Tag Archives: August 2003

An Appeal for Help in Rwanda by Michael Rakower

Here is an appeal by Michael on behalf of the American Friends for the Kigali Public Library (the AFKPL) for help creating Rwanda’s first public library. Michael is a regular contributor to the Globetrotters e-newsletter.

My wife and I recently returned to the United States from a one-year journey through Africa. During the last three months of the trip, we enjoyed the privilege of working in the Prosecutor’s Office of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. As part of the job, I poured through reams of scholarly texts, investigators’ reports and trial transcripts and interviewed witnesses during two trips to Rwanda. The more I learned, the more shocked and disgusted I became. The more I thought about the events that occurred, the more I questioned humankind’s decency, its purpose, and its future. In Rwanda, I met with a man who watched his mother bludgeoned to death, with a woman repeatedly raped and with a man who snuck his family across the Congolese border in oil drums. Even now, I sometimes lie awake wondering what is wrong with all of us. How can we allow these things to occur? Who among us is willing to participate in such acts? Who among us seeks to profit?

My understanding of the Rwandan genocide developed in stages. After reading about the country’s cultural history and the events that occurred leading up to and during the genocide, I finally started to comprehend what these murderers sought to accomplish. It may sound naïve and even a bit stupid, but until that point I never could comprehend one person’s desire to destroy another. Suddenly, the events of the Holocaust, which I had read about, spoken about and felt sorrow over for years, took on a cold reality. For the first time, my brain clicked into focus and I understood the mindset of a people that sought to destroy systematically the entire population of its self-defined enemy.

With this realization in mind, I visited Rwanda and saw a country devastated by its own havoc. Years after the tragedy, a palpable sense of ruin hangs in the air. Commerce functions at a virtual standstill. Street hawkers carry a threatening gleam in their eyes. Were they once machete-wielding murderers? You can’t help but wonder. Bullet-ridden, pock-marked homes and sidewalks with bullet casings protruding from the ground are common sightings. One senses that so many of Rwanda’s people fell so far below the edge of decency that they no longer know how to live without abuse. One wonders what will be the next phase in the struggle between the Rwandan people. Then one realizes that the simmering depravity that plagues Rwanda is not localized to that country. So much of Africa has endured horrific violence. Rwanda’s western neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the inspiration for Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

Having returned to the United States armed with little but a sense of helplessness and the desire to cause positive change, I teamed up with some dedicated people and joined the American Friends for the Kigali Public Library (the “AFKPL”). In connection with a Rwandan chapter of the Rotary Club, we are working to build Rwanda’s first public library. It is our hope that the library will serve as a place of solace for the wounded, a haven of intellectual growth for the curious and bedrock of enlightenment for all. We have already begun construction on the library, obtained commitments for book donations from publishers and we have raised approximately $750,000 of our $1,200,000 budget.

If anyone would like to donate his or her time, money or books to the cause, please do not hesitate to contact me at mrakower@hotmail.com.

We have more information about the AFKPL, which includes its contact information. If you would like to see this, please e-mail me. Also, for those of you living in England, an organization at the University of Oxford called the Marshall Scholars for the Kigali Public Library is contributing to the new library. Zachary Kaufman (zachary.kaufman@magdalen.oxford.ac.uk) is the contact there.

As a fellow Globie, I appreciate your support. Together we can cause positive change.

Sincerely, Michael Rakower

MEETING NEWS

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Travelling Medical Hints and Tips

The Beetle received this e-mail from a Globetrotters who thought it might be useful to pass on to other travellers. If you find yourself under the weather, there is almost always an alternative remedy to finding the local doctor – but if in doubt, seek proper medical advice.

Easy eyeglass protection: to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of clear nail polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Tomato puree boil cure: cover the boil with tomato puree as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head. (Beetle: applying a piece of tomato against bee or wasp stings can help soothe the sting.)

Vinegar to heal bruises: soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process. (Beetle: vinegar can also be used to take the soreness away from sunburn.)

If you have any handy hints and tips for medical problems whilst travelling, write in and let the Beetle know.

The Hospitality Club

Ben Sessions from Houston, Texas wrote in to recommend: “a wonderful travel-accommodations club. My wife and I often travel in the US and Europe researching our ancestors and visiting relatives, old friends and new friends. We belong to a travel group The Hospitality Club, which has members worldwide offering free accommodations for travellers. It is free to join and all the members are listed on the internet by country and city. We spent June in Germany and met and overnighted with several members. They were wonderful and quite accommodating. Frugal folks who like and/or need to travel will benefit greatly from this organization, (members have the option of being a host/hostess or not.)

