Can One Be in Conakry?

Not that anyone would advise flying to Guinea this week, but that had been in my plans just a few days ago. That necessitated the 21st century ex-pat-in-Africa ritual of researching how to fly from one country to its next door neighbor. Although having long since obtained my PhD in this subject, I am struck by the double shock of (1) how difficult this logistical information-gathering still is; (2) how infrequent, indirect and expensive the flights are. West Africa in particular, a checkerboard of francophone and anglophone countries, remains astoundingly difficult to move around in, even just crossing a single border.

Case in point, to fly to one Mano River Union capital (boasting two airports nonetheless), to the capital city of its larger neighbor: Monrovia to Conakry. There are no direct flights, at all. There are not really any connecting flights, either, in the more conventional sense of, getting halfway there and having to stop and switch planes.

There is only very, very, indirect. Like, Casablanca indirect. Or, slightly better, Dakar indirect. No wait, that involves flying in the opposite direction, to switch in Accra first. Same with the third Mano River capital, Freetown, which is directly in between the other two: that itinerary goes on to switch in Banjul before heading back down to Conakry. Twenty-six hour journey, that one: more than ten hours longer than driving.

That is the shortest flight route out of Robertsfield. It also costs $1,975. United States Dollars.

How about from convenient little Spriggs-Payne, which, from the middle of last year, has once again been host to the puddle-jumper network of ASKY Airlines?

Oh, much better: $620, a third of the price (for a one-way ticket). But this is still a three-stop journey, in the wrong direction two out of the three times: Monrovia-Accra-Lomé-Abidjan-Conakry. Eight-hours, forty minutes. Only one seat left at this price!!! I guess I am lucky I won't have to fly to Brussels first.

Guess there's more than one reason not to go to Conakry this week.

Air Mano River Union?

A bit of a strange, and typically vague press report came out of the recent meeting between the Transport Ministers of the Mano River Union (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote D'Ivoire) that stated, in part:

The Ministers of Transport of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have resolved to establish a common airlines to connect the three countries and ease the difficulty being experienced by inhabitants of the sub-region  because of the absence of connecting flights.    

It should be noted that presently none of these three countries has any domestic airline, unlike Ivory Coast, with its recently re-launched state carrier, Air Cote D'Ivoire. Perhaps that's why the MRU's newest and largest member state (which also does not straddle the Mano River) is not listed among the countries seeking to 'establish a common airline.'

The impracticalities of this scheme are evident: aviation anywhere is a costly endeavor; even in low-competition  Africa, continental giant Kenya Airways struggles to yield a profit. In the region, privately-backed, would-be Sierra Leonean state carrier Fly 6ix went bust with little fanfare, while news of an Arik-backed or government-back successor have gone silent.

The region remains a tiny market for commercial flights, with fewer seats departing Liberia in a week than are filled at most major airports in a quarter of a single hour. Furthermore, there is still very little need to connect the Mano River Union capitals with one another, much less for domestic flights. Since Brussels Airlines changed its schedule earlier in 2013, there has been no scheduled service between Abidjan, an urban center of 5 million, and Monrovia, just 2 hours away (Brussels airlines stops in Freetown as of last month). Likewise, Conakry and Monrovia were initially linked by Air France's service which it began in 2011, but that has now switched to a stop in Freetown. British Airways also flies to Freetown, although it doesn't have rights to drop passengers from Liberia in Sierra Leone. Despite all these widebody fights, there are still more frequencies to further-away Accra than next door Freetown.

ASKY Airlines, launched in 2009 by Ethiopian Airlines, and based out of Lomé, dominates scheduled flights across West Africa, albeit with tiny turboprops making a handful of flights a week, few of which hopscotch the Anglophone/Francophone checkerboard of West African countries. In April, a flight from Monrovia to Abidjan took 6 hours, as the only routing was on ASKY from Monrovia to Accra to Lomé, to a change of planes to reverse directions to Abidjan. This is the result of the current state of both the economics and regulations of the region, and ASKY has been successful in part because it boasts no particular national affiliation. Although national flag carriers will always be a point of pride for governments, they are expensive and impractical, especially for under-budgeted, underdeveloped countries.

Moved 2 Moscow

The Economist's Baobab column from April this year chronicled and compared the comically centipedal convoys of many African heads of state. Its worth reading in full, and its point that such motorcades are both over-cautious and an unwise expenditure of aid-dependent governments. President Sirleaf's motorcade was picked out in particular: 

ON A recent Tuesday evening, President Ernest Bai Koroma's motorcade swung past St Mary's supermarket in the west of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. A motorcyclist came first. Mr Koroma followed in a Mercedes saloon. Most of the other six vehicles in the procession were gleaming black 70 Series Toyota Land Cruisers. The 70 Series wagon starts at $68,210. The World Bank puts Sierra Leone's GDP per capita at $325. 

