Flying for Kosovo

I’m finally on my way to Tanzania.  This country has been on my mind since I was a child.  Growing up, I would enjoy watching television stations like the Animal Planet and would sit in amazement at all of the powerful and beautiful creatures that we share the planet with.  I would daydream about seeing all of them someday, in wild and exotic places like Tanzania.  Places like this have fascinated me my whole life.

The other reason that I’m excited to visit this country is because I have a long lost friend whom I had heard lived in this country at one time.  We have been out of contact now for over 15 years, but I hold the slightest hope that I will be able to find him here when I land.  Of course, the chances are nearly impossible that we will be able to be connected again after having been apart so long, but I can’t help but to try since I often think of him from time to time.  People like him, that have been good friends of mine over the years, I do my best to stay in contact with.  There are a few quality people in my life that I have stayed in contact with for over 20 years now.

Mr. Alidina Altaf and I went to Flight Safety Academy together way back in 1996 in Vero Beach, Florida.  Over the six months that we trained together to be pilots we became good friends, often going to lunch or dinner breaks together.  We practiced flying together, attended ground school together and most importantly, studied for our exams together.  We would spend hours reviewing things like airplane checklists and memorizing different types of procedures like multi-engine performance or emergency maneuvers.   Sometimes, we would join our other friends for dinner.  I am reminded now of spending time with people like Yevette from South Africa, Fiona from Kenya and Stephane Faivre from France.

Since I am the type of person that learns best by completing practical, hands-on activities, it was really great to study with Alidina because he enjoyed both the theoretical and practical applications of our schooling.  We got along well, had a mutual respect for each other and worked really hard to keep up with our intense training requirements.  Since our flight school was very professional and prestigious, it had a reputation to keep up with.  Alidina and I worked very hard to be the top students for fear that we would get kicked out of the program otherwise.  We both had friends who came from all over the world and spent lots of money to attend this particular school, but ended up getting sent home.  Flight School Academy was not as concerned with how much money you brought, but rather that you were able to became a good pilot.

Back to reality.  Though I am excited to travel to Tanzania, I am also sad to be leaving such great times in the past few countries.  It was great to have experienced much less stress in the past few countries than in most of the countries so far.  Not to mention that I will miss all of the cool, tropical breezes that I am so fond of.

After visiting those island countries (Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelle), it was time to meet back up with our plane back in Comoros.  Remember, I had parked it there to avoid flying that thing over huge, open areas of the Indian Ocean in between the past few countries.  Even now, I am not so crazy about crossing a big water mass in order to get back to the mainland of Africa, but what else can I do?  There is nobody else flying the plane here but me.

Thank the gods that I have a slight tailwind behind me today during my flight.  Otherwise it would end up taking me longer to get this tired old 67 Cessna back to land.  At least I am relieved to know that I only have to do this type of flying a few more times before getting this one-engine plane home again.  Besides this flight, there is only the Mediterranean Sea to cross on the way home.  I’m afraid that just might have to be the last of open water flying for me my friends.  There have just been too many near death experiences for me to continue with that crazy lifestyle.

After a good nights sleep in Comoros, I left early in the morning.  I was sad to leave the great friends that I had made here and it was really nice to be able to contact them and spend some time again on my way back through.   One thing still awaiting me at the airport though, was the bill that I had to pay for aircraft parking.  I always have to leave that as a surprise for myself until the very last minute, otherwise it would ruin my whole trip to each country.  If I know ahead of time, it will just make me miserable and unable to concentrate on getting our mission work done.  I need to be completely focused in each country so that I can get our work accomplished in the least amount of time possible.

To my amazement, Comoros was actually an okay country in regards to general aviation. The service fees were not that bad this time and believe me, I’ve seen much worse in many countries.  I was also able to get that damn paperwork done in a fairly quick amount of time.  Since that kind of nonsense drives me absolutely insane, giving me nightmares all of the time and putting me through hell, I’m glad that the process here was smooth and over with.  You all know by now that this is one part of my crazy life that I will never miss once we finish this thing.

