KICKSTARTER PROJECT UPDATE #26

Last thoughts

25 mai 2014

It is difficult to estimate the impact that the experience that is soon coming to an end will have on me but it is certain that it will be profound at all levels (among other things, I lost about twenty pounds).

Guinea is a tough environment, the climate is hard : the heat, the sun, the rain… furthermore there is dust, dirt, smoke from tired and badly adjusted engines; there is no public garbage collection so people make piles that they burn regularly, including toxic materials like the ubiquitous plastic water bags and others, generating columns of acrid smoke; chaotic traffic with cars charging straight at you, you better get out of the way otherwise too bad for you; quasi-absent hygiene with fetid waters in open air, if you stick your foot in there you better clean it fast. The daily surprise: electricity that comes or doesn't… sometimes it comes and kids yell with joy and it disappears as fast as it came. Mosquitoes every night, tropical diseases: malaria, typhoid fever–which is currently affecting me (it is so common here that it's like a cold), meningitis, cholera, etc. But as we say "what doesn't kill you will make you stronger." This is not a place for those who don't tolerate discomfort.

However, it is a paradise for libertarians. People do whatever they want, stick any business they want anywhere they want, build their house wherever they want in any way that they want. There are no construction or environmental norms, no pollution control, no protection against abusive practices and 90% of the people don't pay any taxes. Although the current government is working to eradicate corruption and bring the country up to international standards, one can often buy justice and the police and wealthy people are effectively above the law.

But the most corrosive aspect of the whole picture is the pervasive extreme poverty. It is hard for a westerner like me, used to modern comfort and abundance to perceive the depth of its influence. We have the luxury to strive for self-realization, to become an artist, musician, writer, movie director, thinker, traveler, architect, doctor, dancer, etc., to search for oneself. It is certain that there are people who practice these activities in Guinea but by and large Guineans have one major preoccupation: what are we going to eat today? Not to mention paying the rent, clothing and pay for medication when they are sick. This fosters a mindset that is centered on essential things and intolerant of carelessness and stupidity and in the more severe cases, callousness and meanness.

Wherever I go people say "fote" (white).* Sometimes it's nice, sometimes less. I think: whites have been in Guinea for some 500 years, aren't they used to it by now? But I realize that they personally don't know any. We can see some walk around but most don't seem very sympathetic. Generally Guineans have a notion that we are rich, that money is coming out of our ears and it is true that our average standard of living represents an unattainable dream for them. They all, or almost all, what to emigrate to Europe, USA, Canada (which many see as the best country in the world). But that avenue is effectively closed to them. Us, we just pay a little money and we can get a visa in a few minutes. For them the reverse represents an impossibly difficult and onerous process. When they see us, it reminds them of that injustice.

Despite all, the wide majority of Guineans are polite, smiling and fun loving. It is very easy to strike a conversation and joke with them even if they are strangers, they are of a spontaneous nature. But many don't relativize and consider me as a big opportunity, as if Bill Gates suddenly appeared in your living room.

There is so much need that one has a tendency to close up and protect oneself and to become not so sympathetic, a tendency that I try to keep in check. But it would be dangerous to be so nice to everybody.

From an artistic point-of-view, I consider my experiment a success. In four months I managed to teach a dozen kids who did not know anything about the flute to play the on whole range, to give them a repertoire of a dozen pieces and mostly to communicate to them the love of the instrument. They have acquired a foundation in music literacy and although they are not too swift, they can work their way through a simple music chart. Furthermore, they play sufficiently well to perform and record. They play improvised solos and can play in two keys.

Also, the contacts that I've had with artists and the public were very encouraging, they really appreciate me… which is not so evident on the other side of the ocean.

So I will soon return with an inner trove of material that will take a long time to process, plus a CD to produce, a movie to edit and lots of flutes to deliver. This will take some time and work but in the immediate my inspiration will be multiplied so I recommend that you come and see my next concerts.

Last greetings from Guinea my dear friends and supporters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help and interest in my activities.

Allah barka (God thank you) 
Sylvain

PS: I wanted to add a very nice video of a Baga wedding but the stupid internet connection from the Areeba company keeps dropping.