Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
This time no joke...
...is currently my preferred saying which I would like to put on my new baby (don't get too excited, I am talking about a car) - a Toyota RAV4, built in 1999. And the saying would be stolen from a creative Liberian who had it on his own car. Alternatives would be
Well yes, I got a car. Many things happened since my last post in June last year: I signed a new work contract for another three yeard (until end of September 2015), I moved twice, I worried about people close to me, I sad good bye to my old colleague and hello to a new one, I turned 29 on the Liberian flagday, I got Malaria one more time, I flew in a chopper, I visited an artisanal gold mine, I visited an indutrail iron ore mine, I had wonderful friends coming over to visit me, I became the logistics operations director for the Liberia Marathon 2013, I went to Budapest for a training in December, I celebrated Christmas at home, I worked too much, I laughed and cried, I had my bathroon flooded with stuff you don't want to know, I met a cool Liberian rap queen, I cooked potatoe greens in Sierra Leone, I had to say the final good bye to my grandfather, I went to Hungary once again for the second part of the training, I was visited there by my best fried, I got 5 new pairs of cool shades, I learned that you have to speak slowly when giving a speack in front of 200 kids in an Liberian gym, I went to a wonderfully unconventional wedding ceremony, I got an annoying cold in 30 degrees, I met wonderful people, and here I am.
Tired, but happy. Every day something new. No stagnation. Exciting. Exhausting. But exactly what I wanted. At least for now.
I will try to keep this blog updated again from now on. It is a good sign though that I feel like writing again as this means that my workload is decreasing a little. Some of the last months were just too insane and there was no motivation to post here. But now I am back. For today with two little stories to make you smile:
Parking issues
I went over to my friends' office during lunch hour as we had to discuss something. I parked my care in front of the building, with a gentle distance to the car parking towards me. However, the guy sitting in his car - a tall Liberian guy - started waving his hands and kind of yelling at met. It was sweltering outside - way more than 30 degrees celsius - and I was really not in the mood for stupid discussions. So I got off: "What?" Guy: "No car there, I need space." Me: "you got plenty of space to park out, A baby could park out there." Guy: "No, no, only small small space." Me: "well, you know what, I show you how to leave this space and when I manage, I stay." So I did. I got behind the wheel in this super old, big car and left the parking space in seconds. People around me laughing and clapping. Guy speechless. Me covered in sweat - it is just too hot for arguments. But a successful moment.
Baustellenhure
On my way back from work I ended up in a heavy traffic jam because Monrovia is currently discovering the arrival of several traffic lights and one after the other gets activated. Unfortunately something went wrong with the programming so they are causing nothing but insane traffic jams. The time it usually takes me to get to work just doubled within the last few days. The problem? Well, if you have two lanes and you allow both of them to go straight but one of them also is for people turning to the left, but the straight-forwarder and left-turner do not get a green GO at the same time but one after the other, you can imagine what happens. Also, the police decided that it is a good idea to build check point two meters behind the traffic lights. Clearly an efficient solution.
Interesting also what I learnt from the discussions on the radio, the traffic lights apparently also contribute to increased crime: As someone explained, there is usually a lot of criminal activity in the traffic (like snatching phones and bags through open windows etc). Before the new-borne traffic light era, the thief would be chased through traffic and often the stolen goods could be returned to the owner. Now with these traffic lights though, you are forced to stop and the thieves can escape easily. I have to admit I have my doubts about this causal relationship, but will clearly look for evidence as soon as I get stuck next time.
Anyway - so I was sitting in the car, waiting for the next move. Suddenly I realized what was written on the yellow, overcroweded cab in front of me. In clear white letters it says: Baustellenhure.
I just started laughing and took a picture. Clearly, it was an old German car, but for whoever's sake, why would that be on a car? And what actually is a Baustellenhure? Guesses and explanations are welcome. Moments like that most certainly turn the crappy traffic jam into a daily highlight.
Tomorrow I am leaving for a two-day trip to Gbarnga where the next consultation round for the update of the Liberian Minerals and Mining Law will take place. Will be interesting.
