Thursday, October 29, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Colonel didn't die...He went to Afghanistan!
In a parallel universe known as, "Afghanistan", Colonel Sanders has installed himself as the reigning Fried Chicken Master, thus spreading his secret recipe, and the peace-loving feeling that comes with it, to other strife-stricken regions of the world.
If you can read the Dari script, they just phonetically spelled out "Kabul Fried Chicken" under the KFC brand. Those wily Afghans! What will they think of next?
If you can read the Dari script, they just phonetically spelled out "Kabul Fried Chicken" under the KFC brand. Those wily Afghans! What will they think of next?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Tragedy of the Commons
Inspired by my current assignment to document experiences in Afghanistan in community-based natural resource managment, I'd like to dredge up an old story that is applicable around the world:
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
As stated in the premise of this blog, I continue to be amazed at the similarities and the differences of humanity and nature no matter where I go.
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
As stated in the premise of this blog, I continue to be amazed at the similarities and the differences of humanity and nature no matter where I go.
Rajoelina "wins" the presidency in Madagascar
This is just too much, and unfortunately, just like I called it several months ago. The Mouse has waited out the international community's patience and perseverance, and he is now the "accepted" de facto leader (dare I say "President") of Madagascar. The Economist magazine ran an article this week (http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14664639), that actually predated the next failed attempt to bring the four parties together yet again in Geneva. Early on, the leader of the TIM party said he would not accept The Mouse as president because that would lend an air of legitimacy to a coup d'etat. In principle, he is right, but it was the only way The Mouse would play ball with the other kids. And, in their inimitable prose, The Economist tells us, "Mr. Rajoelina, meanwhile, will merrily stay on as interim president. Coups, it seems, can still pay."
One of the comments on the story accused France of being the reason the African Union and the South African Development Community softened their stance against The Mouse. France did not want that American-loving deposed president back in office. Shame on him for turning his back on the country that exploited Madagascar for so many years. Step aside, and let someone else have a turn!
One of the comments on the story accused France of being the reason the African Union and the South African Development Community softened their stance against The Mouse. France did not want that American-loving deposed president back in office. Shame on him for turning his back on the country that exploited Madagascar for so many years. Step aside, and let someone else have a turn!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
What’s next? Only God knows…
I get indigestion when I think about this country’s so-called leader, The Mouse. A Reuters article said, “
I have not yet seen any articles that indicate who died and made him God.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
What's next for Madagascar from this mickey-mouse regime?
It almost looks like the new dictator, uh, I mean, oh, what do you call someone who takes power supported by the armed forces? TGV? HAT? M-O-U-S-E.
So, it looks like The Mouse is trying to continue to exercise power while he starts to see the futility of his efforts. On Tuesday, Radio France Internationale (RFI) was reporting on the first of the protests by pro-Ravalomanana citizens, and they planned daily protests until the deposed president is back in power. One of the national radio systems, affiliated with Rajoelina, broadcasts RFI news in the mornings, but with a three-second delay from the original transmission, as I listen to it via my satellite television connection while my neighbors blast it on their radios. But the report on the protests began via my satellite, and the local radio station went into music rather than continue reporting the news.
However, on Wednesday, as The Mouse caves under international pressure to hold a referendum, the broadcast report of his gesture of good will was not cut off. Why do I get the feeling that this is just a ploy to buy time and will never come to fruition? Can't wait to see what comes next.
It almost looks like the new dictator, uh, I mean, oh, what do you call someone who takes power supported by the armed forces? TGV? HAT? M-O-U-S-E.
So, it looks like The Mouse is trying to continue to exercise power while he starts to see the futility of his efforts. On Tuesday, Radio France Internationale (RFI) was reporting on the first of the protests by pro-Ravalomanana citizens, and they planned daily protests until the deposed president is back in power. One of the national radio systems, affiliated with Rajoelina, broadcasts RFI news in the mornings, but with a three-second delay from the original transmission, as I listen to it via my satellite television connection while my neighbors blast it on their radios. But the report on the protests began via my satellite, and the local radio station went into music rather than continue reporting the news.
