa!
Hope you are all well wherever this finds you…Vietnam, Berlin, Canada, Italy, US, UK, Australia, NZ, etc….Hopefully I can see you all soon! I have posted a couple of more photos, mostly of Abuja as I lost one of my cards with shots from Ethiopia, so hopefully I find it again…
Odaaro,
Andrea
vendredi 18 juillet 2008
and finally....Nigeria!!!
So, I have arrived safe and sound in Abuja, Nigeria!! I got in on Wednesday, after a long day of traveling...I have mentioned it before, but traveling in Africa is not easy... The funny story in all of this is that the exact same soldiers who escorted me back onto the plane and buckled me into my seat on the weekend were waiting for me when I got off the plane, as they were expecting me...we had a beer, and all is good! I can see that the next year of living in Nigeria is going to be an 'interesting' experience!
I am going to keep this entry short, as I have a 6 hour exam tomorrow to finish off my MBA!! Studying has been very difficult, as there has been a lot of power cuts here every night, but really that's an excuse...I have just been busy/lazy about actually getting to it!
Anyways, I have a new mobile here, the number is +234 8039600875. Call or text anytime!
I will update this later in the weekend or early next week.
I am going to keep this entry short, as I have a 6 hour exam tomorrow to finish off my MBA!! Studying has been very difficult, as there has been a lot of power cuts here every night, but really that's an excuse...I have just been busy/lazy about actually getting to it!
Anyways, I have a new mobile here, the number is +234 8039600875. Call or text anytime!
I will update this later in the weekend or early next week.
lundi 14 juillet 2008
My first deportation...
So, I will recount my adventures of the week, and quite the adventures they have been!
I am currently in Addis Adaba (Ethiopia) on an unexpected, but I think deserved, holiday! I have criss-crossed Africa in the last week or so, going from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Kinshasa, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire), back to Brazzaville, Congo, and then Addis Adaba, on to Lagos, Nigeria, and back again to Addis! In total, it was about 33 hours of flying time…a little much I would say.
So, here begins the story…I started in Harare, as I was there for some meetings (during the Congo civil war of the 90s the WHO office moved temporarily to Harare, where we continue to operate an office), but we also worked on a strategy to assist those Zimbabweans who have sat themselves in front of the US Embassy out of fear of retribution of Mugabe’s army…I would say most had been injured in some way, from small cuts and abrasions, to major wounds and beatings…definitely not a pretty sight, so we are trying to set up a sort of camp for them somewhere where they can remain safe, while the US and figures out what to do next (which is all likelihood is nothing). After that I spent a couple of days in Kinshasa, DRC, which is as crazy an African city as you can find…it is basically overrun with foreign aid workers (NGOs-Non Government Organization people), as well as refugees from all over Africa who fled their own countries in civil war…however, DRC has been in a civil war for the last 15 years, so it is not much better. But, it is absolutely rich in culture and diversity, and a real sight to see…although it is not the type of place I would recommend visiting for the ‘fun’ of it, but there is definitely a lot to do, which was a nice change from Brazzaville. I finally got clearance to go to my duty station in Abuja, Nigeria to start work, so back I went to Brazzaville to collect all my luggage. Traveling in Africa is not easy, as there are no real direct flights anywhere that you actually have to go, so even though I was already in west Africa, you have to fly through Kinshasa, and then on to east Africa, for a night of transit in Addis Adaba…a little much I say, but who am I to comment?! So, the next day, I board the plane for Lagos, land in Lagos where I am greeted by my UN colleagues, who have absolutely no idea that a visa was supposed to be arranged for me, and have it with them upon landing…so long story short…..I got deported!!! Yes, a Canadian got deported from Nigeria…we tried everything from calling every senior UN official