Off for now, but more to come very soon.
Take good care of yourself!
- No food for lazy men.
- After the rain, the sun will shine.
- To be a man is no easy.
- Your boyfriend is my ATM.
- Tomorrow will come
- No bad day
Well yes, I got a car. Many things happened since my last post in June last year: I signed a new work contract for another three yeard (until end of September 2015), I moved twice, I worried about people close to me, I sad good bye to my old colleague and hello to a new one, I turned 29 on the Liberian flagday, I got Malaria one more time, I flew in a chopper, I visited an artisanal gold mine, I visited an indutrail iron ore mine, I had wonderful friends coming over to visit me, I became the logistics operations director for the Liberia Marathon 2013, I went to Budapest for a training in December, I celebrated Christmas at home, I worked too much, I laughed and cried, I had my bathroon flooded with stuff you don't want to know, I met a cool Liberian rap queen, I cooked potatoe greens in Sierra Leone, I had to say the final good bye to my grandfather, I went to Hungary once again for the second part of the training, I was visited there by my best fried, I got 5 new pairs of cool shades, I learned that you have to speak slowly when giving a speack in front of 200 kids in an Liberian gym, I went to a wonderfully unconventional wedding ceremony, I got an annoying cold in 30 degrees, I met wonderful people, and here I am.
Tired, but happy. Every day something new. No stagnation. Exciting. Exhausting. But exactly what I wanted. At least for now.
I will try to keep this blog updated again from now on. It is a good sign though that I feel like writing again as this means that my workload is decreasing a little. Some of the last months were just too insane and there was no motivation to post here. But now I am back. For today with two little stories to make you smile:
Parking issues
I went over to my friends' office during lunch hour as we had to discuss something. I parked my care in front of the building, with a gentle distance to the car parking towards me. However, the guy sitting in his car - a tall Liberian guy - started waving his hands and kind of yelling at met. It was sweltering outside - way more than 30 degrees celsius - and I was really not in the mood for stupid discussions. So I got off: "What?" Guy: "No car there, I need space." Me: "you got plenty of space to park out, A baby could park out there." Guy: "No, no, only small small space." Me: "well, you know what, I show you how to leave this space and when I manage, I stay." So I did. I got behind the wheel in this super old, big car and left the parking space in seconds. People around me laughing and clapping. Guy speechless. Me covered in sweat - it is just too hot for arguments. But a successful moment.
Baustellenhure
On my way back from work I ended up in a heavy traffic jam because Monrovia is currently discovering the arrival of several traffic lights and one after the other gets activated. Unfortunately something went wrong with the programming so they are causing nothing but insane traffic jams. The time it usually takes me to get to work just doubled within the last few days. The problem? Well, if you have two lanes and you allow both of them to go straight but one of them also is for people turning to the left, but the straight-forwarder and left-turner do not get a green GO at the same time but one after the other, you can imagine what happens. Also, the police decided that it is a good idea to build check point two meters behind the traffic lights. Clearly an efficient solution.
Interesting also what I learnt from the discussions on the radio, the traffic lights apparently also contribute to increased crime: As someone explained, there is usually a lot of criminal activity in the traffic (like snatching phones and bags through open windows etc). Before the new-borne traffic light era, the thief would be chased through traffic and often the stolen goods could be returned to the owner. Now with these traffic lights though, you are forced to stop and the thieves can escape easily. I have to admit I have my doubts about this causal relationship, but will clearly look for evidence as soon as I get stuck next time.
Anyway - so I was sitting in the car, waiting for the next move. Suddenly I realized what was written on the yellow, overcroweded cab in front of me. In clear white letters it says: Baustellenhure.
I just started laughing and took a picture. Clearly, it was an old German car, but for whoever's sake, why would that be on a car? And what actually is a Baustellenhure? Guesses and explanations are welcome. Moments like that most certainly turn the crappy traffic jam into a daily highlight.
Tomorrow I am leaving for a two-day trip to Gbarnga where the next consultation round for the update of the Liberian Minerals and Mining Law will take place. Will be interesting.