Mr Koroma's extravagant motorcade is modest compared with other African leaders. When Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni travels up-country he takes between eight or nine cars, a couple of mine-resistant South African armoured personnel carriers and a large silver Mercedes truck with a mobile lavatory. Occasionally mobile-phone signal dies when he arrives, suggesting that one of his vehicles also contains some kind of jammer. 

For a trip to church some weeks ago, the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, travelled with three four-wheel-drives from the Special Security Service, two pickup trucks from the Liberian national police, and an off-roader carrying Nigerian troops from the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Long-time Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe travels with two motorcyclists up front who clear the road, arriving at high speed then stopping by their road, their lights flashing and sirens blaring. Three blacked-out Mercedes saloons follow, one with the number plate "Zim1". Finally two pick-up trucks appear, with ten or more armed guards in them. Which of these many cars Mr Mugabe himself travels in is unclear.

This wasn't the only time that Presidential Motorcades were mentioned in African-focused press during the same time frame. From the Brookings Institution Africa blog:

Likewise, President Banda has come to power with a lot of goodwill from home and abroad . But she must be careful not to follow the path of her predecessor. It is easy to squander such goodwill. President Banda must be very careful not to fall victim to the trappings of power. Last Friday (April 13, 2012), I was traveling around Lilogwe and I was stopped by police as the president’s motorcade passed through. The president’s limousine was surrounded by over 20 outriders, a large number armed cruisers and other vehicles as part of the president’s security detail. A very large convoy by any standards. While the president’s security is critical, there is no need to be extravagant. For a country that is heavily dependent on donors and one that is experiencing severe fuel shortages, such an image does not reflect a leadership that seeks to move away from the trapping of power that marked Mutharika’s regime. So, Your Excellency President Banda, as you rationalize the activities your government, start by getting rid of some of those vehicles in your motorcade.

These long motorcades may or may not be overblown or overbudget. That point is not, to me, the most detrimental effect of these long motorcades. This is not just a contingent of cars moving down the road, after all. This is a heavily armed caravan, with sirens whining and guns drawn, rushing at high speed down the highway at all hours, requiring (and sometimes forcing) other vehicles and citizens out off the road and out of the way, a repugnantly aggressive tactic that has lead to at least one death in the past year, when a Presidential Escort struck and killed a pedestrian in Paynesville in July. Traffic laws, as little as they are celebrated in Liberia, are not applied here. 

This is a daily, or multi-daily occurrence, often during rush hour, or other periods of heavy traffic, which have become increasingly constant in the last several years as roads have improved and more people have bought cars. The only relief is during the President's frequent visits to other countries. 

President Sirleaf is not alone in skipping the gridlock. The Vice President has an only slightly smaller, slightly less-armed motorcade to and from his residence in distant Paynesville. But any time the President gets in a car, space is made for her movement. As you may notice from some of these videos, the grand finale of this show, along with various Special Security guards, UNMIL troops, as the Economist mentioned, are a random assortment of SUVs with the bright red government plates, or just regular business and private plates, or NGO plates, which may or may not have been part of the convoy at the beginning, but just may be tagging along to skip the traffic. All it seems to take is a big helping of the old "look like you belong" behavior and pressing the hazard button of the dashboard for some flashing lights. In the montage below, notice the yellow (business)-plated grey SUV tailing the last police escort as it rushes through ELWA. The last video is from when Sirleaf and the aforementioned Malawian President Banda attended church together on the Sunday during her official state visit to Liberia, also in April: 



This seems to be the precipice of a slippery slope which Liberia's motorists are now happily sliding down. In the past year, a proliferation of impromptu motorcades seems to appear almost daily. National Police vehicles now routinely travel with their sirens sounding, rushing at high speed into on-coming traffic. Perhaps they have pressing business, but perhaps they are just making (ab)use of their privilege. Any government plate (such as the black Representative plate in the first video below) is a license to instantly enter motorcade mode: hit the flashers and cross the yellow line into the opposite lanes of traffic, or at least, as in the examples below, have other motorists show you undue deference even if you stay on the right side of the road: 



This practice has become an everyday occurrence, and there is no way of knowing whether there has been any official sanction for these Make-Your-Own-Motorcades, or whether this method is authorized, but its frequency seems inversely proportioned to the increase in gridlock traffic on Tubman Boulevard, and are a rather dispiriting display of public servants and regular citizens finding was to flaunt the law, the rules, and dilute social norms. 

Its starting to feel a bit like the ridiculous circus that is the gridlocked Moscow, which has become infamous for the proliferation of special flashing blue lights (which come with immunity from traffic laws) can be purchased by business men and other private citizens to whip past stalled lanes of mere mortals.  Maybe Monrovia needs its own Society of Blue Buckets. But it'd be nice if this society would move away from the chaos of Moscow rather than speeding head-on toward it, and it would be better if the elites in and out of government weren't imitating oligarchs.

