STORIES
The man who faked his own death
The story of John Stonehouse reads like an episode of a TV fiction series. The former British Cabinet Minister became so bogged down in serious fraud that he faked
his own death to escape his creditors and the law by reinventing himself with a new name in another part of the world. It was an audacious gamble typical of the man, and
it almost worked.
Few politicians make bigger headlines with their death announcement than they ever manage in their lifetimes. For a while Stonehouse was one of Britain’s most dynamic and charismatic politicians, a man on the fast track to possibly becoming Prime Minister some day. But the handsome smoothtalker was also a con artist always out to make a swift buck, and his greed eventually proved to be his undoing. When banner headlines appeared in British newspapers declaring his death in 1974, Stonehouse was alive
and well, lounging in the sunshine He almost pulled off the perfect vanishing trick, apparently
disappearing from the face of the earth and leaving behind him his constituents, several ailing companies, debts of over 800,000 pounds sterling plus a wife and two children.
John Thomson Stonehouse was born in Southampton on 28 July 1925. He had a Trade Union upbringing and at the age of 16 joined the Labour Party whilst still at Grammar School in Southampton. He went on to study at the London School of Economics before becoming a manager of African Co- Operative societies in Uganda and director and president of the London Co-Operative Society from 1962 to 1964. He was also hungry for political power and was finally elected as a Labour Member of Parliament for Wednesbury in the English Midlands in a 1957 by-election, having unsuccessfully contested Twickenham in 1950 and Burtonon- Trent in 1951. He served in the Colonial Office before becoming a Cabinet Minister when Labour came to power in 1964. In 1967 he became Minister for Aviation and Technology and then shortly afterwards took
on the position of Postmaster General. The PG job was regarded as one of those ‘poisoned chalice’ positions, like that of Health Secretary, and it was widely believed among his colleagues that Prime Minister Harold Wilson ‘awarded’ Stonehouse this position so that he could undermine a potential future leadership threat by firing him at a later date when Stonehouse ultimately failed in the job. Consequently Stonehouse oversaw the introduction of the highly unpopular first and second class stamps in the UK and was forced to ride out the inevitable political firestorm which ensued.
It was at this time that Stonehouse first met Sheila Buckley (28) who soon became
his secretary and mistress. Though this was common knowledge in Westminster,
his wife Barbara did not know until much later. After Labour’s defeat in the 1970
General Election John Stonehouse didn’t make it into the Shadow Cabinet even
though he retained a seat in Parliament as MP for Walsall in Staffordshire. By
now he was not too popular with his ex-cabinet colleagues, who viewed him as
a show-off, always seeking that headline-grabbing sound bite. With his political
ambitions stalled, Stonehouse then focused his ambitions on making money.
With his nephew Michael Hayes he set up a series of companies in third-world
countries, and began cross-subsidising, passing funds obliquely between them. In
five years he formed 20 companies, including a merchant bank. None was ever very
successful, but trading figures were given a facelift for the benefit of accountants
and investors by manipulating funds between one company and another. This was
13,000 miles away.
a survival technique that could not last for long. In 1974 the Department of Trade began to investigate, and the press started sniffing around also. All Stonehouse’s influence as a former Cabinet Minister could not save him. He knew that he faced being branded a liar and a cheat, would be disgraced, ruined and then prosecuted for criminal fraud, which would be a terrible humiliation for himself and a cause for malicious glee (schadenfreude) among his political enemies.
Stonehouse had to do something drastic, so he asset-stripped his companies, forging documents where necessary. He even encouraged new investors in imaginary projects, and banked their money in his own accounts before taking out a big life insurance policy. That should have set off alarm bells, but as usual, he smarmed his way out of trouble whenever enquiries were made about his business affairs. The wily MP planned a new life for himself in New Zealand. He and Ms Buckley agreed that he should officially ‘die’ in the USA and then flee to New Zealand until it was safe for her to join him there.
Stonehouse was also cynically walking out on his wife and family. But first he had to make some careful arrangements to ensure that he and Ms Buckley would not be discovered. As MP for Walsall, Stonehouse tricked a local hospital into giving him details of men of his age who had recently died. With two suitable names, Donald Mildoon and Joseph Markham, he called on the widows and, under the guise of a concerned and caring MP, extracted from them all the information he needed to steal their identities. Using a ruse described by author Frederick Forsyth in his book, ‘Day of The Jackal’, Stonehouse obtained copies of the dead men’s birth certificates. Then, deciding that Markham’s was the identity he preferred, he applied for a passport in the deceased’s name. He had himself photographed with glasses and countersigned the picture on the back in the name of a fellow MP, Neil McBride, whom he knew
was dying of cancer. In a world before networked computers, no one at London’s Passport Office queried the application or the phoney photograph and on 2 August 1974, Mr ‘Joseph Markham’ picked up his brand-new passport. John Stonehouse and Joseph Markham were now one and the same person. He could change his identity at will, just as Forsyth’s fictional contract-killer ‘The Jackal’ was able to do in the best-selling novel.
