Internet Shutdown!

Friday - July 30, 2004 to Sunday - August 1, 2004

I cannot tell you how much I love getting off at 2pm on Fridays! It makes coming into the office such a delight, when you know that your day will be short. By the time lunch rolls around, you're almost ready to go home! There wasn't much to do at work, and Yinka took Paola and myself out to lunch. Yinka couldn't believe I wasn't going to go anywhere, and said she'd lend me money if I needed it. So I'll see what I can on Monday about getting a trip to Victoria Falls for my last weekend here. The other option is to mess with my flights home, but I really don't want to do that.

I went to the gym, which was gloriously empty on a mid-afternoon Friday, and then went home for a short nap. I got up and made some spaghetti before it was time to head to the Marine House for the goodbye party of the Gunney Sgt who commands them. The party actually was kind of lame. The cash bar didn't help matters, especially when they ran out of change. I did get to listen to two foreign service officers speak about the situation in Zimbabwe, and they basically think there is no hope. As bad as things have gotten, the people never rise up. They cannot imagine what would finally rouse them to action. I got to speak as well with the hottie foreign service guy who arrived the same day I did. His name is Mike, and he was very pleasant to talk to. Everyone thinks he's cute enough to eat with a spoon, but he's married with 3 kids, so it's definitely "look, but don't touch". Anyway, it's hard to objectify someone when you actually get to know them.

Once the alcohol ran out, the party died. I left with Yinka and Everard. I didn't even have that much to drink. After a few beers, my stomach started acting like it was going to hurt, so I stopped drinking. I did don an Afro wig that the marines own, and had my picture taken. I'm told I was quite fetching with an Afro a foot high.

I slept in on Saturday and eventually rolled out of bed when Eric Weisen came over. He is now back from Ghana, where he was visiting old friends from the peace corps. He wanted to see how I was doing, and to see if I wanted to tag along for a ride to pick out a braii grill. We stopped on the side of the road, and he looked at various grills, finally deciding on one. The seller wanted 80K for it, and Eric offered 50K. I couldn't believe it when he mentioned that price! He wanted a grill for under $10 US. They dickered back and forth, and eventually settled on a price of 70K with a couple of bundles of firewood thrown in. I know that bartering and bargaining are mainstays of the African culture, but it would drive me nuts. I like being told a price and then deciding if I want it or not. I don't like negotiating and not knowing if I'm getting the best price or not. Eric seemed to really enjoy it. Next, we went to a flea market at Avondale shopping center, which was OK, but that's more bartering. I was about to finish my last book here, and I wanted to see if there were other books I wanted to read. Well, the used book stand had books from the 1960s and 1970s, many of which were not in that good of shape. I didn't find anything I wanted to buy, and the books I did find were in such poor condition, I wouldn't buy them. So I left empty handed. It struck me that I haven't seen a real bookstore since I arrived. It definitely makes you wonder about the literacy rate of this country. I suppose reading a pure leisure activity, like wearing deodorant. If you don't have money for basics, you sure aren't going to spend money on those things. I miss my Borders and Barnes & Nobel!

Saturday night was the birthday gathering for Trent. I had found out from Amy the night before that he had not even mentioned the cake she made him on Thursday for his birthday, let alone thanked her for it. She was very surprised when I mentioned that Trent had bragged on it to me. I'm not sure where his manners went, but I texted him before the dinner and told him that he definitely ought to thank her for the cake. Sure enough, at the dinner, he mentioned to her how good that cake was. I thought, "Good boy." J

The dinner at Thai Thai was pretty good. Turns out the uptight assistant security officer at the embassy is a Georgia Tech grad! Small world, huh? Anyway, I had some chicken satays (chicken strips on a stick) with peanut sauce and hot prawn soup. The soup was definitely hot, too. Poor Amy ordered her meal extra spicy, and it arrived so spicy that her face turned blood red and she almost burst into tears. I've never seen anyone react like that to spicy food! I can only imagine how spicy it was. Trent even danced with the hostess/co-owner of the place in a traditional Thai dance. It was pretty cool.

Afterward, we went to the Sheraton. Amy and I arrived early, and she found out that the music was "old school" which meant early to mid 1980s. She prefers rap and hip hop, so we went to the Sheraton bar for a drink to wait for the others. We had a good talk, and she definitely knows I'm gay. Abe, the marine that is scared of gay folk, was there too. He had been tending bar at the party the night before. Really uptight guy who looks like he could explode at any minute. I found out that he is from RURAL West Virginia, which probably explains why he's afraid of gay people. The permanent scowl on his face would keep most people away, I'd think, man or woman. He just doesn't seem like a pleasant person to be around. I could be wrong, but that's the impression he left with me.