Photos of Freetown's Historical Architecture

Earlier in May there was a very lovely series of photographs taken by Finbarr O'Reilly for Reuters and organized as a slideshow on the Guardian website. I'm reposted my favorites along with the (somewhat inaccurate) captions, although the whole series is really special. And I don't mean to be snarky about the labels, this is an esoteric topic and hard facts on the origins of West Africa's antiquated buildings are generally very few.

The stilted British Hill Station is particularly stunning, and I can't think of anything like it in Liberia. I haven't spent much time in Sierra Leone and I was surprised that such careworn but intact examples still existed in central Freetown.

Incidentally, many of these examples are featured in the more comprehensive cataloging that Tim Hetherington undertook in November of 2004-- a topic on which we exchanged emails several years ago, the only time I communicated with him prior to his sudden death. 

 Board houses like this one on Pademba Road, dating back about a century, 

are thought to replicate the style of American east coast architecture of about 1776

 About 100 years old, this colonial-style Congo Town board house has a provisions shop

 The main road in Congo Town is signposted on a board house 

that seems to have been extended over the years

 Painted weatherboarding covers the facade of a board house on King Street. 

The traditional dwellings are known as 'bode ose' in the Krio creole

 This two-storey board house is in Murray Town. 

The architecture recalls the West Indies as well as 18th America

Wooden stilts raise a former British colonial administration building in Hill Station. 

About 100 years ago the British authorities relocated their settlement 

from the stifling coastal flats to higher, cooler, ground

 

  Latice-work protects the stairway of a former British colonial administration building

 in the Hill Station neighbourhood

Paula Scher's Map of Africa

At the other end of cartographic history from the previous post's artifact sits this contemporary specimen from world-famous graphic designer Paula Scher of the Pentagram Group. In its own way nearly as abstract as the chart from 1570, with fanciful interpretations of the shapes of many of the countries, especially Cameroon, Benin, Mozambique and several others. 

The map's defining feature is overwhelming bustle of twisting place names that fan out across the entire canvas. Country names and capital cities are most prominent, but each space on land and ocean is filled with the chalky block type of cities and other features near to their true location. 

"Liberia" is in white and upside-down from the reader as the Guinea Coast turns northwesterly. "Monrovia" is nearly more prominent in black, delimited in a white box. Between the two sits the large, bending "Grain Coast" crammed in with a dozen other town names: Harbel, Mount Barclay, Buchanan, Edina, Hartford, Greenville, Marshall, Brewerville, Tubmanburg, Robertsport. Settler communities, all. Back on the land, names of a few county towns can barely be deciphered in tiny, thin letters-- only Zwedru is large enough to read from afar. 

The Crimes

It was a big, historic day for Liberia, West Africa, and the world as the verdict against Charles Taylor was read at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, some 3000 miles away in the Netherlands. Most of Monrovia tuned in, via radio and television, to hear the Judge read out the entire summary. The city was calm yet agitated, as people rushed to cluster around the nearest news outlet, and a few took to the streets. 


It was not exactly a sound-bite friendly format: the reading of the summary judgement took more than two hours, without the single-second drama of an OJ Simpson-style jury statement. I don't know how anticipated this was, but only the BBC and Al Jazeera covered the event live, and even they broke occasionally when the Judge took a sip of water to continue reading the 40+ page decision. 


Despite the court's dry tone and lengthly speech, the review of the case of striking, as it took more than a quarter of an hour just to read the charges against Taylor: with categories of crime, dates, times, brief descriptions of various events. If have copied that portion of the transcript of today's session below. 

In newspaper coverage of the trial, the list of the accusations, when rattled off, is so vast and vague that the real events they are based on can be forgotten. And while the summary does not detail the tens of thousands of pages of testimony and transcripts that the Judges reviewed, it does reference enough context to remind us that these charges are the result of specific acts of violence and inhumanity. 

In the wake of Taylor's guilty verdict, in which not all of the prosecution's case was proven, it is no longer about Charles Taylor, the single man. The list below recounts hundreds of individual and collective horrors, whole classes of atrocities which occurred countless times to thousands of people. What number of homes and businesses were looted? How many were burned down, and how many people were inside? In total, many murders relate to the following list? How many rapes? How many were in public? What was the final count on the number of amputations? In the end, how many young people had been coerced, drugged, fooled or forced into soldiering or slavery? How many escaped and were sent back, their fate sealed? When does a rape victim become recategorized as a sex slave? 


How many lives did this war destroy? These were the thoughts running through my mind before the judge asked Charles Taylor to stand and learn his fate. 


