Ebola in Makeni

As most of you know, I was in Sierra Leone a couple years ago and helped set up a community based organization. We continue to try to bring change to the region we work in, but everything has been put on hold right now due to the ebola outbreak. I wanted to share a first hand account of how dire the situation is there from my partner there:

"The situation in Sierra Leone is getting worse every day. Worse is that the outbreak in most Cities in Sierra Leone is very much high that it has taken government concentration and those rural communities are getting extremely vulnerable. on Saturday the Magbenteh Community Hospital, I believe we visited there when you came to Sierra Leone (the hospital built with the Hydroform bricks) was quarantined after a suspected case of Ebola, 6 nurses and 21 patient where suspected and all 6 nurses positive, 11 patient positive after the test result was out. on Monday yesterday three nurses already dead and two patient dead.

I am calling on your urgent intervention to complement government effort in the fight against Ebola. The virus is almost all in the District in Sierra Leone now except Koinadugu District. The other truth is that the disease have spread so wide that government cannot handle it now and some reports on Ebola are not made known to government because people do not want their relatives to be buried like poppers in plastics.

Two Hospital facilities in Makeni have already been closed because of the intense outbreak there. All our lives are at risk, traveling have been restricted, high inflation of food commodities, and most homes go with only one meal a day, imagine a country whose majority population goes with less than $1UD a day. everything is horrible here."

Heartbreaking...... 

Usti nad Labem

I went up to Usti nad Labem on the train – took about an hour from Prague.  There were trains ever hour or so and different express and local versions.  The quality of the trains was much better than it used to be here.  The type that makes me think that you could easily commute comfortably, it was surprising.  Air conditioning, plugs, tables, all new.  I sprawled my Czech language stuff out on the desk and studied for an hour.  The topography changes about 40-45 minutes into the trip from rolling hills and flat agro/foresty stuff similar to Hudson Valley (New York) type mountainy terrain.  Maybe a little steeper, but I was on the river so seemed similar to the Hudson in between Poughkeepsie and Peekskill.  The river was narrower though (the Labe, or Elbe).  There were occasional castles on the mountain tops and houses all along the river.  It obviously is a well-populated region and for good reason.  It was very nice on a perfect 70 degree and sunny day on the water.

When I got to Usti, I was very curious to see what it would be like.  If you listened to the Czechs I spoke to prior, it was going to be a dismal smelly industrial wasteland full of dark skinned, poverty level communists.  Oh wait…. No, not at all.  My one friend Shaft, who went to school there had very positive things to say about it.  The typical type of stuff you here about US cities with bad reputations from anyone who has spent time there.  “It is fine, it's nice, you just have to be careful about where you go and when…”  Basically, there are some dangerous places, as with most cities.

I walked at length around the city center and certainly there were more “dark skinned” people (Roma) than I am used to seeing in Prague, and a grittier component, but I was definitely NOT the only white person as was foretold.  It was basically to me a blue collar city with a solid industrial foundation/heart.  Maybe on the right day/with the right weather it is tough and smoggy, but it didn’t seem like it to me on this day.  The park towards the top of the hill was a bit in need of care and a good lawn mow, but so does Washington park in Newark!  Everything is always subjective as to bad and good…  If people from Prague came to Newark and saw the falling down houses they might think Usti was heaven.  I think there is definitely something to research further there in these perceptions, subjectivities, and prejudices.  Next weekend I’d like to go to Liberec and see what that is all about.  Even asking the same people for their thoughts to compare. 

Somebody thinks it needs to be cleaned up!

After wandering around and taking lots of pictures, I started heading towards the football game I was going to watch.  It was quite further than expected – hence the hurting feet – but a very nice walk by most measures.  I walked across a rain bridge then along the river on a bike/walking path/park that goes all throughout the region and into Germany.  There is a tremendous amount of hiking and biking opportunities in the area.  I was very impressed.

Then I got to the football game… are you kidding me?!?!  For the fifteen years that I have now been involved in the Czech Republic I had always hoped, longer for, wanted, dreamed about what I saw that day.  I turned the corner and there was an American football game in Usti nad Labem, CZ.  There were two teams with 20 plus players on both sides, there was easily 200 fans there and countless cyclists and rollerbladers poking in to check it out.  The city was obviously aware, and even interested.  It might be that these smaller cities are the places to work on the game, not Prague where there are a million other things to do. 