Meeting News from London

After our usual gap of one month, London Globetrotters meetings are back at 2.30pm on Saturday 6th September.

John Gimilette will talk about Paraguay – The Island surrounded by Land. Award-winning writer, John, takes us round a country that has emerged from centuries of isolation. As one of the most beguiling and eccentric places there is, we visit a vast lost ocean, the battlefields of the bloodiest war man has known, picked Victorian warships, cannibals, a highland ball and plenty more. John's book “At the Tomb of the inflatable Pig.”

Richard Snailham, Globetrotters Vice President will give a talk: On Reed Boats down rivers in Bolivia and Paraguay. Following a hunch that cocaine and nicotine might have reached the Old World from the New in very early times, John Blashford-Snell had three reed boats built on Lake Titicaca and tested them out on the Desaquadero river and subsequently reaching Buenos Aires and Belem in similar craft.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

Mac’s Jottings: Hong Kong

U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my anecdotes.

When I was in Hong Kong a Sir Run Run Shaw (his actual name) had donated a wing to the Hong Kong Arts Centre (he had a dysentery problem)

The Jardine Center in Hong Kong has a tourist bureau in its basement. The buildings walls have thousands of round windows. The Chinese refer to it as the house of 1000 assholes.

Hong Kong Chunk King Mansions (anything but a mansion) (has hundreds of cheap budget accommodation.) In the Garden Hotel in it (anything but a garden) the Mama san told a married couple that asked for two towels “one room, one towel.” My towel and room had not been cleaned for a week. Each day she would say washee, washee tomorrow but tomorrow never came. Finally one of my visitors grabbed the towel and took it out in the lobby to show the other guests how dirty it was. The mama san did sleep outside my door each night. I don’t know if this was go guard me or to see that I did not escape.

At the Palace Casino (one of the gambling ships tied to the dock in Macao) when the dealer found out I was an American asked me if I thought the CIA had killed Indiri Ghandi in India.

We were not attacked by pirates on ship from Hong Kong to Macau and the trip was uneventful except while still tied to the dock the Chinese lady behind me got sick and vomited on me.

In Hong Kong Haw Paw Villa Dragon Amusement Park they have a sign “Students in uniform (the students wear uniforms) are not allowed to play video games. (Let’s not disgrace the uniform.)

In Hong Kong I went out to Stanley Military Cemetery. It was just outside the regular prison (still being used) where Japanese kept British and other allied prisoners during World War II. The view of the harbour etc from that site is so beautiful from the prison that it must have been an extra thorn in the side of the prisoners. The sign at their cemetery reads “Here lie men from many countries who gave their lives for freedom. Visitors are asked to behave quietly with respect for those buried here. In particular games may not be played or food cooked”. 69l are buried here including many women and children (98 interned civilians.) One grave reads Unknown Soldier Age 38 years. May he rest in peace. (I wonder how they then determined his age if unknown.)

I met a man in Hong Kong who had been travelling for twenty years. He sometimes takes a Holiday within a Holiday in which he does nothing but rest and then is on the road again. I met him in McDonalds that is behind the famous Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong at five o clock in the morning. It is open 24 hours a day. He gave me tips on budget places to stay around the world. Some of the places: Lucky Hotel in Bangkok, Private Toilet. Malacca Malaysia: Robins Nest Hotel $4.80 a night. If you know a robin looking for a place to stay.

The abandon ship instructions on the ferryboat to Macao from Hong Kong instructed you to not take your umbrella with you if you have to abandon ship. What if it is raining?

And finally, the time when I was victim to a scam: I was on an organized trip and staying at Golden Gate Hotel in Hong Kong. We were told to have our luggage outside our door at six AM to have it transported for us to the airport. We then got a second call and were told to have out luggage out at five AM instead of six and it would be picked up. It was – con artists made the second call and we never saw our luggage again.

Next month, Mac discusses general travel tips.

If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com

Meeting News from New York

For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates, click here at our website.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.

Being Careful: Dengue Fever in Tonga

The Australian High Commission currently advises that there is currently an epidemic of the mosquito-borne disease Dengue Fever in Tonga on the main island of Tongatapu. Anyone visiting Tonga is strongly advised to protect themselves from mosquito bites at all times.

You do not want to catch Dengue Fever – see Ingrid Style’s article in this e-newsletter about her Dengue Fever in Thailand.

