LOME, TOGO 2

11 -13 April 2011

LOME, TOGO 2

The one fishing net

The Catch

A Scotsman in Aneh

Lome is not home to many sights of note, so I sit about getting online and spend the afternoon over at the beach watching the fisherman co-opt others to haul in their nets for payment in kind. And of course this leads to much discussion, argument and disappointment of hungry men. I am befriended by a journalist – however he is unemployed and has no money – perhaps he is a journalist in his dreams? I want to have a beer at one of the beachside bars but I’m not too willing to court much more of his attention so I feign weariness and head back to the hotel for the evening. I am not very good at telling someone nicely to go away!!! I hear back from Miriam and Salah, who ask for some balls and pencils for the kids. I head to the market next morning, manage to purchase 4 soccer balls and many sets of coloured pencils. Getting the taxi is also easy and soon enough I get to the orphanage following Miriam’s instructions. OMG –no shortage of children here – at least 70 or 80 – with a lot of them at school there are still at least 30 preschoolers and 5 tiny babies of varying health.
Lunchtime is a little like Lord of the Flies with the kids only responding to threats of being hit from the local staff. However at least they are now sitting under a shelter (recently built) to eat, away from where they play. And they do respond to the routines of getting undressed to eat, finishing eating, taking their bowl, getting wiped down (rice from top to bottom, literally!), getting a drink of water and then finding clothes and shoes again to be dressed! After all this we 3 head out to lunch at a nice place that is where Lake Aneho meets the sea. They talk a lot about the problems at the orphanage that they are encountering, and I have to say I take it some of it with a grain of salt until we return and I actually take note of what is going around us. Yes there is one staff asleep all day because she is suffering malaria – thank you for bring that to the orphanage. The vollies had talked about the nun being corrupt – she receives money from both swiss and german organisations, but does not tell either one about the other. Medicines are donated and soon sold at the local market. Now monies are paid directly to the builders and the association is trying to install a ‘manager’. I see the nun has her own rooms separate from the children, and this includes having her own cook! Two women are employed specifically to wash clothes all day, every day rather than use the donated washing machine which sits dusty in a corner. I’m sure they’d be better employed caring for some of the children? The babies are all fed the same amount of formula and water as the local staff feel that they should all get the same rather than follow the preparation directions according to age. Then there an absurd ritual of bathing the babies and children aged up two years of age, twice a day that is akin to giving them enemas with very hot water leaving the children screaming. The vollies cannot understand this practice and when I witness I am astounded – it is akin to cruelty with absolutely no reasoning behind it. I get upset, asking why they are doing this – the woman doing it says it is because they are African and because I am white I cannot understand! WHAT COSWALLOP. I have since discovered that it is a ‘togolese’ practice that may have originated as a treatment for worms – but twice a day, every day it has certainly transgressed into something very peculiar. I leave later in the afternoon, to walk back down the road to the highway, very disturbed by my visit and reaction to that orphanage. But I really acknowledge Miriam and Salah’s commitment and their tact and sensitivity in working there for the kids. As soon as I reach the highway, a vision in lycra appears in front of me – a middle aged bloke riding a bike, flying the St Andrews flag. He pulls over immediately upon seeing me and quickly crosses the road – I ask him what he’s doing here – he replies that honestly at the moment he has no idea! lol we head to a bar for a beer – him to recover some enthusiasm and check town maps and me to normalise some of what I’ve just witnessed today at the orphanage. This bloke takes a few weeks every month or so and picks a couple of countries to cycle through. This time it’s Ghana, Togo & Benin. It was really lovely talking with him; we took photos and parted ways. I returned back to Lome accompanied by arguments as locals yelled at the driver who wanted to overcharge me!

Fabulous Dutch wax fabrics

Another day I visit Lome’s Marche de Feticheurs (Fetish or traditional market) – a lot of skulls, skins and bones of recognised and other who knows what. If you are ill, want to wish ill luck or get good luck then you visit the Fetish priest who will prescribe what is needed for him to make the cure or voodoo. Then you visit the fetish market with your shopping list of requirements. I don’t want to pay extra to go beyond doors of the stalls – I am really just curious to take note that although there are many, many stalls with much for sale, as the Togolese retain their animist beliefs and fetishes are ‘an integral part of local culture’ but as usual there seems to be a distinct lack of customers here, including me.

My new boubou

I visit the Togo Girl Guides National Team meeting; present them with our Australian Centenary coin and badges while they in turn present me with a fab boubou and Girl Guide t shirt. More photos, singing and farewells as I zoom off on another moto to pack my bag ready to head north tomorrow on a Rakieta bus, a reputable company with a daily departure to Kara and booked seats!

FACT: Polygamy is still rife here in Togo with the old president having numerous wives. To counteract Togo’s lack of size, lack of trade and lack of progress the government encourages nationalism. Unequivocally Lome looks akin to a huge slum, with many empty or ruined buildings that is reminiscent of Beirut but they had a civil war for years that ruined their city. hmmmm