Grapefruit wars 23 August 2006

This is my thigh!! I lost in a grapefruit war with Nicole. I think she was trying to cancel me considering I am a shitty, control freak boss. But, nonetheless, the girls here are doing pretty well. Last week we were invited to dine with some South African military, air force and communication system technicians (!). After the evening and all of us thoroughly drunk, we were $550 up on donations!! Thanks guys, you are stars!!!I know my news has not exactly been riveting lately, but here are some good ones. Just before I left for Bukavu last week, I heard from the JGI driver that there were witches taking people's blood in the town. I asked him what the story was, and here is his version.On Wednesday night at about 1 am, there was noise throughout Goma. It was heard all over the place (he phoned his friend on the other side of town who heard it too). It was an eerie screaming and wailing and most people understood that witches were there to extract blood from the people of Goma. The noise was above and everywhere and didn't stop till 4am. (We were partying at Chez Nono so didn't hear much of these witches).The day after, we heard the real story. It's more like this .....A woman in one of the villages had a cassava overdose and her tummy wasn't feeling too good. She had an uncomfortable night and a bad dream about witches coming to draw blood (they are VERY superstitious here and talk about it all the time). She awoke and cried out to everyone the evil tidings, after which everyone took up arms against the demons and started burning tyres, banging drums, wailing, screetching, whistling..... making as much of a noise is required to chase said demons. Other people saw the smoke and the burning tyres and thought the volcano was erupting and there was MORE wailing and screaming! After everyone was completely exhausted but sure the demons were gone, they stopped.I came to Bukavu at the end of the week. Lwiro is still fine but we have yet another baby chimp, picture above. The cages are looking a bit better than when I started and now we can start on the big building of the sanctuary. There is a small area close to the CRSN building where there is still a forest. I have big plans for this little forest and I think all is going to be great when we are on our way.As for the elections.... nothing much in Bukavu or Goma but lots of presidential tiffs in Kinshasa. The other day, I was going to Lwiro and the gate guard came to tell me they were going to march on the streets of Bukavu to protest the violence in Kinshasa and that I should stay at home. I said I didn't have time to stay at home and asked David, my cheecky moto man, if the streets were OK. He said yes, so we went. In my minds eye, I imagined the spot in the town where there would be problems. As we approached there, everyone and everything stopped (on the way, my MP3 was playing a song called 'You picked the wrong day', but I am not superstitious). All the cars and people stopped and I thought there was like military oaks going to blast through the streets and there was military music playing somewhere and then everyone started again. It happens every day - they play the national anthem and everyone has to stand still. Very moving, on my nerves!Anyway, I am going home to SA on the 30th. Hoping that Nicole will keep you up to date with what is happening in Congo.

The Universe has a cruel sense of humour 10 August 2006

So we waited out the elections. Some people said it would be fine, others (the ones that sat in the Kivu Sun across the border) said there would be attacks and we should just give all our money and if we didn’t give enough, we should expect to get raped and killed. So we sat at home on the 30th. The staff went to vote and things went fine. I think it will be the results that will cause problems if anything.The day after the elections, we went trolling to look for another house as we only had 2 days left. I have spent a month worrying myself sick about finding a new place. Initially, when Shege had her second TB test and all was clear, and Yongesa climbed out the old place and got herself electrocuted, and I was dying over Shege being on her own, I searched Goma for 3 weeks. Most of the places are either too expensive, have no trees/high walls or are on a very busy road. Tess and Nicole found a brilliant place but the walls were broken and there were people staying there so it didn’t look promising. We found a house in a state of disrepair with a small garden but a few tall trees. We were so desperate that it looked like that would have to suffice. We were even thinking about falling to plan B which would be to move all the chimps to the JGI office and modify the back section of the house as a cage area, but I was dreading that.Our very last commissioner showed us our very last house on the 1st of August (we were being kicked out the following day). It is not as good as our last place but it has a big back garden and a number of tall trees. We had to do it and so we negotiated that afternoon and after being asked for $1000 per month, we whittled it down to a nice round $666! There are good facilities for the caregivers and a nice room for the chimps. We did the move on the 2nd and spent 2 days furiously putting up fences and wire on the walls so the kids wouldn’t jump out. On the third day we let the chimps out of their bedroom. They were so frustrated being stuck in there and were happy to get out. Shege immediately found a space to get out and ever-curious Yongesa did the same. So the next day, we were at it again, blocking all exits. We seem to have it more or less under control but they still try. They are trashing the smaller trees and I just hope the owner doesn’t have a fit when he sees his garden. The house has 3 bedrooms and at last I am able to have hot baths at night.Our next crisis is finding enough money to be able to build a decent sanctuary at Lwiro and get everyone outside instead of living their days out in cages……