in Nigeria, to offering money (actually good they would not take the money as we are trying to fight corruption)…there were about 10 or so people fighting for me, but to no avail, and was escorted back on to the same plane I arrived on by armed soldiers! Passengers were a little concerned, as here is this Caucasian girl being escorted on to the plane, but once they heard the story, everyone kind of laughed and said “Welcome to Nigeria”!! So, I flew another 7 hours back to Addis, where the adventure did not end…I was escorted off the plane into a little room, where I was made to wait for 2 hours with no water, toilet or food (it was now the middle of the night), before anyone would come and see me, at which point the UN in Ethiopia had been informed of my deportation and were madly searching for me within the airport, trying to stop my from being further deported…it was quite maddening…you would think traveling on a UN passport, with UN clearance and diplomatic status would get you somewhere, but it sure didn’t here! The regional WHO representative cleared everything for me in Addis, but I still had to pay the close to $10,000USD…yes, $10,000 fine for illegally trying to enter Nigeria, as well as the cost of the return ticket! Too bad WHO does not have their act together, as I am sure we could better use that money, say for HIV/AIDS drugs, Polio vaccines, education, etc….So, we are now trying to figure out what next to do, while I remain in Addis, Adaba basically on holidays until it is all sorted out…there is talk of having to come back to Canada and start fresh, to perhaps not ever getting entry permission to Nigeria again (which at this point the Ethiopia office would be welcome, as it is beautiful here, with lots to do), to who knows what! So, this week will be interesting, but in the interim, while they (not quite sure who ‘they’ are) figure it all out, I will be going on a bit of a tour of Ethiopia, I am going to go out with the World Food Program and see/work at some of the refugee camps in the North, stopping along the way at some UNESCO heritage sites!
Apart from that, the WHO Representative for Ethiopia took me around town yesterday and then for a traditional Ethiopian dinner at his home with his extended family (Like Sunday dinner in North American)…complete feast I tell you…the problem is it is very meat based, and my parents raised me right in that you eat what is put in front of you, which is a very good thing, so I was eating everything from mutton, to chicken, and probably beef…being a vegetarian is not easy in Africa, but after the last few weeks of having to eat meat as I have been invited to many a family dinner, my stomach is very slowly getting used to it all…but it helped that I had copious amounts of tej (a very highly alcoholic honey wine – very, very sweet, but definitely helped getting all the meat down)!! Followed of course by lots and lots of coffee – made the traditional Ethiopian way over a charcoal fire, and takes about 45 mins to brew – I have never liked coffee, but this was actually pretty good – and so I went from pretty drunk to being in a bit of a caffeine hyperactive state! Very interesting for sure! But, so far so good…I am safe and having a good time…it is winter here, so it is actually quite cool, but today is a beautiful sunny day…I am about to go lounge around the thermal pool at my hotel, and then maybe get a massage! Hope you are all enjoying your day where ever this finds you! I will post photos later this week of my adventures to date!
Take care, Andrea
Ps. Forgot to mention that upon landing in Lagos, Nigeria you are greeted on the tarmac by the remnants of the most recent plane crash that killed almost 200 people in 2006…they don’t remove anything, so there are about 3 different planes scattered around the tarmac, in various conditions…luckily the UN does not use those airlines, as we use only reputable ones….
I am currently in Addis Adaba (Ethiopia) on an unexpected, but I think deserved, holiday! I have criss-crossed Africa in the last week or so, going from Harare, Zimbabwe, to Kinshasa, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire), back to Brazzaville, Congo, and then Addis Adaba, on to Lagos, Nigeria, and back again to Addis! In total, it was about 33 hours of flying time…a little much I would say.
