I've learned about the civil war long before having set foot in the West African nation of Liberia, which has plagued the nation for 14 dreadful years. I still remember the VHS video tape which my dad bought off from a street peddler back in my Togo days, some 20-or-so years ago. The tape was a pirated copy of a documentary titled "1989 Civil War in Liberia" featuring then-rebel leader Prince Johnson cutting the ear off the former Head of State, Samuel Doe, and later torturing him to death.
I can still remember how at first I thought it was just another action-war movie my father got from the video rental store on the way back from his office. How naive I was back then. The images depicted in the documentary stuck with me after all these years, and that my impression of the country since then has been anything but negative, a country ran by evil warlords and teenage John Rambo wannabes clinching AK-47s.
That impression changed on October 25, 2011.
The town of Monrovia is now a bustling city filled with vibrant economic activities. I have come across rows of small- to mid-scaled shops, supermarkets and restaurants run by Indian, Chinese and Lebanese immigrants. And the electronic stores surrounding Carey Street sell an array of today's popular gadgets ranging from iPod to smartphones. New hotels are also springing up, and the ones that are damaged during the war are also undergoing repair. The only noticeable difference one would differenciate Monrovia from that of a normal, socially-stable city is the UNMIL peacekeepers, which can be seen pretty much on every corner of the street. And with the ongoing Presidential election being held in the months of October and November, UNMIL is increasing the number of patrols and security posts throughout the city network.
So far I've not sensed an air of uncertainty or fear amongst the Liberians I came across, with each one of them voicing their support for Ma Ellen, as the locals will call her, the current Head of State, Ellen Sirleaf, and currently also a holder of this year's Nobel Peace Award. I wish nothing but the best for the proud people of Liberia, may peace dawn on the nation for many years to come.
The Temple of Justice, downtown Monrovia
Here I am back to Senegal and in Somone since yesterday afternoon. The Emirates flight went pretty much smooth-sailing yet a tiresome one. An 8-hour journey from Hong Kong to Dubai followed by another 10-hour transit hop to Dakar. Just can't believe I'm back, after 7-months of "blog" absence and once again returned to activity. Was mulling at first as to whether I should keep this blog alive as my return to Senegal was kind of uncertain.
Went for a morning swim at the hotel pool where I'm currently residing, the Hotel Phoenix down in the Somone. Noticed the relatively hot weather on my first day here. The harmattan season is clearly out of the picture right now, and I'm already dreading this scorching summer! But anyways, it's good to be back:)
I wanted to post some photos of the incredible foods I had when I was travelling around Senegal but somehow never got around to doing it. So here they are! Feast your eyes on these yummy dishes!
Grilled chicken with sauteed vegetable on rice!
Fish steak with rice~
Fish steak coupled with sauteed vegetables
It's been nearly four months since my last entry. During this time I have been away in Ecuador on another fishery project and so as the title of this blog suggests "Senegal" I thought I'd wait to blog until I get back to West Africa. At this present moment I'm back home in Taiwan arranging my dad's funeral so I guess my next entry about Senegal will take a while longer. However, in the meantime I'd like to share some beautiful photos of Ecuador with you:)
At the beachfront in Salenas, Ecuador
Catholic church in downtown Guayaquil
An iguana basking in Central Park, downtown Guayaquil
Two weeks ago I headed off on a 2-day research trip to St. Louis, a former capital city of Senegal during its colonial era. Once again I had several fishermen help me plant the prawn traps in the Senegal River.
Off we go in this little piroque~
As usual we caught more unwelcomed critters other than prawns!
St. Louis was the one place in Senegal which I thought the climate was more pleasant than the rest of the country. The air was cooler, and more importantly, dust-free! I could deal with the crazy traffic and trash-ridden sidewalks, but spare me the hamattan dusts.
The streets are clean and orderly, and there are concrete sidewalks!
I've only had a few occasions to visit Dakar since my arrival in Senegal last December. Unless I have to run an errand downtown, I would avoid it like a plague. It's just too much of a burden to get there. And from where I'm currently located in Somone, heading 90km up to Dakar can take a painstaking 3-hour drive. It's basically crawling bumper-to-bumper, I shit you not!
Street vendors in Dakar sell everything from used clothing to kitchenware
Leaving Port-au-Prince behind and coming down to Dakar has given me some kind of nostalgia. And I mean it in a good way. It's a real bustling place filled with all kinds of economic activities ranging from street vendors selling traditional arts and eateries to mid-range office buildings. I wouldn't call it heaven here, but what this city stands out from Port-au-Prince and Haiti as a whole is political stability and security.
Dakar was rated as one of the world's most expensive cities in 2010
Just by going to Dakar alone from Somone can drain away half of your day, which pretty much leaves you only the afternoon to do whatever you were headed out to do. But since Senegal is 90% Islamic, government offices and banks are closed for lunch break at 12:30pm. Work resumes at 2:30pm. I guess it has a lot to do with going to prayer, or something like that.
Today was my second attempt at planting two shrimp cages 1km off the sea in a remote fishing village in Guereo, Senegal. The last time having lost one of the two cages due to the rough sea, plus the results weren't that fruitful. In the end the one cage we picked back up came out with nothing. Though I was glad this didn't entirely kill their enthusiasm. I decided to give it another go ahead this evening as time is pressing since the donations have to be made official within a few weeks, and we just have to make sure the cages work well for the people who need them.
Thanks to the calm sea we were actually able to go ahead without much trouble. During our last trial our little piroque actually sank right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean before the cages could be planted! Tommorow will be the big day! Hope things turn out as expected...plenty of rose prawns for the fishermen of Guereo!
