Amie in Africa Box Set 1

by Lucinda E Clarke

“What informal settlements?” asked Diana. “They simply don’t admit they’re there, though of course they are plainly visible as you fly in on the approach to the airport. And have you noticed how empty the main streets are?”

  “Yes, now you come to mention it, when I drove back from the colonel’s office this morning, the town looked quite deserted.” Amie was surprised, she hadn’t given it a second thought. “What’s going on?”

  “They’ve rounded up all the street children and the beggars and the youths who normally hang around, and I was told they were loaded up into cattle trucks and driven off miles into the bush. By the time they find their way back to the city, the overseas visitors will be safely back in their own homes,” Diana informed them.

  “That’s so cruel,” cried Kate. “How can they do that?”

  “Very easily,” Anne was more cynical. “No one is going to refuse to jump in a truck, it’s either co-operate or spend a few weeks in jail.”

  “And we all know you don’t actually have to break the law here to end up in jail,” added Diana. “Just cross the wrong path.”

  Yet again Amie felt shivers run down her spine. Just how angry might the colonel be over her filming efforts? But, she reasoned I’m a European and that must give me some protection. Wouldn’t the British government kick up a terrible fuss? She wasn’t so sure. She thought about the number of people who’d been kidnapped, imprisoned or spirited away while abroad, and only every now and again, did their families jump up and down and scream, and bring their plight to the attention of the media.

  “You look thoughtful, Amie,” remarked Diana.

  “Oh, nothing, just day dreaming,” Amie replied.

  “I tell you what we can do though,” said Kate with a giggle. “They can’t stop us going for coffee in the hotel and getting an idea how many extra visitors they have.”

  “Yes, and how many different languages we hear.”

  “Brilliant idea. Let’s all meet there tomorrow at three.”

  “Of course, most could be staying at the chain of bed and breakfasts the colonel asked me to film,” laughed Amie.

  “Shame,” said Diana. “One day I’m sure there’ll be a thriving list of good accommodation places to stay, but not yet, and not unless they get their act together, get the fraud and corruption under control, and start building up the country.”

  “That’s all in the future,” agreed Amie. “What makes me mad is the pretending it’s all in place now, when it’s very clearly not.”

  As if to give credibility to her words, just then the electricity went out and it was several minutes before someone got the generator up and running.

  Amie felt very guilty she’d not been to the school for several weeks. Her deadline was too important to miss, even if Angelina had wondered where she was and was missing her.

  So, the next morning Amie set out to visit, smiling and waving as Dodo, the gate keeper waved her through. Angelina was nowhere to be seen. She was not in the usual classroom where the little ones were taught, nor was she in the hostel, nor hanging round the ladies who were cooking up lunch in their huge, black, iron pots under the overhang.

  Amie retraced her steps to the classroom and hovered in the doorway until the bell rang for break time.

  “Aieeee, we have not seen you for such a long time!” exclaimed the teacher. “We think you have gone back to your own country and forgotten all about us!”

  “No, no I have been busy, the Trade Fair ...” her words made Amie feel very guilty.

  “Ah, the Trade Fair! Ah, that is good then. We are all so proud of our new hall and they say thousands and thousands of people will come to show what we can give to the world.” The teacher, whose name was Olive was certainly enthusiastic.

  “Yes, I’m sure it will be a great success,” replied Amie, hoping she sounded sincere.

  “You are looking for Angelina?”

  “Yes, I can’t find her anywhere and she always used to wait by the gate.”

  “Naughty girl, I tell her about that often, she should be in class learning her lessons, not waiting around for you.”

  Amie realised Olive did not mean that unkindly. “So, where is she?”

  “No one knows. One day she is here, and the next, she is gone.

  “Gone! But have you told the police, reported her missing, or ...?” Olive’s expression already answered Amie’s question.

  “These little ones, they come and they go. We did look for her, around in the bush close to here, and we ask many people, but there are so many little ones.” Olive shrugged. “If she wants to, she will come back. She knows we are here.”

  Amie stayed at the school for the rest of the morning. She had brought several packs of coloured crayons with her to teach the children how to colour in. She drew large simple pictures on blank paper, and when that ran out, used a couple of old cardboard boxes she found abandoned in the playground.

  Although she stayed until after the children had finished their lunch, in the hope Angelina would turn up with her little plastic plate and mug, she hadn’t appeared by the time Amie drove back out of the school gates.

  The lobby of the Grand Hotel was as chaotic as Amie remembered, as the girls pushed their way through the mêlée and into the coffee shop. It was definitely more crowded than usual, but the familiar comments about ‘no bookings showing on the computers’ was still in operation. Amie wondered just how much extracurricular money the receptionists would be making over the next few days, and how sad it was that the very visitors they were trying so hard to impress, would be disgusted at this unwelcome and blatant example of corruption and fraud.

  The coffee was still good, although the service was slower than ever. They all agreed there were larger than normal volumes of guests and wondered how some of the smaller hotels were coping. The Grand was the top one in Apatu, and none of the girls had ever visited the others, as they were considered very down market; possibly not even safe.