Off for now, but more to come very soon.
Take good care of yourself!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Highlights of the Past....Two Weeks, well, actually Three Weeks
The 'L'-Party - on May 19
Theme parties are so much fun, aren't they? Well, I have to admit, I am not the greatest fan of them but from time to time I can handle them. Monrovia is a challenging environment in this way, as some people here are obsessed with theme parties. And believe me, here are some high level costume investors...not easy to catch up with. One recent theme party had the theme "L" - as it was the first letter of the birthday guy's first name. So we were supposed to dress as something starting with an "L". We did our best and as you can see, my roomies and myself got a little creative - there was 'Luxury' (final items were purchased during a quick stop-over at the second-hand and anything-else market - check the real diamonds attached to the shirt), then a very pretty 'Lighthouse' - again, check the jewelry; all unique, all handmade, and - as you can clearly see - a 'Learner' in a driving school. With real pen-pen rider glasses in red. Sweet-o!
LEITI Inter-High School Debate - on May 25
I have talked about the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) at least once before, when LEITI in cooperation with GIZ openend the first Resource Centre with plenty of literuature on Natural Resource Management and Governance. By then, I was already a big fan of the LEITI staff and enjoyed a lot working with them. And now, I am even a bigger fan.
In order to promote the resource centre among members of the target group (students, civil society, local media, general public) and also to raise awareness on extractive industries issues, LEITI decided to organise a high-school debate; inviting the debate teams (don't forget, you will find a lot of US American ideas also implemented in Liberia - ties are strong) of four different high schools including their classes and have them debating about issues of transparency and accountability in the natural resource sector. I have to admit I was a bit sceptical in the beginning, if this will work out as planned, but it was legendary and so much fun. Eventually, all the students stayed for 7 hours more or less non-stop in a gym without proper windows, it was extremely hot and humid and a rat started running around and climbing up people's legs at some point - but everyone was happy.
The morning started with two short lectures from the National Investment Commission and CENTAL, the Liberian chapter of Transparency International on the governance challenges in the resource sector and what needs to be done to turn the recent discovery of oil in a success for the country.
After a typical Liberian lunch - fried fish with rice - the debate club entered the arena and for the next more than 3 hours, the students enthusiastically discussed questions such as "Is the current set-up of the LEITI steering group (the Multistakeholder Group, comprised of Government, Civil Society and Private Sector) advantageous?"; certainly always following the very strict debating rules. I was sitting in the jury for a while and it was very impressive. And by the end, when everyone was pretty much exhausted - there was a winner: The B. W. Harris Episcopal High-School from Monrovia. One of their team members was also found as being the "Most Valuable Player" and won a three-month-internship with LEITI.
Congratulations to LEITI - that was awesome!
Getting "fished out" - on May 30
While most of the experiences I have in Liberia are of positive nature, there are some things which are not that nice - and bulglary is one of them. Going to bed around midnight on Tuesday night, I woke up on Wednesday morning and found myself "fished out" - meaning that during the night, thieves came and fetched valuables through my window - including my cellphone with all my German numbers (please email your numbers!!!), my Suisse knive, some cash money and...my keys. They then used the keys to open our iron back door but luckily there were not able to open the following wooden door as I don't have these keys on my key chain and the door is also locked with additional iron bolts. The thieves gave up and disappeared with what they got. However, it is worth to mention that they were somehow considerate as they left the keys (also my office keys) behind when they could not use it, my emptied wallet (credit card and business cards still in) and my small Lappa bags where I had other stuff in.
Our landlord reacted instantly (it was the third break-in into this building within 10 months...) and got people over to fix the windows with even more iron bars (living in Fort Knox now) and the security guys came to apologize. They did not hear anything as heavy rain was pouring down.
The police came later the day and "investigated" the case of criminal activity and afterwards made me pay 40 USD for "facilitating" the police report - I had to beg for a receipt, so draw you own conclusions on the legality of this money request...
