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We were in West Africa, and we came to see Africa. We wanted the realness of it all. We came to bring awareness to ourselves, to the real African experience among real people and real conditions of an underdeveloped society, of the life preconceived within the frame of Nigeria and beyond. Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria. I caught myself repeating this and Eric Esplin did as well. We looked at one another and chanted as if caught in a trance. Nigeria. Together, Eric and I, and a few others ventured into the masses of Warri-town.

Warri-town

Camron Karsten
2006-02-18 20:18:33

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qualities and skills. And there, with the earlier preparations in Seattle, Lagos, Benin City, and now Warri, we felt completely insane, yet utterly alive. Here it was; the grassroots diplomacy with an organization called Global Citizen Journey, free and willing to create and be the change we wished to see in the world. That’s why we were there—to be together and become aware of our ability to be citizen diplomats, taking the reins of our life and society and transforming it to meet all needs. We were in Nigeria. We were in Warri. We were in the Delta State about to embark on a journey down the Creeks to the village of Oporoza.

The feelings, the facts—our rationality—compiled. I come to our third carriage of thought. The Security General reported his own personal concern to our delegation: Do not travel outside Lagos, Africa's 2nd largest city, without a trunk-full of AK-47s and a MOPs squad for escort. Hmm…all thinking froze.

Suddenly, there was space for reflection. The churning seas parted and we saw those as professional words, used by professionals for those very professionals. That's
Sandi and Pam caught what they could, but major fund raising is necessary in order to turn it into a full documentary feature film.what he's there to do. Cogs and bolts were greased, and the mind’s movement continued like a steamship across calming waters.

Now a fourth and final respect: our own leaders, one of them Joel Bisina—a local of Warri-town—warned of the adverse potentials after nightfall. Looking out the windows again, blinking, and making sure what we saw was real, we wondered whether our bus with its government plates was a paradox. All we saw was that black night, that deep brown of raw earth. There was only a steady darkness within our minds.

Being white, we seem to relate with what is white, or so it is as the commonly accepted notion. Therefore, the only visibility we could perceive from our air-conditioned bus was the eyes and teeth; a clear, clean reflection caught in the glare of weary headlights. They reflected like moonlight on a pond, soothing us, yet it was an oasis midst a midnight dust-storm. Our eyes remained wide, our thoughts pondering the "adverse potentials" as we crossed the "Danger Zone", and we played nervous finger games among ourselves while the bus surged through any opportunity for space. We crawled towards home— another bubble behind air-conditioned walls. This was Nigeria, a
Delta Swamps Full Image
The beginning of the Creeks outside our hotel's walls in Warri.West Africa we came for. This was our level of desire, coming to bring awareness to ourselves, breaking down the fears of others. We were freely caught in the chant: Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria.