Win a Frommer’s guidebook on Seattle 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks.
Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.
The winner of last month’s Moon guide is Andrew Hindley.
‘But do you actually do any good?’
As a foreign aid worker I often get that question, usually asked rhetorically by my travelling friends who have long ago made up their minds that ‘expats’ are a waste of space. They punctuate their prejudice with pithy anecdotes from their travels – tales of drunken UN workers they saw picking up girls in bars, the 4×4 cars with logos of famous charities spotted on safari in African game parks. Or the aid workers who commandeered a luxury local villa (complete with swimming pool) upwind from the refugee camp.
And many foreign aid workers are as quick to stereotype travellers. There is the bargain-hunting backpacker who barters locals under the poverty line, or the holidaymaker glued behind a video camera who wanders into a war zone.
I recently saw these counterpoints crystallised in a string of messages posted on the Internet, on a travellers’ bulletin board. The comments kicked off with a backpacker in Africa who called foreign aid workers ‘the ultimate travel snobs, on some kind of human suffering safari’. Another weighed in with: “The majority of foreign workers I have come across in east and central Africa are just there for the money and good life.”
Aid workers – who obviously are tuned into travellers’ web sites – quickly hit back. Said one: “Can you imagine what it was like in post-genocide Rwanda? I can, I was there. So if aid workers want to get drunk and blow off a little steam then I can understand.” Another added: “What the hell business does a back-backer have being in either a war-zone or a disaster site? Chances are good that they are getting in the way.”
And so it flowed on with arguments launched from both sides of the divide. I read with great interest, perhaps because I have a foot in both camps. I had worked in long-haul adventure travel years before I became a Logistician for MSF. So I have met a myriad of traveller types, just as I now know a kaleidoscope of aid workers, of varying competencies and qualities.
I like to think there is good on both sides.
Travel is the world’s biggest industry and potentially a huge power for economic good. Tourism, properly managed, can generate a quick flow of cash from rich to poor pockets. And those hard-bitten backpackers (the same ones who slag off aid workers) are the pioneer species of their type – hardy weeds who spread into those corners of the globe still ‘caution strongly advised’ by the Foreign Office, but precursors for more lucrative tourism that will surely follow if better times come.
Do aid workers do good? I can only talk from my own experience. As a field worker for Médecins Sans Frontières in Colombia I have never doubted for a minute the value of our project. I worked with MSF in the conflict zone, helping get mobile health clinics to a civilian population terrorised by opposing war gangs; guerrillas, paramilitaries or drug gangs. In most cases these villages were abandoned by the state, or worse subjected to barbarities by the same state forces supposedly there to protect them.
Often we were the only outsiders to reach these villages. I will never forget the joy of the campesinos who come to greet us. Just our presence in this troubled zone was as vital as our medical work. Alongside our local and dedicated Colombian counterparts, we ran risks every day to get our work done, and as expats ‘in charge’ we often worked months without a day off. It was not a holiday.
Yes, I admit, at first I was thrilled at the ‘exclusivity’ of our mission, seduced perhaps by the frisson of being a one-and-only in the backwoods of a country at war. No, I can’t guarantee that our work – however welcome in the short term – will affect the torturous path of Colombia’s 40-year war.
Because of course aid workers cannot cure all of the world’s ills, any more than travellers and tourism can provide a post-op panacea. Both have the power for good and harm.
But I would like to see those lush hills of Colombia to be traversed by happy mountain-bikers. The campesinos, in between farming avocados, guiding birdwatchers and orchid lovers along the banks of clear streams. Homesteaders sell bowls of fragrant chicken stew to grateful hikers. The abandoned health posts are repaired, the village schools get their roofs back, the bullet holes are plastered over, and a teacher welcomes his young smiling students. Then I would be happier to be on holiday than working as an expat.
Steve has been on 3 missions for medical aid charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Colombia and El Salvador. He is currently in Angola as an MSF Logistician on a primary health care and nutrition project. Take a look at www.uk.msf.org for more info on volunteering for MSF.
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Reports of a “rampaging beast” in the Dowa district, about 100 km from the capital Lilongwe, has sent at least 4,000 people fleeing four villages to seek refuge at a community hall at the district headquarters. Parks and Wildlife Officer Leonard Sefu said his department believed the mysterious beast could be a rabid hyena but said it was strange for a hyena to terrorise whole villages without being cornered. Dr Matius Joshua, the Dowa District Health Officer said that two old women and a three-year-old baby died when the beast crushed their skulls and ate their intestines and private parts. He said his department was examining the maimed people to establish what the animal could be. All efforts to shoot and kill the animal have so far failed. Dr Joshua said the 16 victims admitted into hospital following the latest attacks sustained various appalling injuries – some of them lost both legs and hands while two have lost both ears and eyes to the beast. One woman lost her mouth and nose.
Source: BBC News
We reported back in January that UK based Ryanair planned to buy Buzz, a rival low cost airline. Buzz serves 21 destinations in England, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. Surprise surprise, Ryanair plans to drop 18 Buzz routes, including Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt that are expected to be dropped permanently.
When Ryanair bought buzz from KLM, KLM told passengers not to book Buzz flights after March until its new owners revealed where it would continue to serve.
Many regular UK passengers own holiday homes in remote parts of France, served by Buzz routes to airports such as Poitiers, Limoges and Bergerac – which may no longer be served by Ryanair. Some passengers who had booked to destinations including Bordeaux, Caen and Frankfurt, will now have to abandon their travel plans or rebook at greater expense on other carriers. Some are planning to take legal action over lost money on hotel bookings and car hire. A buzz spokesman said passengers would receive refunds for cancelled flights but added the airline would not pay other compensation. KLM called Ryanair ‘irresponsible’ for failing to keep its passengers informed.
