After leaving Malawi, I began my long flight to Comoros. Since I am still in the Southern hemisphere down here, the winds travel from East to West, which is contrary to what I’m used to when flying up in the Northern hemisphere. This means that today, I will be flying into headwinds, which is not great news. Not only that, those headwinds will be coming at me while I’m flying over the Indian Ocean in a single engine airplane. I am not looking forward to this.
My dear friends and followers: after flying in many conditions over the years, I have learned not to trust an airplane with one engine while flying over large bodies of water. Even though an airplane is considered to be the safest mode of transportation, there are a few reasons why I remain skeptical of this particular activity. For one, when I was attempting my flight from Alaska to Macedonia in September 2003, I experienced some difficulties in Northeastern Canada. Up there in an area full of glaciers and polar bears, it was not the best place for me to be crashing our baby plane. Even though we landed safely in Qiqitaqrjuag, Canada (with freezing temperatures already in late September), the plane’s engine gave us more trouble when my friends, Erick Guitierrez and Nexhat Tifeku, and I were attempting our cross over the Atlantic Ocean. We were extremely paranoid while flying over that large body of water and o ur mood that day changed drastically when we began experiencing problems about 10-20 nautical miles out over the Sea. Thanks to our many prayers to higher powers, we managed to make it across the water and land safely on dry land.
You’d think that one bad experience over water would be enough for me, but sometimes I am stubborn and my brain and my vision take over against the obstacles that I am faced with. Late last year, after completing the Latin, South American and Caribbean portion of our mission, I flew my plane back to Kosovo. Again, I experienced technical problems over a large body of water.
My friends, I am here to tell you that in all of my adventures, I have seldom faced death head on. But during that trip, I looked it right in the face and thought that I would never see the light of day again. As my friend, Durim Elezi, and I were leaving Northeastern Canada, we experienced a major problem past the midpoint of our flight between Greenland and Iceland. The alternator of the plane stopped working completely and we began experiencing fuel problems as well. Since we were closer to the Iceland side of the trip, heading back toward Greenland was not an option. We were forced to do some critical and creative quick thinking at that point, since we still had approximately two hours of flight time until we reached land in Iceland. With no alternator, we did not have access to the plane’s navigational system or any electricity whatsoever. The plane did have a battery, but since it was not brand new and had been used a bit, we had only about 25 minutes of power left for the two hours of flight time. What on earth were we going to do? Were it not for the many years of flying that I have obtained and my handy, old-fashioned compass (which does not require any electricity in order to function), Durim and I would have been resting peacefully in our graves at the bottom of the cold Atlantic Ocean that day.
I am sure that this is not enough description of those two hours, but I know that you can all use your imaginations to figure out what Durim and I were feeling during that dark moment in my life. I would rather spare you all of the thoughts running through my head during that experience, but I will share this: that experience is engraved into every cell of my body permanently. Though I would very much like to forget that day, the experience is cemented into my bones and every time I have to fly over water, I am forced to remember the events of that day.
It is amazing sometimes how our human brains function in situations like that because even now, whenever I fly over a large body of water, my mind starts playing tricks on me and I begin to hear new noises from the plane. Whistles, bumps, anything out of the ordinary I hear and feel. I am sure that most of these thoughts are just psychological, but my brain automatically goes into the mode that it was in back then, when I experienced the two longest hours of in my entire life.
Though I have been in Africa a little over six months, those two hours over the Atlantic felt like centuries compared to doing any other activity on earth. And don’t forget ladies and gentlemen, that we are talking about flying in our one engine airplane that was manufactured way back in 1967. Not only that, but the engine is only 145 horsepower and the technology and design are from the 1940’s or 50’s era. This is much different than the two-engine, jets that I was accustomed to flying professionally.
Coming back to our current flight over the Indian Ocean, I am still a little nervous and hesitant while up in the air, even though it will only be a few hours over water and not the 21-22 that I had to fly over that giant Atlantic. Thanks to god that the flight is going well so far, except for the weather. As I approach the island country of Comoros, I am starting to see lots of storms out here in the air. I have to divert my flight plans in order to go around all of the lightening, thunder and heavy rain. If there’s one place you don’t want to be in storms like these, it’s in a one-engine airplane over a large body of water. But I am pretty sure that higher powers are watching over to make sure that I will reach my destination okay, even though I am normally not a person who believes in those theories very much.
It is frustrating sometimes when I am traveling and try to do everything in my power to avoid simple complications like weather concerns. Today for instance, I started out especially early in order to avoid this situation. I already know that in tropical regions, the afternoons can be monstrous with heavy storms as mother nature takes over. But alas, I am forced to deal with these conditions anyway as things always take more time than I would want them to and always seem to be running behind my internal schedule.