However, on Wednesday, as The Mouse caves under international pressure to hold a referendum, the broadcast report of his gesture of good will was not cut off. Why do I get the feeling that this is just a ploy to buy time and will never come to fruition? Can't wait to see what comes next.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Dripchak on the Malagasy “Transfer of Power”
So much for democracy. As someone who had won two popular elections, I would think that there would have been more support for Ravalomanana, but things are never as they seem. I, personally, thought that Ravalomanana would never quit because he had all sorts of legal supports, such as a constitution that provided mechanisms for removing the President, as well as international pressure on the country to avoid a transition that did not come from democratic elections. Apparently, this is of no concern to Rajoelina, who plans to rewrite the constitution, probably to fit his needs, since he is six years too young to hold the office. And, as the BBC so aptly put it:
“Mr Rajoelina had said the president has been a tyrant who misspent public money but Mr Ravalomanana's supporters said his rival is a young troublemaker who has not offered any policy alternatives.” (See article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7949596.stm )
An Associated Press story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_re_af/af_madagascar) said, “Rajoelina, however, comes from the wealthy minority that has had a stranglehold on Madagascar's politics.
The African Union has a rule to the effect that any country that experiences a change of leaders through any means other than democratic elections can no longer be a member of the AU. This year will be particularly interesting because the AU was planning to hold their summit in Antananarivo, and many businesspeople were in the process of investing in infrastructure, more specifically hotels and service industries, in anticipation of the event. While the global economic crisis begins to cool off elsewhere, it’s getting worse here.
I live on the east coast, where most people do not / did not like Ravalomanana, and are happy to “have their way,” in a sense though this is not their candidate. But there are people here who say they did not see that Ravalomanana did anything wrong. They recognize many of the positive things he did for the economy, even while stating outright their suspicions that he probably had his fingers in every deal so as to obtain personal gain.
We’ll see how things evolve. Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay…
So much for democracy. As someone who had won two popular elections, I would think that there would have been more support for Ravalomanana, but things are never as they seem. I, personally, thought that Ravalomanana would never quit because he had all sorts of legal supports, such as a constitution that provided mechanisms for removing the President, as well as international pressure on the country to avoid a transition that did not come from democratic elections. Apparently, this is of no concern to Rajoelina, who plans to rewrite the constitution, probably to fit his needs, since he is six years too young to hold the office. And, as the BBC so aptly put it:
“Mr Rajoelina had said the president has been a tyrant who misspent public money but Mr Ravalomanana's supporters said his rival is a young troublemaker who has not offered any policy alternatives.” (See article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7949596.stm )
An Associated Press story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_re_af/af_madagascar) said, “Rajoelina, however, comes from the wealthy minority that has had a stranglehold on Madagascar's politics.
The African Union has a rule to the effect that any country that experiences a change of leaders through any means other than democratic elections can no longer be a member of the AU. This year will be particularly interesting because the AU was planning to hold their summit in Antananarivo, and many businesspeople were in the process of investing in infrastructure, more specifically hotels and service industries, in anticipation of the event. While the global economic crisis begins to cool off elsewhere, it’s getting worse here.
I live on the east coast, where most people do not / did not like Ravalomanana, and are happy to “have their way,” in a sense though this is not their candidate. But there are people here who say they did not see that Ravalomanana did anything wrong. They recognize many of the positive things he did for the economy, even while stating outright their suspicions that he probably had his fingers in every deal so as to obtain personal gain.
We’ll see how things evolve. Hopefully, I’ll be able to stay…
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Dripchak on "Developmentality: What, if anything, were they thinking?"
“Development” per se, is not a product but a process. It never ends. For example, say you’ve mastered creating formulas in an Excel spreadsheet, and now you want to automate the process with macros. Once that’s done, you want to move onto programming in Visual Basic so you can go beyond one spreadsheet, and on and on. I have never “targeted” development, but rather applied it toward a prioritized list of needs at a community level. The objective is to work oneself out of a job, and that the works left behind are important enough to the villagers, who have been trained, that they alone ensure maintenance and improvements.
