Friends in unexpected places

Cameroon being one of the world’s most corrupt countries, Kara and I were a bit hesitant to comply when the gendarme (police officer) hailed us from across the road and beckoned us over. There were two lady gendarmes on the porch of the station, quite close to the Kumba penitentiary, and two men inside resting or doing paperwork. But to our relief, truly all they wanted was to talk. (Given some of the random people we’d met on our walk to Lake Barombi and their requests, this was one we were quite willing to acquiesce to.)
After a brief sit-down chat – half in French since the ladies both came from the French-speaking part of the country – we made our excuses and said our goodbyes. The ladies had been curious where we were from, how we liked the food in Cameroon, how we found the weather; commented on how they’d seen Kara walking for exercise (good, they asserted), and expressed concern over whether we’d burn in the hot sun. They invited us to stop by again to talk any time.
I guess they’re bored.
Nice to have friends in the gendarmerie!

Comments

Our pensions for ICE? Stop it now!

A campaign from LeadNow with a few spicy sentences from me. The CPP is funded by the wages of 22 million people across the country, LeadNow says, and the Investment Board has a responsibility to ensure those savings are not used in ways people fundamentally reject. Dear Mr. John Graham, CEO of CPPIB, and CPPIB board members, I am writing as a contributor to the Canada Pension Plan—one of millions of people whose wages fund this plan and whose future depends on it. This is our CPP, and it must answer to us. I am horrified that CPP investments include companies linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In effect, the people who pay into CPP are having their own money used to help fund Trump-era immigration enforcement and the harms associated with it. Canadians are appalled by the actions of ICE. What a betrayal you would use our own money to fund these bullies violating human rights. CPP is not abstract capital—it is our deferred wages. Contributors should not ...

Stop the bank

World Beyond War is leading a campaign endorsed by 32 other organizations including Mennonite Action Canada to oppose the Defense, Security and Resilience Bank. Learn more about the campaign here Or use their template to send your own letter as I did (with tweaks) World Beyond War letter template I am calling for you – Mr Carney, M Champagne, Mr Long, Mr McGuinty – to reject the DSRB. (My MP I trust, is already opposing it.) The proposed war bank would provide a steady flow of public and private funds to weapons manufacturers to facilitate a rapid expansion of military production. Making money off death! The institution’s mandate – to raise public-private funding towards increasing the manufacturing and procurement of weapons – is fundamentally at odds with hopes for a peaceful world. Moreover, the DSRB will mark an escalation in public spending on weapons and militarism, drawing money away from critical spending. The DSRB would redirect public money away from urgent social ...

More genocide

Israel is now committing a second genocide. Funny thing, when you turn a blind eye to human rights abuses because you think the folks it's happening to are expendable, the abuser doesn't stop; they move on to a new victim. Israel is seeking to permanently depopulate a large swath of southern Lebanon, ordering the evacuation of all Lebanese south of the Litani River. On Sunday Defence Minister Israel Katz said the IOF will “accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes in the line of contact villages, to thwart threats to Israeli communities, in accordance with the model of Beit Hanoun and Rafah,” which are cities in Gaza that were largely flattened. Since the start of the month Israel has killed over a thousand Lebanese and destroyed large swaths of Beirut. Before Hezbollah launched a half dozen rockets in response to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Israel violated the fifteen month ‘ceasefire’ 10,000 times, killing 300 Lebanese, according to the UN mission in Leb...

kar0ling

Read more posts by subject (label)

Search This Blog