Once in the air, I am praying that our tailwind will work a little faster so that I can be on the mainland once again.  After takeoff, I kept looking behind me towards the shores of Comoros to judge how far I was from land in case of an emergency.  Thankfully for me, once I lost sight of Comoros in the background, I quickly started seeing Mozambique ahead.  Though it was still about 40-50NM away, I found comfort in the fact that below me, I was starting to see things like barges, commercial boats and other ships.  At least if I were to drop down now, I would be in sight of other human beings.

One thing that I might mention here is that this particular flight had to be re-routed beforehand (another bureaucratic mess that I have found a few times during our mission).  In order to avoid paying a few hundred US dollars in order to fly over Mozambique’s airspace for 20-30 minutes, I had to fly diagonally to Tanzania instead.  It ended up taking a little longer time-wise, but saving us lots of money in general.  I can’t wait until someone starts changing some of these nonsense laws, but I suppose that will be awhile since all governments want their fare share of your money.

Ahhh… I am finally over the mainland and viewing the far away land of Tanzania with my own eyes.  What a moment to remember.  Never forget my friends that some of your dreams can come true.  I am mesmerized right now by the beauty that I see below me and reminded that we truly live on an amazing and fascinating planet.  One thing that I will miss seeing in this country though is Mt. Kilimanjaro.  That’s the tallest mountain peak around here, but it is in the Northeast corner of the country, and it is not within my travel route this time.  Oh well, I guess that will have to be something that I look forward to seeing on my next visit.

After taking a few pictures for souvenirs and weathering a few storms in the sky, I am approaching Dar es Salaam in no time.  To my surprise, I could start to hear general aviation communication across the radio.  It is such a relief to be able to hear that because it has usually been the case on this continent that I am the only general aviation aircraft in the sky.

Another convenient surprise that I found upon approach was that this country participates in radar-controlled airways.  That means that the air traffic controllers can see you visually and as a dot on their computer screen.  This allows them to assist you (and the other pilots in the sky) much easier and is a safety against just a visual observation.  It is a great feeling to know that they are using radar, especially since there have only been a two other countries down here (South Africa and Botswana) that do this.  It makes me appreciate the things that I took for granted as ‘normal’ back in the US and Europe.

After a lovely, radar-assisted approach, I was starting to see other positive signs on the ground.  There were many other small planes below and I was even directed to a general aviation ramp versus an all-purpose or international one.  Now I know that if I have any problems with the airplane that I could find help here with no problem.

As soon as I parked the aircraft, I was greeted by warm sunshine, great weather and a mob of workers all trying to show me their badge and get a tip.  Folks, this has happened quite regularly to me down here in Africa.  Many of the workers try to catch you first and offer you help with your bags or a ride into town.  They all want to get at you first so that they will get your money and not anyone else.  Once everyone saw that I was not going to give tips and/or accept help, they all left me alone.  But I was able to ask them one very important question before I let them go.

I asked them all of they knew a man by the name of Alidina Arfat.  Of course, I knew this was a long shot, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, especially if they all were asking for my money.  I was surprised when they all answered yes to me, that they knew him and that he owned a small charter airline here in town.  I thought they were taking me for a ride on this one, so I asked for a phone number, which they gave me immediately.  I took it, though I still wasn’t ready to believe that this could possibly be the same man that I was looking for.

After getting a ride into town from one of the ramp workers, the first thing that I did was to buy a local sim card for my cell phone.  I checked into the Executive Inn Hotel, dropped my bags and called the number immediately.  I was not sure at all what I would find, but I couldn’t wait to pick up that phone.

I was absolutely astonished when I heard my friend’s familiar voice on the other side of the line.  What a memorable moment.  Can you believe it my friends?  After all of this time, after oceans and years of separation, asking one question at the Dar es Salaam airport reunited me with a friend that I haven’t talked to in over 15 years.  Absolutely unbelievable.

