My final report; an ill wife and a small child who has been without me for half her life have made my decision to park my assay in the office from here on out very easy.
It's been a hell of a year. My first time to Madagascar was in April of 2009, shortly after a military coup. Over the past year I've spent 9 months working here spanning 3 tours of duty. There was violence in the capital, Antananarivo (easier to say 'Tana), which saw ~150 people killed. As far as military coups go, especially in/around Africa, that's an essentially death free transition. My first week in country was spent at a villa that we used to rent in the capital as a staging area, and a pass through point. It was an amazing multi-building house that was at one point an alternate presidential residence. There are amazing oasis's of luxury tucked in between the destitution. Tana is a semi modern city, and very class driven. If you're poor, you'll likely always be poor, if you're wealthy, you can do no wrong (anyone and everyone can be bought in this country, it's the way the rest of the world works). Like many large cities in the 3rd World, there are pockets of the 1st World lifestyle.
Things were a bit tense when we arrived and we'd often have to cut our supply shopping trips short when truckloads of troops with Kalishnikovs showed up. Needless to say tourism took a nose dive, and most outside companies ceased work in the country. As of this year the World Bank has cut off all assistance, and Madagascar was removed from the African Union last year. Elections are said to be happening in October.
Madagascar was originally settled by people from SE Asia who migrated to the north of Madagascar. Next came people from continental Africa, some having migrated, and many having been brought over as slaves by the Brits and French, the southern part of the country is predominantly more African. The north is lush rain forest (what's left of it), with mind blowing topography. The south where I have worked for 9 months now is more savanna like, and barren. It is, without question the poorest and most primitive part of the country, and one of the poorest locations in the World. Before we came along in 2007 many had never seen a white person before, only heard legends, rumours, and horror stories. The entire village next to our camp hit the deck when the first helicopter came in to fly geophysics.
A typical home is made of mud bricks, parged (sp?) with busted up termite mound dirt mixed with water (as strong as concrete) with thatched roofs. Inside these homes there's typically one room, a couple of hundred square feet at MOST with up to a dozen people living in it. Wealthy villagers (i.e. a handful) are able to tap into the village's generator, which runs from 6-10pm every day. Transportation for the most part around where I was consists of a cart, pulled by cattle. There are however "taxi-buses" that drive between all the villages and cities. A taxi bus ride from where I was to the nearest city is a 2 day journey which covers only 250 km, gives you an idea of road conditions.
Despite the fact that many people merely survive day to day, everyone has a cell phone. Such a contrast to the 1700's type lifestyle that they lead. Wealth for villagers in the south is measured in how many zebu (cattle) you own, there's no banking system. We employed several hundred local villagers over the past couple of years, and they're a great, hard working people; very unlike many parts of continental Africa. They live short lives (50 is old) because of lack of adequate/affordable medical care, and many hardships. Tis the season for locust invasions. Massive clouds of black undulating locusts would pass by on occasion; locals would catch them in nets to fry them up and eat them. I tried a few one night at the local hangout, taste a lot like a french fry with crunchy pieces of exoskeleton on them.
Because they need to live in the now, animals, women, children, etc... are beaten if they don't do what they're required to do at that instant. Hard to see at first, but I have no right to view their lives out of context, or by imprinting MY ideals. There was regular violence in/around the village, the majority fights between drunks, or thieves getting hacked with machetes. Zebu bandits are typically executed on the spot. The same military that lived with us and became friends were often the judge, jury and executioner. Despite the violence, the vast majority of the people are hard working, and generally good, just like anywhere else.
Too much to say, I've rambled too much. Will upload some more pictures at some point. I'm presently sitting in a swanky hotel in 'Tana waiting for a 1 am flight to Paris (ugh).