That said, the process of development is often controlled through “facipulation” or facilitating the process toward some prescribed goals and objectives, thus manipulating the outcome. Faci + pulation. Might as well be open about it. There are so many agendas to deal with in a project that the “facipulator” has to know how to work his/her way through the morass of conflicting desires.
As for the idea of turning everyone into “little consumers like those of us in the US,” NO! Self-sufficiency is the goal. In fact, I’m often embarrassed by the opinions of Americans that I’ve come across in my work, many of which have been right on the mark, or others so far off that they inspire outrageous laughter, until you investigate where the opinion came from.
I originally joined the Peace Corps because I did not find working in the US of A potentially rewarding for me. There are so many social safeguards that my work would only bring satisfaction to me, if that were possible, but my satisfaction comes from knowing I might have helped someone do something better than s/he used to do it, and that I might have inspired the curiosity of that person to further test and improve the method. It’s kind of like watching and helping kids grow up. They beam with every new discovery, and when so inspired, go on to test other aberrations of your theory.
I completely agree with my colleague about learning overseas. I knew early on that I was only one person with a limited set of skills to share with others, while they were hundreds, each with something new for me. I definitely made out on that score! Never thought I could save the world, but I wanted to inspire the “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach to changing things. Another ‘ism that became prevalent during my work has been, “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.” Too many times people who are excluded from processes sit on the sidelines and bitch about how things should be. I have seen many cases where getting them off their asses have been both positive and negative, but it was definitely better than listening to them bitch! And understanding WHY they are like that is tantamount to making any progress whatsoever.
This gets back to something we (?) used in the PC which was participatory appraisals. So many “experts” talk about how easy it is to do a PRA, but they obviously don’t have a clue. In the Congo recently, a researcher who was an ex-PCV in west Africa said something to the effect that after her two years in the PC, she thought a PRA was quick and easy. I did all I could to resist writing back to her to say that because I went to the zoo as a child, that I was an expert on elephants. When I was in Guatemala, we brought a woman from Virginia Tech to help train staff in PRA. The phrase that rings true to this day in my head is, “It’s the process and NOT the product.” She was SOOOOO right!
Some further thoughts:
I was once the point person for the organization in Guatemala for a “research” project under the USG SANREM project. The gurus from Virginia Tech thought I was dragging my feet on the process, but this was because they had not a clue what participation entailed, and I was in charge of the participatory appraisal component.
While in the Republic of Congo, I investigated why the economic alternative component had not been successful in the past. A former employee who had been responsible for it immediately confirmed my initial analysis that “the numbers” were far more important than the quality of the project. He said they were under pressure to reach and register as “participants” as many beneficiaries in the project area as soon as possible.
Again, a grave misunderstanding as to what “participatory” might imply.
When faced with a contrary opinion from the farmer’s side as to a recommendation from the extensionist, one needs to invest the time to understand why this is the case. What might be the reason(s) behind the non-acceptance of the extensionist’s sage advice.
Anyhow, hope this little message inspires some thought on the part of those of us who still have an impact on other peoples’ lives.
“Development” per se, is not a product but a process. It never ends. For example, say you’ve mastered creating formulas in an Excel spreadsheet, and now you want to automate the process with macros. Once that’s done, you want to move onto programming in Visual Basic so you can go beyond one spreadsheet, and on and on. I have never “targeted” development, but rather applied it toward a prioritized list of needs at a community level. The objective is to work oneself out of a job, and that the works left behind are important enough to the villagers, who have been trained, that they alone ensure maintenance and improvements.
That said, the process of development is often controlled through “facipulation” or facilitating the process toward some prescribed goals and objectives, thus manipulating the outcome. Faci + pulation. Might as well be open about it. There are so many agendas to deal with in a project that the “facipulator” has to know how to work his/her way through the morass of conflicting desires.
