Journal 7
September 5th
If it is one thing Africa does well, it can hide its secrets. It’s taken me six months to really start to see the heartbreaking problems ravaging this continent. I sat with two of the French women today as they ran a makeshift clinic out of their camp. I learned that cholera was reaching epidemic levels, ad that in 1998 they were burying about 8 people a day in the village because of a meningitis outbreak. I’ll be paying as close attention as possible this year. There was a young man who came to have his leg re-bandaged due to a severe bacterial infection. He had not attended to it because spreading gangrenous infections are not things you discuss, especially during farming season when every hand/leg is needed. I’ve never seen flesh-eating bacteria before, but it was exactly as I had imagined, and I feel no need to describe it. I quietly watched the acting nurse give as much care as was available to her grateful patients. It was smiles all around until I got hit by another heavy dose of reality. It felt like a kick in the gut. I knew perfectly well all the numbers on the AIDS epidemic, but to see the face of the disease on a newborn baby boy has made the depth of the problem perfectly clear, and far too vivid. The child was so weak from trying to fight tuberculosis with no immune system that he did not even have the strength to gasp for breath but every few seconds. Both of his eyes had gathered infection, and the sores on his arms and face showed no signs of healing. The feeling I got when looking into his eyes can only be described as a complex mix of horror, sorrow, and anger. I feel certain that another week in the village could be all he will know. Understanding well the gravity of the situation, the two others sprang into action, forming a plan to get the boy to the hospital in Dori that night. In all honesty, my first thoughts were pretty hopeless. I saw only pain in the child’s future and felt that the soul should be spared the weaknesses of the body. But I suppose its much better to hope than to not hope. Besides, you can’t just do nothing, not when the problem has a face. I also rightfully fear that even if the hospital is willing to treat him, the family couldn’t afford the treatment. I hope, because you have to hope, that the women will be able to place the child at ease. I feel confident they will do what is in their power. It’s easy to make a comparison between the problems here and a dam. You run around and try to plug up all the leaks while the damn thing crumbles all around you.
September 25
My two week working vacation in Ouaga is over. My In Service Training marks the six month month-iversary(?) of the day I stepped off of the plane from America. I have a hard time deciding whether my journey up to this point feels like half of a year; time is hard to keep track of without a calendar. I feel like some days, the hard days, it seems like I’ve always lived here in Africa. The hard days are consuming, they make me forget my other life. On the good days, which I like to think drastically outnumber the bad, if one can even qualify them so simply, I tend to get taken by a can do attitude that puts the relatively short service here into perspective. I also have become very conscious of the fact that I will one day leave these people here on their barren soil.
But six months is six moths and there isn’t a much better way to celebrate it that with my friends in the capital for 2 weeks. There is no party like a peace corps party, and there were plenty. By far the best was the pool party for the PCVs who were closing service (I.E. “Going home”). I was too tipsy to count how many times I was thrown into the water. I also got to see the first half of the GT v. UNC football game. I swear I didn’t know I was in Africa for a good 45 minutes.
IST also offered me a chance to get to know my new boss: Anne H. In the 5 days she spent with us, I found her to be intelligent, professional, and interested. Everyone in the education sector thinks she is a vast improvement over the previous APCD. Perhaps the most impressive quality is her distaste for bureaucracy, which I feel every PCV shares.
P.S. School starts in 6 days (supposedly)
September 27th
I’m beginning to doubt my instincts. If I can’t look at things people keep hidden, and I can’t understand anything I hear around me, then if I don’t trust my instincts I will be totally lost. The evidence of government corruption is almost flaunted by the state authorities. This practice certainly puts me ill at ease but what really turns my stomach is that as far as I can tell the citizens accept the behavior as normal. Granted this subject is taboo, especially for me as a foreigner, but you’d have to live under a rock not to notice the top of the line motorcycles as the prefect and police burn through town at full speed. It really hit me the day all the solar panels in front of the police station (also the commissioner’s house) were stolen. If in fact the police were not in on this dirty deal, they must be blind deaf and dumb. After I opened my eyes a little to what was going on around me, I decided to keep my distance from the government. I am still however incredibly polite and cordial with them. The problem now is that people that I have put on a short but growing list of villagers I trust are showing up on motos that are obviously far beyond the means of even the most skilled of farmers. Now I have a choice to make: I can either throw out everything in my gut that says Kabore is a good man, or I must bring into question my conceptions about corruption.
