Week 5 - Zuiganchor camp

“Just as a blacksmith cannot seize the red hot iron in his naked hand, so the proletariat cannot directly seize the power”

“Let a man, find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain”

“In comparison with the monarchy and other heirlooms from the cannibals and cave dwellers, democracy is of course a great conquest”

And there we have it, the final quotes from Trotsky!

Last week, I spent the week down in the Casamance region of Senegal. This has been the site of the longest civil war/independence struggle/terrorist insurrection in modern West Africa, although the local Djola tribe fought the French long before it had to fight Dakar. Largely to blame is the economic isolation that this very southern, and cut off region feels from the more developed north. The Gambia, sitting on top like a hat, has greatly contributed to this problem, as goods and people have to travel through the country, and it is a major hindrance, as we discovered. 

The planning for our volunteers to attend the YMCA yearly camp were stressful and convoluted, as most things are here, and involved my writing of a last-minute risk assessment, calls to London, and two afternoons in the office, waiting for updates. All of which was thankfully not in vein, as we did attend, and enjoyed the experience, if not travel there and back. In theory, driving from Thies to Zuguinchor is an eight to ten hour affair, which includes the border crossings into and out of Gambia, as well as the ferry to cross the Gambia River. Needless to say, it took us slightly longer, and having set off early Saturday morning, we didn't arrive at camp until midday on Sunday. Four hours to Kaolack where the other ICS group is, two hours for breakfast and loading up a bigger bus to include volunteers and YMCA members from Dakar, another three hours to the Gambian border, where a bribe was demanded to let the two non-UK passport holders in the ICS programme to continue, another hour to the Gambia River and then...a twelve hour wait for the ferry to depart. Apparently there had been issues with one of the two working ferries, and the line for the boats, parked up in a mangrove swamp certainly suggested people had been there for a while. We didn't get to cross until 1am, at which point, the Senegal border was closed and we had to wait until 6am for it to open. Another five hours to the camp, and our epic journey was over. Thankfully, it took us half this time to get home, but were still unable to do the whole journey in a day.

 (Our home for 12 hours)

With a total of sixteen hours now spent in the Gambia, I consider it 'ticked off the list', with my extended view of its swamps and the title bearing river brining up my countries visited total to forty! What else can I say about the place. It looked exactly the same as Senegal, albeit with English signs instead of French, and the English level was certainly higher, even if French was still the lingua franca, along with the currency of French West Africa. With everyone on both sides of the border being of the same tribe, this lingering colonial influence into the cultures was interesting to see, and highlights just how ridiculous colonial era borders really are (as Iraq clearly shows), and it was nice to be able to apply what I learnt in my MA course to my observations. The roads are also better in Gambia, which was surprising, given its impoverished state, but I certainly wasn't complaining!

(Stormy evening at camp)

Finally in Casamance, and the differences to northern Senegal are instant and vivid. The colour green is overwhelming after the yellow and terracotta I see every day, and the scenery, along with the food and weather was much closer to Sierra Leone than the Senegal I had thus experienced, with the slight drop in temperature most welcome. Given that the area has seen heavy and sustained fighting for the past hundred years, it didn't come as too much of a surprise to see plenty of soldiers, however the heavy weapons they carried (including RPGs), and even a tank, did lead me to question if the current cease-fire was not as secure as is believed. A large number of Red Cross ambulances also plied the roads, further fueled my speculation. 

 (Working in the mangroves)

The purpose of our visit was to attend the YMCA environmental camp, with the main tasks being the 're-rehabilitation' of the mangroves around the village of Toubor, about 10km north of Ziguinchor. Integral to the local ecosystem by providing shelter for fish, shellfish and birds, reducing flooding and absorbing CO2, it is the attractiveness of the trees as firewood that has lead to their slow destruction over the years. Thankfully, money and government support has been leant to their protection and replanting, and this is especially important now that much of Senegal's coastal fish is being stolen.

Our job then, involved digging holes for, and transporting from healthy areas of the mangrove, small trees that will, in a few years, hopefully ensure the healthy expansion of the swamps. This task took three days to complete, and with little to currently show for our efforts, it will be interesting to return in a number of years and see how they have grown. We also transplanted 2,000 mango trees, which will be used to help ensure food security, and the economic prospects of YMCA supported villages in the region.

 (Having spent all morning putting the mango seedlings on top of the bus....off they came)

The work aside, the camp was rather fun, in the liberating sort of way such things can be, and was a new experience for a number of the volunteers. We 'camped' on the floor of the village school, and with wake up at 6am, morning exercises, enforced chores, and plenty of rain, it felt like a camp anywhere! This being the African YMCA, there was a meditation session each morning, but I didn't attend after the first one, after being told that “Christians, Muslims and secular people all agree, God made the world and all the people.” It presented a good opportunity to try to finish Trotsky instead.

 (Daara children, taking a rest)

The city of Ziguinchor was an important trading post for the French, as as such there are a number of large colonial era buildings still present, making a stroll down-town rather interesting. We (Two British volunteers and myself) also managed to escape the massive group for a few hours, and headed out of town to an area of jungle and a crocodile farm! The place was appeared abandoned, with no one else there, and cages and walls falling down, and it had a very Jurassic Park feel to it, yet low and behold, there were still crocodiles, huge and very sedate thankfully, and the surrounding trees yielded mangoes, oranges and grapefruit after a brief scrumping raid. 

(Crocodiles!)

Im not sure what else to say really, the camp provided a good opportunity to meet new people here, as well as catch up with the other ICS group in Kaolack, who by the sounds of things have been having a far harder experience than us. While we have limited work to do, they have done almost nothing, and coupled with a hotter, dirtier and fly infested town in which to live, they seem to have drawn the short straw!

(Sunset over the Gambia river, on our way home)