After hearing his voice, I still couldn’t believe it, so I asked him a few questions.  I asked him “Is this the Alidina who completed his flight training in Vero Beach Florida?”  He answered yes.  I asked “Is this the same Alidina who attended Flight Safety Academy back in 1996”.  He said yes.  Every answer was yes, yes, yes.  Finally, I asked had any idea of who he was speaking with.  My friends, his answer was this: “Is this by chance Berisha”?

I got chills during our phone call.  After so many long years out of touch, here we were, talking on the phone with each other as if nothing had ever separated us.  It was truly one of those great moments in life and one that will never be forgotten.  We talked for a few minutes, but it was like a dream.  Both of us just sat in shock and could not believe the reality of the situation.

In less than a few hours, I would be reconnecting and having dinner with my long-lost friend Alidina.  We arranged for him to pick me up at the hotel and I could barely contain myself as I tried to attend to beginning my mission work from the hotel room.  Those were some of the longest hours that I have spent in my life.

Time had finally passed and I received his call from my room.  He was now downstairs waiting in his car and I would see him in just a few moments.  As I was walking out of the hotel, he caught sight of me and it was truly a moment for the history books.  We gave each other big, American-style hugs and stood looking at each other with amazement.

Alidina still looked the same,  except for looking more mature and having a few gray hairs here and there.  On the other hand, we had both progressed in life in different ways.  Though we had not seen each other in over 15 years, right away we noticed how easy it was to speak with each other – as if we had kept up with each other all of this time.

The next few days, I would meet with my friend on two different occasions for dinner.  We shared our ups and downs, life experiences, and how we both had changed over time.  As it turns out, Alidina does actually own a small airplane business down here.  Over the years, he has started a few other companies as well and has been married to the same beautiful wife that he had during our training back in Vero Beach.  He also has a precious little daughter as well.    It was really great to be spending time with him again and was a welcome relief from the stress of mission work.

During my days in Dar el Salaam, I was trying to meet with as many media houses as possible.  I met a lot of wonderful people willing to help our cause here and many great articles were written about Kosovo.  One nice thing that happened was that, after I visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver Vlora Citaku’s letter, we had a nice surprise waiting for us.  Citizens actually called the Minister himself to question why Tanzania had not recognized our independence yet.  The best part: the Minister happened to be on a business trip in Dubai, but that didn’t matter – they were able to reach him.  The next morning, Kosovo was on the front page of the Guardian newspaper.  Thank you to Victor Amani and his coworker Mr. Edwin Agola for the excellent work that they did on the piece.

Thank you to Ms. Ichikael Maro with the Daily News Sunday News/Habari Leo, Habar Lieo Jumapili.  She was a very detailed young lady who even sent a photographer all the way to the airport to get an actual picture of me with our aircraft.

Thank you to Mr. Joachim Mushi and Mr. Julian Msacky with the newspaper Jambo Leo for the dedication that they gave towards an article about Kosovo.  Mr. George Mbwana with the Business Times was also very detailed and wrote a great article.

Mr. Sylvester Joseph with the African Newspaper and Dennis Luambano with Mtanzania newspaper both had great personalities too.  They were both good people who happened to work at the same location, except for the fact that one of the newspapers was published in English and the other one published in Swahili, which is the second official language of Tanzania.  Though there are many different tribes in this country, Swahili seems to be a universal language that all of them can understand.  Having articles published in that language helps us to get our message out to more people.

Mr. Beatus Kagashe was also an excellent and professional journalist.  He worked for the Citizen Reporter and was meticulously detailed with his article.  That piece was also published in their other newspaper, Mwananchi.

Thank you to the television crew at ITV and to Ms. Yvonne Msemembe who was quite charming.  She knew a lot about Kosovo and interviewed me in no time at all.  Her coworker, Mr. Frank Mnandi was also a professional journalist.  Both of them showed great dedication towards our cause.  At the other local station, Channel 10, Ms. Winnie Mwaipopo and Ms. Ally Mwanahamiss were a great team to work with as well.

