Diplomatic Niger…
2 comments May 17th, 2007
Well – never boring, but this time, rather more exciting than I would have liked, I’m afraid.
This is coming to you from Niamey, the capital of Niger. I am here staying in the home of the Canadian Ambassador, Guy Villeneuve, a singularly decent individual who has been absolutely wonderful to me during the events of the past few days.
About a week ago I walked into the village of Tillia, in Niger, after the stretch from Menaka. To summarise the walk briefly – Ibrahim, my guide, is without any competition the best I have ever had; it totally breaks my heart that he was only able to walk with me for the one stretch, as I cannot praise highly enough his intelligence, patience, dignity and good humour, not to mention his skills as a guide. Utterly brilliant and a true mate.
Unfortunately I got sick – yet again – with the same kidney infection that has been coming and going for months now. This time it was really nasty, and I was pretty out of it there for a few days.
Nonetheless, we limped across the border, and into the tiny village of Tillia – where Ibrahim made a sat call to his family to learn there had been a death and that he would have to return immediately (he had previously planned to walk to Agadez with me). He took me to the home of the village chief, to ensure that I was left in good hands.
Before I left Mali, I had many long discussions with various authorities regarding my visa situation. It is customary for tourists to Niger from Mali to obtain their visas at the military checkpoint at the frontier. My route was going nowhere near the checkpoint, and I wasn’t sure how to proceed; the advice I received from various quarters was that the visa was a non-issue, same as when I entered Mali, and that I should simply present myself to the authorities in the first village I came to – which was Tillia.
I was just about to do so – having entered the village perhaps an hour before – when the police came to me instead. Within short order it became clear, in the most diplomatic terms possible (Nigerans are incredibly polite and respectful, on the whole) that the visa issue was not going to be straightforward at all. I was instructed that I would have to travel with the police down to Tahoua, the nearest substantial town, 200km away, to meet with the Governor; I was told that this was a ‘formality’ and that it was the Governor who would grant my visa. I was also told I had to leave immediately.
Now, no offence or anything, but after coming in from a two week stretch, running a fever, and in considerable pain, the last thing I felt like doing was getting straight into the back of a four wheel drive pick up and bouncing down a rough piste track for five hours; nonetheless, that is what I did.
The chief of the village, who is incredibly kind, accepted responsibility for my camels and baggage and I felt totally comfortable leaving everything with him.
When I got to Tahoua, and went straight to the Governor, he in turn informed me that in fact I would have to take a bus down to Niamey – and meet with the Minister for the Interior; I was told that this, also, was just a ‘formality’. I guess you can imagine that by this time, I wasn’t so sure, particularly given the fact that I had not been in possession of my passport since arrival. I took the eight hour bus ride down to Niamey and went directly from the bus to the office of the Minister, where I waited a further few hours for him to see me, by which stage it was late afternoon; I was tired, sick, needed a wash and some sleep – badly.
I had a ten minute interview with a very harassed Minister, during which he informed me that I could – under no circumstances – walk anywhere in Niger; that the current political climate was way too dangerous, and that I was to collect my camels and belongings and get out of the country asap. In addition, he would generously give me a visa – on the proviso that I leave. I wasn’t given a chance to explain anything about my walk, the history behind it, or how I had come to be on foot in Niger; the interview was abrupt and to the point. I staggered out feeling pretty shocked; I was then taken by the police to an out of the way hotel where I was deposited – without my passport.
The next day I phoned the number for the police that I had been given and asked to be taken to the Canadian embassy, which has responsibility for Australian travellers in Niger. The police were, for the duration of my dealings with them, extremely kind and courteous, and took me there straight away, where I was placed in the care of the chef du Bureau and Conseiller for Canada, the amazing Guy Villeneuve. Guy listened to my tale, got onto the phone straight away, and then promptly brought me back to the lovely home he shares with his partner, Edith; and invited me to stay with them for as long as I needed too.
I can’t even begin to describe to you how relieved I felt at that point; the night before had been a sleepless stress of hell, wondering if I would ever get out of here or my passport back; suddenly I had the protection of the Canadian embassy, and someone on my side who was in a position to help. Since then, events have moved rapidly and changed on a day to day basis. But here is the final result.
