Caravan Chat - A Discussion with the Second Oldest Caravanite

Written on the 10^th December,2011

‘The whole idea of going to COP doesn’t make sense if we don’t negotiate with nature.’ ‘So how do we do that?’  l ask after hearing such a sweeping statement. ‘ We negotiate with nature by leaving activities that disturb it and nurturing those that encourage it.’ 

This was a statement that Mzee Charles made when l spoke to him about his experiences as the second oldest caravanite.

Mzee Charles right in the middle of Thundering Drums

I am finalizing this story as we go through seriously winding and somewhat bumpy narrow roads on our way to Morogoro.

‘You know,’ Mzee Charles raises his right hand to emphasize his point. ‘Catastrophes don’t have boundaries. COP has lost its sense that we were trying to arouse as we protested on the streets of Durban.’ He then reminds me of Japan and the catastrophe they went through even though they are an industrialized country. ‘It didn’t matter that these people have industries and a lot of money. When natural catastrophes come, they strike the poor and the rich alike,’ he insists adding, ‘These countries should remember that, when they say no to binding deals.’

Caravan Chat - A Spooky Tale from Our Travels

Written on 10^th December 2011

Iringa, Tanzania. Courtesy of photos.igougo.com

A few minutes ago l was sitted next to the driver and catching up on stuff as he drove us to our lunch spot in Mbeya. I got back to my sit to catch a few winks only to realize sleep had eluded me. I then decided to write this piece.A story is told about the power company in Iringa; a strange story that started last night because someone ‘had to show us’ where the graves were.

As you travel, you might have noticed power lines that run along the road. This is a story about those lines.

Now in Iringa there is a story that a power company tried to run the lines over some graves where some old men had been buried. It is said that the power on those particular poles didn’t work no matter how much the technical people tried. And many of them tried. Get this, the power poles that followed the ones on the graves worked just fine.

Caravan Dispatches - The Spice That is the Caravan

Variety. Uniqueness. Creativity. That is what has marked this caravan as we have found ourselves in different countries but with the same agenda of fighting for climate justice. 

I am writing this on the bus as we go from Lusaka to Livingstone, Zambia which is a 7 hour journey but no worries, we have acclimatized. 7 hours now looks like kid play. So it is here that l can’t help but recall how countries have interpreted the message of the Caravan through their activities. Yesterday, about 55 caravanites joined us from Lusaka Zambia. We are now slightly over 120 caravanites in 4 branded buses as we head to Durban, South Africa. 

Back to the recalling … The Trans African Caravan of Hope worked through task forces in all the participating countries. The coordinating task force which was working from Kenya coordinated with key country task force members. The country task force members then ensured coordination worked within their countries. The world should know that we went to Durban, South Africa for  COP17 and we were not quiet about it. 

Spiced Up the Tshirts

When it was all said and done, we have had common designs but different interpretations. This not only came through our activities but also in the communications materials. While Kenya and Rwanda had white T-shirts with green and red collars respectively, Uganda chose green and red t-shirts. Zambia had interesting colors which included grey, beige and black. Coupled with that was a few more that had been meticulously hand woven with a heavy African heritage. Malawi gave us among other things, straw hats that the caravanites have taken to wearing since then.

Spiced Up Activities

Caravan Dispatches - Tanzania Enroute to Lilongwe, Malawi

Fueling for the journey ahead

It is about 8pm on the 17^th November 2011, as we leave Karonga, Malawi where we have just had dinner and are now headed to Lilongwe in 3 bus convoy headed by the Malawi team. These buses have attracted so many people since the caravan started. It’s a natural reaction and especially if you see 3 buses full of people just driving across your town. Anyways,  I seem to like writing the caravan dispatches while in motion. So this is being written as the bus is in full motion with caravanites beginning to catch some much needed sleep. It has been a long day. Just yesterday we were in Dar with the Vice President who was flagging off the caravan. It looks like ages ago.  

We have travelled over 1600 kilometers to just be here. Here being Malawi whose border officials are over friendly at a time when people were so tired.  Funny thing is, our bodies are acclimatizing. The fatigue seems to settle and altogether disappear. That must be good especially because we still have Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and finally South Africa to get to. We had a a day of driving through Tanzania straight into Malawi. That can be tiring but also very interesting.

