Leaving London

Starting with a 06:40 flight out of Gatwick tomorrow morning, I embark upon an 85 day excursion that will cover as many as 11 countries and over 15,000 miles. GlobalTrek:Africa has been a work in the making for months and now awaits me; a journey unlike any other I've ever undertaken.

I am well prepared for this journey both emotionally and physically and still, I know this will be an incredibly challenging and revealing experience. I will witness incredible things as well as bear witness to the shame of humanity on a continent vastly different to any other. Rich and inviting, I long for Africa and all that it is to me. I have been awaiting this moment ever since that long hard night on the Maasai Mara in Kenya when I knew that my heart belonged there.

My thoughts are focused around adventures and conscious experiences and yet I also recognize that I will be faced with opportunities for which the rewards are plentiful, but with which come grave risks. The two most concerning to me are possible excursions into the eastern DRC and Burundi. I very much wish to venture here, but the situation changes with astonishing frequency and the decision will be made very last minute. Through all of this, know that I undertake nothing lightly and am fully aware of what I'm doing. I'll leave the pseudo-will for when I'm faced with one of these sorts of choices.

First stop, Senegal where I'll be soaking up the sun on the beaches north of Dakar and heading North towards the border with Mauritania where I hope to see some of the history of this amazing place. Sadly, and like most of the countries I will visit, I have only a few days here. The pace of this trip is, almost without question, break-neck speed, but I've had practice as in 100 days in 2002, I visited 11 countries while on Semester at Sea.

So many thanks are due to my friends and family for their support in the run-up to this trip. I can hardly express the gratitude I wish to convey to you for all that you've offered me and keep as a main aim to make you proud of what I intend to do while in Africa. Special shout-outs to Michael Jungman and Paige Huetteman for keeping in touch on nearly daily basis and to Geremy Kornreich for all the witty comments he's likely to lay out.

And so begins GlobalTrek:Africa. Stay tuned, stay in touch and strap in - this is going to get wild!

Darfur: Our global shame

Summary: The time for action in Darfur was yesterday. Diplomacy has failed and yet, the world does not act. This is our global shame.

Update: Farrow calling out Spielberg on the Olympics has encouraged him to act. Well done, sir.

I've put off writing this piece for a few weeks now, thinking optimistically that the intervention force agreed to by the Sudanese government would be quickly mobilized and the atrocities would begin to end. My optimism was foolish and now I am confident that any diplomatic methods employed by any government or the U.N. are mere posturings to maintain operations and economic interests outside of Darfur including the 2008 Olympics in Shanghai.

What's spurred me to lose all optimism is not a single event, though while enjoying my crumpets and tea a few days before I am to explore Africa, I read an interview in the July 30th issue of Newsweek where Mia Farrow pleads for action. Acting as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Farrow recently visited Darfur to bear witness to what is happening and returns with a rightfully scathing opinion of the world's response.

As referenced in my overview post about Sudan & Darfur, I again refer to Dr. Eric Reeves, an expert on the conflict:

"There is no effective leadership of the international effort to provide a meaningful peace process in the wake of the disastrous agreement that emerged from Abuja, Nigeria last May. To be sure, there has been a welter of “conferences” and “initiatives”---in Paris, in Addis Ababa, in Accra, in Cairo, and several in Tripoli (the most recent this past April, the next scheduled for mid-July). But there is no plan, no “roadmap,” although a flimsy two-page document does exist with the absurdly overstated title of “Joint AU-UN Framework for a Road-map for the Darfur Political Process, DRAFT 10 May 2007: Work in Progress.” But this document is nothing more than a hasty assemblage of generalized exhortations and vague goals. It is holds no party accountable in any meaningful way, either in observing a cease-fire or seriously committing to peace negotiations."

None of the senior U.N. negotiators even reside in Sudan.

Two days ago, a draft U.N. resolution was circulated related to the joint AU/U.N. force that was already agreed to by the government of Sudan. The draft is a "watered down" version of one previous; it "drops the threat of sanctions if Sudan fails to comply with the resolution" and puts the insertion of the force back until the end of December. FIVE FULL MONTHS FROM NOW. Still, Sudan's UN ambassador Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem protested the new draft claiming that it still included "hostile language".

This comes from a man who represents a government that has, to this day, continued to use air raids to intentionally bomb civilian populations in Darfur - many times disguising their planes to look like U.N. aircraft.