In the next three months Stonehouse opened 27 bank accounts in his own name
in 17 banks as well as nine accounts in the names of Markham or Mildoon. He
then flew to Switzerland and deposited large sums in Markham’s name. He
put further illicit accounts in a London bank, and then transferred them to the Bank of New South Wales in Australia. Stonehouse also took out several credit cards in Markham’s name, provided his new identity with an address at a small London hotel and set up a company, ‘J A Markham, export-import consultant’ using a business accommodation address and ordered fake business cards with this title. On 6 November 1974, Stonehouse made a dummy run along the first stage of his escape route. He flew to Miami, Florida, posing as Markham, ordering the tickets and paying for them with Markham’s American Express credit card. He returned to London a few days later to report to Ms. Buckley that their plan was foolproof.
Stonehouse again flew to Miami on 19 November, this time for a business
meeting using his real passport. He was accompanied by James Charlton, deputy
chairman of one of his companies. The following day Stonehouse announced
numerous business scams by the Board of Trade. The police realised that he must
have had an accomplice, and soon traced Sheila Buckley. British tabloids then ran
lurid details of their affair, and a horrified Barbara Stonehouse discovered that she
had been cuckolded for years.
But British police did not have a strong case for extradition as yet, and Australian authorities did not press any charges. Stonehouse was able to relax for a while, until Ms Buckley arrived in Australia. Mrs Barbara Stonehouse then returned to England where she began divorce proceedings. Six months later Stonehouse returned to the UK, and once he had been bailed he typically ‘brassed it out’, acting as if nothing had happened, even attending the 1975 Labour Party Conference in Blackpool. His trial began in the summer of 1976 and lasted 67 days. During the longest fraud trial in British legal history
Stonehouse typically elected to defend himself.
The whole affair then took another bizarre twist. On 7 August he resigned the
Labour whip and a week later joined the racist British National Party, becoming
it’s only Member of Parliament. Two weeks later he was forced to resign from
Parliament after being found guilty of fraud charges. The following by-election in
Walsall was won by Robin Hodgson, a Conservative. Stonehouse was sentenced to seven
years in prison. He served three, getting an early release in 1979 on compassionate grounds after suffering two heart attacks and undergoing open heart surgery. He then again surprised everyone by working as a volunteer fund-raiser for the East
London Charity Community Links and joined the Social Democratic Party, which later merged to become the Liberal Democrats.
Stonehouse quietly married Sheila Buckley in 1981 and fathered a son who was duly educated at the exclusive Millfield School in England’s West Country. For most of his life, Stonehouse had admired the campy British comedian Kenneth Williams,
and they became firm friends. Oddly, they died within a few hours of each other - Stonehouse from a final and fatal cardiac arrest on the evening of 14 April 1988, and Williams on the morning of the next day.
The Stonehouse ‘affair’ was duly commemorated by the acerbic Scottish comedian Billy Connolly in his song, ‘John Stonehouse Went Swimming’, a wry tribute to a man some people regarded as a likeable rogue; a colourful character who stood out among his colleagues during a somewhat drab time in British politics. Others viewed Stonehouse as an unprincipled criminal scum bag who had no conscience about swindling friends and colleagues out of their life savings whilst planning to callously desert a wife and children from his first marriage
IF YOU need a check on my True Crime series of stories, published in the Hua Hin Observer, here is a complete list to date:
April 2002 -The Green Bicycle case, 1921. May 2002 - The Craig/Bentley Case, 1952. June 2002 - The A6 Murder Case, 1961. July 2002 - Murder of the Earl of Errol, 1941. August 2002 - The O J Simpson murder trial, 1995. September 2002 - The Aileen Wuornos case, 1989. October 2002 - The Ronald Opus case, 1993. November 2002 - Madame X, 1929. December 2002 - The Spree Killer, 1984. January 2003 - Shootout at Smiths' Club, 1966. February 2003 - The Christine Dryland case, 1991. March 2003 - Poisoned Pie in Essex, 1982. April 2003 - The Heydrich assassination, 1943. May 2003 - The Diana Davidson Murder case, 1969. June 2003 - The death of Alkibiades, 404 BC. July 2003 - The headsman of Colmar, 1780. August 2003 - The Ruth Ellis case, 1955. September 2003 - The Mel Jones Murder case, 1975. October 2003 - The Bluebeard of the bath, 1915. November 2003 - Murder in a combat zone, 1966. December 2003 - The Barn Restaurant murder case, 1972. January 2004 - The assassination of JFK, 1963. February 2004 - Judge Falcone and the Mafia, 1992. March 2004 - Gilles de Rais/Bluebeard, 1404-1440. April 2004 - The hand in the sand case, 1885. May 2004 - The body in the bag, 1979
Out of music rock
In August pop star Gwen Stefani was required to dress “modestly” for her concert in Malaysia, after the National Union of Malaysia Muslim Students protested against the scheduled performance on the grounds that she would bring to Malaysia an “American hegemonic background”, said the group’s president Hilmi Ramli. Earlier in the month, R&B singer Beyonce Knowles scrapped her debut concert in Malaysia slated for November 1 due to what her agency called “a scheduling conflict”, though local record industry sources say it was because the 26-year-old diva thought better of conforming to Malaysia’s dress stipulations for international performers. “They have to dress decently ... and behave in a manner appropriate in Malaysia,” insisted culture, arts and heritage minister Rais Yatim, days after Beyonce cancelled her show Malaysian authorities have long required local rock stars to cut their hair or forfeit the opportunity to appear on television or radio, and frequently remind Malaysians of the consequences for openly addressing “sensitive” issues like race and religion. But it wasn’t until 2005 that foreign performers were asked to join the act.
