Left for Makeni at 9:00 this morning. We have to go through a police check point and
because we are an NGO they just wave us through. But today, we were stopped and
the police officer wanted a bribe. Don asked him what he wanted and he reached over
and pinched my shirt and said, "I'll take her". Don's response was, "You are going to
have to fight". He smiled and Don opened the glove compartment and handed him two
bags of peanuts. We keep small bags of peanuts in the glove compartment to hand to
the people who tell us they are hungry. Most of the time they are very grateful. This
guy looked at the two bags and said "this isn't enough". Don asked him "how much do
you want?" His reply, "5,000 Leones. I want rice from the market" (which was across
the street". Don handed him 5,000 Leones and off we went.
1:00 - The moving van showed up with our furniture. We have a beautiful office/home.
We are excited to get out of Freetown. The driving there is so bad. And this is why - all
a person has to do is give the DMV money and you can get a license. You don't even
have to personally show up. You can give the money to anyone and they can get you a
license. There are no learning permits, no lessons, no books outlining the road rules
nor tests of any kind. So a person gets a license and because they don't know the
driving rules, there are NO RULES! No traffic lights, no stop signs, everyone passing on
the right and left, making 3 lanes of traffic on a two-lane road, passing on blind curves,
going the wrong way around roundabouts, going the wrong way in a lane, turning
whichever way with no thought of anyone else. Everything is "me first". It is a
monsterous mess.
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