You don't speaka my language?

Over the past couple of days in Pointe-Noire I learned once again that it is not the colour of your skin that makes you the victim of petty crime in foreign countries. I think what contributes by far more to a weak spot in your defence system is your inability to speak or understand the local language. While your assailants are discussing ways to rob you or what the best option is to dispose of your body, then at least you know what their intentions are and can start planning on your counter attack or getaway. Wherever I travel in Africa for obvious reasons I stand out like a sore thumb. Because there is a perception in Africa that white people are rich and consequently carry lots of cash, they always becomes victims of crime. Or that is the perception I always had.

A black colleague of mine requested a taxi to take him to a supermarket in town. He understands French perfectly (his mother is French), but he doesn’t speak it (he grew up in Angola, a Portuguese speaking country which don't particularly like the French). If you come in for the landing at Pointe-Noire's airport and you look down at the town, the first thing that you notice is the huge amount of blue taxis on the roads. There are definitely more taxis in Pointe-Noire than private vehicles, and all of them are Toyotas by the way. They out number any other form of transport by ten to one if not more. Pointe-Noire is actually called the blue town by locals, and Brazzavile the green town because they have green taxis. South Africans can stop bitchin' about "our minibus taxi problem" and come have a look here to see what a "taxi problem" is. So if you want to get around in Pointe-Noire, you will probably end up in one of these taxi sooner or later. As in many other countries where the taxis don't have meters it is always better to negotiate the fare before you get in. You are very likely to be charged much more than what the locals have to pay. So, my friend from Angola was on his way to the Supermarket in one of Pointe-Noire’s blue taxis…

When they arrived at the supermarket, the taxi driver still believing that he cannot speak French, in broken English offered to wait for him. No charge. He agreed and got out. Strangely enough the taxi driver also got out and followed him into the shop. It might raise suspicion already, but being in a foreign country anything strange might be quite normal for the people living there. Or maybe he was just concerned that his customer will disappear and not use his services to get back to the staff house. The taxi driver didn’t know what he was looking for at the supermarket, but before my friend found what he was looking for he overheard the taxi driver speaking to the sales lady behind the counter. “Whatever my client wants, if you don’t increase the price and give me my share, then I’m taking my client to another shop”. The lady behind the counter was clearly uncomfortable, but losing a client is probably worse than cheating one, so she agreed.  Not wanting to give the taxi driver money that he did not deserve, and not wanting to pay more for goods just because he is a foreigner and "cannot understand the language", he decided to leave everything claiming that he could not find what he was looking for. He felt like taking another taxi, but was scared that this might lead to more confrontation. He had to come back without his goods and decided he will get it at a later stage. So, no matter what colour you are, when you don't know what people are saying or you are not vigilant enough, someone might be doing you in. This makes me wonder how many times I have been done in because of my inability to speak at least 10 international languages...?

The Outside World from a Minibus Taxi - Part 1

Ask any motorist in South Africa what freaks him (or her) out the most and the chances are good that they will have minibus taxi's on top of their list. You see, at least 80% of the population in South Africa rely on these taxi's for transport as they cannot afford vehicles of their own. Sit in the morning traffic and you will see thousands of cars with only one driver and no passengers, and inbetween you will see overloaded minibus taxi's swerving from one lane to the other, stopping whenever and wherever they please and pissing off motorists one after the other.

I was on my way home in the rain when I took this picture of a minibus taxi overtaking a long line of vehicles on the left hand side. First of all, we drive on the left, so overtaking should normally happen on the right. Secondly he was doing it in a yellow lane wich is reserved for bicycles, broken down vehicles and the occasional stopping of busses and cars should it be required. This lane is also used by pedestrians, as many people walk home to save on taxi fare.  So to cut a long explanation short...it is illegal to pass vehicles using that lane.

My immediate reaction in the past would've been to get furious, perhaps curse and in the process probably shorten my lifespan by a couple of days in the effort of getting over my anger. If rules apply to one road user, then it should apply to other road users as well. That's my belief. So why didn't it bother me much that he was illegally pushing in in front of me?

1) I am sitting all alone in my kombi microbus that can carry 10 people. I am using the same amount of fuel and polluting the earth at the same rate than what 17 other people are doing in that one taxi.

2) I am on my way home. That taxi driver has spent the WHOLE day on the road along with other irate  drivers and he is probably going to spend another few hours on the road before he gets home to his family.

3) It takes me at the most 20 minutes to get home in peak traffic. Some of his passengers take 2 hours hopping from one taxi to the other before they actually reach their destination.  He is shortening their travel time and brightening their day at the same time.

4) He is providing a service and making money. Unfortunately for him his best time to make money is during peak hours when the rest of Cape Town's selfish motorists are on their way home. And besides, I am just sitting there wasting time and fuel and in no rush to get anywhere.

5) His illegal passing does not influence me at all. After a few meters down the road he will stop to drop passengers and I will pass him again. And if I do not pass him, so what? I am just one more car further back in the line and eventually we all reach our destination .

6) Despite how worked up I get, he just carries on with his job. So why would I put my health under such stress when the taxi driver and all his passengers are quite relaxed and going about their day as if nothing bad is happening?

A friend of mine told me a while ago that he also used to get very upset about the taxi drivers and their driving behaviour. He was just like me, sitting alone in his own car and shouting insults while waving his fists every now and then to show his disaproval to a clearly nonchalant taxi driver . Then one day he decided to take a taxi himself...just for the experience. While sittting in the taxi looking at the "outside world" all he saw were selfish angry drivers with frowns creasing their faces working themselves up into a frenzy. Sitting back, relaxed with no driving related stress while getting from point A to point B in a much shorter time than he was used to...and with much less money spent made him think. Since that day his outlook changed and his opinion convinced me to change my outlook as well. So my next "adventure" is going to be my FIRST taxi ride, to see what it feels like...and to get a glimpse of the "outside world" from a minibus taxi...just like he did.