Is corruption sinful (If I may use the word)? Well, since greed is pretty easily pinned down as a sin, is the corruption motivated by greed? This is difficult to say because while there are certain people living above their needs, sharing is built directly into the foundation of West African culture. Saving is simply not done here because if you have family in friends in need (this really is never an “if” situation) you are absolutely obliged to give. This is the reason villagers keep their assets in cattle; they will only liquidate when there is a need for money. This practice adds a great deal of risk as cows can die and cash cannot. Anyways, there is no telling how many people Kabore is financially supporting as the “volunteer” secretary at the Prefecture. Is it greed that makes a man steal bread for his hungry family? No, but the luxury I can observe is another thing altogether. As for myself, I hope I interpreted the facts poorly, because I wouldn’t mind being wrong on this one.
Another problem is that the village has no sense of ownership for it’s government. From where I sit, the concepts of democracy and the republic are not understood in the way I understand them. One must understand that their state is not of their own construction. What exists here is simply the skeleton of the European colonial system, which has been transfused with native blood. Its not such a good match. In the not so distant past, stealing from the oppressive white colonists was a source of pride, and nothing to be ashamed of. Yet I have a hard time believing that the police get the same satisfaction of revenge by taking food out of the mouths of its own famished citizens. But the citizens willingly look the other way, without any sign of malice. I believe that to them, its as if nothing has changed. I’m sure they haven’t noticed any change in the role the government plays in their daily lives, which if any at all, is mostly negative. Because the village basically runs itself as it always has one can definitely make a case that Africa needs a more decentralized gov’t. I however am not prepared to make this argument. Whether the corruption bothers them or not, it certainly doesn’t surprise them.
I don’t want to paint the picture that Bani is completely ignorant in politics. On the contrary, the upcoming presidential election has stirred up real interest. The line to pick up the voting cards is a long one, and I’m glad I’ll be here to observe it. It should be educational.
September 30th
The harvest is slowly picking up speed. I think people are not holding their breath and crossing their fingers any longer. The rains seem to have been sufficient and the locusts are not going to make an appearance. As far as I can tell most people seem very relieved.
The people are very proud of their work. I have a certain village friend, the kind of silly grandfather type, who told me that friends go to see each others’ fields. So we went on a little bike ride for about 7-9 km into the wilderness to take a look. I would say the average farmer has less than 3 acres of land to live off of. I don’t know how they do it, considering the fact that their by gone farming techniques produce only a small fraction of western efficiency.
The most interesting part of the trip was the quick tour of the gold mine near his field. I had heard of a gold mine near Bani and from his field I saw the signs of large industrial mining equipment. However, we did not reach this mine, we arrived at a large rock about a km away where the natives just started digging, looking for the same thing as the nearby foreign investors. Its quite a sight to watch some kid with a cheap flashlight strapped to his head pick up a rice sack and descend into a small hole away from the light of day, for hours and hours. I was told the caverns go down 55 meters: it’s a death trap. Topside, the women crush the rocks so than can boil out the few flakes of metal that they might be lucky enough to find. I get the feeling that even the most exploited of laborers in the industrialized world receive better compensation.
The frenchies are leaving tomorrow. The came with good intentions, and plenty of motivation, but I’m not sure they anticipated the complexities of development in Africa. I think they ended up giving one class in “night school”, and the library they wanted to build has a good foundation, but only about half of the walls and no roof. Personally, I feel like giving an illiterate town a library is like giving a blind man a painting. Rule #1: don’t assume you understand another culture’s needs better than they do themselves. Nevertheless, the Bani community welcomes help in any form. They did bring some income to some citizens during tough financial times. They also came with medial supplies, and I feel their clinic sessions were by far the most medical care some of their patients had ever received. Two of the women told me they will return in December. I told them I’ll be waiting.
Also of note, Boly (the grand frere) is back in Bani, and this is a very good thing. This means school is going to start soon. I’m ready.
October 1st
I predict school will start in 10 days. It’s a good thing I don’t obsess over schedules, because I can’t really get an answer to any administrative questions around here. I know people don’t have things figured out. The Director is looking to find another part time teacher to take half of the Math/Science course load. Good Luck. 3.5 (maybe) professors, including the director, to teach four grades of students. I’m a little worried.