Personally, I learned that I do not have such a light sleep as I always believed - I did not hear a single noise when the guys pulled the bags to the window and emptied them although my bed is only 50cm away. Well, but at least we know that our doors what doors are supposed to do - and I will never ever leave my keys on the desk.
Charles Taylor Trial is eventually over: 50 years in prison - on May 30
Also, on the more serious side, Liberia just experienced a historical moment:
Already on April 26, 2012 Charles Taylor, former Liberian president and dictator, was found guilty for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone and on May 30, the final sentence of 50 years was announced.
Charley Taylor, who took over power in Liberia in 1990 by torturing and killing his predecessor Samuel Doe after six months of rebel war, used to country's vaste natural resources to lead the country into a 14years long civil war and is also responsible for fuelling the civil war which broke in Sierra Leone a bit later. He was eventually arrested in 2006 and has been waiting in the Hague for his trial to begin since then. For a very good overview of the events which led to his verdict can be downloaded here.
I will seize the opportunity to write on the reactions to the outcome of the trial in a different post - it would get too long here.
Liberian Basketball - on June 2
Last Saturday a friend of mine and I went to a basketball match which another friend had organised. He is a member of an organisation founded by Liberians who are aiming at supporting the development in their country. The basketball game was a charity event with all entrance fees etc. being used for the projects. It was great fun to see Liberians playing basketball as usually soccer is the dominant team sport here and you will find soccer fields (or places used as) just everywhere in the city, but barely a basketball court.
Ok, that's it for now. Germany - Portugal will be on in about 1.5 hours and it is time get ready. Thanks once again for reading and take good care of yourself.
PS: I will arrive in Germany in five weeks from today! :)
Theme parties are so much fun, aren't they? Well, I have to admit, I am not the greatest fan of them but from time to time I can handle them. Monrovia is a challenging environment in this way, as some people here are obsessed with theme parties. And believe me, here are some high level costume investors...not easy to catch up with. One recent theme party had the theme "L" - as it was the first letter of the birthday guy's first name. So we were supposed to dress as something starting with an "L". We did our best and as you can see, my roomies and myself got a little creative - there was 'Luxury' (final items were purchased during a quick stop-over at the second-hand and anything-else market - check the real diamonds attached to the shirt), then a very pretty 'Lighthouse' - again, check the jewelry; all unique, all handmade, and - as you can clearly see - a 'Learner' in a driving school. With real pen-pen rider glasses in red. Sweet-o!LEITI Inter-High School Debate - on May 25
I have talked about the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI) at least once before, when LEITI in cooperation with GIZ openend the first Resource Centre with plenty of literuature on Natural Resource Management and Governance. By then, I was already a big fan of the LEITI staff and enjoyed a lot working with them. And now, I am even a bigger fan.
In order to promote the resource centre among members of the target group (students, civil society, local media, general public) and also to raise awareness on extractive industries issues, LEITI decided to organise a high-school debate; inviting the debate teams (don't forget, you will find a lot of US American ideas also implemented in Liberia - ties are strong) of four different high schools including their classes and have them debating about issues of transparency and accountability in the natural resource sector. I have to admit I was a bit sceptical in the beginning, if this will work out as planned, but it was legendary and so much fun. Eventually, all the students stayed for 7 hours more or less non-stop in a gym without proper windows, it was extremely hot and humid and a rat started running around and climbing up people's legs at some point - but everyone was happy.
After a typical Liberian lunch - fried fish with rice - the debate club entered the arena and for the next more than 3 hours, the students enthusiastically discussed questions such as "Is the current set-up of the LEITI steering group (the Multistakeholder Group, comprised of Government, Civil Society and Private Sector) advantageous?"; certainly always following the very strict debating rules. I was sitting in the jury for a while and it was very impressive. And by the end, when everyone was pretty much exhausted - there was a winner: The B. W. Harris Episcopal High-School from Monrovia. One of their team members was also found as being the "Most Valuable Player" and won a three-month-internship with LEITI.
Congratulations to LEITI - that was awesome!
