State Dinner (Part II!)

The remainder of the conference went well. We had opportunities to interview lots of insightful people, including Jesse Jackson and Chris Tucker. having 'Charter Delegate' and 'Press' passes allow us to be pretty much anywhere at the conference center. There is a reception every night with dinner, entertainment, and an open bar.

Last night was our second formal State Dinner (much more enjoyable than the first). The Summit had gathered around half a dozen heads of state from various parts of Africa to participate in a Presidential Plenary, so they were all in attendance at the dinner. They had set up a huge tent with a big state, live music, and buffet tables all around the outside. The speeches were blessedly short and to the point, which helped make everyone cheery and good-spirited for the rest of the evening.

At this point, I haven't checked my email or been online in five days. It's liberating. The people who know I'm in Africa understand that Internet access might be hard to find, and so assumed I would not be in touch. Actually, there is a computer center at the lodge (you have to pay), but I've decided against using it too much. I came to Africa to be educated about the continent and culture, not be tied to my own.

The Summit

The Leon H. Sullivan Summit started today in downtown Arusha, about a 20 minute bus ride from our lodge. Opening remarks and forums started at 10, but we missed all that.

It wasn't because we were late (we were actually on the first bus), but because the registration process was unorganized and crowded. Charter Delegates, which we are, had to get special name badges to allow us in to lunch and other events. We stood in a sweltering tent with the public for half an hour trying to get our passes. There was no semblance of a line, and it was taking forever. The heat and humidity didn't help matters, and we had an additional "Press" credential line to stand in. Four hours later and a lot of patience and direction from a number of people, we had our necessary credentials and badges.

Interestingly, the Summit is being held in the same building as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, proceedings there were being held while we were in the building.

We participated in the Youth Forum that afternoon, which invited school children from the community to talk about issues important to them and discuss solutions with world leaders and youth advocates. One child spoke about how he was especially talented in tennis, but there was no way for him to advance his talent and make something of it. He said it is often the same academically. Opportunities to better yourself are hard to come by, if not non-existent.

The evening was the opening ceremony, which we believed to be a short welcome. We were all anxious to have a meal at the reception which was scheduled for after the opening remarks. The opening remarks, however, were more like speeches, and lasted on the long side of three hours. By the time we were allowed to proceed to the reception, we were tired, irritable, and just wanted to sleep. it had been a long day, so we skipped the reception and its promise of dinner.

Trees of the Future

Our "Trees of the Future" tour was suppose to leave at 7:15, and we thought we'd missed it by the time we went to check at a quarter 'til eight. Luckily, Ethan, our guide, hadn't left let and we got the opportunity to go. I'm so happy we did, because the experience we had that day was amazing and emotionally challenging.

We visited an area where deforestation had eroded the land around a Maasai village. We were planting threes there to try to stabilize the soil and make the village more ecologically sustainable. The powerful part of all this was the children who met us upon our arrival in the village. There were probably 60 kids dressed in their tattered but matching school uniforms who sang to us as we pulled up in the buses. We spent a long time after planting the trees just talking to the kids and taking pictures with them. They loved being bale to see themselves on the camera display and would rush over to see it after you had taken their photo. They were even more excited about the video camera I had once they saw themselves on tape.

From there we headed to another, ecologically stable Maasai village, where, again, children met us and sang their greetings, chasing after our bus as we drove by to meet with their teachers. Kids are kids, but African kids are especially sincere and good natured. They were excited to talk to us and show us their school. One thing we noticed in particular about African children: they take school very seriously and are excited about learning. Not all children in Africa get the opportunity for an education, so if the opportunity is provided, it becomes extremely important to them. American children, I think, take their elementary education for granted. The African children we met were more than happy with their dirt floor classroom and painted wall for a blackboard.

On the way back into Arusha, we passed by the town dump. Not a landfill, mind you. A dump. A fenced-in area full of trash. The most heartbreaking part? Children were walking amongst the trash, looking for things of value to sell.

Welcome to Tanzania

Our flight to Tanzania from Ethiopia was scheduled to leave at 9:30 in the morning, and we were suppose to leave the hotel no later than 8, but, like most of the activities so far, everything seemed to be running late. We got on the road to the airport around 8:30. Ethiopian Airlines whisked us through security (the regular line was huge) and we were on our way to Kilimanjaro International Airport for the Summit.

The hotel in Tanzania we were assigned to was Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge. It sits between Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro and has a fantastic view. The whole complex is really nice: swimming pool, health club, golf, gardens, and a few restaurants. The Tanzanian hosts there were extremely helpful and friendly and would drive you around the place in golf carts if you wanted a ride somewhere.

Unfortunately, Tanzania is Yellow Fever and Malaria ridden, requiring the use of high-deet insect repellent and a good awareness of mosquitoes. Our room had a net that covered both beds to prevent mosquitoes from getting in. It's frightening how those little bugs can ruin your health. We don't give them a second thought in the States.

