Crossing the river

The French say it like this – cest la vie…; Am beginning to firmly believe in the uncertainties and suddenness of life…

Out of the blue, The Point noire biz offers hope… The visit is imminent… Am off to Point noire via Brazzaville…

The beach on MY( Kinshassa) side of the mighty river congo is chaotic… But , I have my ways n solutions… Being an expat and one perceived to be a rich one… I have a protocol officer to get all my “formalities” done without me getting troubled... The formalities are a set of arcane services …. They are supposed to check u for ur tickets, visa , yellow fever card , the stuff u are carrying and sometimes the brand/ colour of ur underwear…

They also ask u to declare the asset base!!! How many notes of which currency , how many phones, laptops, cameras etc… Beware.. precision is the key.. Across the mighty mystic congo.. you shall pay the penalty if u are not precision personified!!! I mean 416250 fcfa means u declare exactly the same..

Yes, am thru .. Jean luc, my protocol, is a smooth operator .. I wait in my car till he does the FORMALITIES!!! I am put on a canoe rapide!!!

There are few others who seem relaxed and contented… it is a small boat powered by a 40 v motor…. The initial coughing of the motor and the the huge width of the river congo in front of my eyes form a deadly cocktail… I get back to the age old solution.. When in fear -Chant Hanuman Chalisa! which my hindu Brahmin upbringing has firmly instilled in me….

Hanuman is a brave powerful god in hindu mythology.. Time to seek his help….. Thots of my 5 yr old son who , I believe, is one of the most naughty creature god has bestowed on this earth ,haunt me… I keep on wishing him a sweet au revoir … on the other side.. I keep telling him.. Wait.. I shall be back., soon!

Finally the motor starts roaring .. With a purpose… I know its only ten minutes… But they seem like hours….. The boat bangs on the metallic quay on banks of (brazaville side) of the river…. I wonder , if the same canoe goes thru this mini collision with the metal body on every trip…. There has to be some day when its fibre surface would give away… another shiver down the spine!

Thank God Hanuman for his continued blessings … One more time!

The colonial rulers have left one thing for sure on their african subjects…. Need for archaic systems… useless documentation !!! Am pounded by an unending set of services who want to see my visa, want to check my baggage.. want to see if I have been immunized against plethora of diseases.. and want to count every currency note I am carrying!!!! I don’t have the benefit of jean luc here… I struggle thru each of these check points before I am ready to retrieve my passport ..

Limited amount of the local currency FCFA had been used already to get thru the innumerable service controls.

The passport delivery guy needs his share of the pie… My wallet is empty.. I have big notes of USD which I don’t want him to see…

A white female .. works with UN/ NGO probably.. with the service card dangling around her bust is busy showing off her intelligence to the lesser mortals.. The card and the deep neck line of the t shirt both draw my attention…

Thought she wld be the one who would part away with a 1000 fcfa-(2 usd ) to get me out fast.. I had done that so often for fellow expatriates in the dark continent that expecting the same was not asking for the heavens…

That was not to be… She quickly retrieved her passport without parting away with any of the notes.. She did give a big artificial smile to the guy across…

The immigration guy suddenly turned mischievious, He realized that he didn’t check my ordre de mission! .. Here It was ! I had not carried a letter from the company certifying that I was entering the haloed country for business purposes.. And this was a huge mistake which could attract huge penalty. The penalty was calculated with 3 immigration inspectors huddled in unison! What a silly prey I was.. I could see them already celebrating.

Vous pouvez payez deux cent cinqante (250) dollar!! Voila.. I was trying to hide the fifty usd note and the penalty was five times that..

The game boiled down to basic competencies required to survive and flourish in these terrains- Negotiating, wheeling dealing!!.. I close the deal and get lighter by a bill of 50 usd!

The scene moves to Maya maya Airport Brazzaville where I shall catch a flight for pointe noire…