Cyclone and Politics

I have been having a surf around the internet tonight and find out that, according to the www. world, Madagascar really doesn't seem like a good place to be at the moment.

Firstly, I looked up the weather and found out that what was a 'tropical storm' last time I looked, has turned into Cyclone Hubert and killed 36 people to the north of Fort Dauphin.  http://en.afrik.com/article17154.html  I feel sad for those poor people and feel bad for moaning about 'rain' in my last blog like it was English rain.  Rain here can and often does bring tragedy. 

Then, I have had a catch up on the political situation (which is complicated).  I would hate to explain as I am an erratic follower of the news - have a look at the BBC for some good background info on Madagascar http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1063208.stm and this excellent summary of the current situation by IRIN

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88447

Tonight I came across this open letter that Rajoelina, the current HAT leader wrote in January... 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575016570856757824.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

He sounds like a reasonable chap saying all the right thing, until you have a look at the comments page to see what readers really think about him - tales of press restrictions, civil rights abuses and suspected involvement in the current rosewood export scandal - makes him not seems quite so squeaky clean.

Then wondering what has been happening more recently (as the promised first round of elections have been 'postponed' and today was the deadline for African Union/US sanctions that they threatened if Rajoelina won't come back to the negotiation table) ... when I came across this which was only posted an hour or so ago written by Ravalomanana (the former President).

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703734504575125381965590688.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

Now I don't really feel very qualified to comment, but I do know that the Malagasy love to talk... and long may they continue to do so.  I sincerely hope that that desire to openly discuss will be sufficient protest for the Malagasy until there is the free and fair election which has been promised to them and that politicians everywhere make this happen as quickly as possible.

The Malagasy people that I know are certainly concerned by the ongoing power struggle but only in the sense that it is now really affecting their livelihoods.  Few voice a favourite candidate for President, most are sadly just accepting that corruption has happened in the past and will probably happen again in some form whoever gets in and that the needs of the population of Fort Dauphin are probably viewed as inconsequential in the game of power being played out in Antananarivo the capital right now.  They just want to be able to get on with their lives as best they can.

The international media hypes things by using words like crisis, when all that has happened really are a few isolated violent incidents (amongst many other non-violent rallies and gatherings) mostly in the capital city.  There has been no political trouble in Fort Dauphin - all this town knows is that there are now very few tourists which means very little income, which means fewer jobs, so people are unable to purchase anything but the bare essentials and on it goes affecting the whole of this small community.  This is starting to undo a lot of the improvements that had been starting to happen in recent years.  There are no government hand outs, the number of beggars has certainly increased at the market and I am not going to pretend everything is hunky dory - there have recently been a few instances of people being robbed - but if you are sensible (i.e. take a taxi after dark) Fort Dauphin is certainly still a safer place than most western cities.

The two worst things that can happen, that would make an already bad situation worse for the local Malagasy, would be for the world to ignore what the political delay is doing to the people of Madagascar and drag discussions out any longer than necessary ... or for any more people to turn their backs on Madagascar as it needs your business and your support. 

For now, our little home down in Southern Madagascar seems a long way away from Antananarivo and the Madagascar you read about on the internet.  I can promise that if you would like to visit, ensure you take everything you read with a pinch of salt, do have the good sense to avoid crowds and have good insurance but come over anyway - its a great time to come as there are no crowds and you'll have the pick of best sun loungers when the sun come back out - which I hope it will do very soon for us all.

Rain

It is raining!  After weeks of lovely sunshine, a tropical storm has developed 300km north of Fort Dauphin which is now doing nothing for my suntan or the radio's ability to pick up the BBC world service from the Seychelles.  The forecast is for the rain to continue for more than a week, so I figured that it was a good time to update Bevolo and the Dog.

It is cyclone season after all and we have had hardly any rain for nearly a month so we really can't complain and the plants are happy to see it.  Boy, do plants grow fast here!  Blink and inches appear.  We were eating watermelon the other day and a few days later I noticed there were loads of tiny seedlings where the pips had ended up.  Note to self - must start a vegetable plot - can anyone advise on a website that gives good advice to the novice gardener in tropical climes?!

One plus point on the weather is of cause, that the waves are HUGE!  Samson is having a ball.   He keeps coming in from surfing telling me that he 'nearly died out there' it was that big.  Even our little cousin 'Relax' (yes that is his real name, I have seen it on his school report) came back yesterday looking positively pale but thrilled.  Samson says that there is a 16 foot swell which is really nice and smooth at the moment - just ignore the rain and get in there -  Boscombe eat your heart out!!  

The rain also seems to have heralded a parade of some very weird and wonderful wildlife.  In the last week or so I have seen in or around my house:

• chameleons - really beautiful green beasties that look at the world so carefully, they always make me smile
• geckos - our constant companions seem to be in fighting mood at the moment.  I found one poor beastie who had died from a nasty bite lying on the terrace.  May be there is an invasion going on from the next door gecko mafia?  You wouldn't think that such cute looking beasties could be so violent!
• crab spider - is it a spider or is it a tiny crab... who knows, but I don't want it in my bedroom thank you very much.
• cicada - the ones that make all the racket if it is hot and wet... Samson caught one last night to show me, pronouncing that 'they are good to eat'.  It looked like a fat grasshopper to me and I am not really feeling brave or hungry at the moment!
• two mice - are getting very cheeky indeed... they spend the evening helping themselves to rice out of our rice sack.  I think that their days are numbered!
• scorpion - small, black and hiding behind my shampoo bottle... it was v. late at night and I should have made a bit more noise before going into the bathroom - my fault really.
• spider the size of my hand  - Samson says that that sort are 'fine, just leave it alone they are more afraid of you than you are of it'... I don't think he comprehends the level of my fear (!) It lives in the bathroom as well...
• But the worst has to be the leach that came out of my shower wall - uurrrgggghhhhhh - Can you tell that there is a bit of a theme appearing here?  Note to self - we are building a new bathroom as soon as we can!

Blackie is not very brave and simply barks at anything strange in the garden - including gas bottles or anyone wearing a hat.  However beware if you are a fly, her favourite game is to catch you!   Don't be too freaked out by the above, you just have to remember that there is nothing in Madagascar that is going to do you too much harm - all the really nasty snakes, spiders and beasts with teeth live in mainland Africa.  I am sure that the wildlife will soon fade into the background for me, but for the moment I am still a stranger in a strange land and it is a constant fascination to me.

Finally, as promised in my last blog - here are some photos from Samson's recent surf trip to Itampolo and Anakao - they had the best time.  

Hope they inspire you to come visit soon - watch out for the shagging tortoises!