Back at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I don’t want to forget to thank Mr. Assah Mwamabene for his time and the detailed information he gave me about his countries stance on Kosovo’s independence.  He admitted to me that he feels that Tanzania will eventually recognize us, but a few things had to be taken care of first in with the African Union.  He reported that the group have just been standing still, with no decision on the matter.

I also don’t want to forget to thank my taxi driver, Mr. Ramz Eddy Mushi.  He was an excellent help who knew a lot about his town Dar el Salaam.  It really helps me when my taxi driver knows the local area well, because it really save time when I am running all over the place.

One thing that I want to mention here is that I hope that one day, Tanzania will be able to gain momentum in their economic situation.  From what I’ve been told, they have been struggling for a long time now.  It becomes quite obvious when you are trying to driver across town.  On top of the fact that this is the rainy season here, several of the roads are washed out and/or full of very deep potholes.  It makes traffic a nightmare and I hope that the next time around Dar el Salaam will have been able to pave the roads of this capital city for the sake of its citizens.

Another surprising problem that I came across here had to do with money.  Comoros and Tanzania gave me the hardest time so far with this, especially when I was trying to change over my $100 US bills.  Even though I had literal money in my pockets here, it wasn’t worth anything to these countries because they would not accept any bill that had been produced earlier than the year 2000.

Here I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, going from bureau to bureau trying to change my money into local currency.  They all gave me the same answer – that they would not accept the older bills.  Folks, this is pretty frustrating – to know that you have actual bills, worth a lot of money in local currency, worth absolutely nothing because no one will accept them.  It took a lot of driving around until my taxi driver and I were able to find one bank, in the entire city of Dar el Salaam that would exchange them.  At that point I changed all of the bills over, otherwise I would have never been able to get anything done.

However, that is not where the problem ended my friends. Here in Africa, 99% of the time, if you have a larger bill (larger meaning the equivalent of $10 USD or more), most local establishments are unable to break them for you.  This situation can also turn into a nightmare, especially when you only want to buy something small, like a juice or a Coca-Cola.

Finally, even when you do have 10 or 20 USD to exchange, often times they will take a percentage of it away as a service fee – cutting 10-20% off of the worth of your dollars.  And if you had 100 USD, they would take more of a percentage.  None of it makes sense my friends.

For instance, let’s say that 1USD that is worth 2000 in local money.  If you were to exchange 20USD into local money, they would give you only say, 1800 (sometimes, 1700 or as low as 1600) worth of local money per dollar.  Now, let’s say that you have 100USD and you only want to exchange 20 of it into local currency (because you are leaving the country soon).  It doesn’t matter, you don’t get a better rate because you are exchanging a higher amount of money.

This kind of nonsense ends up driving me insane my friends.  It also ends up causing me a lot of headaches in each country.  When I’d rather be spending my time attending to media interviews and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have to waste time on this crap – turning my money into the local currency and back again – each time losing some of the worth of the original amount.  But, what are you going to do I guess – you can’t change the mindset of an entire continent.

Usually what happens is that I give them hell.  Since I am stubborn, I try to argue with them about their crazy rules and I don’t want to let them win at this game.  I will try to wait until I find a establishment that will work with me and do the exchange the way I want it done.  Once they start to see that you are not going to be an easy customer, they usually give in and try to accommodate you.  Usually though, you have to give them hell first.

Other than these minor headaches each day, I still try to enjoy the things that give me happiness in this mission.  I can’t let these situations destroy my day or my visit to the country.  I just have to remember that I can’t make everything run the way that I would like it to run.  I guess you have to pick your battles.

Overall, my visit to Tanzania was a joy.  As usual, I learned a lot.  The best part was that I was able to reunite with my friend Alidina.  I still can’t believe that that happened.

The next country is Burundi, but I have a long flight ahead of me before I will land there.  Of course, I’m not really looking forward to flying over all of that jungle and remote land, but its much better than having to fly over water.

Let’s hope that higher powers will bless Tanzania in all aspects of life.

IPP Media

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