At midnight, Amy had had enough of the "old school" disco. So I left with her, and she took me home. Some people were going back to Vogue, but I didn't care to head back to that cheesy dive that serves pregnant teenagers alcohol. I read for a while, and watched a movie before going to sleep.

Sunday was another lazy day. I ate breakfast, read, napped, and read some more. I spent most of the afternoon dozing in and out of sleep. I slept too much though, because I have had trouble falling asleep tonight. It's about midnight, and I'm wide awake! I eventually got up, and Pet invited me in for tea. She also gave me my bill for the last week of June and the month of July. It wasn't bad. All told, it was $1700 for 36 days. She basically charged me $10/week for the dinners I eat with them, which isn't bad at all. I went through my money stores, and took out what should be the charges for the last 20 days of my stay as well as what I pay Eddie. Even taking out $120/week for Eddie and setting aside $1100 for Pet (which is higher than it should be, but I wanted to be safe), I still have over $600 left to spend. That means I can probably afford a trip to Victoria Falls, assuming Robert is OK with me leaving that Friday morning. I hope it can work out. Then everyone will get off my back!

Monday - August 2, 2004

The Internet collapsed at WHO on Sunday afternoon, and it was down ALL DAY today! The only thing that would have been worse would be an electrical failure, but at least in that situation, I could have talked to other people. I was stuck in my office all day without connectivity at all, except for the internal web. All I could do was basically play games on the computer, which consisted of solitaire, mostly. What a waste of a day! Good thing I don't have my own car here, b/c I would have left. I can only hope they fix it overnight so that I don't have to go through ANOTHER day of this! It would certainly make getting the updates more difficult if we have no Internet. Grrr.

Went to the gym and had a nice workout. I was sorely tempted to ask Eddie to take me to a pizza place for takeout, but I resisted. I ended up making Cream of Tomato soup with rice. It was pretty good. Of course, in measuring out the rice, I spilled some all over the stove and floor. I managed to clean it up, but I was annoyed with myself.

After dinner, I watched some TV and then decided to start listening to my book on CD of Alexander Hamilton's biography. It was pretty good so far. I listened to nearly 2 hours of it. It made me sleepy, especially with the guy reading it having such a deep, soothing voice. I dozed off until Mom called to see if I was alright. Apparently, there was something in the news at home about missionaries in Zimbabwe being removed from the country, or kicked out. I'm not sure which, and Mom didn't have details. She only heard the headline and freaked out. I told her everything here was fine, and if there was trouble, I am on the list of Americans to be evacuated. It makes me wonder if our Internet outage at work has anything to do with this news. I doubt it, but one never knows. If there was something that Mugabe didn't want us to know, making sure the Internet is "down" would be a good way. I did find out that these outages occur several times a year, but only for a couple of days. Once, the Internet was down for an entire week. I'm not sure I can handle that. A lot of what I do is communicating with outside partners of WHO, and those communications are now cut off. It's very disconcerting. Also makes for a LONG, boring day. There's only so much Solitaire a person can play!

Tuesday - August 3, 2004

The monotony continues! Day Two with NO INTERNET access whatsoever. Apparently, our office phones aren't exactly accepting outside calls either. I honestly do not have enough to keep me happily occupied for 8 solid hours, so the day is taken up with trying to find new things to do. I've read everything in the office that I can get my hands on; I've played every game on the computer until I'm sick of all 4 of them. I honestly don't know what else to do. If this continues all week, I will be miserable. Worse still, I can't get updates for the measles partnership call tomorrow. Even if I could get updates, I wouldn't have a way to send them out. What a nightmare! I really hope they get this problem fixed soon.

I also miss having a way to see what's going on at home. Apparently, email to my WHO account is being bounced; the shutdown is complete it seems. Mike emailed Richard to see if anything was wrong here in Zimbabwe. Richard, of course, didn't know since he was in class yesterday, but mentioned he had not heard from me either. He knew I'd at least email. It was the reason I called his cell phone and left a message. I've also informed Leo of the Internet outage here on his office phone. Hopefully he can spread the word. It's very frustrating to be cut off like this!