The fans were into it and even seemed to know a little bit of what was going on.  The football was solid enough.  Certainly as compared to what I used to see in my time there.  When I left in 2008 there were 9 teams.  There are 23 now.  The entire league was simply dominated by two teams from Prague and everyone else simply got beat up by them and then played each other even enough depending on the year.  The talent on the field was not much different than many of these teams from back then.  And here we were at the semifinal of the third division (which plays seven person a side football), and the number four seed beat the number 1 seed.  Never would have seen parody like that ten years ago.  I remember my first season in Prague we were 1-5 with three cancelled games due to not enough players.  We were trying at times to play 11 on 11 with 20 guys. You simply can’t do it.  And that is in a city of 1.2 million people.  But you can play 7 on 7.  It works, and it works in smaller cities.  The game is more accessible, and the teams are developing.  The Usti team, was running the “pistol” formation and incorporating a lot of wing T styled misdirection with intricate timing (intricate and difficult to master if you’re not taking it seriously).  I was quite impressed.  And more realistically, felt really proud.  All the work that I had done with those kids and guys in the Czech Republic while I was there, and Friday night I had long conversations with them as men, and then went and watched a game that was on the whole leaps and bounds from where we were a decade ago.  It was a great feeling.  I basically taught the guys that are coaching now how to catch the ball, not to mention the game itself – and from what they told me – a lot about life as well.  AND on top of all of that, off the field they had created an event.  Beer, noisemakers, food, entertainment, all these things that I spent years trying to make the Lions games into in Prague, and a three year old team in a city of 98,000 in north Bohemia had it!  There were announcers and teaching moments – only two cheerleaders though.  But they seemed to have embraced the entertainment and business side that I had pushed so much.  Amazing.

All that being said, I am here as an anthropologist!  So should get back to it!  I talked for a bit after the game with a guy from the other team.  Got contact info and hopefully will be able to reconnect and find a way in through football if need be.  It is my ticket to wherever I want to be in this country should I need it. Otherwise, the city was really interesting.  I am really intrigued both by its reality and its reputation.  There is a strong working class feel… so what about collective bargaining, labor rights, and unions?  There is a race relations and prejudice issue with rumors and realities colliding.  Not to mention, a poverty, inequality, opportunities, and political bent to it all, especially when coupled with a boot straps mentality in Prague.  How are people there imagining their lives and the answers to the issues they face? Especially the political and economic issues?  Are they organizing?  Imagining?  If so how?  It will be an interesting place to explore for the future.

      

Breaking Ground!!

So it has been 3 years and 8 months tomorrow since I left for Sierra Leone.  What was supposed to be three months of walking/hiking through the country turned into a shorter stay within a specific location and for targeted work.  However, life, malaria, poverty, unemployment, an occupation, fundraising issues, bureaucratic hurdles, and now academia have all come in the way of me moving forward with this project. But now, finally, we have made some progress, and are building!

Funding an Office

I know that this project has been slow going.  Similar to most of you, I have been trying to juggle day jobs/responsibilities and the desire to see this project through.  This project means the world to me, as most of you know.  However, I have been asked by my academic advisers (I am now in a PhD program in Anthropology at Rutgers University) to step back from this work as they see it as a possible conflict of interest with my academic work.  As a result, I am not planning to spend any extended time on the ground in Sierra Leone working on this project.  This does not however mean that we will not be moving forward with our work, just that I won’t be moving to Sierra Leone!  

Our current goals are to provide a computer to send to Yapo, our country manager, and to help fund an office building there in Makeni.  That office will provide the tools to allow our team there to make things happen as per their own efforts. Our assessment is that with this office building (which will double as a community space) we will be able to launch our other programs and send volunteers to work there with our local team to see our projects through.  Yapo, has said the legitimacy of an office has been tremendously holding them back.  We are still in line for our brick making project, skills training programs, and most pressingly our women's cooperative network.  I have been actively recruiting volunteers to spend time there to help facilitate these processes, and I have some positive leads.  

