Skip to main content

DREAMS OF A SIMPLE AFRICAN MAN

(From my diary of 2009)

Riding bumpily on the muddy stretch of land which they call roads, we were busy confirming appointments with representatives of various oil companies who have a strong presence in this part of the world (Port Gentil in Gabon). I was accompanied by a Gabonese guy who was entrusted with the joint responsibility of driving me to the respective offices and be the French-English translator wherever required.

The meetings went well…enlightening to be precise. It’s a great experience to understand how culturally diverse people can be. But I don’t intend to go in-depth into how people work here. I will rather like to look back into the dreams of a simple African…or shall I say the dreams of a simple man!!!

This guy should be in his late thirties…its difficult to estimate the ages of people. A native of Togo, he had moved into Gabon in the pursuit of a better life. These days, he has been granted Gabonese citizenship and has well adopted to the nuances of the new culture. So have his wife and daughter.

He studied basic English in Togo and has transformed that little knowledge into his profession now. It really amazed me when I tried to map his fluency in English to his educational qualifications. Hardly a couple of years of English training and when I had asked this guy if he will guide me during the next three days he had responded “you are our customer and I will ensure that there will be no problems…”. What was striking is not the usage of words but the way they were pronounced….the kind of pronunciation which adds humility into the tone…which, according to me, is the most sophisticated form of delivering any language.

During our drives, we talked…I learned that his was a love marriage and that he had first met his wife in his Togo school as a kid. It’s always interesting when people open up and start speaking out…He spoke about his life in Gabon…the difficulties he had faced when he moved to Gabon for the first time….the kind of differential treatment which the outsiders are almost always exposed to. It took him years to reach a position of relative stability. The word stability is very dilute in its strength when used in Africa…yet he was quite happy with his stability in life.

This man…Francois…is now a proud possessor of a small land and he dreams to have his own home on this land someday. That day, he says, he will have his dream fulfilled….his dream of a family with a home.

(Sometimes, when I see people struggling so hard in life, I realize how privileged I am…just by being lucky enough)

PS: I had written this post way back in 2009 in a different blog. That, being my first trip to West  Africa, I had my inhibitions. Such was my confusion that, I didn't even carry my camera, which I normally carry with me....for all my trips...be it personal or professional. The smart phone era had still not picked up and I don't have any pictures from this trip. But the moments are entrenched....and my thoughts were influenced.

After India, if I can instantly connect with some places...it has to be those enigmatic lands of Africa and its people. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ANTWERP CENTRAL STATION

 As deep as I can peep into my past, I always sense very fond and nostalgic memories of railway stations. So many moments of  childhood began and ended in railway stations. My love for railway stations continues and whenever I get a chance I don't miss a visit into a station to experience the magical energy of the mixed sound of thousands of  fast moving footsteps and eager voices. European settings provide infinite moments to any traveler. Antwerp is no exception too. Like any other  European city with a strong medieval connect, Antwerp owns its history and legends. While it may take pages to write about Antwerp, let me restrict this post to the first landmark of Antwerp, its getaway - its very own train station, the Antwerp Central, located in Koningin Astreidplein, in the heart of the city.   The brainchild of King Leopold II and designed by Louis Delacenserie, Antwerp Central, with its stone clad structure and huge dome, has s...
20 comments
Read more

THE CLASSIC RIVALRY OF OLD ZAGREB

We stood there absorbing the beautiful sunset that Old Zagreb, locally known as Gornji Grad, offered. The February evening was delightfully clear and presented a view to remember. In front of us,  mingling with the red tiled roofs, dominated majestically the two famous monuments - the Zagreb Cathedral of Kaptol and the St. Mark's Church of Gradec...along with the bits and the pieces of the historic panorama of a thousand years.  Few centuries back, during the medieval period, when the region was not known as Zagreb, existed two hill top settlements - the Kaptol and the Gradec, separated by the then existing rivulet Medvescak. The Kaptol housed the Cathedral and was the religious center while the Gradec was home to the merchants and the craftsmen. It took the two settlements centuries of bitter rivalry before prudence took over and they decided to unify during the nineteenth century, thus together becoming Zagreb. The reasons for this bitterness were many ranging from s...
3 comments
Read more

LAKE TITISEE AND THE BLACK FOREST

Just about an hour's drive from the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen can take you to a different sort of forested mountain range...which dates back to the Roman era. Located in Germany's Baden-Wurttemberg and very close to the French border. and known locally as "Schwarzwald", this dark canopy of evergreen pines and firs block out most of the day light thus creating an almost dark effect within the forests. The cold fog adds to the aura making these almost eerily beautiful. Add to the setting, the well preserved medieval villages with their vineyards, waterfalls, hiking trails, castles and rivers. Not to forget that the Black Forest is the setting for  Grim Brothers' Fairy Tales. The tale of Hansel and Gretel took shape here. So did the fables of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty...in these forests and castles around.  At the heart of the Black Forest, sits cozily the largest natural lake of the region, with the name Titisee. With prehistoric glacial origin an...
1 comment
Read more