Arriving Home

I arrived Douala International Airport at about 4pm local time.Just flying into the city,everything looks totally different.The view from the plane showed a city that is built without much planning at all.I arrived the Airport and it looked totally different from the one that I had left behind about 20 years ago.After seeing what real Airports look like, the one here in Douala was like an Airstrip.Checking my luggage out of the Airport was no problem at all.You had to go to Airport security to get your passport stamped and that was done with no complications.I did some money exchange at one of the airport counters.I exchanged a one hundred dollar bill and got 50,000francs in Cameroonian currency(CFA),is what it is called.I had Ebenezar,one of my twin junior brother and Agi,my elder sister waiting for me.EB as Ebenezar is called was inside the Airport while Agi was outside.I greeted Eb and he help take my things to the car that Agi had gotten to take me home.The ride from the Airport was quick.The first thing you notice once you start hitting the city is the number of motorbikes that you see in the city.The place was full of bikes.I talk to EB and he said with the economic hardship that had hit the country,motorbikes have become a major source of transportation.There are no jobs around so people had to get creative.On our way home,we stop by a patisserie and Agi bought some mineral water and some bread for me to take home.The ride at the Tiko-Douala road was quite exciting.Agi's friend was almost flying with his car.We reached Tiko safely though.Some of the places I could still recognise.The round-about at Likomba was still there.It had not changed much.I passed by Upper-Cu stains school,Girl's School,Christ the King College.With the exception of Christ the King College the rest of the places look much smaller.I looked at Clerk's quarter where I lived for about ten years and the place was still the same.This is something that you noticed in most third world countries.Some things do not change at all.You can be gone for about a quarter of a century and you come back and places are still the same as you left them.Close to Clerk's quarters there is a guy called Elias.He had a place that he used to sow clothes before I left Cameroon in 1985.Guess what,he was still sowing dresses in the same location.He had changed a bit over the years but his store location was still there.Airport hotel,a night club that we frequented in our youth was still around.The place has been around since the 70s.Remarkable,the club does not function anymore but the hotel still does.You can go there and rent a room to spent the night.Arriving at the house in "New Layout"Tiko,there were people who had heard that I was coming and had come to greet me.My Dad was there,he had recently returned from the village.My mom was around.She is in charge of the house in Tiko.The house looked decent.Large parlor and four bedrooms.There was a flush toilet thought the guy who did the job installed it poorly.It does not flush well,so you have to carry water in a bucket to complete the job when you go to the toilet.There is a bathroom where you can take a shower.The shower works well,though in order to save on the water bill,my parents used water coming from a well.There is a well right in front of the house.I was told that it cost about 50,000FCFA to get a good one dug.Christy Namage was there to greet me.My uncle from Buea,Doctor Egbewatt came later on with his wife and children to greet me.A lot of the people that came,I did not recognised them at all.I have been gone for so long.Our house also has an outdoor toilet and an outdoor section,what is normally referred to as a "boys"quarter.This section had two bedrooms, a spare room in which a deep freezer and a gas cooker were stored and a kitchen area that you could cook using firewood.The room that I was going to be sleeping in was EB's.He gave it up to me when I arrived.Amongst the visitors of the first day was Mr Napoleon and his wife.She looked real youthful.A lot of my mom's friends also came to greet me.There was lots of foodstuffs that had been prepared.Drinks were bought and everybody that came enjoyed themselves.When I arrived Cameroon is was around June the 25th.This is traditionally the raining season and there was a lot of rain falling especially at night.After all I had been through before arriving Cameroon,I slept a lot at night.I am not a good sleeper in the afternoon.I avoid sleeping in the afternoons because when I do,it becomes difficult for me to sleep at night.A lot of people were surprised to see me come back to Cameroon.They kept wanting to know when I will be going back.I told them that I was here to stay.I guess after a while you begin to see why.Most people here are looking for a way to get out of the country.It is very difficult because of the financial situation that is around here.Money is really had to come by.So for the moment,Tiko was were I was going to be based for some time.My plans were to look for work later,but for the moment