Sunday, January 26, 2013:
arrival in Monrovia. While taxiing to the gate, I saw the World
Food Program tents. And the UN
presence. Getting through the airport
wasn’t too bad (and all my luggage arrived).
It was after dark when we got to the Peace Corps vehicles
and were driven to the PC training facility in Kapata. On our way we drove through the very large
Firestone facility – rubber trees, processing plant, etc. (Recommended:
Google “Firestone Liberia
history” or something like that.)
Monday: Training
Tuesday: Training,
including visit to local school (more about that later)
Wednesday: Training
and trip to Monrovia
(for overnight). Stopped by PC office,
did administrative things, and then went on a walking tour of the city. Monrovia
(downtown) is small, bustling, not particularly safe, and “struggling”. Lots of Liberians running small businesses,
and lots of NGOs in town (and facilities and expat/NGO housing behind high
walls with barbed wire – with security guards).
When we went to the PC office I thought “This is a lot of
security to guard a bunch of volunteers with backpacks and Chacos…” (Security there includes the high wall, metal
gate, and all vehicles (including PC vehicles) have their engines and under the
vehicle checked (mirrors) before they can enter. And PC is just one of the many, many
organization driving around in “real” Landrovers with red diplomatic (or other
official) plates. I’ve seen the Chinese
Development people, UN vehicles, USAID, and everything else under the sun. (And umpteen signs for various aid
agencies.)
Again, every official organization is highly guarded with
walls, barbed wire (or glass atop the concrete walls), metal gates (you honk,
the guard peers out, and then pulls the gate open), etc.
We’ve been repeatedly warned against theft.
Example: The
currently serving Peace Corps Response Volunteer had the following experiences
a couple of weeks ago. He was in
downtown Monrovia
at 10pm, he was attacked by a few men for his iphone and wallet, he gave the
phone but resisted giving his wallet, a crowd saw what was happening, chased the
men, stoned them and one of the thieves died.
The same volunteer seems to know everyone and everything of
interest to do. He suggested we go to an
abandoned hotel to see the view.
Basically, when the war broke out, the hotel was vacated and eventually
locals looted the entire thing. Today it
is an empty concrete building. Our visit
went something like this: We walked up
to the hotel, our guide found his squatter friend and then talked to the
security guard there about getting us up to the roof. (There
were lots and lots of locals up there, largely kids, hanging out, too.) The security guard was offended that our
guide went to the squatter first and a shouting match ensued (between security
and the squatter). Eventually both were
given a sum of money by our guide (some would call this a bribe) and the guard
brought us up to the 8th or 9th floor for the view. Great view of the city! Ocean, Westpoint (aka very poor area),
bridge, abandoned Masonic
Temple, etc. While up there, we saw a gagillion bats
flutter out of one of the big trees.
Post walking tour, we had dinner at a restaurant literally
on the beach. (To get to the restaurant,
you drive into the behind-a-gate guarded parking lot.) I put my feet in the ocean (though water in
that area isn’t considered to be clean because a) people use the beach as a
toilet, b) rivers dump into the ocean there, and c) I’m sure city sewage also
dumps there). Ironically, Vietnamese
food was the specialty (the chef is Vietnamese-American.) Restaurant was 90% American/European.
We spend the evening in St. Theresa’s
Convent/Guesthouse. It is one of the few
establishments that stayed open during the war/”conflict”. (Apparently the head nun is the woman featured
in many documentaries about the war in Liberia.) We got back to the convent after dark to find
no electricity but the way to our rooms was lit by a few candles placed on the
floor in the corridors. A great reminder
of the challenges the country, including the capital, face. A member of the PC staff, when I pointed out
that we didn’t have drinking water, went out and returned with bottled
water. (The tap water was on, but a)
isn’t always good for foreign stomachs and b) was running at a very slow rate. I had a quick “shower” before bed and got to
rinse soap off with a “stream” of water that was equivalent to drippy faucets
I’ve seen. Aka enough water to make a
single stream, but not enough to easily clean off a toothbrush. (At midnight the electricity came on again
with the AC.)
Which is all to say that this is certainly the poorest
country I’ve spent time in. (Which is a
little obviously actually, because in terms of income, it’s arguable the poorest
country in the world – literally (look up UN statistics).) Apparently average annual income is
$250.
All that being said, Peace Corps has a GREAT reputation here
(more about that later), I will be spending very little time in Monrovia, the PC staff
are excellent, and I have a whole bunch of things to look forward to. Like being a “real” PC Volunteer – aka living
in a house with no electricity or running water (Russia wasn’t nearly as
hardcore), trying new food (monkey meat), and…
being able to catch a ride on the UNMIL (United Nations Mission in
Liberia) helicopters if there is space.
:D
Which is all to say that this is going to be tough, but I’m
not overwhelmed (yet). ;)
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