Getting "fished out" - on May 30
While most of the experiences I have in Liberia are of positive nature, there are some things which are not that nice - and bulglary is one of them. Going to bed around midnight on Tuesday night, I woke up on Wednesday morning and found myself "fished out" - meaning that during the night, thieves came and fetched valuables through my window - including my cellphone with all my German numbers (please email your numbers!!!), my Suisse knive, some cash money and...my keys. They then used the keys to open our iron back door but luckily there were not able to open the following wooden door as I don't have these keys on my key chain and the door is also locked with additional iron bolts. The thieves gave up and disappeared with what they got. However, it is worth to mention that they were somehow considerate as they left the keys (also my office keys) behind when they could not use it, my emptied wallet (credit card and business cards still in) and my small Lappa bags where I had other stuff in.
Our landlord reacted instantly (it was the third break-in into this building within 10 months...) and got people over to fix the windows with even more iron bars (living in Fort Knox now) and the security guys came to apologize. They did not hear anything as heavy rain was pouring down. The police came later the day and "investigated" the case of criminal activity and afterwards made me pay 40 USD for "facilitating" the police report - I had to beg for a receipt, so draw you own conclusions on the legality of this money request...
Personally, I learned that I do not have such a light sleep as I always believed - I did not hear a single noise when the guys pulled the bags to the window and emptied them although my bed is only 50cm away. Well, but at least we know that our doors what doors are supposed to do - and I will never ever leave my keys on the desk.
Charles Taylor Trial is eventually over: 50 years in prison - on May 30
Also, on the more serious side, Liberia just experienced a historical moment:
Already on April 26, 2012 Charles Taylor, former Liberian president and dictator, was found guilty for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone and on May 30, the final sentence of 50 years was announced.
Charley Taylor, who took over power in Liberia in 1990 by torturing and killing his predecessor Samuel Doe after six months of rebel war, used to country's vaste natural resources to lead the country into a 14years long civil war and is also responsible for fuelling the civil war which broke in Sierra Leone a bit later. He was eventually arrested in 2006 and has been waiting in the Hague for his trial to begin since then. For a very good overview of the events which led to his verdict can be downloaded here.
I will seize the opportunity to write on the reactions to the outcome of the trial in a different post - it would get too long here.
Liberian Basketball - on June 2
Ok, that's it for now. Germany - Portugal will be on in about 1.5 hours and it is time get ready. Thanks once again for reading and take good care of yourself.
PS: I will arrive in Germany in five weeks from today! :)
Monday, May 28, 2012
Random Impressions
Variety of sun glasses at Waterside Market. Pen-pen riders prefer the ones with the coloured frames in pink, red, green and turquoise. I got myself one with a red frame and figured that the glasses are so dark, you cannot really see anything anymore. So I set a new rule for myself: Don't let your pen-pen rider wear his sun-glasses when you are on his bike.
Below: My roomies and I. Yes, we look silly. But that is only because we went to a theme party. The theme was "L". So I turned into a Learner in a Driving School, next to me is a light house, and Lady Luxury is on the very left. We had loads of fun!
Below: Second hand market on Bushroad Island. Very close to water side market, just across the bridge (decide which one you want to use - the new or the new new one) there is the second hand market where you can find clothes you have even dreamt of. As well as the H&M collection of the past two years.
To the right: Children at the Community Hall in a village in Bomi County. I joined our implementing partner, a Liberian NGO, for a meeting on local development planning in one of the communities we are working with. It was a really good day and helped me to better understand how the concepts, workplan and implementation strategies I discuss with our partner actually turn into practice.
I also gave my first radio / newspaper interview in Liberia, however, so far I could not find anything reported in the news. Maybe also because Bomi county radio cannot really count as a nation wide broadcasting station.
Waterside market. I still wonder if there are more vendors or more buyers. It is a great organised chaos. If you know the market, you will easily find your way through as each part is selling some particular things. If you don't know the system you may search for hourse without finding what you are looking for. But believe me, by the end of the day, whatever you need, waterside has it. Sooner or later. Here or somewhere else.
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