MURDER, a Crime Against Humanity, punishable under Article 2.a. of the Statute. (Count 2) and/or
VIOLENCE to Life, Health and Physical or Mental Well-Being of Persons, in particular MURDER, a Violation of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II , punishable under Article 3.a. of the Statute (Count 3)
16. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and/or Liberian fighters, murdered civilians in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:

17. In Kenema District between about 25 May 1997 and about 31 March 1998.
    
18. In Kono District between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 January 2000.
    
19. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and 28 February 1999.
    20. In Kailahun District between about 1 February 1998 and about 30 June 1998.

RAPE, a Crime Against Humanity, punishable under Article 2.g. of the Statute
(Count 4)
21. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters committed widespread acts of rape against women and girls in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:

22. In Kono District between about 1 February and about 31 December 1998.
    
23. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999.
    24. In Kailahun District in 1998 and 1999 women and girls were raped in various locations which were not charged in the Indictment. The Trial Chamber makes no finding of guilt for these crimes for reasons fully set out in the written judgement.

SEXUAL SLAVERY, a Crime Against Humanity, punishable under Article 2.g. of the Statute (Count 5)
25. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that between about 30 November 1996 and about 18 January 2002, members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance and Liberian fighters committed widespread acts of sexual slavery against civilian women and girls in Sierra Leone in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:

26. In Kono District between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 December 1998.
    
27. In Kailahun District in 1998 and 1999.
    
28. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999.

OUTRAGES UPON PERSONAL DIGNITY, a Violation of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, punishable under Article 3.e. of the Statute (Count 6).


29. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance and Liberian fighters committed widespread acts of outrages upon the personal dignity of civilian women and girls by acts such as forcing them to undress in public and by raping them and committing other acts of sexual abuse sometimes in full view of the public, and in full view of family members, in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:

30. In Kono District between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 December 1998;
    
31. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999;

32. In Kailahun District in 1998 and 1999 outrages upon personal dignity were committed against women and girls in various locations not charged in the Indictment. The Trial Chamber makes no finding of guilt for these crimes for reasons fully set out in the written judgement.


VIOLENCE to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular CRUEL TREATMENT, a Violation of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, punishable under Article 3.a. of the Statute (Count 7); and/or
OTHER INHUMANE ACTS, a Crime Against Humanity, punishable under Article 2.i. of the Statute (Count 8)


33. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters committed widespread acts of physical violence against civilians in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:
34. In Kono District between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 December 1998, civilians were forced to endure cruel treatment including having words carved into their bodies, and amputations of limbs.
35. In Kailahun District, crimes of physical violence were committed not charged in the Indictment. The Trial Chamber makes no findings of guilt for these crimes for reasons fully set out in the written judgement.
36. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999 civilians were subjected to cruel treatment, including the amputations of limbs.

CONSCRIPTING OR ENLISTING CHILD SOLDIERS INTO THE ARMED FORCES OR USING THEM IN HOSTILITIES, and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, punishable under Article 4.c. of the Statute (Count 9)


37. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that between about 30 November 1996 and about 18 January 2002, members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance and Liberian fighters conscripted and enlisted children under the age of 15 into their armed groups and used them to participate actively in the hostilities in the following districts of Sierra Leone:
38. In Tonkolili District, children under the age of 15 were abducted and conscripted into the RUF at Kangari Hills from early 1996 until May 1997. Between 500 and 1000 children had “RUF” carved into their forehead or back to prevent escape.
39. In Kailahun District, children under the age of 15 were conscripted into the RUF throughout 1998 and 1999, and underwent military training at Bunumbu training base, also known as “Camp Lion”, and at Buedu Field.
40. In Kono District during the Indictment period, children under the age of 15 were conscripted into the RUF and AFRC at various locations and were used to participate actively in hostilities and to amputate limbs, guard diamond mines, go on food-finding missions, as bodyguards, to man checkpoints and in armed combat.
41. In Bombali District, children under the age of 15 were conscripted into the RUF and AFRC between 1998 and 2000, underwent military training at various locations and participated actively in hostilities.
42. In Port Loko District between January 1999 and April/May 1999, a child under the age of 15 was abducted, conscripted into the AFRC and used for active participation in hostilities in Masiaka.
43. In Kenema District during the Junta period, children under the age of 15 were used as armed guards for mining sites.

44. In Koinadugu District between March and May 1998, children under the age of 15 were used to participate actively in hostilities and at least one child under the age of 15 was used to fight against the Kamajors.
45. In Freetown and the Western Area, children under the age of 15 were used to participate actively in hostilities in Benguema from the end of January until March 1999 and during the Freetown attack in January 1999.


