SL 4: The road to Bo...

... Was non existent :)  Ok, there were patches of road here and there, but I don’t want to get ahead of my self.

So leaving Freetown mid-day was like driving through Tijuana...  Loud cars & people, street vendors, the only difference is that everyone was carrying stuff on their heads instead of in carts (and the people aren’t Mexican).

But then we went up the hill from the city to try to avoid rush hour traffic and it got a bit more peaceful.  There were street vendors and dilapidated buildings... but a lot of new concrete construction as well.  Our Claudius, our WV guide,  pointed to this fortress on a far off hill and said “that’s the US Embassy.”  It’s one of the newer buildings, our should I say compounds... huge and white and surrounded by walls and guards... just then we passed the EU Embassy and he pointed to the UK embassy off in the distance... and that’s when he said something that really put it all into perspective, “This is the affluent part of town.”  I have video of “this part of town” and affluent is not the term that comes to mind.  I suppose it is affluent because some of the buildings are made of concrete blocks instead of mud (I still don’t understand how the mud houses don’t melt in the rains) and many of the houses had tin roofs as opposed to thatch... but needless to say it did not look affluent and it really opened our eyes.

A couple hours later we stopped out in the country to stretch our legs and have a snack in this beautiful green hilly area.  Of course we ate standing up because there were all sorts of creepy crawlers on the ground.

(Oh, side note, later that night when we were getting out of the car, Michael pointed out a bunch of cockroaches that were apparently living under my seat... let me tell you how excited I am to get back in the car tomorrow!)

So as we stood eating we noticed his woman walking by up a path in front of us... she was carrying her baby on her back.  She just kind of stopped and stared at us.  Claudius, our World Vision guide pointed out how malnourished the child looked.  Of course I Immediately asked If I could give her my sandwich and Sam and Michael added the rest of their lunch as well.  So our guide walked over but quickly discovered she spoke a bush language that he didn’t know (he speaks Creole like many in SL) He then showed her he had food by taking a bite then handing it to her.  She immediately handed her child a french fry (I know, there are a million things wrong with that statement, but the kid was starving so...:)

Soon her husband walked up carrying a large hoe-like tool and stopped to talk to his wife.    Sam asked if we could take a photo of them and something got lost in the translation.  We wanted candid shots but Claudius posed them prominently displaying their styrofoam containers of fried food.  And odd dichotomy considering they were clearly native tribal folks who had likely never eaten fries before... not the photo we wanted, but the irony makes it an interesting one to say the least.

It was heartbreaking driving away knowing that meal would likely be their last for some time.  

The rest of our drive to Bo was painful to say the least (and we hear the ride to Kono is much worse).The road is basically a series of potholes.  You occasionally come across a small patch of pavement, but just when you begin to relax it’s back to off roading.  And to think,  I used to off-road in high school for fun!

So we arrived in Bo, and were briefed at the World Vision headquarters in town. It was another dilapidated concrete building with a generator to supply power and three simple rooms filled with tables where the staff works diligently.  I must say I am in awe of these people.  The work they do with the minimal resources available is incredible.  I truly believe everyone should have he opportunity to witness this first hand.  

So from there it was off to the “hotel” in Bo.  As we laid in bed that night squished under one mosquito net Sam and I thought longingly about the dirty hotel in Freetown.  At least that one had a clean toilet.  Yet little did we know our world a about to be rocked and this creepy crawly Bo hotel room would soon seem like a 5-star to us.  

SL 3: Breakfast with Deer

So Wednesday morning we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast filled with interesting things I didn’t recognize... and did I mention we were  surrounded by deer! Yes DEER! Well, at least I think they were deer.  Mike got a photo, I’ll try to upload it.  They are like mini deer that act like dogs and wag their tail when you talk to them... and they jump in your lap if you don’t give them food (it was just like having Allie there :).  I assume they are wild and live on the hotel property... but the staff didn’t seem to appreciate them trying to jump on the buffet table.

SL 2: Our Freetown Hotel... The Family Kingdom

So after our beach experience, we headed back to the hotel room and prepared for bed... you’ve go to see the photo.  First off, the cleanest thing in the place was the toilet for which I was extremely grateful.  The shower was stained pink (thank God for shower shoes) and the sheets were questionable at best... again (like the bag of frozen rice) my ingenuity kicked in.  I covered my pillow in my sweatshirt, laid down the travel sheet we brought (a paper thin little sleeping bag than goes around you between the sheets) and popped up our mosquito net tent.  What was great about the tent, aside from the fact that it keeps the creepy crawlers away, is that it traps the smell of the room OUTSIDE the cocoon.  After a while all you can smell is yourself (and since we had the shower shoes;) we smelled 10 times better than the room.