I had Eddie take me to get take out pizza at St. Elmo's. I also was able to get some more yogurt and crackers for the cabin while the pizza cooked. It was Hawaiian pizza with pineapple and ham. Definitely satisfied the craving I'd been having for the last couple of days. When I got home, I ate the pizza, and settled down with my CD Walkman and the Alexander Hamilton book on CD. It was very good, and I was surprised when the author hinted that Hamilton may have been bisexual. Apparently, there was a fellow officer in the Revolutionary War that Hamilton was extremely close to, and his letters to this guy have an almost romantic tone to them. When this man was killed at the end of the war, Hamilton was devastated and never got as close to another man again. There was a third figure in this friendship: Marquis de Lafayette. Being French in the late 1700s, flowery language is expected, but Lafayette's letters to Hamilton were filled with even more fervor than Hamilton's letters to his fellow officer. Of course, we'll never know if there was a physical aspect to these relationships, but it was quite surprising to hear.

Anyway, I had trouble getting to sleep last night thanks to dozing early in the night. Richard called and told me about his day. He's very happy with his schedule as of now, but there is still a chance that his AP sections might have to be combined and he would be assigned a regular US history class. So far, his two AP classes have 12 and 13 kids in them, and he absolutely loves it. I hope he can maintain his current schedule, because he will be highly upset if he cannot.

I think word is out now that the Internet at WHO is down. I really hope it's back tomorrow. This kind of thing would NOT be tolerated in the US. I'm not sure why Africans don't expect more.

Wednesday - August 4, 2004

Day Three of the Internet Outage. This is the message that the Help Desk people sent out to everyone this morning (remember, we have internal connections but nothing externally): "Dear Colleagues, Since Sunday, Telenor engineers have been working remotely with ICT team here in Harare to solve the GPN problem. However, due to the complexity of this problem, a Telenor engineer is on his way to Harare. In the meantime, we are looking for an alternative solution to address the issue. We will keep you updated on the progress. Thank you for your understanding."

Understanding! I'll show you understanding! Grrrr. I don't know who this Telenor company is, but they should have figured out on Sunday (Monday at the LATEST) that this problem could not be solved remotely. It should not have taken three days for them to reach the conclusion that they might need to show up in person to fix the problem. In the US, such shoddy work would result in the quick closure of this company. Especially when a client as important as WHO is left cut off from the rest of the world! There is simply NO excuse for it! I'm not sure what they mean by "alternative solution" but I just want my connectivity back!

It's very isolating to be cut off from the world. The only news I get is from the South African channels on DSTV. Not being able to be in touch with my friends and loved ones, though, is what annoys me the most. Talking every day via email to my mom, Richard, and friends like Mike make my time go by faster and also takes care of any loneliness I might feel. Without that contact, I feel a bit stir crazy.

Amy picked me up from work and took me to the Book Café for what she billed as a happy hour and political discussion. It sounded interesting, so I decided to go. It was downtown at this place called the Book Café, which is owned by this white Zimbabwean who fought on the side of the blacks during the struggle for independence. However, this guy is a real free speech advocate and this places him squarely in the crosshairs of the Mugabe government. Apparently, keeping the Book Café open is quite a struggle, as police harassment has increased. The event last night certainly makes it clear why the government doesn't like this business.

The panel discussion involved a reverend, an old communist sympathizer from Finland who has written extensively about Zimbabwe and the liberation struggles in Southern Africa, a professor of history at the University of Zimbabwe, and a retired professor who was once expelled from Zimbabwe in the early 1960s for his support of the black nationalist movement (this guy is a white Brit). Their topic was how the history of Africa will inform the future, and part of that question is whose history do we use?
At first, I couldn't decide what the reverend was doing on the panel. Over the course of the discussion, however, it became quite clear that he was the government mouthpiece. Apparently, this guy is a powerful Pentecostal preacher who is a Zimbabwean equivalent of a televangelist. He is frequently on the state run radio and TV, supporting the government line and has been richly rewarded for it. He reminds me very much of the "Bishops" that exist in the Atlanta area, especially in my home county of DeKalb. I put bishop in quotation marks because these guys are independent preachers who are not part of any apostolic line. I'm pretty sure they just anoint themselves Bishops after attaining a certain position of power. Anyway, these "bishops" at home are also politically active and control thousands of parishioners. They too wear flashy suits, wear expensive jewelry, and drive upscale cars, all while proclaiming the gospel of Christ, which wasn't too keen on ostentatious shows of wealth. This preacher had on very expensive dress shoes, a very nice watch, and a black pinstriped suit that certainly was not cheap. Mugabe apparently treats his most ardent supporters quite well.