For the office/community space we had looked at leasing space, but prices have risen sharply and the price of a three year lease (required) is more than if we build from scratch.  Our local team has found suitable land that garners a 25 year lease and made plans for a small office space.  They estimate that this space will cost $4600, $1000 of which they can obtain themselves for exchange in kind with the community.  This means that we need to send $3600 to them.  I already have purchased the computer.  A small notebook for $460 and will be sending it shortly.  We have garnered commitments of $2020, thus far towards our goals.  That means we need $1580, or to get as close as possible to that figure.  Please consider donating.  You can find a donation link on this website to the right, or contact us at walkinglion.org@gmail.com. Obviously, we do not have a large list of people to ask, but this is also not a large sum of money.  Any level of donation would be greatly appreciated, we have received pledges/donations from $20 to $500.  

All of this donated money will be used to build this office. An office and community space does is allow our local team to get to work.  It is not a hand out, simply a tool to allow both them and the community to make things happen for themselves. I have bought the computer on my own, and will not take anything from these donations.  Every cent goes to the Sierra Leone project or the cost of wiring the money there.  If we receive anything extra, it will go directly to our next project there.  So don't worry about giving too much!  ;)  

Consumed

So I suppose an update is well past due.  So here it is: I spend all my time reading and writing these days.  All of it, really, and writing a blog post seems so incredibly foreign right now, inconceivable even.  So hopefully I'll keep it short.

Again, basically, all I do is read, write, and occasionally think.  I work seven days a week, I read probably 6-14 hours a day, and have three classes I am attending.  I truly love it, while at the same time struggle horribly with it daily.

Hmm...  keep it short, as I start writing there are so many things that have happened in the last six months.  If I actually want to engage with them it would take countless posts.  Posts I don't have time for, but maybe should make time for.  A PhD program is tough, real tough.  Not because you are reading all the time, but because you are NEVER done.  There is always something more that you could or should be doing.  More books, more sources, more grant applications, whatever.

Academically, I feel like I am working through some things and finding a bit of a groove, yet socially it has been a true challenge.  A PhD is a very isolating experience, especially in a new place where you are not the average sort.  Couple that with a death in the family, getting hit by a car on my bicycle (again), and some truly horrible soul crushing social scenarios (for another day) and it was a struggle.  Still, I came out of it with two A's and a B+ in classes that didn't really inspire me.  However, that B+ is apparently enough to get me a warning: one more and I could be on academic review.  There are however stories behind that to tell, another post perhaps.  No matter, I am still here, dyslexic football playing white guy, I am still here.  I've gotten help with the dyslexia that has proven a game changer, even if not getting the support I feel I should.  it is the football playing white guy I seem to still need to get soem help with.  But so be it.  I will keep plugging away.  My health has waned at times, but nothing too serious, again, I'm still fighting the good fight.

So there you have it, I've written something, yet said nothing really!! ;)  I'm wholly consumed by my life and work right now.  But so is life.  I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and purpose.  I'll take that.  

Rutgers!!

Ahhhh....... :) After five years, three applications, a whole host of struggles thoroughly documented on this blog, and a whole lot of work fostering relationships with faculty there, I have finally been accepted to Rutgers Anthropology program!  :)  I can not tell you how big of a deal this is to me.  As my mom said, the only other thing in my life that really compares is being offered a place on the West Virginia Football team when I was a senior in high school.  At that point in my life I had been working for all 17 of my years to make myself the best athlete I could.  It was my dream to play Division I football, and on a trip to Morgantown, WV the recruiting coordinator extended his hand and an offer to play for them.  They had finished third in the country that year, and I was going to be playing for them.  I'd worked so hard, endless days running, catching, pushing myself to physical exhaustion - fighting both to make myself better, and against all the people that said I'd never be able to to it.  But I did, I made it.  And while what I did with that opportunity involves a lot of youthful indecision, and adult regrets, I learned from it.  And now I will be going to "play" at one of WVU's former Big East rivals!