I'm done listening to efforts of diplomacy. Mass killing continues in Darfur, and those in power tip-toe around Sudanese officials for no other reason than fear. Such is not the way in which my great nation was intended to act in the face of a just cause. Like Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay in Rwanda during the genocide of 1994, I am so angry at America; "America the beautiful, America the brave". Like Wilkens, "I [am not] angry with America, America's people, like that. I [am] angry with our government. I [am] angry with people who [can] do something, even the simplest things, and they [don't]."

Our leaders cower in the face of an atrocious regime that has time and again shown they have no intention of attaining a peace. Farrow notes:

"Intervention should have happened in 2004 and it didn't. So should NATO come in? Anyone should come in! The United Nations and all member states should [act] in a matter of days when we see a government slaughter its own people. That should be an automatic trigger; it shouldn't be deliberated for years."

I, Dominic Cronshaw, as a citizen of the world am calling upon you to act. Be you Michael Jungman or Geremy Kornreich; be you busy director or inquisitive student; be you wealthy or be you poor; be you political or be you conveniently apathetic; be you international or be you homebody - I'm calling on you to be a catalyst for the action needed to end the murder, rape and torture in Darfur.

Take the time to read Dr. Reeve's recent article. Get on the phone and call your representatives. If asked to, leave a message and then call back until you've gotten him/her on the phone. Exclaim: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take this anymore!". Grill your representatives, hard, on why they have not achieved their stated goals in relation to Darfur. Tell them you are ashamed of them and they have failed you; abused your confidence and neglected your objectives.

Sometimes, as sadly found by Paul Rusesabagina at the Milles Collines in Kigali, shaming them into action is the only way to make anything happen.

Sources / Pic credits: BBC News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Time Magazine

GT:Africa .:. Pre-Ghana

4th Stop
Planned Attendance: August 23rd - September 5th, 2007

Ah, Ghana - land I long for. I've wanted to visit Ghana for over a decade due to their vibrant love of soccer and the astonishing landscapes I've seen in magazines.

Present-day Ghana has been inhabited since at least 4,000 B.C., but little information remains about these early societies - more is known about the kingdoms of the 13th century. Influenced by the Sahelian trading empires to the North including the empire of Ghana (again, not the country), a powerful kingdom known as the Ashanti came to inhabit central and southern Ghana. Fueled by gold, trading networks flourished and the Ashanti expanded further into the South where they encountered and often found conflict with the Fanti, Ga and Ewe people of the coast. Here, they also encountered Portuguese traders interested less in gold than in the human commodity.

Initially lured by gold and ivory, the Portuguese took advantage of the building of plantations in the Americas during the 16th century by refocusing their economic efforts on the slave trade. Their successes lured the Dutch, British and Danes to join in and the slave trade exploded with the Ghanian coast being the site for a number of forts and strongholds of various European powers. The native kingdoms also grew rich as they were an essential link in the chain - capturing and delivering members of rival tribes to deliver to the Europeans.

By the time slavery was outlawed in the 19th century, it was the British who held the best hand and gained the dominant position on the coast. The Ashanti attempted continued expansion into the lands of the Ga, Ewe and Fanti who sought protection from the British. A number of wars between the Ashanti and British saw the sacking of Kumasi, the Ashanti capital, in 1874 and the occupation of the city in 1894 after the Ashanti continued the fight. The British established a protectorate over Ashantiland in 1901 and exiled their leader to the Seychelles (well off the East coast of Africa, South of India).

Under British rule, cocoa became the backbone of the economy and in the 1920s, the Gold Coast (as Ghana was known back then) became the world's top producer. By WWI, cocoa, gold and timber had made the Gold Coast the most prosperous colony in Africa. By independence (March 6th, 1957), Ghana was flying high with the best schools and civil service in Africa. Imprisioned by the British in 1951, the first President of the Gold Coast was Kwame Nkrumah who, when released in 1957 to lead the country, immediately changed the country's name to that of the mighty empire of centuries past - Ghana.

Nkrumah's time in power is marred by overly-ambitious schemes, reckless spending and unbridled corruption. While on a trip to Hanoi in 1966, the army staged a coup and ousted him. He died in exile six years later in Guinea. In 1972, after the army and a civilian government failed, another coup was headed by a Colonel Acheampong. Under his leadership, everything got worse including massive devaluation of the cedi and food shortages and he was ousted by the coup of 1979 which saw a 32-year old, half Scottish air force flight lieutenant rise to power. Jerry Rawlings quickly became adored by the people - he had Acheampong executed and after the civilian government he allowed to take over failed, he took power again in 1982 and stayed for two decades.

