Archive for the ‘My Family’ Category
This is Samantha. When I was in Garamba in the north of DRC in December - when I blogged about Eddie the Sudanese donkey (who by the way is doing well) - I met Atamato’s wife’s mother, ie Mawanzo’s mother. Atamato & Mawanzo knew I was going to Garamba so they gave me a letter and small parcel to give her.
Mawanzo’s mother It turns out Mawanzo and her mother have not seen each other for several years. Garamba is so utterly inaccessible, that it is just difficult to make this happen.
But I was able to show lots of photos from the blog, and video of Atamato - which delighted pretty much everyone.
A recent picture of Mawanzo
Her mother, and others in Garamba who know Mawanzo, kept telling me she had put on lots of weight. Which here is a good thing because it means you are being fed by your husband.
I have yet to show these pictures to Mawanzo - so it will be interesting to see what response I get.
Samantha
Old Man Dust - born 1949
Massyhano - which means “dust” in Kinandais - is his name and he has lived at Ishango since 1975. He is originally from Mutwanga, next to Mutsora - and even remembers when the King of Belgium visited there before our country’s independence in 1960.
“Vieux Poussiere” - or “Old Man Dust” - is now as much a part of Ishango as the hippos, the elephants and the antelope. He lives over in Kavinyonge, but spends most of his time here at the station. He helps out with odd jobs - and his superb fishing skills come in great use, as I am not so good. He has a wife and about 8 or 9 children - most of whom have left the area.
You can always count on Old Man Dust to catch Tilapia
He is the man that everyone knows. If anyone has been to Ishango, they know Old Man Dust. And if you want to know anything about Ishango, just ask Old Man Dust. He is quite simply a legend unto himself.
Part of the family
This is Samantha. We did a Q&A with Atamato. Here is what he said:
1. Why did you become a Ranger? Because I wanted to protect nature. My father was a Ranger too, so I lived most of my life in Garamba National Park in the north near Sudan. I always wanted to be like my father.
This job is what I have done most of my life, and I would not have it any other way.
2. Would you like your two sons to become Rangers? I want both of them not only to be Rangers but researchers as well. I want them to achieve more than me. My father was a Ranger; I became a Ranger and Chief Ranger/Conservationist, and I want my kids to obtain more knowledge than myself.
3. How do you view the security situation in Ishango at the moment? Now it looks a bit quiet, but I know I have to keep my eyes wide open. Of course it is getting better than before, but you can never trust on 100% stability. There can always be new threats.
4. Is there any news on the pregnant hippo? No news. I will let you know when there is and I hope she is pregnant!
5. Is there any further information regarding the chemicals you suspected of being used in poaching? Who is doing it?
It is a Congolese man from Kasaka who is responsible I think. He is connected to a business man from Butembo. He is not regular or permanent in the park. We are still organizing patrols to catch him, but we haven’t succeeded yet. We need to get proof too. I’ve tried to get more information on his actions from local people. We are still awaiting data. The patrol is already on the ground for this.
Paula had suggested in one of her comments that the chemical is Furadan. We are still investigating this.
6. What other patrols have been done? Or what other patrols are planned? I’ve got more than 5 patrols on the go now. We’ve got patrols that spend the night in the field, and then we’ve got the reconnaissance patrols (just for the day). Of this kind of day patrol we do over 10 a month. This is totally 100% thanks to donations. We are getting rations, salaries, fuel and other support.
I am also helping Kasindi Port patrol post by giving them fuel. They patrol from there to Ishango.
We are covering a big area.
7. What is the situation with the Mai Mai in Muramba? Are they still there? The Mai Mai rebels are still in Muramba, about 10km as the crow flies from Ishango. You can see a map here. There are local people supporting them. I’ve told Director Mushenzi and written my report. I think it is a pending issue and it is a decision that has to be taken from the top. But it is a delicate issue, and we need support to be able to move the Mai Mai from the area.
These people are not educated at all and can always create problems.
According to the government they want to integrate the Mai Mai with the Congolese army. If this works I think it would be a great idea.
This is my son, Atamato Tsa. Tsa means “son”. So we call him Atamato Tsa.
He came to visit Mawanzo and I in Ishango during the summer holidays. He is 16 and lives in Beni as he is studying in secondary school. There is no school in Ishango. He likes chemistry and biology and wants to learn about nature. He is still thinking about what he will study in university. I have another son too, who lives up in Garamba, who is 10. This is much further away than Beni.
Atamato Tsa
And here is Mawanzo, in the green dress. Atamato Tsa is on the left. The other lady is my sister, Neema, who came to visit in Ishango too after she heard about all the work we are doing here. The baby is her daughter, Antoinette, and the other two young boys are also her children.
Ishango is safe at the moment after the attack on the gorilla sector last month at Tshiaberimu. The Advance Force came to help us out - several Rangers spent 10 days here while we were able to evaluate the situation with the Mai Mai in Muramba. We had a huge amount of support from my colleagues at ICCN, and our Director Norbert Mushenzi who coordinated everything. My wife was very worried and did not feel safe for a long time because we are so vulnerable here.
The Mai Mai are still at Muramba, and while efforts have been made to move them now they are trying to integrate into the local community there - which is illegal - so that we cannot root them out. So for now we are still waiting to see what is going to happen. The situation is still tenuous, but we are definitely calmer now than we were after the attack. Thank you for your donations - I am going to use them for patrol fuel, patrol rations, tents and life jackets. I am very very grateful. Before I continue with this blog, I must first let you meet my wife Mawanzo.
You will of course hear more from her in the future, but for now it was important that I made introductions.
We moved to Ishango together from Garumba, where Mawanzo was a primary school teacher. But when my work took me here to Ishango, Mawanzo gave up her job to come with me to the Park Station and, due to the nature of my work, it is unwise for her to find a job teaching in the nearby town and instead she works at the Station.
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