As I divert the plane to avoid the storm clouds, I start to see the island about 20nm out. There are many dark clouds around now, all filled with rain and lightening, but at least I can see the island now and feel like I can make it there safely. It also comforts me to see a few fishing boats scattered below because I know that these boats have humans on them. At least if the plane crashes, I can land next to one of them and avoid being food for all of the sharks and whales.
But I am still not out of the woods yet. As I begin my descent, I try to make contact with ground control. They report that they are having trouble hearing me through the radio. Folks, this is just another common occurance in times like these. Due to the static being produced by the local storms, I am not able to communicate with them and am forced to rely on my skills and knowledge instead. Again, I am grateful for all of my years of flight experience
I start getting closer and closer to the island now, but I make sure to stay at a high altitude. If I were to have technical problems with the airplane at this point, it is helpful to have that extra time and space between me and the ground. That way, I might actually be able to make a wise decision instead of panic when the plane begins to nosedive. Altitude is my friend today as I begin to remember that crisis over the Atlantic last year.
Though I can’t control things like weather or engine failure, I do have to say that I am very confident in my skills as a pilot. After years spent flying all over the planet with this tiny airplane, I have picked up lots of tricks that come in useful in times of crisis. I have used many of those tricks during my time here in Africa. Here, there is no luxury to flying because about 90% of the time you are flying without the navigation instruments working correctly or other mechanical things working only partially (if they do at all).
These kinds of conditions make you learn to rely on instinct and not trust that technology will always be there to make your life safer. Many times down here, my best friend has been all of those previous hours in the air and current technology on the ground. Though I might not have the most current tools up in the air, it is quite a relief to have access to extravagant things like the Internet.
I try to be as prepared as possible before my flights and I rely heavily on information that I find on Western world websites like NASA or other US weather providers. Even some European websites will show me satellite images of current weather patterns in any part of the world that I am in. Though, I must stay that sometimes I do get lucky and am able to fly in a few exceptional countries where you can actually trust that things are working correctly.
Needless to say, I landed safely. It is really raining cats and dogs out here and that crosswind is coming right over the top of the local hills and mountains. I quickly park the plane, secure it and complete the necessary paperwork in no time at all. I am ready to get into town and find a hotel right away. I am already starting to have a sense about this country because of what I was able to see in the air. Folk, even from high above land you can start to see the qualities of a place. Here in Comoros, I can already see and feel that they struggle here quite a bit.
After flying over most of this continent, I have started to pick up on the little details of each country more quickly. In this part of the world, I have grown accustomed to quickly being approached by someone trying to sell me a service shortly after I land my plane. I also know that the service they are selling may or may not be provided. As soon as I get out of my plane, I am ready to say no to these people because I know that most of them are just seeing me as a walking US dollar sign. I am grateful that I have learned good negotiating skills along the way; otherwise I would be taken for a ride in most of the countries that I’ve visited.
Since I am parked next to the airport fire department, the first person to approach me in this regard is a local fireman. He quickly comes over to me and and asks if I need a ride into town. He tells me that his boss was just getting ready to head there. This is all a little trick that they like to play in this part of the globe my friends. I don’t mean to suggest that these are bad people or that they only have bad intentions, but rather that they are simply trying make some fast cash and, since its quite obvious that I am an outsider, I become their current target.
Also, let’s not forget that the people approaching you to sell a service are usually just trying to distract you from spending your money on the usual service providers. In this case, the gentleman is simply trying to avert me from going to the main terminal because he knows that if I make it there, then there will be other taxis available to take me where I need to go and that they will get money and not him.
Sometimes I do end up on the wrong end of the deal though because if I arrive late to an airport or something like that, there may not be any taxis waiting for me. What usually happens in those instances is that I get creative and try to work out a deal with airport staff. Often times, one of them has a buddy available to pick me up and transport me. Since that worker would arrange the transaction, the buddy and the worker then split the money that I end up paying.
So, my fireman friend here is trying to trap me into a deal with him so that he can charge me much more than it would normally cost to catch a ride into town. He thinks that I am an innocent pilot who has just arrived late in a strange place and that I will appreciate his act of kindness. But after many encounters like this one, I know this game.
I get into his car and act naïve. I ask what it will cost me to take his ride into town. I have learned to do this at the beginning of the ride rather than at the end, because I have been in some sticky situations in the past and have has some very bad experiences with that scenario. Mr. Fireman tells me that it will cost $50USD for a 10-mile ride into town. Wrong answer my friends, though I had been waiting for that kind of answer to come up. I then asked him to stop the car so that I could get out and find another ride. Suddenly and without my surprise, he changes his tune and asks me how much I am willing to pay instead.