ENSLAVEMENT, a Crime Against Humanity, punishable under Article 2.c. of the Statute (Count 10)
46. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that between 30 November 1996 and about 18 January 2002, members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance and Liberian fighters intentionally exercised powers of ownership over civilians by depriving them of their freedom and forcing them to work, thus committing the crime of enslavement in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:
47. In Kenema District between about 1 July 1997 and about 28 February 1998, civilians were abducted and forced to mine for diamonds.
48. In Kono District throughout 1998 and 1999, civilians were abducted and used as forced labour to carry loads, perform domestic chores, go on food-finding missions, undergo military training, and work in diamond mines.
49. In Kailahun District between 30 November 1996 and July 2000 civilians were abducted and used as forced labour to carry loads, collect arms and ammunition, construct the Buedu airstrip, undergo military training, farm, fish, perform domestic chores and go on food-finding missions.
50. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999, civilians were abducted and used as forced labour to carry loads, perform domestic chores and destroy a bridge.

PILLAGE, a Violation of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, punishable under Article 3.f. of the Statute (Count 11)
51. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters, engaged in widespread and unlawful taking of civilian property in various locations in the following districts of Sierra Leone:
52. In Kono District, between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 December 1998, civilian goods were looted, money and diamonds were looted from a bank and, as part of ‘Operation Pay Yourself’, civilian homes and shops were looted.
53. In Bombali District, numerous instances of looting of civilian property occurred between 1 February 1998 and 30 April 1998. Money from a bank was also looted.
54. In Port Loko District between 1 February 1998 and 30 April 1998 there were numerous instances of looting of civilian property as part of Operation Pay Yourself.
55. In Freetown and the Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and about 28 February 1999, widespread looting of civilian property from residences and businesses occurred.


ACTS OF TERRORISM, a Violation of Article 3 Common to the Geneva Conventions and of Additional Protocol II, punishable under Article 3.d. of the Statute ( Count 1)
56. The Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters committed acts of terrorism by committing the crimes described in counts 2 to 8 as part of a campaign to terrorize the civilian population of Sierra Leone.
57. There was evidence in the crimes described in counts 2 to 8 of public executions and amputations; people were beheaded and their heads displayed at checkpoints; during “Operation No Living Thing,” during the Junta Period in Kenema Town, a civilian was killed in full public view and then his body was disembowelled and his intestines stretched across the road to make a “checkpoint”; women and girls were raped in public; people were burned alive in their homes. The Trial Chamber finds beyond reasonable doubt that the purpose of these atrocities charged in counts 2 to 8 was to instil terror in the civilian population.

58. However, some acts of violence, even when committed in a campaign whose primary purpose was to terrorise the civilian population, may not have been committed in furtherance of such a campaign. The Trial Chamber finds that this is the case with the acts of violence underlying the crimes of Child Soldiers (Count 9), Enslavement (Count 10), and Pillage (Count 11). The Trial Chamber therefore finds that the crime of acts of terrorism has not been established for these counts.
59. The Trial Chamber also finds that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that acts of terrorism were committed by the widespread burning of civilian property with the primary purpose of terrorizing the civilian population in various locations in Kono District between about 1 February 1998 and about 31 December 1998, and in various locations in Freetown and Western Area between about 21 December 1998 and February 1999. 

Historic Photography of Africa from the UK National Archives

Commissioner's Compound, Buea, Cameroon

(old capital of German Kamerun)

Via one of my favorite websites, Things magazine, comes the UK National Archive, which has a digitized their much of their holdings onto Flickr. This includes a delightful project called Africa Through A Lens, which is a totally jaw-dropping treasure of historic photographs from across the continent, from Sudan and Somalia (I had forgotten there was any such thing as British Somaliland) to Sierra Leone to South Africa and Swaziland.

Views of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). Date uncertain.

The project has 25 sets arranged by country, both erstwhile crown colonies like Uganda, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Tanzania and Zanzibar are organized separately), and non-Commonwealth states like Togo, Mali and Madagascar.

Kumasi Hospital, Ghana. c.1950?

Nothing from Liberia, sadly, but nearly 1,500 scans just from Nigeria and Ghana. In total there are nearly 5,000 images here of all variety of subject, mostly landscapes, and scenes, but some portraits. I've only just got a start on perusing.

A panorama of Entebbe, Uganda, and Lake Victoria. Date uncertain.

Definitely check this out in full size.

Have a look around: there is a lot of great stuff here taken by hundreds of individuals over many decades. I've particularly geeked out on the many historic photos of settlements, cities, and architecture, which I've concentrated on relaying here. This includes some vivid shots of Antananarivo (bottom of post) and an incredible series of aerial shots of many of Nigeria cities from 1929 and 1930, including several overviews of Lagos from 1,000 feet over the water, looking down on a peninsular port city of perhaps 100,000 people. The utility of the early documentation of Nigeria's urban settlements evince the value of these records beyond simply intriguing visual artifacts.

