So I arrived in Lusaka on Saturday 18th
February. I was expecting the airport to
be considerably larger than it was, and I couldn’t help feeling that it has
shades of Cardiff International Airport. The first thing I noticed was the
sun-scorched plastic windows on the terminal building which had been exposed to
fifty-odd years of intense sunlight. I was also expecting some kind of melee
considering I had arrived at an African airport but passing through customs was
relatively straightforward, and we (VSO volunteers) were met by representatives
of the VSO Programme Office to take us onto our lodgings for our in-country
training at the University of Zambia.
Taxis
I saw Ban Ki-moon. He was part of a motorcade
heading into the city on some business. I caught a glimpse from the rear seats
of a clapped-out Honda that was proudly owned by Duvee, my taxi driver. Duvee
told me that Mr Ki-moon said it should be OK for civil partnerships in Zambia
(homosexuality is illegal and taboo in Zambia) to occur and if they wanted
children they should be allowed. He was completely opposed. I could not understand half of the
conversation so I just rattled out ‘yeah, yeah’ after every sentence to keep
the conversation going. He blabbered on about Jesus, Muhammad and some other
stuff and then I heard him talking about reproduction. I lost interest at this
stage so just kept the show rolling with some more yeahs until I heard him talk
about Colonel Gaddafi which is when my ears pricked up. I’ll never know how he actually got from religion to Gaddafi,
though…
Taxis are a real experience in Lusaka. Apparently they
have licensed taxis but I haven’t seen one, therefore I have become accustomed
to using the unlicensed ones. The taxis are all moribund Japanese cast-offs that
have been refurbished and shipped to Africa for re-use. The fumes that come
from these cars are a saccharine petrol smell very different to the smell of
fumes in London. Bartering a price for a ride is interesting. The drivers
obviously overcharge you because you are white – they charge muzungu (white
person) prices. So you have to be stern and try and get the price down. This
can be done by walking away with your final price. You then have to hope they
come crawling after you.
Town
Lusaka is quite hectic from my point of view but
apparently it’s nowhere near some other African cities. After a week of being
shepherded around town by VSO I eventually got my first walking experience near
the centre and it was a real experience. There is so much life to see. It’s a different kind of life that you see on the high
streets and town centres in the UK. The people here are driven by different
needs, and the streets are covered in human traffic. People are selling, sitting
idly about or simply getting from one place to the next. And when the rains
have come down the mud pavements are covered in puddles so just adds to the
drama of it all.
Cairo Road – the main drag – is the heart of the city. It
is a long dual-carriageway and is packed with traffic. Taxi drivers just shout
at you because you are white and they think you need a lift out of town, but
apart from that the locals don’t hassle you. I walked down the central
reservation where there is a track amongst trees – it is very pleasant and a
lot easier than walking down the busy shop-fronted pavements. When I got to the
end of the reservation a group of lads were just hanging out; one of them
acknowledged me and put his fist out to touch mine, so I touched it and mumbled
‘alright’ and I moved on quickly with my backpack in tow. No matter how hard I
try here, I’ll never be able to look cool! Who knows what they thought of me.
The other striking scene that Cairo Road offers is the
on-road economy. As you near the northern end the road breaks into three lanes
where the majority of the action occurs. All through the day there are people
walking towards the traffic in-between the cars selling stuff: hazards lights
for cars, fruit and vegetables, newspapers, mobile phone top-ups, trainers,
cutlery… I could go on. It’s mind-boggling. It’s like 99p stores but on the
streets. I’ve seen people buy newspapers and mobile top-ups, but I’ve never
seen anyone just stop and try on a pair of trainers right there on a busy
carriageway. I would love to know if these people make any sales on their
trainer stock.