The place was probably half white, half black but not many of the whites spoke. There were some very brave blacks who roundly condemned the government, spoke of living in fear, and spoke too of the lies that Mugabe's government tells the people through men like the preacher. The room was full of Mugabe's intelligence agents who are sent to any forum or event that could likely cause "trouble". That these people spoke so openly, knowing that Mugabe's spies were in the audience taking notes, moves me. Their bravery in speaking out for their own freedom is astonishing. We take it for granted in America that we can speak out against the government without fear of being beaten, killed, or expelled from the country. Even if Bush would like to silence those of us who loudly denounce his policies, he cannot do so under our system. Our freedom of speech is so deeply ingrained in us a people that to squash it openly would provoke a firestorm. But here, people are beaten and driven out all the time. Knowing the danger they are placing themselves in by speaking out is a true act of bravery and courage.

The issues could not be deeply explored with only an 90 minutes allotted to the discussion, and at times, it seemed like the emotion in the room was about to explode into a heated dispute. The preacher was most enlightening on the mindset of the government. They truly hate the white people and what was done to them during colonialism, as they have a right to. The Europeans in so many ways wronged the Africans here over the century of colonial rule. Their bitterness, however, has overtaken them. They think they can excise totally the European influences in the culture, but as one audience member pointed out, the colonialist period changed Africa and has become part of the fabric of modern Africa whether anyone likes it or not. You cannot erase that experience or its legacy, so the choice must be made to embrace it and mold it for the future.

There were hints of this acknowledgement by the preacher when he talked about the 4th Chimurenga, which is the local word for struggle or revolt against colonialism. The 1st Chimurenga occurred in the late 1800s when the local tribes in Zimbabwe revolted against the colonialists who were stealing their land. This revolt was crushed brutally, but was revived in the 1970s by the 2nd Chimurenga, which was the guerrilla war of independence fought here that resulted in the 1980 establishment of a free black government. I guess the 3rd Chimurenga is the land reform that has occurred in the last several years where the white lands were forcibly returned to black hands. Of course, this land was not returned to the "people" from which it was taken. The land was taken from one group of elites (white Zimbabweans) and given to another (politically connected black nationalists). At least the whites improved the land and managed to make it fertile. Currently, the land in the hands of the black elite is simply wasting away.

The 4th Chimurenga is a struggle for the minds of Zimbabweans. This isn't too bad when you think of freeing the local population from the mindset of colonialism and freeing blacks to understand that they can become anything they want. They can dare reach for the stars and dream big dreams without fear. They also can drop the shackles of thinking that white people simply do things better than blacks ever could. However, I don't think that is exactly what the preacher meant. There were hints of re-education camps where people who are "ignorant" of their own history and misguided by false "truths" will be "enlightened" (which I interpret to mean brainwashed) to the "real" truth, which apparently is whatever the government position is. There was a lot of talk about respecting people's differences, backgrounds, and ideas…but only if everyone acknowledged that the government espoused the basic truth. In other words, Mugabe's government will respect you so long as you understand that your opinion is wrong. How magnanimous of them!

It was interesting to note some people I knew at this rather small gathering. First was Eric Wiesen, who I thought was traveling. At least, that is what he told me in an internal email (which is the only damn thing that works right now!) earlier in the week. I don't think he saw me, and I didn't know the people he was with. I also saw Eddie as the program ended. I wasn't sure what to make of that. He was with a white woman, so I'm not sure that he was there as a spy for Mugabe or not. I'd tend to think he wasn't a spy for Mugabe since he can be pretty critical of how things are in Zimbabwe. Intriguing to say the least.

