Meheba Wrap

Thursday, July 21st, 2005

Once again, I’m writing from an airplane. This time it’s on my British Airways flight from Nairobi to London. We weren’t supposed to go to Nairobi, but we had to because both of the fuel loading trucks in Lusaka are down, meaning no fuel can be given to planes at the moment. We stopped in Nairobi to refuel, and then had to jump start the 767 to get the engines going again. Africa. At least they didn’t x-ray my film. [note: later we had to divert again to Rome to change flight crews due to the delay. I have been on this flight for 20 hours!]

I spend another whole day at customs yesterday. Advice to anyone bringing gear in or out of countries around here: it’s a big hassle. Plan for it. I got lucky last year.

I truly enjoyed my last days in Meheba. I took the time to make my goodbyes, and reflect upon the fact I may never return, except through my footage. Even if I did, most of the people around will have repatriated or, in the case of the Zambians, moved on. It’s kind of sad I have to say. Meheba was a good place, and despite the fact that repatriation is a good thing for refugees, it’s sad to see the Meheba community disintegrating. Unlike last year, this year I’m leaving with the feeling Meheba won’t be around much longer, despite all of the other nationalities of refugees there. What will happen is hard to say, but with a new copper mine only 7 km away, anything is possible. The FORGE library is so successful, there is even talk of turning Meheba High School into a Junior College. Who knows?

I shot 2 rolls of film on my last full day in Meheba, and interviewed Tom and Mwanza. Then I packed my gear away, had a goodbye dinner with the FORGE 2005 volunteers, Sister Caroline, Isaac (another Sudanese refugee I interviewed), and Zezito. Zezito is only weeks away from repatriating, and I look forward to hearing what happens with him in Angola. On that last evening I learned his father was the UNITA governor of Luanda when they had control of the capitol years ago. So of course his family had to flee, and I can understand why he was hesitant to return. He is ready now.

I rode to Lusaka with a repatriation convoy of returnees who will be flown to Angola. It was interesting seeing people – many of whom had never traveled further than Solwezi – observing new places. Still, it was a long bus ride, 12 hours, and it will be a tough time for the returnees, who will spend up to 2 months in a camp in Angola before reaching final destinations.

In the end I shot 23 A-Minima rolls of S16 and 23 hours of video this year, plus the digital stills and time-lapse. I did exactly what I wanted, in the sense that I avoided shooting a new film entirely, and focused on the material that will make Zambian Forge a better, more well rounded piece. I’m looking forward to actually arriving in San Francisco and beginning the post-production with the new material.

The other thing I’m going to need to deal with soon is securing more funding. In the end, despite the promises, the funding that was supposed to come from Geno and Students for Humanity that was the tipping point of my decision to return is apparently not coming through, at least at the moment. There is a possibility for the funds to come in the future, but I was expecting them in weeks, not in months or next year. It’s amazing how willing so many people are to support what I’m doing every which way but financially. At the end of the day, I’m a cameraman, not a producer. At least I recognize that.

Last update on this round..
I got through Heathrow again without having my film x-rayed, for which I consider myself fortunate given the sad events of the last few hours while I was en route. Again they opened every can, and swabbed the tins. American also charged me $110 because British Airways made me buy a different bag to use as a carry-on in Lusaka, and checked my original suitcase through to San Francisco. They also don't have access to the photography pre-bookings I made in the USA before leaving. I hate airlines.

Right now I’m waiting for my flight to the USA. I will be back in San Francisco in just a few more hours. I am looking forward to it!

David