And then today! I thought I heard his name in some rumors going around town, but the truth hurts. I admit my horizons have really broadened a lot since my arrival, but I’m NOT OK with this. I don’t even know how to gently broach such a problem so I’m just going to say it. The director is not supposed to get the students pregnant! This should be RULE #1 in the “How to Run a School Handbook”. No one in the community is happy about this situation, but I’m pretty damn sure it will be somehow quickly swept under the run. Unfortunately these types of incidents are considered pretty common, so the people reluctantly accept the good with the bad. They seem very forgiving when it comes to weaknesses of the spirit.
October 5th
The large earth moving machines have arrived. I honestly doubted, despite the publicity, that I would ever see a paved road come through my village. By all appearances, it’s going to happen. I have to take this as evidence that the powers that be in this country have some level of commitment to economic development. I , along with everyone else, predict a commercial explosion in this region, practically cut off from trade routes. There is also a concern on my part that the increase in traffic could facilitate the spread of the AIDS epidemic in this relatively untouched rural village. You gotta take the good with the bad.
The students have started showing up at the school to do the necessary custodial work of clearing the courtyard and cleaning up the classrooms. As predicted, class starts Monday, and I’m ready. I’m taking 3 classes at 14 hours/week. 6th and 5th level math, as well as 4th grade physics/chemistry. This is roughly equivalent to 9th and 10th grade in the English educational system. I’ve really put a lot of work into learning French over the summer, and I feel like it will really pay off in the classroom. I can almost read at an adult level, but my speaking and listening abilities are a bit behind, due to the lack of Francophones that live here. But now all the functionaries have returned, so I will have plenty of opportunities to learn more.
I also have to give my immune system a big round of applause. I got through the summer without falling prey to any bacteria, virii, or parasites.
If it is one thing Africa does well, it can hide its secrets. It’s taken me six months to really start to see the heartbreaking problems ravaging this continent. I sat with two of the French women today as they ran a makeshift clinic out of their camp. I learned that cholera was reaching epidemic levels, ad that in 1998 they were burying about 8 people a day in the village because of a meningitis outbreak. I’ll be paying as close attention as possible this year. There was a young man who came to have his leg re-bandaged due to a severe bacterial infection. He had not attended to it because spreading gangrenous infections are not things you discuss, especially during farming season when every hand/leg is needed. I’ve never seen flesh-eating bacteria before, but it was exactly as I had imagined, and I feel no need to describe it. I quietly watched the acting nurse give as much care as was available to her grateful patients. It was smiles all around until I got hit by another heavy dose of reality. It felt like a kick in the gut. I knew perfectly well all the numbers on the AIDS epidemic, but to see the face of the disease on a newborn baby boy has made the depth of the problem perfectly clear, and far too vivid. The child was so weak from trying to fight tuberculosis with no immune system that he did not even have the strength to gasp for breath but every few seconds. Both of his eyes had gathered infection, and the sores on his arms and face showed no signs of healing. The feeling I got when looking into his eyes can only be described as a complex mix of horror, sorrow, and anger. I feel certain that another week in the village could be all he will know. Understanding well the gravity of the situation, the two others sprang into action, forming a plan to get the boy to the hospital in Dori that night. In all honesty, my first thoughts were pretty hopeless. I saw only pain in the child’s future and felt that the soul should be spared the weaknesses of the body. But I suppose its much better to hope than to not hope. Besides, you can’t just do nothing, not when the problem has a face. I also rightfully fear that even if the hospital is willing to treat him, the family couldn’t afford the treatment. I hope, because you have to hope, that the women will be able to place the child at ease. I feel confident they will do what is in their power. It’s easy to make a comparison between the problems here and a dam. You run around and try to plug up all the leaks while the damn thing crumbles all around you.
September 25
My two week working vacation in Ouaga is over. My In Service Training marks the six month month-iversary(?) of the day I stepped off of the plane from America. I have a hard time deciding whether my journey up to this point feels like half of a year; time is hard to keep track of without a calendar. I feel like some days, the hard days, it seems like I’ve always lived here in Africa. The hard days are consuming, they make me forget my other life. On the good days, which I like to think drastically outnumber the bad, if one can even qualify them so simply, I tend to get taken by a can do attitude that puts the relatively short service here into perspective. I also have become very conscious of the fact that I will one day leave these people here on their barren soil.