Both images of Lagos, Nigeria, November 1929.

An aerial shot of Katsina, Northern Nigeria, 24 February 1930.

There's also a lot of work to be done: most all of the photos have scant labeling, without much attribution or even dates. That part I am a bit perplexed about, maybe I am missing something but I can't believe that nearly all of the pictures had no dates to them.

Photographs and notes on the Dervish fortifications at Tale, British Somaliland.

9 February 1920.

The Archive is actively seeking assistance on the project, crowd-sourcing input, and also has a warning that some of the transcribed notes might be offensive in terminology and the like. I didn't see any examples of this myself so far, but certainly the entire trove was transferred from the Colonial Office, and thus orginated through the bureaucracy of colonial administration. [Update 5/25: More on this issue from Scarlett Lion's post about the Archive from this past February.]

Cairo Road area, Lusaka, Zambia (at the time, Northern Rhodesia), c.1950

A huge bonus is that, given the age of the photographs and the Archive's general policy, all the photos are unrestricted by copyright. Enjoy.

Three images of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Dates uncertain.

Just How Easy (or Hard) Is it To Get African Visas?

©2011 Matthew M. Jones/Moved2Monrovia. Click for larger version.

"Africa is Open For Business!"

Its hard to avoid hearing this slogan recently: verbatim on CNN, and in the pages of major publications. Global consultancies will tell you this, too. But what does this mean, in practical, personal terms? Sub-Saharan Africa is made up of more than 50 countries, almost every one of which at least states that they're trying to attract foreign investment.

There have been attempts to measure this. The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings have exploded in popularity in recent years (with the Caucasian Republic of Georgia mentioning its top-reformer status in television advertising). This index, surprisingly, does not compare one of the most basic measures of ease and welcome, and one that reflects directly on a country's efforts to open its doors to potential investment: How simple and straightforward is the entry process for foreigners into these countries?

I've often thought about this before in the last four years of traveling across the continent. But two recent incidents reminded me of this. The first was the report from the Cato Institute, titled "Why Is Africa Poor?", which, among other bemoanings, wondered how many potential tourists and foreign investors have been put off by the hassle or perceived chore of getting a visa to visit an African country (speaking of the Republic of Georgia):

To increase its share of the tourism business, Africa will have to liberalize air flight and visa regimes. In the formerly communist country of Georgia, for example, it is not necessary to acquire a visa for visitors who come from countries with a GDP per capita of $10,000 or more. Compare the Georgian system to the difficulty of entering many African countries or, for that matter, the difficulty of leaving African countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where one has to run a gauntlet of security and other checks—informal and formal.

I wonder how many visitors from rich coun- tries to Africa have been put off by the challenge of just getting to the continent or getting a visa. Yet I suspect that few, if any, overstay their welcome. The number of tourists to Georgia has nearly quintupled from 2003 to 2009—a war with Russia notwithstanding.

I don't know what an "air flight regime" is, and am not endorsing this report wholeheartedly, but I agree with part of the above sentiment.

Separately, but similarly, last week's surprising headline incident, in which veteran diplomat John Campbell was unable to gain entry to Nigeria in time to attend a graduation ceremony of an American University backed by former vice president Abubakar. Just to underscore: among many other career acheivements, Campbell is the former Ambassador to Nigeria. So you'd think he might be familiar with getting into and out of country...which makes you wonder how he was unable to get his visa. Hmmm.....

With these in mind, I conducted a very unscientific investigation into the sometimes-murky world of obtaining an entry visa into Sub-Saharan countries. Before going further, please read and agree to this legally iron-clad disclaimer: I can't guarantee that what I've gathered is accurate, and this information is subject to completely change. I obtained 95% of this information from the State Department's website, which is a great source, as well as the websites of various foreign diplomatic missions in Washington and New York. This does not cover requirements other than those for US Passport holders, and will not go into scenarios like obtaining visas for neighboring countries in Africa can sometimes be easier, and sometimes more difficult.

As this is already a long post, I'm also not going to index any of the basic details of visa applications, like the different types of visa (based on purpose of visit and length of stay), or important steps like getting required vaccinations, or any discussion of fees. Again, this is a subjective survey, and this information could change as I write these words. In summary, do not fly to Africa without required entry visas. Doing so can result in being flown back home at your own expense, or being detained, fined, or imprisoned.

The ease or difficulty of US citizens entering the 50-plus Sub-Saharan countries covers a broad spectrum: some countries are as wide-open as Netherlands, some so unwelcoming as be almost North Korean.

Starting with the more hospitable category, the good news is that several of the more popular destinations for American visitors are among the easiest to get into, and in almost all cases don't require a visa. These are popular business, development, and tourist destinations like Botswana, Senegal, and Mauritius. Others are something of a pleasant surprise, with no pre-arrival visas required for Americans to enter Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, or Swaziland. [Update 5/21: Rwanda grants most tourists a 90 entry visa-free, but seems to have different requirements for aid workers, students, or businessmen. Thanks to Jina Moore for this suggestion.]