This is where I have to make a wise decision. On one hand, he could drive me back to the airport. But sometimes you can sit there forever waiting for a ride and there are no guarantees that you won’t be taken for a ride when you actually do get one. On the other hand, I am already in his taxi and headed towards town. I can negotiate a lower price that I think is reasonable, not knowing whether or not that is considered a fair price locally.
Because I can’t afford to spend all of my time in a country waiting at the airport, I decide to make a deal with Mr. Fireman. I offer $20USD. He, of course, tries to raise the price, but I stand firm and later find out that this is actually the going rate around here. Can you believe that he was trying to make me pay more than double what a normal ride would cost. I was definitely the wrong person to try that with.
Anyway folks, I just thought I would share these kinds of details with you, since they are a frequent part of my experience on this mission. Even in Prishtina, in my home country they tried this with me. They wanted to charge me 20-30% more than the normal rates. It is a sad thing to report, but unfortunately quite common. Again, these are not bad people, they are just trying to be greedy and make the most money possible.
Okay, back to Comoros. During my ride into town I am astonished at the local landscape. I can already see that there has been profound, long-term struggle in this country. The roads are a total mess and not all of the houses have electricity. It’s very somber to experience suffering like this, especially since I’ve seen it in so many places. I can’t help but have sympathy already for the people of this country. This is a tropical island with a wealth of natural beauty. It should have so many things going for it, yet here I sit, surrounded by poverty.
My friends, I need to tell you something that won’t be an easy thing to hear. Please listen closely to my words:
We members of the white race, we have not been very nice to many parts of the world. For hundreds of years, our white race has destroyed lives due to our pure greed and hunger for power. We have occupied lands, colonized territories, conquered regions, countries, continents, etc. and have left a mess after leaving them. We have stolen the richest part of those lands. We have taken things like gold, diamonds, petroleum and other natural resources. We have captured people and used them as our slaves. We have kept the people of these lands in a powerless position all of these years, without adequate access to education or participation in the economy so that they could better themselves. This list could keep going my friends and we have done it all in the name of more greed and more power.
To me, all of this crazy, inhumane treatment is uncalled for. We have destroyed other lives in order to better our own. We have made the most damage that we could, leaving behind a trail of destruction and in those instances when we decided that we had enough of a certain land, we left those humans unprepared to survive. Since we had taken all of their resources away, or even used them as slaves, we provided no alternatives for them and they were left to figure it all out on their own.
I have now been to over half of the countries on this planet and I continue to get the same answer everywhere that I go. Thousands of people from all parts of the world have told me the same, disheartening story. I wish that this story wasn’t true, but the facts remain. My race has done a great disservice to the world by acting like an adolescent child who never thinks about the effects of their actions on others.
It is a shameful part of who we are; yet we continue to work the system in those places around the world where we can still take advantage of innocent people and their circumstances. We continue to make deals with corrupt governments in order to gain access to precious and glorious resources that should belong to the local people who live off of and enjoy their land. We continue to do anything within our power to play these tricks and dirty little games. We work to put someone in power that is on our side. Instead of working for their own people, we cut a deal for them to work with us. Again we do this out of pure greed, more power, etc. The list could go on, but most of all, we do it for our own selfishness.
I have gained lots of insight into these issues over time. I have learned things that one would never learn by just reading a book of history. Many times, the history that is written is written to favor those in power, but it is only through those individual conversations that I have had, that I have been able to see these truths. I wish that the facts and history weren’t true. But I have heard this same story over and over and over again. It doesn’t matter which country I am in or whether one person or 1000 tell me, its always the same thing.
After awhile, I have started to believe the stories told to me by the wonderful people that I have met. I am now skeptical when I hear the story given to me by each government. To me, it is the words of the people that are more valuable than what any government official can tell me because I have learned this story over time. After hearing it from thousands of people, I am starting to learn the root of their problems.
I want you all to know that these countries that I have visited, they all have tremendous potential to prosper. They all have a wealth and richness to them that should be used in order to benefit their people. The people themselves also have the capacity to be successful. If we would just stay out of their way and remain in our own part of the globe, they would be a lot more prosperous. If we would help these countries instead of making a mess of their environment and societies, then our conscious could remain clean and we could all flourish together. I personally think that enough is enough – let them achieve great things, just as we would want to do.
Another comment that I would like to make here, since I’ve already gone off track is this: I have noticed that France and the French people have all left a much bigger mess down here (as with Spain and Portugal) than England every left behind, despite having very similar histories here in Africa.
Finally, I want you all to know that, even though I personally never had anything to do with making these types of messes, the people down here see my skin color first. I am automatically labeled and imagined as one of these demoralizing perpetrators. The first vision of me that people have had down here is that I am here to continue our tradition of owning slaves, conquering lands, occupying territories, stealing wealth, destroying lives, etc.