But six months is six moths and there isn’t a much better way to celebrate it that with my friends in the capital for 2 weeks. There is no party like a peace corps party, and there were plenty. By far the best was the pool party for the PCVs who were closing service (I.E. “Going home”). I was too tipsy to count how many times I was thrown into the water. I also got to see the first half of the GT v. UNC football game. I swear I didn’t know I was in Africa for a good 45 minutes.
IST also offered me a chance to get to know my new boss: Anne H. In the 5 days she spent with us, I found her to be intelligent, professional, and interested. Everyone in the education sector thinks she is a vast improvement over the previous APCD. Perhaps the most impressive quality is her distaste for bureaucracy, which I feel every PCV shares.
P.S. School starts in 6 days (supposedly)
September 27th
I’m beginning to doubt my instincts. If I can’t look at things people keep hidden, and I can’t understand anything I hear around me, then if I don’t trust my instincts I will be totally lost. The evidence of government corruption is almost flaunted by the state authorities. This practice certainly puts me ill at ease but what really turns my stomach is that as far as I can tell the citizens accept the behavior as normal. Granted this subject is taboo, especially for me as a foreigner, but you’d have to live under a rock not to notice the top of the line motorcycles as the prefect and police burn through town at full speed. It really hit me the day all the solar panels in front of the police station (also the commissioner’s house) were stolen. If in fact the police were not in on this dirty deal, they must be blind deaf and dumb. After I opened my eyes a little to what was going on around me, I decided to keep my distance from the government. I am still however incredibly polite and cordial with them. The problem now is that people that I have put on a short but growing list of villagers I trust are showing up on motos that are obviously far beyond the means of even the most skilled of farmers. Now I have a choice to make: I can either throw out everything in my gut that says Kabore is a good man, or I must bring into question my conceptions about corruption.
Is corruption sinful (If I may use the word)? Well, since greed is pretty easily pinned down as a sin, is the corruption motivated by greed? This is difficult to say because while there are certain people living above their needs, sharing is built directly into the foundation of West African culture. Saving is simply not done here because if you have family in friends in need (this really is never an “if” situation) you are absolutely obliged to give. This is the reason villagers keep their assets in cattle; they will only liquidate when there is a need for money. This practice adds a great deal of risk as cows can die and cash cannot. Anyways, there is no telling how many people Kabore is financially supporting as the “volunteer” secretary at the Prefecture. Is it greed that makes a man steal bread for his hungry family? No, but the luxury I can observe is another thing altogether. As for myself, I hope I interpreted the facts poorly, because I wouldn’t mind being wrong on this one.
Another problem is that the village has no sense of ownership for it’s government. From where I sit, the concepts of democracy and the republic are not understood in the way I understand them. One must understand that their state is not of their own construction. What exists here is simply the skeleton of the European colonial system, which has been transfused with native blood. Its not such a good match. In the not so distant past, stealing from the oppressive white colonists was a source of pride, and nothing to be ashamed of. Yet I have a hard time believing that the police get the same satisfaction of revenge by taking food out of the mouths of its own famished citizens. But the citizens willingly look the other way, without any sign of malice. I believe that to them, its as if nothing has changed. I’m sure they haven’t noticed any change in the role the government plays in their daily lives, which if any at all, is mostly negative. Because the village basically runs itself as it always has one can definitely make a case that Africa needs a more decentralized gov’t. I however am not prepared to make this argument. Whether the corruption bothers them or not, it certainly doesn’t surprise them.
I don’t want to paint the picture that Bani is completely ignorant in politics. On the contrary, the upcoming presidential election has stirred up real interest. The line to pick up the voting cards is a long one, and I’m glad I’ll be here to observe it. It should be educational.
September 30th
The harvest is slowly picking up speed. I think people are not holding their breath and crossing their fingers any longer. The rains seem to have been sufficient and the locusts are not going to make an appearance. As far as I can tell most people seem very relieved.
The people are very proud of their work. I have a certain village friend, the kind of silly grandfather type, who told me that friends go to see each others’ fields. So we went on a little bike ride for about 7-9 km into the wilderness to take a look. I would say the average farmer has less than 3 acres of land to live off of. I don’t know how they do it, considering the fact that their by gone farming techniques produce only a small fraction of western efficiency.