Since 1992, Ghana has had its ups and downs. It has seen one of its citizens, Kofi Annan, head the U.N., it has faired decently in international footy and it has seen some improvement in world opinion. It has also seen lack of improvement in social services, rising inflation and increasing corruption. The party in power's slogan is "So Far So Good". I am very much looking forward to experiencing Ghana first hand and will let you know what I find.

The Stats:

Land Area: 239,460 sq km (bit smaller than Colorado)
Average Temp: 22 / 27 (Low/High, Accra in August)
Average Humidity: 97 / 77 (am/pm, Accra in August)
Precipitation: 15mm (Accra in August)

Population: 22,931,299 (July 2007, est.)
Infant Mortality: 53.56 deaths per 1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 59.12 years
Fertility Rate: 3.89 children born per woman
Literacy: 57.9% overall, 66.4% / 49.8% (Male/Female, 2000)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence: 3.1% (350,000 living with, 2003)
Infectious Diseases: Hep A, typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, meningococcal meningitis

Major Religion(s): Christian - 68.8%, Muslim - 15.9%
Official Language(s): English
GDP per capita: $2.700 (2006, est.)
Occupation Distribution: 60% Agriculture, 15% Industry, 25% Services (1999, est.)
Unemployment: 20%
Pop. below poverty line: 31.4% (1992, est.)

Sources: Lonely Planet West Africa, CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia

GT:Africa .:. Pre-Burkina Faso

3rd Stop
Planned Attendance: August 20th - August 23rd, 2007

One of the lesser known countries I'll be visiting, Burkina Faso is home to some of the most fun-to-say names in Africa. I'll hit at least two of them in Ouagadougou (Wah-ga-do-goo) and Bobo-Dioulasso in my few days here. I have a feeling I'm going to wish I had more time here, but alas, I want to get a full two weeks in Ghana.

After the French arrived in the second half of the 19th century, they could never really figure out what to do with this land. Upon arrival, they broke up the structured, traditional Mossi states and threw the entire country into the Colonie du Haut Sénégal-Niger. In 1919, they broke it out as a separate colony which they dubbed Upper Volta. In 1932, for "purely commercial reasons" (according to Lonely Planet), the French sliced it up and grafted more than half onto Côte d'Ivoire and the rest onto Mali and Niger. Then, after WWII, it became Upper Volta once again. Throughout its command of Upper Volta, the French consistently elected to focus on its other colonies and did little to develop Burkina opting to treat it as a "repository for forced labour" (Lonely Planet).

After gaining its independence in 1960, Upper Volta saw a few ineffective, autocratic leaders
and no less than five coups before 1983. The last, in 1982, was the most notable and lead by an ambitious left-wing military star - a Captain Thomas Sankara, also called Thom Sank. In 1984, Sankara renamed the country Burkina Faso which means 'Land of the Incorruptable' and immediately went to work to promote self-relianace in rural areas. He was determined to stamp out government excess; made Renault 5s the official car of the president and ministers, cut government salaries by 25%. In 1985, he even dismissed most of his cabinet and sent them to work on agricultural co-ops.

In one 15-day blitz, his government vaccinated 60% of Burkina's childrend against measles, meningitis and yellow fever. Sankara's government sent representatives from each village for training as paramedics. From 1983 to 1986, more than 350 communities built schools using their own labor - an effort which saw education of school-age children rise by a third, albeit to 22%. Sankara's government kept accurate financial records, kept debt financing to a minimum and enabled Burkina to be one of the few African nations who's per capita GNP increased during the 1980s.

Not everyone appreciated the steps Sankara took for Burkina. While endeared by ordinary Burkinabés, those with other vested interests including trade unions, landlords and the USA and France were less enthused. Sankara's mandate that all rents be handed directly to the government (and his statements calling rich people 'thieves') did not help his longevity. In 1987, a group of junior officers seized power and took Sankara to the outskirts of town and shot him. His grave resides in the rubbish-strewn outskirts of Ouaga and remains a place of discreet pilgrimage.

His successor, a former friend named Blaise Compaoré, unsuccessfully attempted to discredit Sankara with a "rectification" campaign. In power since 1987, Compaoré has been victorious in questionable elections with low turnouts. That of late 1991 was particularly suspicious when the leader of the opposition was assassinated a few weeks after the election. Furthermore, Compaoré has been accused of involvement in the trade of illegal diamonds and of meddling in the conflicts of Sierra Lione and Côte d'Ivoire.

And yet despite this unpleasantness, Burkina is quite stable. I wonder what I'll find when I hit the ground.

