Greener from a Distance

2. America here I come

7 2 America here I come lbert chose to depart from Douala airport. Though his flight was late Tuesday night, he chose to leave Yaounde for Douala a day earlier. It turned out to be a wise decision because the head of state, aka Lionman, was visiting Douala on Tuesday. The main roads in Yaounde were blocked to all commercial traffic early Monday evening. Elements of the presidential guard lined the streets from the presidency to the airport. Tall buildings along the way had guards on roof tops and balconies. Businesses were paralyzed late Monday and early Tuesday until after the Lionman’s departure. The airports in Douala and Yaounde were almost at a standstill on Tuesday morning. In Douala, elements of the presidential guard were also stationed along the streets from the airport to Lionman’s destination. The main highway from Yaounde to Douala was closed 50 km from each city. The situation in the two cities had the semblance of a state of emergency. To mask this, the ruling party rallied its militants, dressed them in colorful uniforms and put them at strategic locations. Jobless and hungry citizens were also lured in with the promise of beer and food. Inhabitants of Yaounde were accustomed to these charades because Lionman left his den at least once every two months to spend three months in either Switzerland or France. His departure and return to the den always engineered this quasi state of emergency and the associated loss of revenue from paralysis of businesses and services including hospitals, restaurants, bars, taxis, roadside vendors and office workers who could not make it to work. A 8 Had Albert chosen to leave Yaounde on Tuesday, it would have been difficult to get to the bus station on the other side of the city. At best, he would have departed late afternoon. Albert left for the airport once normalcy returned to Douala. He got there in time for check in. The check in line was long and slow. Passengers with excess luggage made it even slower as they argued about the extra levy. A restless man in front of Albert looked familiar. The man kept looking at his passport, passing his fingers over the photo and looking nervously at police officers who passed by. He seemed even more nervous when his turn came to check in. There was a brief conversation between him and the clerk. The clerk left and returned with a police officer in tow who immediately took the man’s passport. The ensuing conversation was loud enough for everyone to hear. “Is this your passport?” the officer asked. “What kind of question is that?” retorted the man. “Don’t you see my photo in there?” he continued. Albert immediately recognized that voice and the face. That was Nick, the cheat; the man who had been so vocal at the US embassy. He had been without the goatee and glasses the last time Albert had seen him. This was probably an attempted disguise. “Don’t talk to me like that” the officer warned Nick. “You don’t want me to invite my men right now, do you?” “That is my passport sir. Please, can we talk in your office?” Nick said, trying to avoid the public spectacle. “We are going to talk right here. Tell me the truth, is this your passport?” the officer asked again. By this time other police officers had accompanied their boss and were ready for some action, Cameroonian style. 9 “It is a long story sir. Let’s go to your office and I will tell you everything. I also have some money that I don’t need to take to the USA” Nick continued to plead. “Are you trying to bribe me? I am a respectable superintendent of police. I can add attempted bribery and corruption to your list of crimes. By the way, you have not told me if this is your passport or not.” Albert wondered what the police boss meant by respectable. The fact that he sends others to collect bribes on his behalf doesn’t free him of any guilt. Respectable when there is an audience of locals and foreigners but cash grabbing jerk when there are no spectators. “Officer, you see, I am also a respectable citizen going to seek a better life abroad. I have not harmed anybody, you know” Nick continued to ramble. Did Nick refer to...