Mutual Aid

Can you help David and his wife and two young children who are planning to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the US, Canada and Africa. Can anyone give him some advice on work permits? David's wife is an occupational therapist. Also can anyone give David some advice on travelling with young children? If you can help, please contact David on: david.flower3@ntlworld.com

The Beetle would like to hear from anyone who has dived at Madang, Tufi or Walinde as she is planning a trip there at Christmas. Please e-mail the Beetle: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Meeting News from Ontario

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

I Want That Holiday – TV Show

Are you a UK resident, going on holiday in October or November, but haven't decided where? Do you fancy letting us plan it for you?

If you want a holiday with a difference then call us on 023 80 712568 or email us at iwthol@granadamedia.com for an application form.

Meeting News from Texas

Globetrotters meeting on Saturday 13th September at 2pm

The Texas Branch of the Globetrotters Club will meet Saturday Sept 13th, 2003, 2pm at the New Braunfels Public Library 700 E. Common Street, New Braunfels, Texas 830-620-5482

The September meeting will Feature a speaker from “Friendship Force International” for more information, see their website: http://www.friendshipforce.org/

If you like independent, adventuresome, fun, daring, exciting, “off the beaten path” travel, this club is for you. Our meeting begins at 2 P.M. Come early so you won't be late! Enjoy handouts, travel talk time, and door prizes!

Dates of future meetings: October 11th, November 8th – Mark your calendars.

For more information about the Texas Branch or help Christina, please contact her by texas@globetrotters.co.uk or register for email updates at our website (click here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482

Free London Museums: Theatre Museum

Five galleries illustrate the history of the performing arts in the UK. The collection includes displays on theatre, ballet, dance, circus, puppetry, opera, musicals, rock and pop. There's usually a daily workshop on performing arts subjects, such as pantomime and making a play.

The museum is found in Russell Street, Covent Garden.
Open: Tue-Sun, 10:00-18:00.
Tube: Covent Garden
Enquiries: 020 7943 4700
Entrance: FREE admission for individuals.

Berlin National Holocaust Memorial

Building work on a national Holocaust memorial in the German capital, Berlin, has begun. The memorial is being built in the centre of the city, close to the Brandenburg Gate and near the bunker where Adolf Hitler committed suicide in 1945. The monument should be completed by May 2005 – in time for the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War Two.

Write for the Globetrotters monthly e-newsletter

If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 7,500 people subscribe to the Globetrotters e-news.

To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with a couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Say No to Flying Fox

The Pacific island of Guam is known for very high rates of a degenerative disease that looks like motor neuron, Parkinson's and dementia, but cannot be firmly identified as any of them. Researchers believe that this higher than average incidence could be due to eating a bat, also known as a flying fox. The flying foxes feed on seed containing a chemical highly toxic to human brain cells. When humans eat the animals, high levels of the chemical, which had accumulated in the bat tissues, was passed on. Flying fox is a delicacy in many parts of the Pacific, including Tonga, Vanuatu, New Caledonia.

Laos Snippet by Busby

I went on my two month long trip of Indochina. I skulked a bit in Qatar eyeing up the tablecloth-clad gentlemen and in turn being the recipient of their roving eye. Thought maybe not. From Bangkok Railway Station there was a direct train. This leaves every night at 8:00pm or 8:20pm. You can book a sleeper berth complete with curtains to the Friendship Bridge at the Laotian border. Crossing the border is easy – the usual stuff – $20 and a British Passport and you are there. Vientiane is the next stop. One needs to speak a little French to admire Alleys, les baguettes, Les Arch de Triomphe. I walked everywhere – the whole place is less than three square miles.

If you happen to skip the French breakfast, the French colonial attitude and the temperature, go to Luang Prabang. It’s a beautiful place – until they get funding to finish the long runway.

If you happen to be female, make sure you are wearing the right underwear: the Buddhist monks on the top of the hill happen to be very observant

Then there was a little problem. Up the Mekong down the Mekong. Make sure you are fit rather than panting your lungs away along the waterfalls like I did.

After having had such a lovely time, it all went a bit sour: three days after flying back from Cambodia, I spent 40 minutes on the internet in Ko Chang (Eastern Thailand) Internet café. A local man asked me if I wanted to buy drugs. I politely refused. What happened next? The guy kicked me in the face and broke my nose, leaving me in a lot of pain, and bleeding all over the place. A Kiwi traveller called the police who arrived pretty quickly. After 4 hours of investigations and searching my possessions, they decided to find the offender. The court case took on the spot. By 2 a.m. the police and the translator were around and so was my attacker; very professional, except me bleeding all over trying to fix my broken nose. I identified my attacker and then I was taken to hospital where the costs of fixing up my poor nose were paid for. I flew back home to avoid the rest of the nonsense.

If you'd like to contact Busby, please e-mail her on: me@krystyna.com