It is a hard truth to face my friends, but I am sharing this with you so that you might think differently about some of the world’s situations. I also want to make it known that I don’t believe that our entire white race is bad either. I am just trying to share the truth that I have come to know through my conversation with thousands of beautiful people who tell me nearly the same exact stories. Though the location changes, the history throughout is very similar.
Coming back to Comoros again. These poor people seem to have many difficulties that have been caused by us and the problems here on their island seem endless. The people of this country have had a long history of being used as slaves for other countries (first, by Arab nations and later Portugal). After the French gained control, they began to use the people and local resources for agricultural purposes and set up a plantation-based economy.
Finally, in 1975, this nation gained independence. But things did not get easier from there. Since then, there have been over 20 reported coups or attempted coup d’etat’s and much political instability. Recent reports suggest that there is a huge anti-French sentiment down here and that, while the country itself is considered independent, some of the islands are still considered French. Additionally, those officials that are associated with French rule have reportedly further harmed the country’s citizens.
Many public servants, like the ones that I communicated with in the media, have reported to me that they have not even been paid by their government since last November. Many of these awesome people are forced to live in poverty, though they would be ashamed to admit it. What is there to be ashamed about? Unless your job gives you money so that you can pay your bills, how else are you supposed to get yourself out of a situation like that?
It really surprised me when I learned this fact, because you would never know it just by dealing with them. Despite not getting paid for months on end, all of the people in the media industry that I spoke with carried on as if things were business as usual. They listened and showed interest in stories like ours, even though some of them were barely able to eat one meal per day.
This is 2011 folks. I can’t help but point out the fact that those of us in the Western world tend to complain too much and forget just how good we have it. The things that we take for granted are considered luxuries in places like Comoros. Here, the only thing keeping the country alive is the few USD or Euros that they receive from far-away relatives who work abroad in order to support their families. I hope that all of us take a moment to remember all of the comforts that we have and that there really are places in the world where many people don’t even have necessities like basic running water and/or three meals a day.
My mission work got accomplished as usual and the amazing people that I met here managed to remain hospitable. Despite their own giant problems, they showed great professionalism during our time together. There were many times during my visit here that I was able to see hope and strength in their faces, despite the severe degree of suffering that they must endure.
Let me give you just one example of what I mean. There I was, walking into the headquarters for the newspaper La Gazette and was greeted by Ms. Fatouma Hamada. At first, Ms. Hamada told me that we would have to wait in order for Mr. Mohamad Youssouf so that he could do the interview. However, even after Mr. Youssouf showed up, Ms. Hamada continued to stay with us. She took a chair and participated in the interview, saying that she just wanted to remain in order to show appreciation for my visit, my story and my long journey. The French translation: Mounsieur James, Je vais prendre une chaise, juste le temp de vous apprecier un peu. Et vous etes appreciable donc nous avons de la chance de vous recontrer. This type of attitude and respect has been shown to me by the people in many nations in this part of the world. Instead of dwelling on the negative, these amazing people continue to remain positive, professional and respectful, no matter what the history of race and country relations have been.
Thank you to Mr. Djama Ibrahim with ORTC, the national television station of Comoros. He was quite pleasant to work with and very helpful. To Mr. Youssouf Moussuli and Ms. Echata Hassane with ORTC Radio Comoros, thank you for your very precise and detailed interview. Thank you to Mr. Toyb Ahmed, journalist for Al-Watan. Mr. Ahmed was a wonderful gentleman with lots of knowledge and was a superb journalist. He showed total dedication to our very detailed interview. Finally, thank you to the team at the newspaper Albalad. Mr. Ali Mmadi, authorized that interview and Mr. Alhamdi Abdillah Hambdi was the journalist who listened to my story.
My dear friends, the strength that I see in people like this gives me so much energy. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for them. No matter if they are rich or poor, if they suffer or struggle, they still show their great qualities to outsiders like me. No matter what they might think about me in the beginning, as soon as we begin a conversation, they show me the greatest amount of respect and treat me like any other human being. I can only wish that we will return the favor someday.
I have the highest regard for who continue to remain optimistic. People who maintain their friendliness and share their happiness with you, no matter what is going on in their personal life, are people that I hold in the highest esteem. When I was visiting Kosovo last, I couldn’t help but notice that the general attitude there was one based on pessimism. I had a hard time accepting that outlook and I hope that that mindset will change soon because I would like you all to remember one thing: if I took a negative and pessimistic outlook about life, then I would still be back in Brestovc, driving a tractor and raising cattle. If we cannot be positive and imagine achieving things outside of our reach, then we are destined to never go anywhere in life. Please, let’s all be happy and fill our brains with a positive attitude instead of all of that negativity, which will not do us any good and will only take up our precious energy to deal with.
God bless Comoros and its strong people. Next country is Madagascar.
