I have travelled down to Buchanan to visit Palm Bay, one of the concessions leased to my client. The coast road was good having been the subject of a major aid programme. Buchanan is the second port of Liberia and the point of export for iron ore mined in Liberia and Guinea.

The best of Buchanan, Feb 2011

There is a railway from Buchanan running 300 miles north to the Guinea border. It was out of commission for the war years but has been rehabilitated in expectation of the resumption of iron ore mining. Believe it or not some of the granite chips now used as bedding material for the relayed track was imported from the quarries in the Outer Hebrides. There is suitable stone in Liberia but no company capable of quarrying, transporting and guaranteeing delivery on time. So stone from the Lord of the Isles is shipped a quarter of the way round the world. The locos are coming from Texas and expected ‘soon’.

The railway was used as a route marker during the height of the civil war and an army entered and occupied Buchanan. How bad was it? Very bad I am told. A Liberian told me he decided to flee when he heard that the US embassy was advising all Americans working at Buchanan to pull out. He left town immediately with very little in his car and was not able to return to his home for 2 years. The army of occupation comprised a high proportion of child soldiers and I am told a child with a quick temper and an automatic rifle will strike fear into the most hardened of regular soldiers, let alone mere mortals like us.

Today, if you are Liberian, in your twenties and thirties, and you did not complete elementary education because your country slid into civil war, you are very focused upon opportunities for your children. Everywhere along the coast road one sees children in smart clean school uniforms emerging from semi derelict houses; a mother and her child sit at the road side and mum proudly brushes her daughter’s hair. How come the uniform is spotless and the blouse freshly pressed when there is no house and no electricity?

Must be training day at his school!

So it should be: that children of the previous generation who were so intent on violence and mayhem have become so family oriented and determined to secure the best for their children.

People watching

I am sitting in the Sajj House restaurant bar, downing a Club Beer (or four), and people watching. The expat community here comprises long term resident Lebanese who are the traditional traders of West Africa.  In addition, there are UN military and support staff; NGO field staff; missionaries; monitoring and evaluation organisations; and one or two of us actually working in the private sector. There are French, Swedish, Russion, Chinese, Welsh and the biggest group of all Americans. The British are few, there is no Consul General here let alone an Ambassador. 

Monrovia

I was made very welcome on arrival at Roberts Airport, Monrovia. Immigration hustled me through the ‘Liberian Citizens’ line to obtain my visa (while the long ‘Aliens’ queue awaited the attentions of a very slow senior officer). On emerging in customs, I was the only white face among a line of citizens and was waived through without the necessity of having my suitcase examined. I cannot guarantee that it will ever happen again but it was the smoothest arrival at an African airport I have experienced.  My ‘meeter and greeter’ was awaiting my emergence from the airport terminal and I was whisked away for the 1 hour road journey into Monrovia.

The coastal plain is very flat, re claimed mangrove swamp, and new arrivals can snooze during the journey as they will not miss very much. One interesting observation, the street lights all along the coastal ‘highway’ are solar powered. How sensible is that. Could austerity Britain follow this example of using renewable resources?

My accommodation, and the Company offices, is located in the Sinkor district of the capital. This was previously the diplomatic quarter with large houses and housing plots previously used as embassies. Many have been demolished by speculative property developers (mostly Lebanese) and the old house replaced by a block of flats or apartments. These are rented out to corporate clients, an initial demand for 3 years rent up front being typical.

There is presently four expatriate staff working in the office, two English, one Welsh and an American. We mess together for breakfast and evening meals.

Today I ventured into central Monrovia to attend a meeting called by the Ministry of Finance, at the Cape Hotel. I arrived a little late due to traffic congestion, to find that the road outside the Hotel was closed and being ripped up for re surface work. The delegates emerging from grid locked cars had to walk into the hotel. Late comers continued to arrive until noon.

The meeting was reasonably well attended but the proceedings marred by mobile phone ring tones. In Liberia it is apparently acceptable to leave one’s phones switched on and take calls during speaker’s presentations. The guys up front and presenting were remarkably tolerant. Attendance varied during the morning as people arrived and left, not waiting for a break in the proceedings. I think presentations are very difficult and whenever possible to be avoided.

Brussels airport

A score of 3 out of 10. On arrival in terminal B I was directed to Transfers to Terminal T. This involved a security check (lengthy queue) and then a bus ride. Only on boarding the bus was I informed that there are no shops at Terminal T. I am now facing a 2 hour wait before boarding and nowhere to spend my Euros. In fact no Euros as there is no exchange facility but I assume the coffee bar will take pounds or dollars if pressed. Lesson learned is that time should be spent in the arrivals terminal where there are shops and restaurants - before lining up for the security check and bus ride. Brussels rates only marginally above Charles de Gaulle as the least passenger friendly European hub.

Sunday - all checked in!

It has been a very hard weekend spent sitting in front of computer screens. The new laptop runs on Windows 7, which I must say is much better than Vista (which is installed on Jo's laptop. I wouldn't touch it). Maybe 7 is as good as an up to date Windows XP which I had on my old laptop. Sadly it won't be as stable as Mac System 7 which was the latest thing in the late 1980's. We shall see!

One recurring problem with Windows system upgrades  is that many programmes such as my printer driver are not compatible with the new Windows 7 and have to be updated. My U3 flash drives all had to be updated in Windows XP and then loaded into the Windows 7 environment. It all works but it is a bloody hassle on my last day in the UK. Jo has been very very patient and is presently loading music onto her Ipod which she is graciously allowing me to take to Liberia. I wonder if it will ever come back.

Boots our cat recognises the indicators of imminent travel, he sits in my partially packed suitcase and comments upon my selection of underwear and socks. I console him with the news that he can take over my side of the bed.  I haven't weighed my suitcase yet, with and without the cat.

New laptop

The CMOS was fine, pumping out a healthy 3 volts. A check of the mother board was NOT satisfactory; so at 3.00pm Friday decided to buy new laptop. Purchased but then the retailer could not find the battery - and it was the last of its type on offer. Decided to drive to Stamford branch to collect from their  stock. After 30 miles and traffic jams I arrived 10 minutes after they closed. Will have to return to Stamford tomorrow.

Meanwhile have loaded hard drive from old dead laptop into caddy and will spend the evening recovering documents. Bliss

Last minute headaches

Why does this always happen. Wife's car broke down yesterday and had to drive out for rescue. Laptop CMOS battery failing and laptop was telling me that its 1901. Motherboard fan on desk top computer started sounding like a cement mixer. Outside, 50 mile an hour winds and pouring with rain.Three days before travel.

Only good news is that a response to my Liberia Expat Forum posting may have led me to an electronic copy of the new Liberian Decent Work Bill. I hope to obtain a copy today. Current Liberian employment laws date from 1956 and read accordingly. They are somewhat light on basic employee rights. New comprehensive laws are being introduced with the help of the ILO. Will be interesting to see if a right to reasonable behaviour and fairness is to be implied in all employment contracts OR if there will be statutory rights of 'fairness'. Alternately, Liberia may decide to continue with the principle that an employer can dismiss anybody by giving appropriate notice of the termination and 'fairness' is a matter for the employer and his employment policies and procedures.