This is a question I feel gets answered, “no one needs
trees”! The amount of deforestation I have seen in my two years here in
mind-blowing. Every time I leave site I see a new section of forest cut down,
sawdust flying through the air. I am never not depressed when I pass these
sections, thinking of how it once looked and imagining the future state of
Madagascars forest in ten years.
It has been said that Madagascar is something like 90%
deforested. I believe it. As hard as it is to think about that high of a
number, charcoal, a major reason the Malagasy cut down trees, is everywhere.
Every home has a charcoal stove, even wealthier families. Some homes even have
2 or more. Charcoal is used every day, at every meal. I pass through two towns
on my way out of site that’s main export is charcoal. The road, the buildings,
the people, are all coated in a fine layer of black. Charcoal is stacked two
stories high, just waiting for transport to Antsirabe and Tana. As you would
guess, all the forest around these towns has been leveled. New segments further
away are felled every day to meet the demand of the Malagasy people.
Another big reason the forest destroyed is for agriculture.
Areas that were cut down last year are now terraced rice patties and corn
patches. There is no replanting. Not where I live. You use the land that had
been removed of trees. I don’t even know what people would say to me if I told
them to replant and try and find a sustainable way to support their lifestyle.
I tried to ask my English club last year, spent a whole class on it, and I
never got an answer, since no one wanted to speak. Some Malagasys I have meet
have acknowledge the problem, but who knows what will happen.
There is a glimmer of hope. There are multiple NGOs in MADA
planting trees across the country. The old president, the one deposed in the
last coup, was expanding existing national parks and creating new ones. What
has become of those plans since his departure in 2009 is unclear, but it
doesn’t sound hopeful, considering last year there was a huge rosewood scandal
that brought down members of the national government. But the plans are still
there, waiting for non-transitional government (the current title of the
government currently in power) to come in and take control. Two PCV’s, a
husband and wife team, are working on a pilot program to bring green charcoal
stoves to towns in the SAVA region (right now, they are concentrating on high
tourist areas, since the stoves are expensive up front). Deforestation can be
reversed in MADA, but it will take a tremendous amount of willpower, from the
government, the people, and NGO’s, a willpower I don’t see being embraced
today. If something doesn’t happen soon, the Madagascar I know will be gone in
10 years. Maybe sooner.
I needed to point out deforestation in a blog. It’s too big
of a problem to ignore and I get so mad and sad every time I leave site. It
almost makes me not want to leave, in order to avoid seeing a new section of
forest missing. They even destroyed this beautiful bend in the river, about 10
kilometers from Faratsiho, in order to make three more rice patties. That I
just get angry about. It was so peaceful looking. I always watched for it when
I left site and come back. And now its ruined. It’s just so aggravating.
In brighter news, I taught my last classes on Thursday. Now
all I have left is grading. I don’t even have to give my final exams, because
they occur when I am in Mantasoa for my close of service conference (COS), so
other teachers are giving them for me. When I come back, I just have 95 tests
to grade. I have already finished with my 2nde kids. I just have to actually
turn in my grades. The papers aren’t ready yet, so I have to give them my
grades when I get back too. It’s very exciting. I have discovered, in my two
years, that I am not cut out to be a teacher. I can do it, adequately I think,
but it’s not my calling. I have enormous respect for those who are teachers. I
tip my hat to you. You have to have a certain type of personality to be a
teacher day in and day out, for years, and I don’t have the personality. Which
is fine. Not everyone was made to be a teacher, or a fireman, or a doctor, and
that’s fine. I now know what I really want to do. I want to work in disaster
relief/refugee assistance/IDP’s (internal displaced persons). I want to help
people who have been through a war, a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, an
ethnic conflict. Peace Corps helped me realized that this is the path I want to
take. We will see what the future holds in a few short months!
That’s right. I have about 10 weeks left in country! While
my PC experience has been amazing, I am ready to move on to my next adventure,
especially since I am done teaching. I can’t wait to move in with Brian, into
our own apartment, find a job (though I am terrified of looking for one), get
married, watch college football. I am ready to begin the next chapter of my
life.
I do have one last trip planned in MADA before I leave. It’s
a business trip, but it will be really fun. I am going out to Morondava, on the
west coast, to help my friends Shayla and Kimball paint a world map, like the
one I painted at my site. they are the only two out there and they have never
painted a world map and you really need someone who has. And having three
people work on it is ideal. We are painting it at Kimball’s site, which is
about 30km from Morondava. I think I am going to stay in Morondava with Shayla,
but I am bringing a sleeping bag in case I am too tired to make it back one day
and crash at Kimballs house. I will be gone about 10 days. That is enough time
for me to get there, paint the map, and get back. It’s going to take a little
longer than mine did, since it’s a lot hotter out there and we won’t be able to
work in the hottest part of the day. If we did, I would look like a lobster and
probably die of heat stroke. I am not used to really hot temperatures!
I guess that’s all the updates I have from here on the
island. Below, as usual, you will find my book list. see ya’ll next time!
Book List
Fahrenheit 451
Infidel
Assholes Finish First
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big
Difference
Outliers: The Story of Success
Of Mice and Men
Olive Kittridge
Pride and Prejudice
Tuesdays With Morrie
The History of Love