  It was there that Jonathon found them a little later and gave them invitation passes to the exhibition hall. The exhibitors had been given hundreds each and it was highly unlikely they would need even a fraction of the thousands that had been printed.

  When the girls walked into the entrance hall of the new exhibition centre, they had to admit the building itself was very impressive, lots of smoked glass, and a brightly patterned carpet on the floor. The ceiling stretched way up over their heads, and they admired the sweeping central staircase and the elegant décor.

  “I had no idea this was going to be so grand,” said Kate, craning her head back to look at the modern frescoes up near the ceiling.

  “No one did,” replied Diana. “It was just a lot of banging and hammering behind miles of metal fencing.”

  “Which no one thought would be completed in time.” exclaimed Amie. “This is amazing.”

  “It’s astounding what can be achieved when people work together,” commented Diana as they walked into the main hall.

  There were about fifty stalls set up, showcasing Togodo’s culture, the handicrafts and the different products manufactured in the country. It was surprising to see that among the items made locally, were leather goods, baskets, various articles constructed from beads, and a wide variety of plastic containers which they learned had come from a factory on the edge of town. There was also a display showing tractors, which was an even bigger surprise to everyone.

  “First I knew about this kind of heavy engineering,” remarked Diana staring at the bright yellow machines.

  “Yes,” said Richard who walked over to greet them. “Apparently there’s a factory a few kilometres out of town where they screw on plates saying ‘Made in Togodo.’ But I’m reliably informed the tractors themselves are delivered from Russia just as you see them here.”

  “All in one piece ready to use?” asked Kate in astonishment.

  “Yes, but there are plans to leave extra bits off after a period of time, while the locals are getting trained in tractor assembly
.”

  “Well, it’s a start I suppose,” said Amie. “Do you know where Jonathon’s stand is?”

  “Yes, it’s over here.” Richard led them down the adjoining aisle.

  Jonathon’s staff had put a lot of work into the stand which was wall papered with brightly coloured photographs of desalination plants, and architectural plans, as well as a model of a working plant.

  “Wow, this is impressive,” exclaimed Anne.

  Looking at the drawings, Amie was surprised at the progress they’d made. She’d not been in that part of town recently, and it looked as if the plant was already half built.

  “You didn’t tell me you’d progressed this far,” she dug Jonathon in the ribs.

  He smiled. “We haven’t, our plant is only about a metre high, these pictures have been Photoshopped to show what it will look like when it is almost complete. Drenton sent over boxes and boxes of publicity material to show what we hope to achieve – in time.” Jonathon grinned and added, “in a long time from now.”

  Although there was quite a lot to see, Amie noticed there didn’t seem all those many visitors. Most of the foreigners she saw she recognized from the Club or had seen at various functions.

  “I do hope the Trade Fair is a success,” she said quietly to Diana as they stood admiring some of the bead work. They’ve put in a lot of time here on these displays, as well as building the hall of course.”

  “One can only hope so,” answered Diana, “but where are your videos?”

  “Goodness, I’d almost forgotten about them, how stupid! I guess they’ll be on the government stand.”

  “But that was the large one we saw when we came in, with the enormous poster showing the president, and I didn’t notice a television or movies of any kind.”

  They retraced their steps to the entrance and this time they noticed a small television monitor right at the back, which was playing one of Amie’s videos. It was the bicycle project, under a rather small poster showing the school, and a line of happy, smiling children standing next to new bicycles.

  “Of all the projects, this one was the worst,” grumbled Amie, “it doesn’t really exist at all.”

  “And the other projects? I don’t see them on the monitor,” asked Kate as the programme came to an end and the Shova, Shova Project began to re-cycle through a second time.

  “No idea,” said Amie, “unless they’re going to show them on another day.”

  “I’m sure you’re glad it’s all over,” Diana said to her as they left the exhibition centre.

  “Yes, I just hope he never asks me to make any more programmes, and he’s not furious about what I produced. I’ve had no feedback whatsoever, not even a telephone call to say good, bad or indifferent.”

  “I wouldn’t worry,” said Kate. “It’s not as if you’re here in Togodo to make videos for them. You’re just a housewife here with your husband.”

  “True, but I haven’t forgotten the veiled threats the colonel made against Jonathon. His work is difficult enough already.”

  “Well, you delivered, and on time, and you can only say you did your best,” Diana tried to cheer her up. “Now what does everyone say to a drink at the Club, on me!”

  It was the calm before the storm.

  10 A HORRIFIC SHOOT AND A VISIT

  Life settled back into the usual routine. The few overseas visitors went home, and Amie’s trips to the school continued, though she missed seeing Angelina. There were plenty of other orphaned children to play with of course, but none of them struck the same chord.

  Amie’s tennis improved thanks to her frequent games, and she was becoming quite proud of her sewing skills. The days flew past, never enough time to fit everything in, even with a full-time maid. Amie wondered how she would ever have coped back home if she had to do all the housework, the cooking, the washing and the ironing. Certainly, Jonathon would never have had time to look after the garden!