Not bad, huh?

SL 1: First night in Freetown:

(NOTE: NOW IN GHANA... FIRST CHANCE AT INTERNET... HERE'S THE FIRST POST A WEK LATE)

First night n Freetown:

So the airport in Sierra Leone was different to say the least.  We had an escort set up ahead of time (thanks Wade) but I can imagine what it would have been like without him.  Forget the fact that I was drenched from head to toe the second we set foot outside customs... but we were immediately swarmed by people offering to carry our bags, sell us phone cards, etc.  Out guide (a young man studying journalism at the University in Sierra Leone and interning in PR at the airport this term) was a lifesaver.  He got us our helicopter tickets, a phone card and made sure we didn’t tip anyone we weren't supposed to.  Once safely on on the WWII chopper packed in like  a can of sweaty sardines we waited 8 minutes or the chopper to warm up and spent 7 minutes in the air before landing in Freetown.

I wish I could simply bottle this experience because I can’t put it into words... it may sound crazy, but we are LOVING every minute of the inconvenience and uncomfortableness!  And oh, the stories get better...

So we check in and meet up with Michael at the hotel (I’ll get to the hotel’s condition in our next blog) after grabbing a bite to eat we decide to cross the street and watch the sun set on the beach.  Keep in mind, all of the travel info on SL states you should NOT be on the beach after dark.  It’s a pretty safe country (with a crime rate much lower than most American cities) but there is petty theft & tourist scams (especially in the capital city of Freetown)... and what better targets than three unsuspecting white folks carrying camera equipment, right?

So we cross the street with plenty of daylight left and the first thing I notice are a bunch of dogs lounging all over the beach... you know me and dogs so I’m focused on taking scenic photos of the dogs  in front of the sunset, dogs in front of garbage piles, dogs eating garbage... you get the idea.  In the mean time Michael strikes up a convo with some random guys and before we know it he has a new BFF.  This man keep trying to get us to come home with him to meet his Wife and children.

Now we had been warned by EVERYONE not to give out money: A) for our own safety, and B: due to the old adage Give a man a fish/Teach him to fish.

So now it’s getting dark and people are coming out of the wood works and this guy keeps trying to get us to go home with him. I can see Sam is getting a little nervous (being the protector and all) so Mike finally calls us over and tells the guy he wishes we had more to give him, but instead, we would like to pray for him to find a job...

Sam and I are a little taken aback... but immediately join hands and go with the flow.  So there we are, standing on the beach, three tourist and this Leaonean holding hands and praying that God help him find work to feed his family... can you picture it?  Sun setting behind us... a dozen people selling fish on the road behind us... And what was amazing is that he actually seemed fulfilled when we were through.  No money, no handouts, but he was so grateful that we stood there and prayed for him.  Maybe not something we would have done had Mike not asked us, but I am so glad we did. 

On Our Way to Sierra Leone

We met with Global Witness today and are more pumped than ever for the journey ahead of us.

So were about 10 minutes from boarding our plane from London to Nirobi to Freetown, Sierra Leone... 10 pounds heavier (from all the pints & Brittish food!) and more excited than ever.  We ask for your prayers over the next 24 hours primarily for safe travels and (maybe more importantly) that our luggage arrives in Freetown intact.  

Our traveling partner Michael Teel will arrive a day ahead of us (since we're taking the cheaper longer rout) to we ask for prayers for his safe travels as well (especially alone).

I'm not sure where we'll get our next internet access but I'll write as much as possible.  Keep checkin in as I don't know if I'll be able to send the e-mail updates on new posts that I have thus far.

Cheers!

-Juls

Oh, P.S. I think we finally got the hang of our bags... Yea!  Lets just pray they get there now ;)

Playing With Diamonds!

If this is your first visit to this blog, I encourage you to begin with the September Blogs to get a better understanding of what this journey is all about.

So we spent the entire day at De Beers on Friday... and I have never seen my husband so happy... EVER!  He was like a kid in the candy store.

Now, we are not talking the De Beers

store here folks... This is the largest diamond company in the world.  They produce 40% of the world's r

ough diamonds (at one time they produced 90% of rough but have scaled back due to monopoly concerns). 

We spent the day at their London offices where they sort and 

distribute their rough diamonds. Between 9am and 5pm they gave us an all access tour of their operation.  We toured their facilities, observed their experts sort diamonds by hand and machine, and were given a course on how to sort rough diamonds ourself.  They call it "diamond school" and they taught us to sort rough by color, size, clarity and the best cut for a given piece of rough.