The Niger government cannot in all conscience grant me a visa to walk at the moment in this country as there is a rebellion to the North that is growing daily worse and is yet to be brought remotely under control. The government believes it can and will regain control of the situation; but nobody is too sure exactly when that will happen. However, given that it is also the hot season, I have been advised to return to Australia, and come back to Niger in October – at which time the government believes the political situation will have stabilised, the weather will be cool enough to travel comfortably, and they will be happy to provide me with the support I need to carry on. In addition, Guy and the international diplomatic community here have been incredibly supportive, as have the Australian government, and Guy has offered to continue to work on my behalf. My only other option was to truck my camels up to Libya; but this would mean a) missing the bit of desert that I am most anxious to walk, namely the stretch of Tenere between Agadez and Bilma; and also taking my camels by truck through what is currently, effectively, a war zone. In addition, I really want to get my health situation sorted out, my sat comms fixed and organised at last, and all the other little details fixed that have been difficult to deal with out here.
I felt before that I could simply not leave this walk under any circumstances; but I feel that these are perhaps the one set of circumstances I know I can leave under, because my return, the welfare of my camels, and the continuance of my walk, are all assured. Rather than worrying about everything, I can return to Australia for the hot season knowing that everything is in good hands and awaiting my return. On the off chance that Niger has not resolved its political issues by October, I will recommence from Libya; but I am hoping, very much, that I am able to continue from where I left off.
So – there it is. The walk isn’t finished, but it is on hold for the next three months, until the weather changes and the rebellion dies down. And guess what? That gets me home just in time for the ski season….
This isn’t really a photo post, but I want to add something at the end here. After a really stressful time in Bamako and Gao trying to get everything for Niger organised, I was, as I mentioned briefly, taken in by the wonderful community of ex-pats working for the Peace Corps and various NGO’s in Gao. I went to stay at the home of Kurt, who works for the European Union; he has the most beautiful house by the river, it is wonderful. This is the view I woke up to in the morning….(sorry pics added in later I hope since connection not functioning well)
The community in Gao looked after me so well – and Sarah, I cannot thankyou enough for the medication you gave me as, quite seriously, I reckon it saved me on this last leg. I have been fortunate over and over in the people I have met on this walk; the crew in Gao, and now the wonderfully kind diplomatic community in Niamey, are incredible examples. Moussa's family in Menaka was also just amazing. When my camels came waddling back through their gate I simply couldn’t believe my eyes; in fact, I believe I shed a few tears. They were the fattest, happiest camels they have been since Nouadhibou, fit as fiddles and raring to go. I swear they even smiled at me as they came through the gate.
They got a new travel mate; over a very serious morning at the Menaka market, observed by everything in a turban from Algeria to Mauritania, I inspected camels up and down and all around until I finally settled on my new guy. I am not sure my choice was great; he is strong, and very good quality, and calm – but he is also young, and as such does not have the same voyage experience as the others. On a couple of occasions he has got a bit scatty, or lazy; I like to think he will get used to the voyage (he certainly improved on the last stretch, every day) but Ibrahim reckoned he was just a bit too young and I don’t know, he could be right. I figure he has three months or more now to feed up though and hang out with the other boys, so we will see how he is doing when I get back.
As for my other two? I know it is seriously woeful to admit it, but man, I really LOVE those two camels. I am so proud of them – they have come further than every nomad predicted, with such strength and courage (yeah I know nomads are laughing at me going hey, Paula, feed and water a camel and rest him and he will work, it is just like a car, there is nothing personal in it – and I know they are right – but that doesn’t change how grateful I feel to those two animals for getting me this far), and now they will get the chance to rest that they need in order to do the tough stretch coming up. I have been offered serious money for those two camels and I tell you what – I wouldn’t part with them for a million bucks. Bolshy Sod and Zaina are coming to Cairo with me and I am going to be thrilled to walk in with two of the camels I left Nouadhibou with.
I only have 3500km to go to get to Cairo. That’s nothing! And I will be coming back fit, healthy, and with sat comms WORKING at last, to healthy camels. I feel really content in myself that this is the way to go – and very happy that I got more than half way before I had to stop for the hot season. Had it not been for the rebellion, I certainly could also have got to Bilma. But I am ready for a break, and know it will leave me more than ready to come back and carry on. I feel as if I am leaving behind a community of friends and family both in Niger and Mali. To all who have helped me so generously here – the families of my guides, local chiefs, ex-pats, and everyone else I have met along the way – a huge thankyou. To Guy and Edith – I cannot express strongly enough my gratitude and appreciation for the care and kindness you have shown me, nor for your support in resolving what could have been an incredibly tough and ugly situation. Thankyou so very much.
I will post again soon….