So, here begins the story…I started in Harare, as I was there for some meetings (during the Congo civil war of the 90s the WHO office moved temporarily to Harare, where we continue to operate an office), but we also worked on a strategy to assist those Zimbabweans who have sat themselves in front of the US Embassy out of fear of retribution of Mugabe’s army…I would say most had been injured in some way, from small cuts and abrasions, to major wounds and beatings…definitely not a pretty sight, so we are trying to set up a sort of camp for them somewhere where they can remain safe, while the US and figures out what to do next (which is all likelihood is nothing). After that I spent a couple of days in Kinshasa, DRC, which is as crazy an African city as you can find…it is basically overrun with foreign aid workers (NGOs-Non Government Organization people), as well as refugees from all over Africa who fled their own countries in civil war…however, DRC has been in a civil war for the last 15 years, so it is not much better. But, it is absolutely rich in culture and diversity, and a real sight to see…although it is not the type of place I would recommend visiting for the ‘fun’ of it, but there is definitely a lot to do, which was a nice change from Brazzaville. I finally got clearance to go to my duty station in Abuja, Nigeria to start work, so back I went to Brazzaville to collect all my luggage. Traveling in Africa is not easy, as there are no real direct flights anywhere that you actually have to go, so even though I was already in west Africa, you have to fly through Kinshasa, and then on to east Africa, for a night of transit in Addis Adaba…a little much I say, but who am I to comment?! So, the next day, I board the plane for Lagos, land in Lagos where I am greeted by my UN colleagues, who have absolutely no idea that a visa was supposed to be arranged for me, and have it with them upon landing…so long story short…..I got deported!!! Yes, a Canadian got deported from Nigeria…we tried everything from calling every senior UN official in Nigeria, to offering money (actually good they would not take the money as we are trying to fight corruption)…there were about 10 or so people fighting for me, but to no avail, and was escorted back on to the same plane I arrived on by armed soldiers! Passengers were a little concerned, as here is this Caucasian girl being escorted on to the plane, but once they heard the story, everyone kind of laughed and said “Welcome to Nigeria”!! So, I flew another 7 hours back to Addis, where the adventure did not end…I was escorted off the plane into a little room, where I was made to wait for 2 hours with no water, toilet or food (it was now the middle of the night), before anyone would come and see me, at which point the UN in Ethiopia had been informed of my deportation and were madly searching for me within the airport, trying to stop my from being further deported…it was quite maddening…you would think traveling on a UN passport, with UN clearance and diplomatic status would get you somewhere, but it sure didn’t here! The regional WHO representative cleared everything for me in Addis, but I still had to pay the close to $10,000USD…yes, $10,000 fine for illegally trying to enter Nigeria, as well as the cost of the return ticket! Too bad WHO does not have their act together, as I am sure we could better use that money, say for HIV/AIDS drugs, Polio vaccines, education, etc….So, we are now trying to figure out what next to do, while I remain in Addis, Adaba basically on holidays until it is all sorted out…there is talk of having to come back to Canada and start fresh, to perhaps not ever getting entry permission to Nigeria again (which at this point the Ethiopia office would be welcome, as it is beautiful here, with lots to do), to who knows what! So, this week will be interesting, but in the interim, while they (not quite sure who ‘they’ are) figure it all out, I will be going on a bit of a tour of Ethiopia, I am going to go out with the World Food Program and see/work at some of the refugee camps in the North, stopping along the way at some UNESCO heritage sites!
Apart from that, the WHO Representative for Ethiopia took me around town yesterday and then for a traditional Ethiopian dinner at his home with his extended family (Like Sunday dinner in North American)…complete feast I tell you…the problem is it is very meat based, and my parents raised me right in that you eat what is put in front of you, which is a very good thing, so I was eating everything from mutton, to chicken, and probably beef…being a vegetarian is not easy in Africa, but after the last few weeks of having to eat meat as I have been invited to many a family dinner, my stomach is very slowly getting used to it all…but it helped that I had copious amounts of tej (a very highly alcoholic honey wine – very, very sweet, but definitely helped getting all the meat down)!! Followed of course by lots and lots of coffee – made the traditional Ethiopian way over a charcoal fire, and takes about 45 mins to brew – I have never liked coffee, but this was actually pretty good – and so I went from pretty drunk to being in a bit of a caffeine hyperactive state! Very interesting for sure! But, so far so good…I am safe and having a good time…it is winter here, so it is actually quite cool, but today is a beautiful sunny day…I am about to go lounge around the thermal pool at my hotel, and then maybe get a massage! Hope you are all enjoying your day where ever this finds you! I will post photos later this week of my adventures to date!
Take care, Andrea
Ps. Forgot to mention that upon landing in Lagos, Nigeria you are greeted on the tarmac by the remnants of the most recent plane crash that killed almost 200 people in 2006…they don’t remove anything, so there are about 3 different planes scattered around the tarmac, in various conditions…luckily the UN does not use those airlines, as we use only reputable ones….
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