I wasn't expecting much more from Rutgers than I got last year when I was put on their waiting list again this year, but over the last week they'd sent me a few hints that I needed to still be patient.  I didn't want to think to much in to it and start hoping, but I did return to their website and reenvision myself there if even just to be able to compare with Binghamton.  I spent most of this week in Binghamton, and was going to be writing a blog post about that visit today, however that post has just been high-jacked by a phone call I got while nestled in the depths of 25 Central Park West's servants entrance to apartment 7Q.  I'd just rung the doorbell to the servants' entrance with no answer, the guy the takes you up the elevator and monitors that you don't go crazy or steal things, decided to try the front door just as my phone rang.  A 908 area code, Jersey!  It was not stored in my phone.  Immediately I thought of Rutgers and said F-it, I've gotta take this.  I answered and it was the director of graduate studies.  Immediately I thought, there's NO way he'd be making a personal call to me to say I did NOT get accepted!!  He then said, "I'm not sure if you've read your emails" (I said I hadn't), but I wanted to give you an actual phone call to offer you a position in our program, with funding."  I can't even explain the emotions I felt, the senses, the moment, it all went hazy, emotional, exuberant.  I couldn't express to him enough how great it was to hear this!  I quickly had to tell him though that I was at work and couldn't talk, but said I would check my email and try to get back to him if I got a chance while at work!  

The funny thing though, was that I didn't say yes on the spot.  I knew better given past mistakes, like the decisions I made involving leaving football at WVU. Thus I now always sleep on any decision of consequence.  Also, one of the first things that ran through my head was Binghamton.  I had just spent two full days attending classes, meeting professor, and feeling comfortable with a future there.  They have such great people.  The students, the faculty, the administrators.  I really enjoyed my time there, and know there are a lot of things that I could do there, even things I couldn't do at Rutgers.  A radical department for a radical scholar such as myself!  But my emotions and innate reaction to this news from Rutgers didn't allow for a decision, wei wu, action without action.  My body, mind, and soul knew right then and there were I was going to school.  I don't know how I am going to tell the people at Binghamton.  But I told them this may be the decision I had to make and that it would be tough to turn down a top ten Anthropology program.  But it is not just that.  The offer comes with four years of funding.  The first year in the form of a fellowship for $22,000, and the next three as a Teaching Assistant fro $26,000 per year. There is a full tuition remission and healthcare throughout.  While the cost of living is less in Binghamton, their three years at $15,000 per and a tuition remission, is still less, nevermind that I'd then have to pay for healthcare there.  But all told, its a no-brainer, and the people I met there, that either were honest about the two options or were in Anthropology and knew what Rutgers had to offer, thought I'd be crazy to even consider it!  But to me, I think the main difference is the organization and faculty mentoring at Rutgers.  Binghamton is largely self directed (a big positive), but with discombobulated support and institutional structures/guidelines.  I never got the same story from anyone regarding what the process exactly entailed with their evaluation process and their "area papers", but it wouldn't have kept me from going there, especially as they are actively working to rectify it.  I felt very confident that I could have navigated the program.  I did get a lot of students that said they struggled to find a "mentoring" role from above, that guidance was sporadic and dependent.  One faculty member when directly asked about mentorship said "oh, we definitely mentor students that we believe in" [my italics].  At Rutgers, I felt like there was so much love.  Students, and faculty alike.  I felt like they genuinely seemed to care about me, especially the second time around when I went to open house this year.  Even the offer email says:  "We are a program that values close mentoring relationships between faculty and students, a supportive rather than competitive environment, and a rich and lively community of scholars."  This is not to say I would not get that from Binghamton faculty.  I met several that I immediately clicked with.  And BU is not a bad program.  It's full of a history of truly revolutionary scholarship and hopefully a wonderful future.  I am finding this really difficult to write as I had such a wonderful time there.  To look the people in the eyes that I stayed with, talked with, had a drink with, and say I'm not coming will be tough.  There is so much talent there, and so much I would have learned.  I will have to figure out how to stay involved with them, but like I said, my body knew where I was going as soon as I got off the phone.  My heart has always been with Rutgers.  A program that embodies me in every which way shape and form.  And I will even get to go to the football games!! 

I called everyone, and smiled for the rest of the day.  Even now, I can't stop talking about it...  ;)