Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Send for re-inforcements please 19 July 2006

Life is never dull here. Last week was going pretty well until, on Wednesday, the dude with the green soldiers pulled in at the house and demanded to get into my side of the property. They want to extend their factory. Quick phone call to UN security and lots of big 4 x 4's kicking up dust, lawyers, pointing fingers and it was all over. Not hugely exciting!! We have to get out of that house but it is so nice for the kids that it's really difficult to deal with.Not all sad news...... On Thursday the MGVP vets came and we did Gari's health check (This computer won't let me put pics on!!). He got all his vaccinations and blood tests and he is clear for TB.Then, eventually, the volunteers arrived. Nicole is from Germany - she heads AWARE Germany. Tessa is from UK, previous work with rehab in Thailand. It was really good to have them here to help and they settled in real well. We went out for a little celebration, and the men were so happy to have two more white chicks to chat up..... strange little Russian guy though!!I am now in Bukavu. Left the girls in Goma. They have the task of finding a house before 2nd August! I visited Lwiro yesterday. The cages are coming along and at least some of the primates are in bigger cages. Another baby chimp arrived last Friday so we are on 21 chimps and 15 monkeys. Will write more next week about what's going on here. I am going back to Goma just before the elections on the 30th. Lots of Mzungus are leaving over that time, but I don't think there will be too many problems....... watch this space!!!

Sunday, July 9, 2006

Life goes on 9 July 2006


This week has not been good. I wanted to fill the blog with good news and optimism for the future, but life is not like that and there are difficult times to deal with as well, so I must report the truth of my work here. From the previous posts you know about the new house and what a mission it was to find it. I searched for a month and most of the places I looked at were not suitable for a number of reasons; walls not high enough, no big trees, busy road outside etc. I eventually found the place. It was used as a storage depot by a previous NGO. The garden is not exactly manicured, it has many indigenous and sturdy trees, a high wall and a quiet road. It is, as far as I could find, the perfect place. The manager of the house sent another party to pull into the depot that I am not using.... no prior negotiations.... and they want to start a juice factory. They have military roots and oodles of money and all of a sudden it is me who has been given a month's notice. This is a huge problem. A month is not enough to prepare cages and enclosures in Lwiro. I can only get there when the volunteers arrive to take my place here and then there are elections and it may be dangerous so I have to be back in Goma to prepare to evacuate the chimps across Rwanda to Uganda if things get too hairy. After that, I am attempting to take a month's leave back to SA where I need to drum up more funding and sort out AWARE on that side. I have gone through all the emotions; denial, grief, black despair, and now am at an interesting phase of resigned acceptance and allowing the universe to do with me and the chimps what she will. I have by no means given up. The universe has sent me a few interesting and influencial people. Friday, I had a radio interview for the UN radio station, Okapi (all in french!) If they understood one word of what I was saying then that will be another positive step. I will keep you posted on developments and am open to all positive energies for the future of the chimps.PS photo is of our garden. This is only the one side! Little chimp eden for now.

Sunday, July 2, 2006

It was my birthday 2 July 2006

Hello all,Sorry I haven't updated you for a while and I know some people get a bit nervous when they don't hear from me and imagine all sorts of nasty things have happened, but all is well here. My dad came to visit me and if you think it's only me who has adventures..... listen here.He flew to Uganda and then tried to get on a UN flight the day before my birthday. On the day, he was on the plane, engines revving and suddenly the ambassador of China arrives and so the flight was grounded and the whole bleedin airport comes to a standstill coz this oak is like real important!!! Dad gets off and is assured a place the next day. Next day, goes to the airport, gets on the plane but in true Afreekan style, they don't bother to mention to him that he isn't actually going to reach his destination, but hey, at least we got you on the plane. So, it's my birthday that day and I am feeling pretty sorry for myself, am at the office and the phone rings and he is stuck in Bukavu and the helicopter to Goma is only 2 days wait. I start to worry about my poor dad having to deal with that stuff, getting a cab, getting a decent place to stay and he doesn't speak French and everybody screws mzungus and so I didn't really enjoy my birthday lunch alone, coz I kept trying to phone someone I know in Bukavu to find this lost old mzungu and try to help him get a visa. On a UN flight you don't have your passport checked. Someone in Bukavu told me that it was a serious offence not to have your visa and I had images of my dad at the border, cuffed and ready to be manhandled to a prison somewhere nobody would ever find him again. I was miserable. Also, I had missed my one and only birthday call coz I was outside with the chimps and running inside, I whacked my leg and missed the call by 1 second. Turns out....... daddyo has caught a lift with the UN oaks, he is sitting in one of their fancy hotels drinking Primus and is having a fine time. By that time I have located my contact and she meets him at the hotel, takes him to the border, gets his visa no problem and all is hunkey bloody dorey! He caught the luxury speedboat the next day and I met him at the port. We have been catching up as I haven't seen him for a good many months and we had a lot to talk about for AWARE and how it is going to move forward. He has been a great support. Yesterday, we went across the border to Rwanda to the Kivu Sun and had a brilliant lunch and swam in the lake. Very holiday like indeed. He is leaving on Monday morning with a UN flight..... hope they don't bump him off again.Anyway, sorry not too chimpy this time but the kids are doing great. Gari is settled and his face is calm and he plays well with the others. He still bites a lot but for every time he bites hard I take one for the assholes who put him through all his trauma and every time he gives me a love bite, I take one for all the people who have and will support him in his future life. Will write again in a while. PS sorry no pics, the damned computer is playing up..... aaaahhh afreeekaaah!speak soon xxxl