Attested Media

First, it was the heat. I felt like I was passing by raw fire that was not going away. Immediately I disembarked in N’Djamena International Airport, I couldn’t see properly because of the intense sunshine from the clear skies, and when I connected to the airport wifi, the temperature read 41 degrees, the highest I have experienced so far.

Then I don’t know why passengers are always rushing. I too rush to wherever everyone else is rushing to :-).

I should have learnt some more french

Sure enough, everyone had a small paper they had filled out, I don’t know when. I only know Bonjour, which I had been putting to serious use that entire week. The immigration officer was kind. We communicated in sign language. He handed me a copy of that small paper which I learnt was the Passenger Declaration Form. I filled it, handed it back. At that moment I spotted my colleague waiting and immediately stopped regretting why I never took French classes because I felt all safe and secure.

Then there are the people

Very friendly. All you need, as my colleague explained, is have someone who trusts you. They will vouch for you to anyone else.

Plenty of Natural Resources

Rich in natural resources, life is mostly along River Chari, at least in the places I visited. The river is huge. You wouldn’t think the water is moving, but there are plenty of fish in there. You will see them jump out occasionally, as if to tease the fishers. My daily dinner was local chicken and chips. Every evening. No complaints.

Then there is the posture at which you recline at the table to eat. Tough exercise, it was. My first time. We had something similar growing up only we shared one spoon in a cycle.

100 years old Gazebo

This is where all village matters are settled. The one in Ablela is over 100 years old. I loved it.

The land is 89.9% arable, and the water table is just 10 metres below the surface. How God balances things because in my village, you can dig 100 metres and still find nothing. Then the livestock just glows.

I also kept seeing Cameroon everywhere. I couldn’t believe how close one country sits to another. Those of us who grow up far from borders think differently about boundaries. I watched citizens of both countries criss-cross River Chari, trading easily with each other, and you realise these are simply the same people.

Still on Language Barrier

I thought we were on the same page as I tried mixing Bonjour and English, while the waiter used the best of both. We agreed on water because I just wanted water as I awaited my dinner. There was a mention of sugar, which I declined. That is how I ended up with a watermelon juice that was not sweetened. I had to drink it all. But the dinner was sumptuous.

My overall thought

If we loved one another, lived in contentment, and paid attention to what is good east, west, south, or north — the earth would be a good place for everyone.

Below are some of the collections that impressed me during my visit. They all pointed to the rich heritage.