Tomorrow is a free day so we've signed up for a village visit where we can hopefully talk to some Africans about their perspective of African-Americans and some quick and dirty interviews for our documentary.

Slums and State Dinners

On the agenda for our second day in Ethiopia was a visit to the Ethiopian Airlines main facility for a tour. It was explained to me that since they had given us such a deal on the flights, they wanted to be able to show off for us “wealthy American investors" of which the delegation has plenty. It was thoroughly boring, though we were given the tour from inside a bus and weren't able to hear the guide - so that probably had something to do with it.

Afterwards, we took a tour through the outskirts of town and the countryside on our way to lunch. This experience was eye-opening and sad. I had prepped myself to see poverty-stricken residents in Ethiopia, but the miles and miles of slums and low-income housing we passed was disheartening. Being on a big bus draws the attention of people, and with a police escort it's even more obvious that you are comparatively rich to the people you're passing on the roads. I am by no means rich or 'wealthy', but I felt embarrassed and saddened by the people who waved and smiled and the children who screamed and laughed and ran after us waving. I know I should appreciate how fortunate I've been in terms of personal and family wealth, but honestly - it made me feel like crap.

Keeping with the drastic separation of wealth and poverty in Ethiopia, we emerged from the small towns and villages and into a gorgeous retreat and spa center overlooking a lake. Our big buffet lunch was situated among little thatched roof bungalows, waterfalls and extensive gardens. Our meal - like the night before - was delicious. I took a little self-guided tour of the resort after lunch and found a workout facility on top of a building and an absolutely beautiful pool which waterfalled off into the gardens. Back outside at the busses, we found some sugar cane growing. One of the drivers had cut a stalk off and gave us some to share on the bus. Fresh sugar cane is awesome. I could have stayed and relaxed there all day, but we had to get back to the hotel and dressed for the State Dinner we had that evening with the President of Ethiopia.

State Dinner: Opulent, refined, formal... and LONG. I had high hopes for dinner with the Ethiopian head of state, but it was a little too formal for my liking. Dinner was served in seven courses by what mush have been 50 or 60 waiters. The food and the band were both good, but the 'comments' made by important dignitaries afterward took SO long. People were falling asleep by the end of it. One woman almost fell out of her chair. I guess we were all still a little jet-lagged.

Ethiopia-Bound

We sat in traffic all the way to Dulles, but still had time to spare at the airport. Our flight was a chartered Ethiopian Airlines 767. As part of the United State Delegation to the Leon H. Sullivan Summit, the people on board the airplane were a little different than your typical commercial flight. They were all chatty, fun, and friendly, getting to know each other and networking even before takeoff. There were no grouchy, stressed out businessmen who just wanted to get home or haggard parents with screaming children. People stood up and walked around introducing themselves and chatting while waiting for a bathroom. In addition to Andrew Young, Chris Tucker was also aboard and traveling with us to Ethiopia and Tanzania. After re-fueling in Rome, we arrived in Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia, where were were greeted by dignitaries and officials and given roses as we de-planed.

Because of our delegation status we were given a lot of liberties by the Ethiopian Government. There were no serious customs inspections or declaration forms, we were just whisked onto buses and taken to our hotels (the Addis Hilton and Jupiter Hotel) with a police escort. The drive through town was a little startling. Slums and shanty towns were interspersed with commercial buildings and banks. Armed military personnel were stationed every few blocks, and the hotel was gated and guarded. This wasn't your typical vacation.

That's not to say Addis was all bad that first night. We had dinner at an amazing little cultural restaurant which was themed like a grotto on the inside. Cave elements and torches welcomed us and wine and hors d'oeuvres were promptly placed in our hands. The spicy Ethiopian food was awesome, if a little bit spicy - and the entertainment (live band and dancers) was phenomenal, engaging the audience in dances and song. It was all excitingly different for me.

Africa? Wait... what?

This semester, I've been involved in producing a documentary looking at the American Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's and how the steps made then apply today. It is an independent study project undertaken by Tre Berney and myself, along with Jane Barr, our producer. Long story short, we had just conducted an interview with Andrew Young, and through conversation he mentioned a trip to Africa he was planning as chairman of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation. The foundation's eigth Summit was to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, and he invited us along to participate.

Of course, none of us could really afford to go, although it sounded like a wonderful opportunity. Our advisor for the project had some leads for funding, and we wound up getting enough money from the University of Tennessee's "Ready for the World" campaign to allow us to attend the summit.

All of this happened extremely quickly, so we needed to apply for visas, get immunizations, and fill prescriptions as soon as possible. The turnaround time from when we got the funding to when the Summit delegation left was about two weeks... These are the semi-daily notes I kept about the trip.