Midget, Fidget and Squidget

Some very unexpected things have happened since I last wrote... First, we were evicted from the camp where we were living. Second, our boss quit. Third, about 100,000 Shillings ($85) disappeared from Chris’ stuff. But despite all of these terrible things happening, we are still in good spirits.

We have all spent the past three days packing up and moving everything that was in camp, including the entire solar-powered electrical system and the pet eagle, to town. Legally, everything should be fine- the Wildlife Conservation Society didn’t do anything wrong to be evicted- there is just a big corruption scandal and a few powerful people are getting paid off to let some really shady behaviors slide. I heard that a $15,000 bribe was paid by a hunting company (that currently hunts in the nearby game reserve) to the district commissioner to issue an eviction notice to the WCS. This all makes sense in light of the fact that they are hoping to set up a “photographic” tourism sight near to where WCS had its camp... The whole “shida” (swahili: problem) has been escalating since before we got here, but I never would have guessed that the WCS would be kicked out of the Wildlife Management Area by someone who didn’t have the authority to do that.... The whole situation has turned into a really huge mess, and it seems like had it been handled a little differently by the rest of the WCS management it could have been easily resolved. Therefore, our boss resigned. He’ll be here for another 6 months and then may be transferred to another WCS program.

It was really sad to drive through the villages today on our way to town and think about the repercussions that closing Lunda Camp will have on the nearby community. But at the same time, it was really great to think about all the ways it has helped these villages. Our boss (Pete) seems to be really admired and respected. Whenever I mention that I’m working for WCS, people always respond with kind words about “Coppolillo” (his last name). There are about 10 people employed at the camp—they’re all really wonderful and work really hard. They will all lose their jobs. In the villages, making a couple dollars a day is a really good income that can easily support a family. While I have no idea how much the Lunda staff were paid, I’m sure it supported an intricate web of family members and friends. People seem to love the WCS—you see people wearing WCS paraphernalia, and people are always so happy to see the WCS truck pull through the villages. I’ve been reading interviews that a PhD student here has been doing on human-elephant conflict, and everyone is aware of the connection between WCS and benefits they have started to receive from the nearby wildlife management area.

The program here will still continue- there will just be a new program director and possibly some program changes. The older generation here is so passive about everything, but the younger generation of WCS employees and villagers are really fired up at the government, the WCS country director, and the association of villages that actually has the jurisdiction to issue permits for the Wildlife Management Area. There has been talk of protesting... but it’s amazing to me how fearful people here are of their government. I have been brought up with the value that if something that was happening was wrong, you should speak out against it. It seems like the younger generation here embraces that same idea, but the older generation (who recently lived through a period of socialism) has such a different approach to dealing with political problems. I don’t want to say which attitude is better, because I really have no idea what people are up against fighting this incredibly complex and corrupt institution. Either way, it will be really interesting to see what happens...

While all this bad stuff is going on, there have been some lighter moments. To break down camp, a group of about 10 of Pete’s friends came down (the majority of them under the age of 15). It was fun to have kids around—they called themselves fidget, midget, and squidget, names that were even funnier when they pronounced them with their British accents. We got to hear some British opinions on the election, roast marshmallows over a fire, and inch our way out on a sandbank where a crocodile was sunbathing. Side note: it’s amazing how closely the rest of the world watches our politics—I’ve met people who never went to school, who can’t read, who are following our election closely...

Okay, I think that’s about all for now. We’re back in town now, and will be for a while, so I’m sure that I’ll have entertaining stories about civilization soon. After a while, crocodile.