Slice of Life

2007.12.20

Well I finally made it out…took ACF two days to figure out how to arrange a flight to make the AGM in LBB. Leave it to ACF to figure out another way to slight Dubié. Sure sure they verified all appropriate spaces. Sure they did the buggers.

So in the end I sent our Jean Jacques Nutrition off on the last remaining seat on the airplane (there was 7 seats on the plane and not 9 as requested) leaving behind Tizie and me. THAT pissed LBB off. Good I say – Jean Jacques has been away from his family for more than 8 months and deserves a vacation. I know full well if I got on the plane, ACF would never arrange another plane for Jean Jacques.

Besides, in the spirit of leadership – I should be the last one leaving anyways.

I am finding myself in that strange place again – confused whether to be very angry or just give up. Weird. Oh well, that gives me one less frustrating day listening to stupid AGM discussions designed to assuage angers but not resolve anything.

I had a very difficult moment with your girl Ernestine. She had the nuts to come up to me and pressure me to give the last seat to Tizie (the watsan guy) because Tizie has to go on vacation on Dec 23. After I regurgitated my tongue I had to remind Ernestine that it was a difficult thing to make decisions without other people –other unrelated people- giving me hassles about things. I then explained to her that by my calcs, Tizie (and LBB) has four days to resolve this particular problem and maybe with such pressure they can resolve it quickly. Not forgetting to remind all people that JJ Nutrition has been separated from his family for 8 months. I THEN made her translate my sentiments to Tizie into french– thereby making her take in the message, digest it and then say it to my man thereby retracting all her previous efforts. Fuck me. When we shook hands and she left – there was not much warmth between us.

But that is not all! Jean Jacques Luboya had a yell-fest with the airforce guys the moment we arrived at the airfield. On the MSF flight yesterday there was a bit of action going on and a lady was ejected from the airplane. She eventually went into the shack for some discussions with the military. Undoubtedly she had to pay a ‘fine’. So the pressure is on to control the ONGs and of course to profit before the Noel passes us by – voila instant problem, just add water. So JJL and I had to go for a walk – we received an ‘invitation’ to go and talk to them-the airforce. In the end I was not very nice (I just found out only minutes before that your man Eric of the FARDC who stole our gas has been fired and is awaiting disciplinary procedures from the army and OCHA in LBB which gave me some strength to intimidate these airforce weenies) to them as I figured it was time to stop sucking up and to start to firm up. In the end we agreed that we would not ‘argue’ in public thereby disturbing the ‘image’ of the Ariene. JJL did not pay any fine for his rude behaviour.

BUT THEN upon return to the base I received three bills for water from the water association in Dubie. They left the bills with the guard rather than come and visit me personally the chicken-bastards. I went by the Abbie to remind the bastards that their inflated bills (I understood the bill to be 1000 fc but it arrived at 1500 fc per month) are rejected. The payment for the water usage, he said, was for maintenance and upgrading costs. To which I reminded him that it was ACF who just upgraded the water points around town (15 at 15000FC each plus materials) and we are the ones to undertake the maintenance and upgrading of the SOURCE for over 2 Million FCs. I figure I paid our bill several times over; and then left him to stew with his bills returned to him.

All before lunch on the day I was to leave this place.

Hah! And then… yes and then because of our ‘heated discussions’ with Mr Lebenais of the Airforce, he then tried to accuse us of helping to escape one member of the population (meaning somebody left without paying the ‘fine’). We had to explain to the air force that indeed Soeur Gertrude did in fact leave on our airplane last month but she did so without our consent at the last minute – with the very help and without the very authority of the Air Force! Of course they let us off the hook for that one but the sure did go and give her a go. She then came to us and voila – we got a great chance to say ‘see what you did to us you witch, you placed us in harms way with the authorities and I sure hope you can be satisfied that our ‘starving children’ do not lose their benefits over this situation’. In the end it seems that maybe she will pay up the one hundred bucks she owes us for the flight.

Sigh. But that is enough crap from Dubie for anyone. Oh one last thing – yesterday AASF is doing an oil distribution to the villagers and not the displaced and I saw mister Chef of the ANR collecting a ration in his fine clothes and sunglasses. Does he get a ration or is he stealing it?

I finally arrived in LBB yesterday at about four thirty and it was after five when I got to the office. Without a chance to shower or change I was driven straight to the hotel where the conference is held….and became the subject du jour.

Yes it seems that the two vehicle thing has reached New York and has many baffled and seriously pissed. Turns out that the NY log coordinator is here too! He thinks I was a bit rash that I sent back our only two vehicles for repair leaving us empty handed and believes that I shouldn’t do it again – he said so in a very nice way. Haha. We had a discussion and he now understands better my side (and our ongoing lack of support) and thinks that he will resolve the issue on high (of the incredible hatred for me because of the tussle). For me, I told him I stand by my decision, I stand by my team who are long suffering and I would do it again. He had nothing much to say – meaning I clearly intimated that I was willing to go down the road waving happily and he didn’t take up my offer.

Good news or not? In the end as you say actions speak louder than words. My words have been blocked, my actions clearly understood. Now if they can get the two vehicles fixed and sent back asap then I will be a converted believer.