Traveling here? Things that might help

 

Expat in Africa

I’ve lived and worked in Africa on and off for about seven years now, I’m currently in Ivory Coast, Abidjan, I've been here for 17 months now.

I’ve worked primarily in Central and West Africa, I feel I know the people and their ways pretty well now.

Here is a little advice if coming out here, to work or even on Holiday.

First thing is you’ll need a visa to gain access to most if not all Countries in Africa, if your going to be working here, then a multiple entry visa is the one you want.

You’ll also have to have a medical card, this will show that you’ve had all the appropriate injections, please make sure you’ve got this, if not you may be able to offer a bribe (This is more than acceptable in Africa, but can be expensive) otherwise they will give you an injection themselves there and then (I strongly advise against this, the needles may not be clean and you have no idea if they’re injecting the right stuff).

The injections for here are many, all the HEP’s are required, Yellow fever, a tetanus booster etc, make sure you do consult your GP.

Malaria, this is a big killer over here, I’ve had it five times now, I do not take a anti malarial due to having been here for so long now and I prefer not to keep taking them on a daily or weekly basis. If I get the symptoms I take a three day course, even if I’m not sure I’ll take the three day course, better safe than sorry.

Make sure on your return everyone knows you’ve been to Africa; you can get it well after a month of being at home.

Your clothing, this may sound stupid, but I get asked by people coming over, is there anything I should do, dress down, have a cheap mobile phone to hand, don’t wear the ostentatious jewellery, wear a cheap watch.  All these things to me are obvious, but, the people here watch for the new arrivals, and they can spot them a mile off, trust no one.

Upon arrival at the Airport, if it’s your first time you’ll be wondering what the hell you’ve let yourself in for, try not to cause any fuss, move with the flow, although it will be slow, get used to it.

After you have picked your bags up (again make sure it’s not your best luggage), keep a tight grip on them and do not let anyone take them from you or try to lead you to a taxi, make sure you know who your meeting have their telephone details and better have a picture of what they look like.

I’m reading this, and I think OMG is it that bad out there, no it isn’t, but you have to be careful,  once you have met the appropriate person/contact, then your off to your Hotel, the Hotels here are good clean and the security is good.

Food and water, drink bottled water, it’s the safest way, the food here if you eat in the restaurants is good, and there are plenty of them.

Driving out here, well, what can I say, you’ll have a new experience and see more accidents in one day than you’ll see in a few years back home, why? The roads are pot holed, this causes vehicles to swerve, the taxis are all mad men who stop when and where they want and never indicate, the vehicles are not maintained very well, so all of this; you get a lot of accidents.

The Police, haha, if they stop you they’ll talk for long periods of time until you give them a little money, 1000cfa here is about 70 pence, this will speed you on your way, the trouble is, you can get stopped on more than one occasion in the same day.

Why would anyone come here I hear you ask, because it is a beautiful place, you can see things that will baffle you, and things that will amaze you, Africa is always moving, people doing things to earn a living, a very poor place where only the few have the power and money. This is why it can blow up at any time, so pick when you travel, make sure you know there are no local or main elections being held, this is always a bad time to travel in Africa. You only have to look at Guinea, and Gabon at the moment.

Please don’t let me put you off ever coming here, I have painted a bad picture I know, but I do love this place, I walk at night with no problems, but I know where I’m going and I’m never alone. I could write so much more, but I’ll be on here for ages.

Tip; Carry some small change or notes in a separate pocket, this means your not having to get your wallet out and let anyone see what you are carrying with you, always carry your passport with you for ID.

Phil

Rainy Season

The rainy season is well and truly here now, the problem here with the amount of rain we get is that the houses that are in the poorer areas are built on the mud. The rain washes the mud away and the house falls or slips down, with the amount of people in one house here casualty’s can be high. There are so far about 25-30 deaths that have been reported in about 3 days of heavy rain, this of course will increase as we get more rain.
I have put two pictures on here, one shows the clouds forming, the other will give you an idea of how the houses are, or can be constructed, you’ll see what I mean about being built on mud and why that can and will eventually cause problems for the occupants.
It also has to be said that if we had a flood in the UK and 20-30 people died there would be an out cry, here you don't get that!!

A ray of sunshine through the rain clouds

Abidjan

Rainy season has well and truly started here in Abidjan, the norm for this month is 600mm, so as you can imagine it’ll be raining nearly every day.
One of the important things in my line of work is knowing the weather in a Country, it can slow work down rapidly, men can’t work on the ground or in the air in bad conditions. When your building telecom sites you have deadlines to reach, so the pressure can be on, one of the biggest mistakes people make when going to a new Country is not taking the weather into consideration.
It’s my second day back in Abidjan, I’ve been here now for 11 months, you get to know the people and the area, if you read the MOD posting for the Ivory Coast you would not come here, but then again it was the same when I went to Pristina, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, I could go on but I think I’ve made my point.
I have to admit that being here in Abidjan has been one of the best experiences of Africa I’ve had, the people are friendly and helpful, the worst thing I can say about it is the police, when your driving you get stopped, you can try not to pay if you have the time on your hands, but if your in a hurry you may as well pay the 1000CFA (around 80 English pence) and be on your way. I got stopped one night 7 times, it gets frustrating but it’s something you have to live with, I have friends here who work for the UN, they don’t have this problem, those white vehicles of the UN are a huge advantage.

The politicians, I suppose if you’ve worked in Africa most of you will know, corruption, it’s rife in Africa, a shame, the potential these people have is not utilised due to the money from the top not filtering down, yet when you go out and see the people who have what we’d class as nothing, you see the African strength, this is what I’ve come to love about the place. Kids playing with home made toys, smiling and having fun, wearing hand me downs if they’re lucky, Africa has changed me, I look around when I go home to England and hear the complaining, I think if everyone went out to see how some of these people live, maybe you’d not be so quick to grumble because your Pizza is ten minuets late. 

I'll post later