Monkey from England
There is a very interesting group living in the northeast part of Salonga National Park. They were heavily influenced by what were probably Jehovah's Witness's missionaries sometime in the last century (first time in my life I've had occasion to use the phrase "sometime in the last century" about the century I was born in. I don't like it.) but have since lost touch. They do not recognize the authority of the police or the gov. They make their own clothes from materials found in the forest. That doesn't sound like much but most people, even in the most remote areas, wear purchased clothes, a lot of discarded t-shirts from America.
Because they do not recognize gov authority they may eventually have to be moved from the park. In the meantime though they must be worked with. A WWF guy I know has spent a lot of time doing this. He goes in to meet them and he talks and talks and talks. A half hour meeting will turn into a 3 hour meeting. He tells them what is going on and what the park rangers are doing and why. He makes sure the park rangers treat these people with a light hand. They have been there for a long time and the park is only just starting to make its presence felt.
Once one of their people was arrested by a soldier for hunting where he should not have. The soldier should not have arrested him and he should not have been hunting so the WWF brokered a deal. The soldier would let the guy go and in return the guy would give the soldier some of the meat.
This is something that will go on for a long time, gaining the trust of these people. If you don't they may come looking for you, as related in the post below. If they do they will have a bible in the hand not holding something sharp and pointy.
Two other things; the first one is they like Americans. Not that they have seen too many but the Jehovah's Witness's are from the US so they like Americans. Wear a US flag patch if you visit the area.
The other thing is what they call bonobo's, singe d'Angleterre. Monkey from England. Why, I do not know.
I think all this hearts and minds and different peoples stuff is completely fascinating.
Because they do not recognize gov authority they may eventually have to be moved from the park. In the meantime though they must be worked with. A WWF guy I know has spent a lot of time doing this. He goes in to meet them and he talks and talks and talks. A half hour meeting will turn into a 3 hour meeting. He tells them what is going on and what the park rangers are doing and why. He makes sure the park rangers treat these people with a light hand. They have been there for a long time and the park is only just starting to make its presence felt.
Once one of their people was arrested by a soldier for hunting where he should not have. The soldier should not have arrested him and he should not have been hunting so the WWF brokered a deal. The soldier would let the guy go and in return the guy would give the soldier some of the meat.
This is something that will go on for a long time, gaining the trust of these people. If you don't they may come looking for you, as related in the post below. If they do they will have a bible in the hand not holding something sharp and pointy.
Two other things; the first one is they like Americans. Not that they have seen too many but the Jehovah's Witness's are from the US so they like Americans. Wear a US flag patch if you visit the area.
The other thing is what they call bonobo's, singe d'Angleterre. Monkey from England. Why, I do not know.
I think all this hearts and minds and different peoples stuff is completely fascinating.
posted by Carl at 2:28 AM
2 Comments:
I am impressed by your descriptions of the efforts of the WWF people. It sounds like they give some very good training to their people. Proper training could mean the difference between success and failure in any part of the world, however it seems it might mean the difference between life and death in your part of the world.
Given the way you describe these people as being treated by the soldiers and other "government officials" as well as by the rebels who are supposed to be on the side of the people, and historically by the europeans, I can certainly undersand their distrust. It seems like for everyone step forward these aid workers make in gaining the trust of the people they are working with, outside factors would set them back two steps. Can they ever gain any ground?
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