Similarly, many states allow the vast majority of American visitors to just show up unannounced and gain entry, but there are a few details that might be relevant. For instance, South Africa is somewhat infamous for requiring at least one entirely blank passport page per entry, and anecdotes abound of customs officers insisting on even more virgin territory, supposedly in case a visitor transverses through other countries in the region and seeks another entry into SA. This in turns leads neighboring countries, like Namibia, to reportedly mimic this requirement. Rather than be booted back onto a 15-1/2 hour flight home to New York, a cost you would be responsible for, travelers should take note, and consider having extra pages added to a passport.

Likewise, some countries let Americans in without a problem, but getting a visa beforehand can still be strongly advisable. Kenya is a prime example: A pre-arranged visa can be a huge time saver, easing your life just when you are your most miserably jet-lagged. Rather than waiting in a long line and filling out paperwork in the groggy disorientation of arrival, sail past border control, and its queues. In 2008, I went ahead and got a Kenyan visa in Washington before I left the states, getting my passport back two days after I submitted it. Weeks later, I passed a long line at Nairobi's JKIA after a long overnight flight. I was very proud of myself.

Similarly, other countries like Ethiopia and Tanzania routinely grant Americans visa-free entry at Addis Ababa's Bole Airport and at Dar Es Salaam Airport, respectively, but at other entry points, like land borders, this might not be the case. The scene at Entebbe Airport in Uganda is reportedly similar.

In some other cases, arriving without a visa might involve basically applying for the visa at the airport, and waiting around in Immigration to get clearance. Not the sort of chore anyone would choose to undergo, but at least the option is there, especially when hopping around the continent with loose plans. Madagascar and Mozambique likewise do not require a prior visa, but its much easier if you already have it. [Update 5/21: Zambia allows tourists to pay for a single-entry visa at border crossings, but have much more strict visa regulations for most other visitors. Thanks to Shelby Grossman for this clarification]

Separately, countries such as Namibia let many tourists in through major entry ports visa-free, but do require visas workers or students. For many countries, foreigners who show up at remote land crossings can expect greater scrutiny than if they were to arrive on a scheduled flight at the capital city's airport.

The murkiness of the next category down could be considered quintessential of travel in less developed states. Several countries may, or may not, usually, or occasionally, grant Americans visa-free entry in at some entry ports, but then again, maybe they don't. Its always best to play it safe, but in the case, try to get a visa beforehand at all costs.

Ghana is a classic example of this. Technically, there is a process to get a Ghanaian visa upon arrival, but from personal experience this involved (1) Almost not being allowed to board the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam; (2) Waiting 45 minutes in a stuffy, crowded Immigration office at Kotoka Airport 24 hours later, during which I was lectured for not being an emergency asylum case or refugee. It wasn't a process I would wish on anyone. I did get a single-entry visa, but this ended up being a hassle a week later, when I got invited to a neighboring country, but then realized that I couldn't leave Ghana without applying for a visa in that other country. If I had had enough notice, I would have sent my passport to DC before I left.

Similar "I've heard they do, but I can't guarantee you" or "It was different a couple years ago" stories come out of Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Djibouti. Also, unrecognized Puntland/Somaliland supposedly grant visas at points of entry--but is this the sort of detail to be left to chance? For those intrepid enough to be venturing to these two regions, perhaps the answer is yes.

The next category, shaded yellow, are those countries which definitely require a visa beforehand, but the application isn't usually a big deal (aside from the very low-tech errand of getting passport photos at the local CVS or something). Somewhat interestingly, this is the smallest group: Cape Verde, Sao Tomé, Mali, Togo, Gambia, and Eritrea. The downloadable visa application for Mali is one page of pretty basic contact info, and gives the applicant the option for length of visa (single/multiple, etc) and asks virtually no questions about itinerary, financial resources, etc. Perhaps not the flagship example, the Republic of Togo has a delightful new website with absolutely no information about visas.

Other countries requiring a pre-departure application are a bit more involved. This can vary depending on the type of visa but it is common for the Embassy to require either a list of references in the home country (Liberia) or a letter of invitation, from a colleague, hosting company, or personal friend, in addition to sending in proof of vaccinations; head shots taken just so, with this color background, not that; and some sort of proof of itinerary or return ticket, which frankly in the age of Expedia and Kayak can pretty easily be bluffed. Still, this is an involved process, with lots of instructions and procedures, which take time both to complete and be turned around. In something of a setback, two years ago, Cote D'Ivoire slipped into this category from previously granting visa-free access to most Americans.