  Just as things were going well, there was a knock on the outside gate early one morning, and when Amie answered it, she saw with a sinking feeling it was the colonel. She hesitated before she invited him in.

  It was impossible to tell from the expression on his face if he was friend or foe, but Amie was wary. Would he have waited all these weeks before coming to talk to her about the work she’d done? Surely not.

  She indicated the sofa but the colonel didn’t sit down, he wandered over to the window with his hands behind his back. Amie couldn’t see his face with the light behind it, so she couldn’t read his expression. She was rather stupidly holding her breath waiting for him to say something. Then she remembered that not to offer refreshment was considered very rude when you visited, so she asked him what he would like to drink.

  He bowed his head and declined. “You still have your camera?” he almost barked.

  “Yes,” said Amie, still waiting quietly.

  “I need more work from you. I expect you to be ready for the car tomorrow morning, it will come for you early.”

  “To go where?”

  “A little way out of town.” The colonel made a vague gesture with his arm, and from the tone of his voice, it was quite obvious he wasn’t prepared to elaborate further. “You can inform your husband you will be well looked after. You will be with my men.” He began to walk towards the door, “and you can give Mr Fish a message from me. The plans he was waiting for have now been passed.”

  Amie was well aware that her willing co-operation was part and parcel of the veiled blackmail, but cooperation could also bring rewards. Just as the colonel reached the door, Amie asked, “will Ben and Themba be with me?”

  The colonel paused. “You want them too? They are a help to you?”

  “Oh yes, an enormous help. I couldn’t manage without them.” Amie hoped she sounded convincing.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” and with that the colonel opened the front door and strode down the path to his car.

  “I can’t film without Ben’s help,” Amie repeated loudly from the doorway, but the colonel gave no indication he’d heard her. His driver bowed his head deferentially and opened the rear door for him to get into the car. Amie noticed there was another uniformed man sitting in the front seat, and a second car parked close behind. The cars drove off in tandem.

  Amie knew one thing, she didn’t want to go anywhere and do any more filming in Togodo. She had the shots she wanted of their day to day lives, shots she hadn’t used for obvious reasons when filming the projects, shots that showed the real side of Togodo, as well as a record of the school and Angelina. These were her own personal records of life here. After her recent visit home, she thought it unlikely anyone else would be particularly interested, so she’d simply decided to make a record of their first, and maybe only, posting abroad, for her and Jonathon to sit and watch when they were in their rocking chairs.

  It had also occurred to her that if she tried to lift the lid on what was really going on by getting her films on the national television channels, it might damage Jonathon’s future prospects of ever working abroad again.

  It was frustrating Colonel Mbanzi hadn’t told her what he wanted her to shoot. It could be the tractor factory, or maybe another ‘world class’ scheme. But if she was to be prepared, then she needed to go and buy some more tape. Hopefully the computer shop would still have some left from the large order they placed, after getting government permission to import extra stock from England. Amie suspected the colonel was behind it, to make sure Amie could complete all the programmes he wanted.

  As she drove into town, Amie wondered what to tell Jonathon. She didn’t want to worry him, this was possibly his one and only career chance to get ahead in the company so she wasn’t going to ruin it for him. She decided she would just mention it in passing, and she wouldn’t get into any of the colonel’s vehicles unless Ben was there. She trusted him, and they worked well together. At least there would be one person she knew, who also spoke the local language. Maybe she should write down what the colone
l had said just now? No, she was getting paranoid. She’d been living in Togodo for almost two years, and the worst that had happened was a burst tyre in the rainy season. No, she would just say she was going on another shoot for the colonel, pass on his message about the plans, and leave it at that. However, she would tell Diana, as a sort of back up.

  “I have never come across a situation like this before,” said Diana, as they made for their usual table at the Mall coffee shop that afternoon. “It’s most unusual. In my experience, the wives and children have always been ignored,” she paused as the girl put two coffees and a plate of cakes on the table. “Thank you.” Diana smiled at the waitress. “As I was saying, we’re always ignored and grateful for it.”

  “I’m not really sure how I got involved in all this. It’s not as if I was the only person out here with a video camera,” Amie said miserably.

  “Ah, but once they knew you were trained in film making, that’s when the problem started.”

  “Yes, and of course, at the airport they intercepted those tapes I gave the charity group.”

  “They were probably waving them around in the air, or asked if the scanner would damage the tapes.” Diana helped herself to a doughnut. “Well at least we don’t have a state television service here in Togodo yet,” she continued, “though I have heard they’re erecting a mast out on one of the mountain tops, so we’ll be able to tune in to the Kenyan programmes soon.”

  “Diana. You’re always the first to hear what’s going on. You’re better than the secret service.” exclaimed Amie. She could always rely on Diana to come up with some snippet of new information.

  “Won’t be for a couple of months, but a large container full of televisions, was unloaded at the docks last week, so they obviously expect to have a market for them. But you must make sure to take care of yourself, though violence against ex-pats is quite rare.”

  “I’ve said I won’t go without Ben and I trust him. I’m sure I’ll be fine, but if you could just phone me towards the end of the day to check, just in case Jonathon gets tied up and loses all sense of time?”