I needed to clear my mind and reflect on what direction my life will be taking.A number of old friends came to visit later.Ashu Arrey came,Eno Arrey,Ernest Takor and Angel Emmanuel.My aunt from Buea,we all refer to her as Mrs Besong came about three days later with her driver.The first few days after my return,I spend just around the Tiko area looking at places that I have not seen for such a long time.I went to Tiko market and looked at the place that I had spend so much time in my youth.My mom had a store there in her days as a seamstress.A went to see the Airstrip at the Likomba round-about.The place had a few planes that are being used by CDC(Cameroon Development Corporation) to spray fertilisers on their banana plantations.I walked the length of the airstrip,thinking that if there happened to be a war this place could still be of some use.The place was guarded by a few military people who did not bother me once I told them that I was just going for a stroll.I remember former President of Cameroon,Ahmadou Ahidjo's plane use to land and takeoff from this Airstrip.That was when I attended Primary school in Ndongo,Tiko.All the schools from the Tiko vicinity will go and line up patiently waiting for the arrival of the President.I went down to the Rubber factory,the place still stinks.The Senior Service quarters was just around the corner.I went there.I also went to where the main hospital,government general hospital is.The bridge there needs some major work to be done.I visited some of the wards in the hospital.I remember my dad had been hospitalised in one of the wards before.Also when Angel Emmanuel had an accident with his father's motorbike he was hospitalised in one of the wards.I just used to get up in the morning and take a walk around town.I went down beach.You could still see canoes and fishermen ready to travel to neighbouring villages.I remember the first time that I saw the sea,it was at this area.There was so much water,it was just awesome seeing much water in one area.Dad at one time was transferred to one of the villages in the creeks to teach.We could not go with him for obvious reasons.We use to come and wait for him each Saturday as he came home for the weekend.It was quiet an experience for everybody.Within about a week,I had to make a national identity card.I used a passport and an old birth certificate that I always keep with my belongings.I went to one of the court houses to get a proof of nationality done.The court house I remember because while at secondary school,during the holidays we will go listen to court cases.The processing of the proof of Cameroonian nationality took some time,so I spend the time listening to current court sessions,reminiscent of the past.After that the police station took care of the rest.You are given a temporary card as proof that a national identity if being processed for you.In about 2 to 3 months you come for the real thing.Total cost is less then 8 dollars.(about 5,000francs CFA).The reason I had to make a national identity card was that during my travels to Likomba or Mutengene,I got stopped a couple of times and my passport was not sufficient identity.I was not harassed but I was advised to get a national identity card as soon as possible.I was curious to go see some places out of town.Buea was the first place that I visited.I actually stopped at "Lycee Molyko"where I had attended secondary school.Though the place had change, a lot of the infrastructures from the past were still intact.I went to the soccer field where we had some great memories.There is a tall towel at the side of the soccer field,it is still there.Inside the towel you could climb the stairs and go as far up as possible.I recognised some of the names that had been written on the walls.Students from the past,both junior and senior students as well as some classmates.The road leading to Molyko had been tarred.The problem was travelling from Mutengene to mile 17.From the time that I arrived Cameroon in June 2005,the road has been fixed.You can have a smooth ride from Tiko to Buea with no problem.The road is now tarred up to Muea.Construction work has started for the stretch from Muea to Kumba to be tarred also.The next town that I visited was Limbe,a town located along the Atlantic coast of West Africa.Limbe has changed quite a bit.The town is noted for its oil refinery factory(SONARA)which is located at the coastline of the Atlantic ocean.The roads were now all tarred.The oil revenue saw to that.The town is also booming with activities all day long as young men try to make a buck transporting people around in motorbikes.Limbe has a couple of nice beaches.There is one in mile six that I went to back in December 2005.I hear that it is being renovated at this time.There is another, located at mile 11(Seme beach).It is the more popular of the two and you would see a lot of people there from the Limbe and Douala area especially during the weekends.The Seme beach is a natural beach with dark earth and you could get good hotel accommodation also in the place.