As for the idea of turning everyone into “little consumers like those of us in the US,” NO! Self-sufficiency is the goal. In fact, I’m often embarrassed by the opinions of Americans that I’ve come across in my work, many of which have been right on the mark, or others so far off that they inspire outrageous laughter, until you investigate where the opinion came from.
I originally joined the Peace Corps because I did not find working in the US of A potentially rewarding for me. There are so many social safeguards that my work would only bring satisfaction to me, if that were possible, but my satisfaction comes from knowing I might have helped someone do something better than s/he used to do it, and that I might have inspired the curiosity of that person to further test and improve the method. It’s kind of like watching and helping kids grow up. They beam with every new discovery, and when so inspired, go on to test other aberrations of your theory.
I completely agree with my colleague about learning overseas. I knew early on that I was only one person with a limited set of skills to share with others, while they were hundreds, each with something new for me. I definitely made out on that score! Never thought I could save the world, but I wanted to inspire the “Think Globally, Act Locally” approach to changing things. Another ‘ism that became prevalent during my work has been, “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.” Too many times people who are excluded from processes sit on the sidelines and bitch about how things should be. I have seen many cases where getting them off their asses have been both positive and negative, but it was definitely better than listening to them bitch! And understanding WHY they are like that is tantamount to making any progress whatsoever.
This gets back to something we (?) used in the PC which was participatory appraisals. So many “experts” talk about how easy it is to do a PRA, but they obviously don’t have a clue. In the Congo recently, a researcher who was an ex-PCV in west Africa said something to the effect that after her two years in the PC, she thought a PRA was quick and easy. I did all I could to resist writing back to her to say that because I went to the zoo as a child, that I was an expert on elephants. When I was in Guatemala, we brought a woman from Virginia Tech to help train staff in PRA. The phrase that rings true to this day in my head is, “It’s the process and NOT the product.” She was SOOOOO right!
Some further thoughts:
I was once the point person for the organization in Guatemala for a “research” project under the USG SANREM project. The gurus from Virginia Tech thought I was dragging my feet on the process, but this was because they had not a clue what participation entailed, and I was in charge of the participatory appraisal component.
While in the Republic of Congo, I investigated why the economic alternative component had not been successful in the past. A former employee who had been responsible for it immediately confirmed my initial analysis that “the numbers” were far more important than the quality of the project. He said they were under pressure to reach and register as “participants” as many beneficiaries in the project area as soon as possible.
Again, a grave misunderstanding as to what “participatory” might imply.
When faced with a contrary opinion from the farmer’s side as to a recommendation from the extensionist, one needs to invest the time to understand why this is the case. What might be the reason(s) behind the non-acceptance of the extensionist’s sage advice.
Anyhow, hope this little message inspires some thought on the part of those of us who still have an impact on other peoples’ lives.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Dripchak returns to Madagascar and, wouldn’cha know it, it really hasn’t changed.
Maybe I waxed romantic about Madagascar and Maroantsetra while I was in Central Africa, but reality is coming back, “finally” in some ways, after being here for three and a half months.
After so many little problems here, I took it upon myself to nickname the town, changing Maroantsetra to “Maroa-tsarotra,” which, loosely translated, means “a lot of difficulties.” That’s life here. But things have undergone an interesting series of events. At the outset of our time back, at the end of October, things were like they were long before: electricity was on-again-off-again (though on a more “regular” schedule); the house was not yet completed, so there was still a lot chasing after contractors and fixing things they did; and, it was HOT!
The interesting aspect here is that it was not raining as much as I recalled, and that was not so unusual because there is usually a relatively dry period in September-October. But here we were into November – December, and the days were still sunny and dry, with occasional overnight downpours. I could deal with that, in spite of the prickly heat that was driving me nuts.
