chapter_03

- Between Order and Chaos -

Trip from Saarbrücken to Lethem.


Where are we now. The Minister of Tourism (Leader of the Tourist Association) wants to and is now helping us. First with this ridiculous luggage problem and if that is working out, he wants to show us the city. It could work out quite excellent with just a little bit of luck.

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A bit of luck is good but good connections are better. Thanks Gerry. I was quite nervous tonight, like last night. When the first 36 packages weren't ours, I was starting to wonder, even though someone told me if Gerry was on the case, not to worry. Everyone seems to know, like and respect him. We'll meet him tomorrow. He wants to show us a few things. And we want to see them so it should be a day with a couple successes. Okay, I try sleep.

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Just a couple notes before we pack it in. Today was Tuesday. I think. Yes. Sept 20.

Had many phone calls and somehow was on the computer. Lyndond had a few questions and I showed him a few things. Sent a couple e-mails. After watching the sun go down over the wide river, the tide having made it deeper, we had a couple drinks with Lyndond and talked and learned a little about Guyana, finding out that the place - well, I'll get back to it later.

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We got some things going on today. We had breakfast at 08:00 after I made a, or received three calls from Sharla, organising. She likes to organise. We took a cab into pick her up then off to her work place in Georgetown to interview her in her office. She was a little camera shy.

She has taken on the job as camera assistant or that and, what would you say, public relations manager. This may be very good for the time in the savannahs with the Amerindians.

Bloody hell, my eyes are going to fall out of my head.

Took a short taxi ride to see Gerry in his office. Gerry is a live wire.

He has a lot of influence. People either love him, respect him, admire him or a combination of any of those three. Not many don't know him. At least anyone who has anything to do with planes and tourism.

He is the reason we got our equipment. The baggage people in the BWIA of Trinidad didn't want to send it to us. Even after 36 phone calls.

Pete said, "Talk to Gerry, tell him what you're doing, he'll handle it."

He handles many things. He gave us one of his men to guide us around the city and use Gerry's influence. Three days of filming in one. The only thing we missed was when an old rasta man told us we were white scum, go home, fuck off and he told off the non whites with us who were playing the western world capitalist pig invasion of our land and on he went. Like anyone who is xenophobic.

Ah yes, let's mention colour. White is about all you see, well 90% in Germany. Maybe a little less, but in Guyana it may not have more than one or two.

The Dutch built the dykes that made the coast possible. It would be under water otherwise. But most people are either from Indian, as in the country, India, descent or African descent. Cheap labour and slave labour. Our guide tells us the tension isn't so bad, mostly in politics. The kids don't seem to notice.

And the only thing I noticed is that there seemed to be far too many beautiful women. It was sometimes distracting. There were times when I thought I was looking at angels and wondering if maybe, but alas, I shouldn't let the secret out. Most people think of Guyana as a mosquito-infested swamp. Which it can be in rainy season.

We didn't take a brake to pee or eat the daylong. At 6:00 we had a Coke after filming Sharla in the mad market which was what one might imagine in a fairly undeveloped country.

After the parliament let out, we filmed that, a couple monuments and back to see Gerry at his front gate. He loves to talk. He has changed our plans a little for us. We are to come into town and he'll find us a hotel in the city and fly us to his resort for a party with some Indians or another group than what we are after but we take a look see what we can do. Shoot the falls and fly, but I tell that after it happens.

Lyndond entertained us at the bar in the Prairie Hotel, his, we had animated conversation with him the last few nights. He and his friend were warning us about the Amerindian women. Apparently, and there is evidence for it, if one of them decides she is going to have your love, you are toast. Tied and forget about ever leaving. You will have a home in the south of Guyana.

It's interesting to hear non-Amerindians talk about Amerindians. Mark, I think was his name but don't rely on my memory of names, thinks we should leave them be. And his Anthropologist friend is of the same opinion and he will try to get us in contact with him. We see. But not tonight.

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There is something a little strange about the money relationship here. Hotels that would look like this in downtown Paris would not cost so much more, maybe not even. We can't complain; is was given us two nights at no charge, except for food and whatnot. Not many in this country could afford such a place. Tacky, run down, strange smells, everything old faded and somehow ridiculous.

I can see wanting to visit the town a couple days but I can never get used to this desperation and the white man has money so let's see how much we get from him. It makes me uneasy. I think we got to get down to the Rupununi where this lust for money isn't always the center contact.

Don't get me wrong, they are treating us nicely but I wouldn't send my parents here. I don't know how they can charge $100 - 200 American dollars the night for a run down room in a, as far as I know, 3rd world country.

We are off to see the Minister of, I don't remember, we want permission to shoot in an Amerindian reservation. When we get in we'll owe Gerry another thanks.

I don't believe anyone is altruistic, everyone looks to see how one can best survive, Gerry has a fairly good understanding of it.

We'll talk about the after the weekend. We have to pay our flight but it includes a night of his hospitality and a stop at the falls.

I think we are in need of a little more positive not giving so much money out experience.

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The Minister of Culture for the Amerindian affairs, or some words like that. He had an interview, or the right hand man. I have his card. We had to wait an hour then with blaring air conditioner and fan, we talked to our man. Very friendly and easy going man. We told him what we were doing, Sharla told him where we wanted to go and he said he'd like to have a film when we were done. He mentioned that the Amerindians weren't that excited about having people come in, make a film and go sell it for big money.

Understandable. Ernst explained about it being not so bad for the Germans to know about the country. It is still fairly unknown most anywhere.

So we parted friends, which is always best, we got our 18 permits to enter the reservations and film. Sharla is likely good to have with us on account she is an Amerindian.