The money changing is mind boggling. You get to the Malawi border and there is forex bureau. Oh an official one, Most of the time you just have the local guys who have appointed themselves as money changers doing the business. Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it is bad. You could end up getting a raw deal or a very good one. What an oxymoron. 

Then there are the different modes of officials on the borders. At the Rwanda border they were very fast and so were those of Tanzania. The Malawi ones though were friendly but to some very tired caravanites. There are borders that we found very strict officials while others were very relaxed.  Tonight the weather is warm. The bus l am in has most of its windows open. No one is complaining or making frantic requests of please close the windows. Very different compared to the other countries at night. Working with a team like this one has to appreciate the logistics involved. This right here is not child play. Getting everyone together even for simple tasks can be mind boggling. But l have said before, the logistics team here is both professional and diplomatic. Of course group dynamics come into play. You can expect that with not only different personalities but also with different nationalities. 

That said, l can’t wait to get into Malawi and see what it is they have planned for the day. I know there is a procession at 8am followed by some activities. The reason l can’t wait is because this team came to meet us at the border and had a whole activity take place right there. Back at the eating joint, l made friends with the receptionist who let me charge my mini laptop. Friendly people. She told me about Lilongwe just enough for me to nod and think…do some little digging about it. For now the driver powers on with either side being pitch black and the caravanites taking a pause. I probably should do that. I will keep you updated on my observations on caravan dispatches.

Caravan Picture Speak - Tanzania's Loud and Clear Message

Drum Roll....

The Tanzania leg of the Caravan of Hope was marked with both celebration and sober reminders ahead of COP17 meeting in Durban, South Africa. Find the story at http://bit.ly/sD0fID Following is Tanzania's flag off in photos.

Tanzania Vice President Dr Mohamed Garib addressing the audience which included caravanites

Rebecca Muna, ForumCC Coordinating Team member speaking during the flag off function in Dar es Salam, Tanzania

Tanzania we are here!

Loud and Clear Message

Caravanites with their representative flags

Caravan Dispatches - A Stuck Bus Somewhere in Tanzania

14^th November, 2011

Somewhere in Tanzania

Hmmm! ‘Gari imekata mafuta,’ whose literal translation means, ‘the car has cut oil.’ This means the petrol is not getting into the right places hence causing the bus to get stuck. Ok that is enough explaining, l need to tell you about the journey. 

So this is the second time this is happening. It is nearly 7.30pm and we are stuck right in the middle of nowhere. The drivers say it is a few kilometers to Dar es Salam. On each side of the road a few huts and some bushes and it is totally pitch black. No really.Here when it is dark, it really is dark and especially if the area has no generators. I want some fear to kick in but it can’t because the people around me are so relaxed. One caravanite says, ‘it is time to do a poem which would be titled..in the still of darkness,’ to which he gets a round of laughter. The driver who is not answering when we ask what is wrong, is working feverishly to correct the problem. The second bus has already caught up with us and its drivers join in. 15 minutes after tinkering with the engine or whatever it was, the bus is ready to go. I laugh when l hear one of the drivers saying, ‘when l touch this bus it behaves itself but when it sees a hill it begins to misbehave.’ Really? It has now become a living thing? 

We take off into the night hoping that this was the last episode. I haven’t reached yet. I am still wiring and on the road to Dar. Let us finish this when we get there. An hour later, we are in Dar and the bus has conked out again. This time though we are so relaxed. I think we have faith in our drivers. Now after all the scary experiences we know they know what they are doing. Tinker for 10 minutes and drive off to the hotel.

By Maria Wanza

Happened A few Hours Ago...Story Coming Up

Rebecca Muna, ForumCC coordinating team member, Latif Amars, Project Manager, ForumCC and Beatrice Kamugisha, Caravan Coordinator

The ForumCC – also known as the Tanzanian Civil Society Forum on Climate Change  today held a press conference to discuss the Trans African Caravan of Hope and UNFCCC-COP 17. ForumCC is an association of civil society organisations committed to work on climate change in their own programs as well as through advocacy.  It brings together development and environment organizations, those with technical skills and those with a more delivery and advocacy focus.  Below is a press release sent out by ForumCC. More details will be sent to you later.