Greener from a Distance

7. Matt the cheat

93 7 Matt the cheat am glad to see you my friend. Welcome man” Matt said as he grabbed Albert’s hand and gave him a shoulder to shoulder bump. “Thank you. How have you been?” Albert asked. “So so. Man, in this place, you have to hustle. It is a tough life. Nothing is free here” Matt said “But nothing is free anywhere. You have to work for everything” Albert said. “You are right. That is why I run my business during the day and moonlight as a security officer. No time to relax, no time to have fun” Matt said. Matt was a business man in Cameroon before leaving for the USA. He supplied building material for construction projects in villages and small towns. His clients were government and private contractors. He usually received 50% advance pay and the rest when he supplied the products. At some point, he had collected a large amount of money from his customers. He had convinced some to pay him the full amount upfront. Unbeknownst to these customers, Matt had secured a visa to attend his sister’s wedding in the USA. He quietly left the country leaving behind desperate customers with unfinished projects. Some contractors were jailed by their powerful clients for failing to deliver on their contracts. Poor villagers were left with uncompleted buildings. Matt stayed in the USA after his sister’s wedding. He put together a strong case for asylum, claiming he was being hunted in his country for his political views. He had been “I 94 preparing for this day by writing articles and commentaries against the ruling party in some local newspapers. He had kept clippings of these articles. A letter from the newspaper editor, whom he had paid, supported Matt’s claims. Matt was right about one thing, he would have been arrested had he returned to Cameroon; not for his political views, but for his corrupt business practices. After ripping off his clients, he had received angry and threatening emails which helped bolster his asylum case. He had distorted the facts saying the claims from his customers were just a smear campaign by agents of the government. He was granted asylum. Matt had started a business in the USA, selling used computers and refurbished cell phones. His clients were mainly visitors and students from other African countries. His best clients were those returning to their home country with no hope of coming back to the USA. To these clients, he would sell faulty cell phones and computers that were certain to stop working after a few hours of use. If any client returned and complained, he would refuse to replace the product and would make them look stupid in addition. A fast talker full of empty rhetoric, he usually fatigued his customers into submission. Consumer protection took no action against him despite numerous complaints from his clients. It was the: they are doing it to themselves so just let them be, kind of reaction. In his night job, Matt spent all working hours sleeping. He was more of an insecurity than a security guard. He knew when his supervisors did their rounds and set his alarm to be awake at those times. When he could not sleep, he went around looking in dumpsters for abandoned electronics that could be sold to unfortunate clients. 95 Matt recently decided it was time to get a wife and arranged for his family to get him a beautiful young woman from Cameroon. He is saving money and preparing documents to send for her to come to America. He proudly carries her picture with him everywhere. “Hey did you see my wife to be? Look at this picture, isn’t she beautiful?” Matt asked Albert. “Oh yes she is and she is very young too” Albert said. “Of course, she has to be young. Eheh, na young blood I want, you know me” Matt bragged in pidgin. “She thinks she is getting married to an engineer. That is what I told my parents to tell her. I have heard she brags about me to her friends. She tells them that I am this great electrical engineer or whatever, that I make computers and other electronics and can also repair any electronic device on planet earth.” “Come on Matt, why do you have to lie to her? If you are serious about marrying this woman, you should tell...