I have no idea who this is, but he insisted that I take his photograph. Due to his high opinion of himself, he earns a spot in my blog that offers another glimpse into the left side of Africa.
We’ve got an Ensign kicking about our office these days. He’s here on temporary duty, to assist in things that I’d rather not be doing. Before you roll your eyes at his debutant rank, rest assured that he is a prior boatswain’s mate. En plus, he has a certain special perspective that most sailors don’t enjoy. He’s Ghanaian. What, you’re not sure exactly where that is? Well hang on, here’s a map:
Sorry, I’m not trying to insult your intelligence. I just come from a family who thought that France was next to Norway when I moved there years ago.
So while Ghana might have English as its official language, this guy still has a funny way of saying things. And I’m not just making fun because Ghana knocked us out of the World Cup. You need to sit in the office and listen to how he bargains with people on the phone in order to accomplish his tasks. I will sit at a desk with a phone in my ear, pretending to be busy so that I can sit back and watch this theater. But I digress…
So anyways, I wanted to share with you all an acronym that I am probably the last person to hear about. The seasoned Ensign X taught it to me- a reward I earned after being forced to politely sit through his five minute soliloquy on how the Navy could be better configured to deal with Africa.
(Today was the first day I met him, I won’t be so polite tomorrow- unless he continues to entertain us in the office.)
Here’s the gist of his speech: Blah blah blah blah SAREX blah blah blah PLANNING blah blah blah THEY DON’T RESPOND blah blah WAWA.
WAWA? Pronounced like “Wah-wah”
What does that mean?
West Africa Wins Again.
Because I so enjoy black humor, I thought this was an outstanding acronym. Is it offensive to some? Who knows, who cares. It is far too fitting, and serves as an excellent coping mechanism:
It costs 80 dollars to get a travel visa for Africans seeking passage to Europe. Fairly straightforward paperwork drill, right? Not if you are Gambian. Ratchet that cost up to well over triple digits once you learn that the French Embassy in The Gambia doesn’t issue said visas, and all citizens must travel to the French Embassy in Dakar (hello! in another country), in order to get visas in their passports. There’s no way around it. West Africa wins again.
West Africa, to those of us in L’Occident, symbolized here by a massive broken down monstrosity. You thought that trip would take 30 minutes? Try 3 hours. There’s just no getting around it sometimes. West Africa Wins Again.
Another example, a conversation I overheard last week:
-Person X already living in West Africa: “You should book a hotel and be ready to stay overnight at the border. It’s gonna take you two days to get to Bamako.”
-Person Z flying to West Africa for the first time next week: “Nah, I did the time-distance; MapQuest says it only takes 12 hours. I’m gonna just drive straight through.”
He will learn. West Africa will Win Again.
There are far more examples that I could cite, but these few are sufficient. I found it most entertaining that this Ensign, born in Ghana, was venting about how ineffectual operations are in Africa. Clearly he’s been in the Navy too long, or maybe he’s just gunning for Chief of Naval Operations. I’m secretly hoping for the latter. And I’ll remember him as well as my new acronym next time I’m out in this region’s great wide open.