Then, in late December, the electric company (Jirama) got their new generator and/or repair parts, and we have had electricity in the house almost constantly since then. We were able to pretty much finish the electrical installation in the house (except for the terrible job the construction crew did in the first phase – no ground for the plugs, for what reason I have no idea). And with a lot of dogging, the plumber finished the gravity-fed water system, without the water heater, which has been deemed not a priority in these financially-strapped times. I helped him install the electric pump to get the water up to the reservoir, and voila!
An aside: “Jirama” stands for Jiro et Rano Malagasy, or Malagasy electricity and water. Here in Maroa-tsarotra, they are known as “Jima” because they don’t have a water service.
So, water and electricity. What else could one need? Oh yeah, the “tenants” (as I affectionately refer to my wife’s family members who occupy the wooden house we originally built and I am eager to get rid of because it draws flies and family members) brought a puppy into the household. For lack of imagination and the old habit of the name the only other dog the house has had, she was named Bobbie. While quite the handful, she brings all those good and bad attributes of a puppy, and I love having her around.
Another positive discovery was that the cell phone provider was dealing the Internet over the connection, albeit quite expensive for such a feeble connection. At least I can look for work and send my CV out. Can’t get any software or updates, unfortunately, and I’m having a major problem with the firmware for my DVD drive.
So, I’m close to living in a dream world. Things work. But just in the past week or so, the rainy season, if one can call it that in one of the wettest places in the world, has kicked in. It rains so hard at night that even the dog is scared, and I rarely get a good night’s sleep now.
Bottom line: I’m going crazy sitting in Maroantsetra, not doing anything fulfilling.
Maybe I waxed romantic about Madagascar and Maroantsetra while I was in Central Africa, but reality is coming back, “finally” in some ways, after being here for three and a half months.
After so many little problems here, I took it upon myself to nickname the town, changing Maroantsetra to “Maroa-tsarotra,” which, loosely translated, means “a lot of difficulties.” That’s life here. But things have undergone an interesting series of events. At the outset of our time back, at the end of October, things were like they were long before: electricity was on-again-off-again (though on a more “regular” schedule); the house was not yet completed, so there was still a lot chasing after contractors and fixing things they did; and, it was HOT!
The interesting aspect here is that it was not raining as much as I recalled, and that was not so unusual because there is usually a relatively dry period in September-October. But here we were into November – December, and the days were still sunny and dry, with occasional overnight downpours. I could deal with that, in spite of the prickly heat that was driving me nuts.
Then, in late December, the electric company (Jirama) got their new generator and/or repair parts, and we have had electricity in the house almost constantly since then. We were able to pretty much finish the electrical installation in the house (except for the terrible job the construction crew did in the first phase – no ground for the plugs, for what reason I have no idea). And with a lot of dogging, the plumber finished the gravity-fed water system, without the water heater, which has been deemed not a priority in these financially-strapped times. I helped him install the electric pump to get the water up to the reservoir, and voila!
An aside: “Jirama” stands for Jiro et Rano Malagasy, or Malagasy electricity and water. Here in Maroa-tsarotra, they are known as “Jima” because they don’t have a water service.
So, water and electricity. What else could one need? Oh yeah, the “tenants” (as I affectionately refer to my wife’s family members who occupy the wooden house we originally built and I am eager to get rid of because it draws flies and family members) brought a puppy into the household. For lack of imagination and the old habit of the name the only other dog the house has had, she was named Bobbie. While quite the handful, she brings all those good and bad attributes of a puppy, and I love having her around.
Another positive discovery was that the cell phone provider was dealing the Internet over the connection, albeit quite expensive for such a feeble connection. At least I can look for work and send my CV out. Can’t get any software or updates, unfortunately, and I’m having a major problem with the firmware for my DVD drive.
So, I’m close to living in a dream world. Things work. But just in the past week or so, the rainy season, if one can call it that in one of the wettest places in the world, has kicked in. It rains so hard at night that even the dog is scared, and I rarely get a good night’s sleep now.
Bottom line: I’m going crazy sitting in Maroantsetra, not doing anything fulfilling.
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