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!

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, “Madagascar’s Rajoelina says only he can lead the transition.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLF51056) The article goes on to quote The Mouse as saying, "It is unimaginable that anyone else should lead the transition,” and that, “nothing in the (signed) charter says the president must be appointed by common accord." Does this look like a collaboration or an agreement, as the general public might comprehend those terms?

I have not yet seen any articles that indicate who died and made him God.

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.