This process is challenging enough when visiting one country, but can really start to add up as it is common for a traveler to be planning to pass through several countries. Expect at least 3 days to a week of turn-around, per visa. Although it adds to the cost, consider using a passport rush service, which often work their relationships at these consular offices to get paperwork turned around just a little bit faster. There are several good agencies in both Washington and New York.

The last two categories are the more notorious. To varying degrees, these countries just do not make getting a visa quick or simple. The process is complex, lengthy, taxing, and difficult. Anecdotal reports tell of month-long processing, and of having applications returned due to insufficient documentation. While outright denial of a visa is rare, the clock can basically run out, if several weeks go by and the visa hasn't been issued before departure. Those in this category include some of the continent's largest countries: Nigeria, DR Congo, and Sudan, along with other least-developed economies not having solid reputations for ease of process or access to information. Guinea-Bissau is on the outer edge of this category, as their embassy in Washington "temporarily" ceased function in 2007. South Sudan is challenging because of its transitional diplomatic circumstances.

Special mention goes to the all-out Kafkasque nightmares: booming Angola and rather less burgeoning Mauritania. Their remarkably complex, involved, invasive processes rank proposed travel to the country at the same level of effort as applying to graduate school (often with a similar wait time). Both these countries reportedly take the particularly painful step of sending the applications to the home country for evaluation. This takes several weeks. For Mauritania, the State Department's own report states:

Mauritanian visas require an invitation or sponsor, can take up to several months to process, and must be obtained prior to travel.

Not exactly open for business. The Fort Knox Prize might go to Angola, whose invitation-only, submit your diplomas and bank-statements life audits make Greece's Mount Athos look like a public library.

Angola is awash in petrol-cash. In terms of prices, Luanda is the Moscow of Africa. Most foreigners arriving at the direction of their multinational employers, so Angola is not looking for the odd frontier market investor to kick the tires. However, other African countries aren't so flush with investment, and there's no question a few of them could make the process easier, which would probably yield more foreign interest as a result.

This already-long post could enter into a whole discussion of how African countries are, on the whole far more open to US Citizens than America is to them. If there is truly a Fort Knox award, it would probably be the country of Fort Knox. African governments have simply reciprocated US visa rules and fees schedules-- precious income for many foreign ministries and bureaux of immigration that would be lost if barriers were lessened.

It seems obvious to say that, if you need a visa beforehand, then you can't drive out to the airport and fly over for a meeting the next day. It might not seem to be a big deal, except that, in the world of international investment, it is sort of normal to jet off between New York, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc. at the last minute. Many of Africa's leaders, citizens, and boosters have the lofty goal of including Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kigali, Dakar, Accra, and many other African cities to that circuit of world business capitals. While there are bigger obstacles to overcome to progress on that, visa restrictions are an impediment to that. The government of Rwanda seems to be aware of this, as they have eased visa requirements for US Citizens in the last few years.

More generally, I have often wondered how much African governments realize that they are competing against each other (and the rest of the world, for that matter) in the chase for slice of global investment capital. In looking past the hype of how Africa's doors are open to business, it is an important to have some perspective: there are more than fifty sets of doors, and each with their own keys.

I'd be interested to hear any particular anecdotes, or horror stories, or if any of the information above is deemed inaccurate, please don't hesitate to offer up other advice-- I'd much rather be told I am definitely mistaken and correct the map above than disseminate incorrect information. [this post and map were updated on 5/21 to reflect certain suggested improvements.]

Liberia National Airlines, April 1967 Schedule

Images courtesy of Björn Larssen of Timetable Images.

A previous post lamented the current lack of any domestic air service in Liberia in the wake of Elysian Airlines' demise. Its also interesting to explore how extensive such domestic operations once were. From the depths of the internet comes this delightful artifact: the schedule of Liberian National Airlines from April 1967, showing services from Robertsfield to Buchanan, Rivercess, Sinoe (presumably landing at Greenville) and Cape Palmas (Harper, Maryland).

Whats especially interesting is that the service includes a flight between Spriggs-Payne airfield and Robertsfield, a distance of scarcely 50 kilometers, a hop which the schedule allows twenty minutes to complete. A box below details the leg northward to Freetown from both RIA and Spriggs on Wednesdays. A separate matrix details passenger fares and excess luggage charges.

Despite the sleek jetcraft zooming across the glossy cover of the brochure, LNA operated only two sputtering Douglas DC-3s to run its entire network, so recalling this as the golden age of Liberian domestic air travel may be somewhat rose-tinted. According to the Encyclopedia of African Airlines (Ben R. Guttery, 1998), LNA eventually merged with Ducor Air Transport to form Air Liberia in 1974, a carrier which survived until the outbreak of fighting in 1990.

Special thanks to Björn Larssen of Timetable Images for allowing the reposting of the above images.