BUZZ ROUTES CANCELLED
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The Brooke Hospital for Animals (BHA) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have joined forces to provide free veterinary care for working horses and donkeys in Jalalabad in southern Afghanistan. The two charities hope their work will help to transform the lives of the thousands of people in the city, who depend on equines for their livelihood. The project, which is being helped by an Afghan agency, Committee for Rehabilitation Aid to Afghanistan (Craa), plans also to install fresh piped water at carriage stands. This will benefit both animals and people, as the nearest water supply at the moment is three miles (five kilometres) away. The Jalalabad project is being supported by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association through funds collected by the North Carolina Zoological Society.
For those seeking the ultimate adventure in natural surroundings, a recommended place that has captured the imagination of many travellers is the Sepik River Region, located on the north coast of Papua New Guinea.
Here you will find everything from ancient cultures and traditional arts and crafts to exotic birds and wildlife including crocodiles. A popular tourist activity is river canoeing, using motor-powered traditional canoes. The region is world-renowned for the 1,100-kilometre long Sepik River, its ancient and primitive arts and is considered Papua New Guinea’s equivalent to the Amazon and the Congo rivers.
The mere mention of the word the Sepik also conjures up images of the secret men’s house, the haus tambaran but its best-kept secret is the Sepik Blue (Dendrobium lasianthera), a species of orchid that is endemic to this region.
But the Sepik is much more than just the river, its people and arts. It’s about magnificent coastlines with white sandy beaches, beautiful volcanic islands, tropical rainforests, grassy plains, high plateaus and plenty of war history.
The region’s provincial capital and centre for commerce and an international airport is Wewak, a coastal town littered with remnants from World War 2 and the only major town in PNG with a white-sandy beachfront, perfect for swimming, light surf and as a perfect anchorage for visiting yachts.
The Sepik River region’s fame and importance is largely due its richness in art and the river itself serves as a source of inspiration and influence for its people, their lifestyle, traditional beliefs, customs and art forms, reflected in statues, masks, neck-rests, stalls, hooks, shields, baskets, pottery and skin cutting.
Sepik art is known to be richer and having more variety than any other region in the Oceania Region. The main area that is rich in art is the middle river region, a densely populated area with nearly 30 large villages of the Iatmul language group people. Tucked away in this corner of Papua New Guinea is the small river village of Aibom that has captured the attention of the ceramic world with their masterpieces of pottery. Many potters and researchers from around the world visit the Aibom pottery village every year.
From the air, the Sepik River and its many tributaries and estuaries looks more like a collection of brown snakes of numerous sizes, meandering over the forests floor for 1,100 km on its way to the Bismark Sea.
The Upper Sepik is mountainous and known for its insect cults while the Lower Sepik is primarily swampland and its people’s life and culture is based around their relationship with and reverence for the crocodile.
The Middle and Lower Sepik experience seasonal floods that come as a blessing because they sweep hard wood logs down-stream that are collected and used as material for building houses and carvings. Up and down the river, people make use of the rising river levels to move between villages, attend to their clan and tribal obligations and trade fish, sago and clay pots.
Wewak is a spread-out town and is clogged in places by swamps and mangroves and has an extensive mountain range as its backdrop. For the holidaymaker, this is a scenic town and has its fair share of war history to tell. The town and surrounding hills are littered with remnants from the war. A must-see is Mission Hill that houses Japanese AA guns, the look-out at Boys Town and Wom War Memorial Park, the site of the Japanese surrender in WWII.
Further out of town, a recommended stop is Maprik, south of Wewak and known for the haus tambaran and yam ceremonies and masks while Angoram is the best place to pick up Kambot storyboards.
For those wanting a feel of PNG’s own version of the sun, sand and the surf, there are many off-shore islands close to Wewak that are perfect for this activity, among them, Mushu Island which has some of the most pristine blue waters, high pounding waves and unexplored coral reefs in PNG.
North of Wewak, the volcanic island of Kairuru is worth exploring. The main area of focus is the Catholic mission station and school and there is enormous potential for nature-based and adventure activities. You can trek following traditional gardening routes or if you would rather stay close to the sea, there is snorkelling or you can choose to observe thermal springs or take a hike to a beautiful natural lake in the island’s mountainous interior.
The author, Steven Mago is a journalist, travel writer and tourism promoter. He was born in Papua New Guinea but for the time being is living in Sydney. Steven can be contacted on: stevenmago@hotmail.com
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Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!
Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
This is Muir’s Tours most popular volunteer placement: the Przewalski horse was almost wiped out, when horse lovers decided to start a breeding programme from the few that remained in zoos. We now need to observe their behaviour in the wild – this is where you come in. We need you to walk and ride the steppe of Mongolia – watching and noting how they cope, as they learn to live in the wild.
Interested? Look at: Muir’s Tours Mongolia Przewalski Horse Volunteers
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New research on seismic events conducted by scientists indicates that a massive earthquake could hit Istanbul in the near future. This warning is being taken seriously by the Turkish government who are now taking action to minimise damage if the prediction turns out to be true. The seismic team predicted a quake in the coastal city of Izmit in 1999 – but the specific warnings were ignored and some 25,000 people were killed. The latest thinking is that earthquakes are connected and can trigger each other and that fault lines close to the Turkish city are under severe stress and will lead to a large quake sooner rather than later.
Meeting news from our branches around the world.