Sam had an ear to ear grin on his face all day.... but my favorite parts were 1) Lunch where we talked in depth with Simon Gilbert, head of IR for De Beers)... 2) Pints with the UN folks after Diamond School... 3) And of course playing with diamonds.  We louped a 49 carat rough diamond and shoved our hands wrist deep into piles of smaller stones... so cool!

Oh by the way, have you seen the ring Sam bought me to wear on our trip?  We had to leave my ring at home for obvious reasons... so he bought this one cheap!  Lovely isn't it?  Let me just tell you how much I missed my ring at De Beers :)

But now on the the important stuff (at least for me because that was the important stuff for Sam)

My purpose for meeting with De Beers was threefold... First off, who better to get a basic idea of how the rough diamond trade works than from the largest producer in the world.  Second, De Beers is like the holy grail for Sam and I felt privileged to provide him opportunity to spend time inside the enigma that is De Beers.  And third, De Beers has been long painted as a villain in the media.  From stock piling diamonds and acting as a monopoly in the early years to their portrayal in the movie "Blood Diamond"... I wanted to ask questions of them myself.

You see, De Beers was one of the first organizations I contacted when planning this journey to Sierra Leone.  Early this year, I began an e-mail relationship with Simon Gilbert who was a wealth of information on Sierra Leone.    Almost immediately he provided me with 90% of the contacts I needed in Sierra Leone.   These non-profit organizations and government agencies are unaffiliated with De Beers and include UN Representatives, USAID in Sierra Leone, the Diamond Development Initiative, Sierra Leone Government Diamond Office, and many more. 

As I worked with each of these organizations to prepare for the trip, I realized how much of a hand De Beers has had in rebuilding Sierra Leone.  Keep in mind that De Beers does not nor ever has mined in Sierra Leone.  Most of there operations are in Southern and Eastern Africa. Furthermore, the mining in Sierra Leone is mainly Artisanal (panning & digging by hand) where De Beers' operations are primarily industrial (where the rough is rarely touched even by mine managers).  So to spend time and money in a country that they have no connection to shows the dichotomy that I saw in De Beers... the good work they are doing on the continent of Africa vs. the villain status they have long held world wide.  

I was also surprised that I have not heard about any of this humanitarian work that De Beers has been doing... they simply don't publicize it.  Partially because it would likely bring an immediate back lash, and partially because there are many who would think it was a media ploy.... but needless to say the humanitarian work they are involved in is impressive to say the least.  (Note: It was not De Beers that told me about this work, rather I stumbled across references to their names in the numerous NGO documents I've studies and interviews I've conducted in preparation for this trip. 

Ok... so on to the tough stuff... when I questioned them on their "Villain" status I was surprised at how open and honest they were with me.  They admitted that their business practices dating back over a century may not have been ethical by today's standards... but they can't go back and change the past.  They can only impact their current work.  And currently they have no stockpiles (it is just not cost effective to keep piles of diamonds lying around anyway), they only control 40% of the industry (in stead of 90%) and ALL of their clients (78 site holders who are allowed to buy their Rough) are bound by best practice contracts.  They must undergo go incredible scrutiny before they can even buy rough from De Beers... including proper working conditions for employees, adherence to all state and federal laws and even extensive recycling programs.  They also have to prove that they are giving back to the communities they are working in.  

There are so many other things we talked about, but because my stories are not necessarily about De Beers (since they don't actually mine in Sierra Leone) I don't want to focus too much on them.  But if you have questions (or criticism) as I'm sure many will after reading this, I'd be happy to share with you more about our experience there.

Tomorrow we will be meeting with Global Witness... an NGO that works to "break the links between natural resources, conflict and corruption".  They were instrumental bringing the issue of Blood Diamonds in Sierra Leone to the forefront of media attention.  They continue to act as sort of global watch dogs over the African Diamond industry.

They will be our final meeting before hopping on a plane to Sierra Leone.  Stay Tuned...

Evacuees

Uh... so we woke up to the LOUDEST alarm ever this morning.  Apparently our hotel is on fire and we've spent the last few hours at the Le Meridian down the street.

Con: Horrible way to wake up, need a shower, are wasting a beautiful day in London

Pro: Free internet and mimosas

Funny: Sam keeps telling the staff here that "we are the evacuees" in hopes that they'll keep comping us.  When they look at him like he's crazy I simply explain that we're from the Park Lane.  I never thought I'd have to translate for Sam :)  (He speaks like 5 languages for those who don't know)