That chewed up a good portion of the afternoon. We managed a few more shots. Some quite pretty.

Tomorrow we just do a little with the small camera.

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Everything is the way it is. I've moved down to the pool. It looks like the Germans where here and took care of making sure enough signs are plastered around the place. I don't know what the fuck we are trying to prove. Somehow this lame attempt at luxury in a land where most everyone has next to nothing, seems somehow, more ridiculous. It is a reminder that only a few of us can afford such a life where one can choose to stay in a nice hotel, eat in a nice restaurant, listen to nice musak or whatever the package sound is referred to as.

I mean sure it's nice, it's just a lot of shit. Which is exactly the wrong mind frame to have before going to the interior.

We keep hearing about the dangers of the women. They are the ones that put a spell on the man they want and then you got to stay. And for Ernst and me this is a very big danger. Single, no real ties, which I better not say in front of any of my eight or so partners.

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Noise is everywhere. Machines are always humming. This window here doesn't close so I will listen to machine again tonight. Noise sucks. It's one of the most alarming pollutions. We had a fairly nice meal at the nice restaurant.

Apparently the number one (sorry, two) hotel in Georgetown. Perhaps there are better rooms than this one.

I'd like to know who here has money and where are they from and where are they going to. Sure some Guyanese have money but most live in this town that live in Guyana. There were a couple businessmen with call girls at the restaurant but I can't imagine that's all that goes on. Stewardess maybe as well.

Don't know. I can't imagine they live on tourists. What I told Ernst, what I sort of don't know really, is maybe there are quite a few business people coming in here. I could imagine a hotel knows they can charge whatever they want if people have to stay somewhere.

Ironically, because they are so underdeveloped here, there is no infrastructure, as in one road that is useful for 4x4s in the dry season. So they have a natural wonder which is very seldom on this planet. They can get people to have a look at some virgin rain forest and charge them big money to do it. And why not, supply and demand.

"Come see the last bit of non raped land, stay in ecco hut for $200 American and see some wild animals in the wild."

People will do it, just to see what the world used to look like.

"Wow, and there are people who live here and can do tricks."

"Ya, look, there's one making a pot."

"Far out."

"Can we have one."

"Sure, they sell the pots."

"Forget the pot, the pot maker, how much for the little girl."

"This ain't Tailand."

"I have money."

"We see what we can do for you."

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Sixty percent of the people in Guyana have Indian ancestors, India. 30% African descent. Accent. Overcent. 2% Europeans, Amerindian. Ah. Now I get it. They have Amerindians and Indian Indians. It is the poorest land in the western world. We saw a little of the ghettos. Most of it is off bounds. Two areas where you don't go in uninvited. It's not easy finding a solution for such problems. Ignoring it is not going to help. Desperation is a dangerous thing. Socialistic Capitalism is the only solution. Ernst suggested a land has to be rich enough to pay people to be consumers. A little ridiculous maybe, but what are most government jobs if they aren't paying people to be consumers. And they are mostly happy to have the job. Having a job keeps one busy. Out of trouble.

And starving people are no fun.

This either or thing doesn't work. I've said it often enough, money has to be-

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Someone is making much noise. Ernst. Knocking and going and coming and going and then I caught him. He was out on the street talking to a German who had been working in the interior, then got Malaria which made him a little crazy, now he sleeps on the benches, which many do here. It isn't so easy to watch. It's everywhere the same but here it's a little more. He told Ernst that Saturday wasn't a good day to go out because most of the police had the night off and there are even more places one shouldn't go.

But the first step is done. The missionaries have done their work. They have told the people that what they believe, is wrong, and the Christians should know, and that all you gotta do is pray and hope and the Lord is going to bless you. I won't likely be able to say this on my one web space. No offending the Christians. After all, they are helping make everyone nice. What's a little mindocide between cultures.

They make a big squawk here about saving the Amerindian culture. Sorry, it's too fuckin' late. When you make them Christians, you have already killed their past. What's the difference now if they watch TV or not.

Speaking of TV, if anyone has a few video cameras that are good for TV and they don't need them anymore, send them to Guyana TV stations. They need them.

I don't know. That's what I think as I sit here. It's nothing to do with nice, if we want to be free to walk the streets at night, we have to develop a standard of living acceptable for the poor and desperate.

Of course there are other arguments about the advantage of poverty and crime. This is-

Save up to $11,000 dollars.

The commercials on Guyana TV are pretty grim. But I suppose when there's no money, there's not much you can do. Trying to sound American. Christian Americans take over the world by raping lands then going in and saving them with God and investment.

Funny thing to say maybe, but that's how it is and it isn't a secret. I let my thought slip out at our last hotel, where unlike here we had to pay, and the woman already knew it. I left out the Christian part though. And this Christian thing comes from the Roman Empire. So when you stop and think how westernised Europe and North, Central and South America is, one could say the Roman Empire has made a fairly unfuckinbelievalbe conquest.

"Hey, this is a pain in the ass taking over the world with armed forces."

"What do we do."

"Who’s that guy there."

"He's Jesus Christ, the king of the Jews."

"Think we can use that to our advantage."

"Anything can be used to our advantage if we play our cards right."

"All right, let's adopt him to our Triumvirate thing here and take over the planet with mind manipulation instead of brute force."

"Mind manipulation, what a brilliant idea."

"We might not get all the Moslems and Hindu’s but we'll concentrate on the rest of them."

"What a mad idea."

"Ya, isn't it?"

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Next move is out of here. We will experience a different kind of people without money. And we were up on the fifth floor just to have a last look of the city and a fellow was yelling up at us to throw down something. Which sort of sums it up. Throw us something down.

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taken from:
a trip from saarbrücken to lethem
by john rah

go to number four



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