Amy was able to get something to eat while we were there, but they didn't have any of the items I wanted. I made spaghetti for myself when I got home. Amy also told me her boss grounded her from going anywhere. Apparently, even though Amy has NO training, if something happens over the weekend, her boss wanted her there. Amy works in the public affairs office, so she deals with press a lot. It made me chuckle since Mike's a big press guy too. My only foray into the press was when I was editor of my law school newspaper, the Juris Publici. Anyway, her boss is going away on a trip, so that meant Amy can't. It's basically a power play by someone who is renowned for being a royal bitch. Apparently, Amy's predecessor lasted six months before he was sent home. Normally, that would ruin a Foreign Service officer's career, but this lady's reputation is such that this guy will survive. However, this lady is apparently very good at handling the state run press, so everyone is afraid to get rid of her. That means I'm stuck here over the long weekend. Oh boy! It's a four day holiday here, so most people will be heading out of town, and just about everything will be closed. The only thing that is going on is a book fair (please, God, let there be a book or two I can buy to last me the rest of this trip!) and possibly a day trip to a game park reserve. Anne Marie volunteers at a pretty nice game park outside of town, so maybe some of us who are stuck in town can arrange a day trip or something. I know I'd love to go! Pet and her family will be heading to South Africa tomorrow, so they will be gone until Wednesday, leaving me alone with the staff. At least I will have control of the TV J

Thursday - August 5, 2004

Day Four of the Internet Outage. We got that message that an engineer with this Telenor company was on his way to Harare yesterday, from where they didn't say. Since we STILL have no contact with the outside world, my guess is that this person is based deep in the heart of DRC, somewhere near the equator. Of course, he will be coming to Harare ON FOOT! I cannot believe that the Internet has been out here for five days, and looks like it might be out until next week! That is inexcusable.

Eddie failed to mention being at the Book Café event last night when he picked me up this morning. So, either he didn't see me, or he didn't want to talk about being there. At first, I thought it was none of my business, but on the way home from work, I asked if he had been at the Book Café last night. He said no, which I knew wasn't the truth. I then mentioned that I could have sworn I saw him there, and then Eddie changed his story. He said, "Oh, you mean Book Café? Yes, I was there." I don't know if he actually did think I said "book fair" but he certainly changed his tune when I said I was there too. He didn't say much about the event except to say that it was "very interesting". I have the feeling there is more to Eddie than meets the eye.

I called Richard around noon to tell him I was still without phone or Internet at work. He was about to walk out the door! I have been away from home so long, I've forgotten how early he likes to get up and head to work! God bless him, because I could not operate that way for long. The nice thing about having a driver showing up at a certain time to take me to work is that it forces me to roll out of bed at 7am sharp, no excuses to sleep "just a few more minutes". My mom tried to call me at work and since our external phones are also down, the call didn't go through. She got pretty upset but Richard calmed her down. If it weren't for the cell phone, they would have little way to reach me, unless they got through at the cabin. Luckily, the word is out about our problems here. The sad thing is that it's just considered par for the course in Africa that something would go wrong like this. That's one attitude that Africans need to get rid of. They need to have higher expectations than they already do. They should demand of themselves and their leaders to be heading toward the developed world's standard of living. They should demand running water that works, electricity that works without blackouts, and roads that are in decent condition, and have a general expectation that society will work well for them. Without expectations, there is nothing to aim for or work toward.

I had Eddie pick me up at the regular quitting time of 4:30pm since the Internet is still down. I went to the grocery to get food to last me throughout the weekend, especially with Pet and her family leaving for Jo'burg tomorrow. After the grocery, I went home and hung out with the Adamses, watching TV and having dinner. It was pork chops (I think), greens, and sadza with a bean gravy. Very nice! Poor Kirk got his grades today, since it was the last day of school until September. He did well in most classes, but he did poorly in a couple. Pet was not happy. To me, it seemed to be a mixed bag. In the harder academic subjects, Kirk did pretty well, but he bombed classes like comparative religion. Pet's pretty sure he can do better. She's probably right.

The rest of the night, I spent in the cabin, watching TV and listening to my book on CD about Alexander Hamilton's life. It's a really good book, and I think I'll have Richard listen to it when I return home. It certainly gives an interesting perspective on the politics of our early republic.

I have also decided that when I get off work tomorrow, I'm headed to the Off 2 Africa travel office which I don't think is too far from WHO. I'm going to bring enough cash to pay for a weekend in Victoria Falls and see if I can't get a trip for next weekend (my LAST one here!) set up. It's time to take the bull by the horns. I've probably been too passive in trying to set up trips, but I'd really like to see the falls before I go. Hopefully, it will work out.

Friday - August 6, 2004

Miracle of miracles, the Internet came back today at 8:30am!!! Of course, it's slow, because everyone and their dog is trying to get online and catch up on all sorts of things. I've also had a hell of a time getting this thing to upload on LiveJournal.