The most interesting part of the trip was the quick tour of the gold mine near his field. I had heard of a gold mine near Bani and from his field I saw the signs of large industrial mining equipment. However, we did not reach this mine, we arrived at a large rock about a km away where the natives just started digging, looking for the same thing as the nearby foreign investors. Its quite a sight to watch some kid with a cheap flashlight strapped to his head pick up a rice sack and descend into a small hole away from the light of day, for hours and hours. I was told the caverns go down 55 meters: it’s a death trap. Topside, the women crush the rocks so than can boil out the few flakes of metal that they might be lucky enough to find. I get the feeling that even the most exploited of laborers in the industrialized world receive better compensation.
The frenchies are leaving tomorrow. The came with good intentions, and plenty of motivation, but I’m not sure they anticipated the complexities of development in Africa. I think they ended up giving one class in “night school”, and the library they wanted to build has a good foundation, but only about half of the walls and no roof. Personally, I feel like giving an illiterate town a library is like giving a blind man a painting. Rule #1: don’t assume you understand another culture’s needs better than they do themselves. Nevertheless, the Bani community welcomes help in any form. They did bring some income to some citizens during tough financial times. They also came with medial supplies, and I feel their clinic sessions were by far the most medical care some of their patients had ever received. Two of the women told me they will return in December. I told them I’ll be waiting.
Also of note, Boly (the grand frere) is back in Bani, and this is a very good thing. This means school is going to start soon. I’m ready.
October 1st
I predict school will start in 10 days. It’s a good thing I don’t obsess over schedules, because I can’t really get an answer to any administrative questions around here. I know people don’t have things figured out. The Director is looking to find another part time teacher to take half of the Math/Science course load. Good Luck. 3.5 (maybe) professors, including the director, to teach four grades of students. I’m a little worried.
And then today! I thought I heard his name in some rumors going around town, but the truth hurts. I admit my horizons have really broadened a lot since my arrival, but I’m NOT OK with this. I don’t even know how to gently broach such a problem so I’m just going to say it. The director is not supposed to get the students pregnant! This should be RULE #1 in the “How to Run a School Handbook”. No one in the community is happy about this situation, but I’m pretty damn sure it will be somehow quickly swept under the run. Unfortunately these types of incidents are considered pretty common, so the people reluctantly accept the good with the bad. They seem very forgiving when it comes to weaknesses of the spirit.
October 5th
The large earth moving machines have arrived. I honestly doubted, despite the publicity, that I would ever see a paved road come through my village. By all appearances, it’s going to happen. I have to take this as evidence that the powers that be in this country have some level of commitment to economic development. I , along with everyone else, predict a commercial explosion in this region, practically cut off from trade routes. There is also a concern on my part that the increase in traffic could facilitate the spread of the AIDS epidemic in this relatively untouched rural village. You gotta take the good with the bad.
The students have started showing up at the school to do the necessary custodial work of clearing the courtyard and cleaning up the classrooms. As predicted, class starts Monday, and I’m ready. I’m taking 3 classes at 14 hours/week. 6th and 5th level math, as well as 4th grade physics/chemistry. This is roughly equivalent to 9th and 10th grade in the English educational system. I’ve really put a lot of work into learning French over the summer, and I feel like it will really pay off in the classroom. I can almost read at an adult level, but my speaking and listening abilities are a bit behind, due to the lack of Francophones that live here. But now all the functionaries have returned, so I will have plenty of opportunities to learn more.
I also have to give my immune system a big round of applause. I got through the summer without falling prey to any bacteria, virii, or parasites.
posted by Adam Cohen at 10/07/2005
3 Comments:
Hi Adam, Just wanted to let you know AGAIN how much I enjoy reading your descriptions, thoughts, and observations about your stay in Burkina Faso. Yes, I would rather be reading journals from Shenandoah but this is the next best thing and a heck of alot better then no information. The next time you see that uncommunative son of mine tell him he owes YOU for your informative and interesting descriptions of life in Burkina Faso that his Mom enjoys so much! Kathleen
If you can't impregnate your students at a school, who can you impregnate?
Hey Adam,
It seems that there are many problems over there in Burkina. The corruption is definately a sin if the gov't is stealing from their people! That sucks that they don't try to do more benifecial things with those resources. I hope you do well with teaching and don't get discourged. Now that you have seen all the problems you can fix them by educating the young adults about science, math, and maybe some about life. I'm sure you'll learn just as much. It's good to have some more news. It your laptop still up and running? Post more if you can! Take care buddy.
C Deep
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