The Stats:

Land Area: 274,200 sq km (about the same size as Colorado)
Average Temp: 22 / 31 (Low/High, Ouagadougou in August)
Average Humidity: 81 / 67 (am/pm, Ouagadougou in August)
Precipitation: 277mm (Ouagadougou in August)

Population: 14,326,203 (July 2007, est.)
Infant Mortality: 89.79 deaths per 1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 49.21 years
Fertility Rate: 6.41 children born per woman
Literacy: 21.8% overall, 29.4% / 15.2% (Male/Female, 2003)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence: 4.2% (300,000 living with, 2003)
Infectious Diseases: Hep A, Typhoid, Malaria, H5N1 (remote)

Major Religion(s): Muslim - 50%, Indigenous beliefs - 40%
Official Language(s): French
GDP per capita: $1,300 (2006, est.)
Occupation Distribution: 90% Agriculture, 10% Services (2000, est.)
Unemployment: Unknown
Pop. below poverty line: 45% (2003, est.)

Sources: Lonely Planet West Africa, CIA World Factbook

GT:Africa .:. Pre-Mali

2nd Stop
Planned Attendance: August 2nd - August 20th, 2007

Mali is full of ancient history. Rock paintings and carvings in the regions around Gao and Timbuktu suggest that northern Mali has been inhabited since 50,000 B.C. when the Sahara was fertile grassland with an abundance of wildlife. Fast-forwarding to the 6th century A.D. sees a lucrative trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt and slaves; all of which contributed to the rise of Mali's three great empires - The Empire of Ghana, Mali and Songhaï.

The Empire of Ghana (not the country) offers legendary tales of riches in the form of gold. It is rumored that the streets were paved in it and that the emperor of Ghana routinely tied his horse to a nugget of pure gold. The Empire of Mali saw the peak of the trans-Saharan trade and the development of major financial and cultural centers including Timbuktu. Islam is embraced. Later, the Empire of Songhaï sees emperors travel to Mecca with 300,000 gold pieces and the creation of a professional army and civil service. What is today known as Mali was at the center of all three empires.

Invaded by the French in 1880 and set up as a cheap source of cash crops like cotton and rice, Mali became a shadow of its former glory. Gaining independence on August 5th, 1960, Mali saw 20 years of government mismanagement, frequent droughts, and from 1970 to 1990 five coup attempts.

In 1990, a group of nomads called the Tuareg began to fight back against the Malian forces in Gao. The Tuareg uprising, as it is known brought about (through a number of events) the election of Alpha Oumar Konaré in June of 1992. Konaré quickly implemented reparations to the Tuareg, appointed opposition members to his cabinet and even stepped down from power in 2002 to allow for elections.

The Stats:

Land Area: 1.22 million sq km (just under twice the size of Texas)
Average Temp: 22 / 31 (Low/High, Bamako in August)
Average Humidity: 94 / 73 (am/pm, Bamako in August)
Precipitation: 348mm (Bamako in August)

Population: 11,995,402 (July 2007, est.)
Infant Mortality: 105.65 deaths per 1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 49.51 years
Fertility Rate: 7.38 children born per woman
Literacy: 46.4% overall, 53.5% / 39.6% (Male/Female, 2003)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence: 1.9% (140,000 living with, 2003)
Infectious Diseases: Hep A, Typhoid, Malaria

Major Religion(s): Muslim - 90%
Official Language(s): French, Bambara
GDP per capita: $1,300 (2006, est.)
Occupation Distribution: 80% Agriculture, 20% Services (2001, est.)
Unemployment: 14.6% (2001, est.)
Pop. below poverty line: 64% (2001, est.)

Sources: Lonely Planet West Africa, CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia

GT:Africa .:. Pre-Senegal

1st Stop
Planned Attendance: July 29th - August 2nd, 2007

From the 8th the 16th century, Senegal was part of the great empires of Ghana (not the country), Mali and Songhaï and was the first section of Africa to be reached by Europeans as Portugese explorers entered the mouth of the Senegal River in 1443. The next year, they settled near present-day Dakar on Île de Gorée where they set up a vital trading base. By the 16th century, the Dutch and French had also found their way to Senegal in search of their piece of the lucrative trade in gold, ivory and slaves.

After the slave trade was banned in 1815, the French powers forced locals to grow groundnuts (peanuts). After nearly 400 years of French rule, a marabout (Muslim holy man) known as El Hajj Omar Tall who has established a vast empire with Segou (today in Mali) as its center began to clash with French forces. Defeated in 1864, his followers continued in his footsteps setting off the Marabout Wars which lasted another three decades.

