Sleeping Guards

Well well. I caught another guard sleeping on his post. What am I going to do? This guy (the third offender now) is the chief guard and was the escort to the first two when I gave the lecture and warning letter out. I guess the message did not sink in.

The thing is, that these guys are very uncool. They know I am up and moving around 0530 so why don't they set the alarm on their new and shiny cell phones? Or why don't they go somewhere quiet and hide to sleep? Why sleep in the open?

Now the problem is that these guys, the guards, who are suppose to be watching my back and protecting the stuff around base are going to stop doing that. There is no incentive now for them to do their jobs properly. They will no longer investigate how fuel disappears, for example. Or notify me when they see a driver with unauthorized passengers (i.e. paying passengers) on board. They are like beat dogs and the more I beat them (even if it is appropriate) the more they shy away from me and the greater distance we build.

The truth of the matter is that we should not fall back from a tough stance. Security is paramount and there is no reason to be sleeping on the job. It is an eight hour shift only. And the shifts leading and following the night shift are designed to provide transition for the guards into a successful night shift. This is all failing as we are once again being taken advantage.

Where is the vision, the leadership and the decision-making? The esprit de corps?

We went to Guinea last weekend. It was such a challenge just getting across the border. White men in white vehicles is a source of funding. It was the Liberian side which caused most of the frustration, tho the Guineans were not so friendly as well. But then I got caught taking pictures at the Guinea border post (not the post, but the town, the buildings and the people as usual) and they didn't like that. A little side-stepping got me out the door and down the road into Guinea. Yes, i sure did overstep my boundaries there…but just a little. I'd say that they shouldn't have kept us so long (over two hours) and I wouldn't have taken any pictures.

BUT THEN, we arrived in the town we were aiming for. It was rumoured that there was a craft market there where we could buy masks, drums, fabric. We were hoping to get some Xmas stuff and I wanted a drum (stress relief??).

Well I took my camera out at the market (turns out we went to the town market and NOT the craft market...all the accompanying national staff manipulated the expat into going to the wrong market - wrong for us but right for them. Yet another frustration in a long and tiring day to be sure. ) and I started taking pictures and voila...arrested. Come on, who can't take pictures in a market??? I got escorted by the Gendarmes to the Station and had to explain myself. Holy freek. Now everyone is truly pissed at me for delaying the shopping as they had to come and rescue me (some joke for them). How is it that I get blamed for this one? It is a freak of situation that I somehow get nabbed, for the second time, and this time there was no boundary crossed. Yes I am persona non-grata and I suffer the blame for this one, unjustly I figure.

With all the fun and excitement (and all the attendant problems of moving with national staff (ie just why do they all disappear exactly at the same time as our rendezvous to go home, and we wait for them?) is like herding cats or petulant children) we did not get to the craft market and so now we have 450 000 Guinean francs burning a hole in a bag the size of a mattress. I am never going to do that again. Sorry. Oh by the by, since this trip was a private venture, we had to pay expenses for the joy. When we approached the national staff to cost share...well the uproar. So the four expats split the cost for the trip again. There is no sharing here - those with cash are assumed to pay. No questions asked. Yet the irony is that this national staffs are considered rich as they are highly paid members of their community. Oh and only the national staff did any purchasing.

This was an EXPAT lead mission to go to the CRAFT market and the nationals were invited to go along - not to hijack the trip. One lady bought pots and panties!!!! and as a result we did not have time to achieve the primary goal. Bummer.

I am getting tired.