Lwiro and peaceful elections 10 August 2006

After the girls arrived and we did a short weekend handover, I had to shoot to Bukavu again. I phoned my moto-man, David, and off we went to see how things were going at Lwiro. I hadn’t been there in a month, another month for the dust to be ground into a fine powder. Laura gave me an MP3 player and put my favourite hard angry rock on it, so the trip there and back wasn’t so painful.When I was last there, we got some funding from the Born Free Foundation and they allowed me to use some for constructing bigger cages for the monkeys. At last, the 5 Red-tails are in one of the long enclosures, the 4 Owl monkeys are in two new and bigger cages and the Cercocerbus female is out of her 30 x 30 x 40 cm dark service cage and she can actually stand up. It is just the male and female Cercopithecus aethiops that are still in separate cages (very small) that need another bigger cage, but I don’t have more funds for this at present.A few days after my arrival, it decided to be rain season. I stupidly thought that we would make it on the motorbike but it was real difficult. Took us 3 hours to get there and the mud is like baboon shit. At one stage the mud got stuck so bad between the front tyre and the guard that the wheel just stopped and we plopped off the side! It was very funny and at least we were going slow.On Monday, the ICCN had confiscated a tiny infant gorilla that the military had given up. For every one captured baby gorilla, there is a family of 5 to 20 that has to be killed in order to get it. Gorillas protect their young fiercely. We are trying to get the baby across to Goma as the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project has more skill in caring for her. Baby gorillas are very sensitive and, unlike chimps, don’t survive very long without the proper care. It’s more red tape that we have to fight.I had to cut my time in Lwiro short as there were elections on the 30th of July. The airport is 36 kms away from Bukavu. Got there in the morning, waited the whole day. At 4pm they said the flight was cancelled. Surprisingly though, my bag went to Goma without me on the morning flight! I had to go all the way back to Bukavu on the bus and then get up at 5am to catch the bus the following day, only to be informed that the flight was only at 3pm. The other people that were also waiting to get to Goma, were ‘election observers’ and journalists. They made a stink and a flight was organised for 11am. I returned on the 28th and we waited for elections. Most of the NGO’s closed down and the mzungus went across the border to Rwanda. Nothing really happened. Everyone was happy to have their vote and things went smoothly. I think it was only in Kinshasa that there was major unrest.Our next crisis was that we were being kicked out of the house on 2nd August and we still had nowhere to go………

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!!!

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.

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

Back in Goma 18 June 2006

Laura has left and it's just ol' me again. The JGI office has a new accountant so I don't have a computer to work on during the week, so I can only do stuff on weekends. The advantage is though, that Anne Laure has agreed to help AWARE with our accounting. Amongst other things, I have been trying to be an accountant. It's not rocket science but I do rather well outside with chimp poo on me!The house is quiet and all the kids are getting on well. I didn't have a chance after I got back from Bukavu, to check our new chimp out. I was rushing here and there to finish website stuff with Laura etc. Today, I went outside and sat with everyone in an attempt to get to know Gari better. After being completely dominated by the Princess Yongesa for about half an hour, Gari wondered over to my feet and bit down hard. He has been chained like a dog for most of his life and the behaviour of biting feet and legs probably comes from people who tease, laugh and kick at him and the only way he can get them to go away, he has learned, is to bite. He has never been explained in chimp language that there is a time and place for biting and if someone is being nice to you, you don't need to do it so hard...... at least I was wearing my gumboots. So I stroked his back and under his arms (chimps love their armpits being fondled) and after 2 minutes he was up and on my lap. I carried on grooming him (no doubt he hasn't been groomed for an awful long time) and picked at his scabs. Most chimps love this. I feed the scabs to them and if you've got a good big juicy one, their mouths are open before you can even get it off! It is a practice that Etaito finds particularly disgusting and when I show him his scabs, his face is something to behold..... utter disgust!!! really funny. Anyway, so I'm grooming Gari and getting a chance to check out his condition properly. The hair around his neck is gone and the hair on his belly is chaffed off too. There are old scars of his previous captivity around his little waist too. (Pictured above when he arrived last Saturday, picture by Laura Darby)So after half an hour and nearly falling asleep, he shifts and pees on me, then gets off, takes three curved sticks in his mouth and waddles over to Bonane (caregiver). He waddles coz his belly is still recoiling from protein deficiency and worm infections. He snaps each stick in half and hands them to Bonane and asks him to scratch his back, which he was obliged to do.Gari still has that shocked look in his eyes. It will take a couple of weeks for him to get into a routine and feel part of a family and know that he will get enough food and be safe from harm. He has bonded well with the caregivers and I think he's going to be alright.After sewing a curtain for the caregiver's room, the gate guard informed me that there were two people at the gate offering to sell me their chimpanzee. They didn't have it with them and the lady explained that it belongs to some police person and he has left and told her to find a buyer. So, in my best french, I am trying to explain a few things...... not only is it illegal for you to have the chimp madame, but chimps are very much like people and need their families around them and you are chaining this chimp, no doubt, so it won't destroy your house and that is not even how criminals are kept in jails. You are keeping an infant (apparently 7 months old) like a prisoner and when it grows up and weighs 70kgs what will you do then. No, I won't buy it from you, in fact you need to be paying me, coz it's going to live for another 60 years and I have to feed and look after it in a sanctuary for that long. How can you live with yourself knowing you are chaining a small infant who needs a mother and good (but expensive) milk formula in order to grow..... it's not fair!!! Believe me, my french is THAT good!..... the guy that was keeping silent was almost in tears!! So we shall see if I was convincing enough and then we might have yet another chimp.Being back in Goma is good. I missed the kids so much when I was in Bukavu. It is good to be at the house doing all my work alone, reading by candle light each night (electricity is a temperamental thing) and having cold showers. My dad is coming for my birthday and then we have new volunteers coming around the 9th July.Keep well all, miss you lotsxl