In 1884-85, the Berlin Conference saw the division of much of Africa amongst the colonial powers. Not surprisingly, Senegal was allocated to France. In 1887, France granted many Senegalese limited French citizenship. This opened the door to election to the French national assembly in Paris, an opportunity first taken advantage of by Blaise Diagne in 1914. A shrewd teacher and writer named Léopold Sédar Senghor was elected as Senegal's representative to the French national assembly. Senghor made secret deals with the marabouts in order to attain their support and prepare for the push for independence which was earned on June 20th, 1960.

The Stats:

Land Area: 192,000 sq km (about the size of South Dakota)
Average Temp: 24 / 31 (Low/High, Dakar in July)
Average Humidity: 84 / 66 (am/pm, Dakar in July)

Population: 12,521,851 (July 2007, est.)
Infant Mortality: 60.15 deaths per 1,000 live births
Life Expectancy: 56.69 years
Fertility Rate: 5 children born per woman
Literacy: 39.3% overall, 51.1% / 29.2% (Male/Female, 2003)
HIV/AIDS Prevalence: 0.8% (44,000 living with, 2003)
Infectious Diseases: Hep A, Typhoid, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Malaria

Major Religion(s): Muslim - 95%
Official Language(s): French, Wolof
GDP per capita: $1,800 (2006, est.)
Occupation Distribution: 77% Agriculture, 23% Services (1990, est.)
Unemployment: 48% (2001, est.)
Pop. below poverty line: 54% (2001, est.)

Sources: Lonely Planet West Africa, CIA World Factbook

1000 Words: Prince Charles & Army Breasts

Prince Charles doesn't spend time on any social niceties when he's got the chance to marvel at the "assets" of the Army Air Corps - he just slaps on a smirk and prepares for battle. Bit of the story here.

The Star Spangled Banner .:. Remix .:.

Well, the 4th of July has arrived and what better way to celebrate than with a creative version of our national anthem. This one's sung mostly by guys who, in some felonious way, have acted in violation of our ideals and values!

Enjoy and Happy Independence Day!

Itinerary Confirmed for GlobalTrek : Africa

Well, there's a new design to Tea Time Tales today in celebration of the finalization of an itinerary for my upcoming trek through Africa. The latest in my GlobalTrek, this phase begins on July 29th and will be a two and a half month venture with excursions in 10 countries including:

• Senegal
• Mali
• Burkina Faso
• Ghana
• Ethiopia
• Uganda
• Rwanda
• Burundi
• Tanzania
• Kenya

On the recommendation of my uncle, Paul Cronshaw, I used a travel agent called Trailfinders here in the UK to book all my flights. They are a fantastic company with very creative and skilled representatives; should you require any travel assistance, I highly encourage you to get in touch. I was lucky enough to reach Dee at Trailfinders who had just come back from over 2 years abroad herself and managed to save me hundreds of pounds on the cost of the following flights. I've got 4 flights booked with a 5th in the works:

• London to Dakar, Senegal (via Brussels) - Air Brussels - 07.29.2007 @ 06:40
  
• Dakar to Bamako, Mali - Kenya Airways (In the works)
• Accra, Ghana to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Ethiopian Air - 09.05.2007 @ 10:00
• Addis Ababa to Entebbe, Uganda - Ethiopian Air - 09.10.2007 @ 10:00
• Nairobi, Kenya to London - Air Brussels - 10.17.2007 @ 20:55

On this journey, I'll operate using some of the most basic facilities of life all while facing some of the most grueling terrain on the planet. I will dig deep into issues of genocide, poverty, HIV/AIDS, foreign influence and globalization. I will play footy, I will eat the local grub and do my best to soak in that which is Africa. I will do my best to stay safe while pushing to understand a part of the world that holds a large piece of my heart.

Stay tuned....this is going to be a wild one.

Man beats up 'vampire' peacock

I simply cannot one-up the original on this one. So, I'll just post it in its entirety. Oh, and I couldn't resist spending 5 minutes photoshopping the above pic.

A peacock that roamed into the parking lot of a Burger King in New York City was beaten by a man who insisted it was a vampire.

Animal control officials in Staten Island say the bird was beaten so fiercely that most of its tail feathers fell out and it had to be euthanized.

The seven-year-old male peacock wandered into the restaurant parking lot and perched on a car hood last week. Charmed employees had been feeding it bread when the man appeared.

A restaurant worker says the man grabbed the bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started stomping it. She says when he was asked what he was doing, he responded, "'I'm killing a vampire!"'

Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.