Guidelines require foreign performers to cover themselves from shoulder to knees.
They also stipulate no hugging or kissing fellow artists or audience members, no
jumping or shouting, no cursing and no exchanging objects between audience and
artist. Preventing “moral decay” and preserving Malaysian values are the reasons usually cited for the restrictions. But what exactly are Malaysian values, and who is defining
them? The issue has come to the fore in this multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, as religion asserts itself with renewed vigor in the public and political domain, and Malaysia’s sizeable non-Muslim communities feel increasingly marginalized. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak recently called Malaysia an “Islamic state”, even though Malaysia’s governing framework is a secular constitution that gives
Islam special importance.
Mohamad Akram Laldin of the International Islamic University in Malaysia says the government curbs on artistic freedom are in the interest of all Malaysians. “When
the government takes a decision, they know that ... a big majority of the people will not be happy if such a thing is allowed. That is the reason why they have put [in place]
certain restrictions [for performers].”
Razlan Ahmad Razali, chairman of Pineapple Concerts, which was to organize Beyonce’s performance here, finds such reasoning specious. He says the dress of performers never becomes an issue until a vocal religious minority makes an issue of it. “Look, compared to 10,000 people who want to watch Gwen Stefani and 100 or 50 or so
people doing the protests - you’re willing to cave into those people?”
US rock stars Linkin Park and Mariah Carey are notable acts to have complied with Malaysia’s dress restrictions. (Carey coincidentally is now appearing in a print ad for a local radio station wearing a short slinky dress with her derriere facing the camera next to the tag line, “Turn me on.”) The government and the Muslim groups it often stands accused of pandering to tend to conflate Islamic values into Malaysian values, and Asian values more broadly, to rationalize giving Islam primacy in a society where non-Muslims account for 40% of the population. But a look around Malaysia reveals that Malaysian values (like Asian values) are neither static nor
homogenous.
Even within Malaysia’s Muslim community there is considerable plurality.
Indeed, many of those who frequent nightclubs dressed in form-fitting, fleshbaring
clothing also happen to be Muslim. A tourism campaign sponsored by the
Culture Ministry deems Malaysia “Truly Asia”, as in, “With a sparkling and lively
melting pot of races and religious [sic] where Malays, Chinese, Indians and the
many ethnic groups of Sabah and Sarawak live together in peace and harmony,
Malaysia is truly a country that epitomizes Asia.”
But then Malaysia finds itself standing alone among Asian neighbors in its
handling of international pop stars. On Beyonce’s scheduled Malaysian date, she
will instead play in neighboring Indonesia, where some 85% of the population
is Muslim. She will also perform in Thailand, India, and China. None of those
countries have asked Beyonce to censor herself or be anyone other than herself.
Indonesian concert promoter Nia Zulkarnaen was quoted as saying, “I expect
Indonesians to see this in a positive light. She is a great singer and her stage act is
entertaining. Why should we say no to the way she dresses?”
The Malaysian government is standing firm, however. After Beyonce’s cancellation,
Rais said his ministry will set up a committee to vet foreign performers and ensure
they dress and behave in a way that is respectful to Malaysia as defined by the
government. No one can deny Malaysia the right to act on its own terms, a point
the government has not been shy to stress.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was famous for his anti-Western and
anti-Semitic diatribes. Ministers relish dismissing international calls for Malaysia
to show greater respect for human rights and dignity. International trade minister
Rafidah Aziz called a speech by then US vice president Al Gore during the peak
of the reformasi era, which echoed the Malaysian public’s cries for greater government accountability and democracy, “The most disgusting speech I have heard in my life.”
Rafidah just so happened to be facing numerous accusations of graft at the time, with the head of the prosecution in the attorney-general’s chambers saying there was prima
facie basis for her arrest and prosecution on five counts of corruption.
But authorities are now tightening the noose at a time that was predicted to see greater tolerance and integrity among political leaders. Current Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi
took over from the long-ruling Mahathir in 2003 preaching Islam Hadhari,or Civiliational Islam, which stresses moderation, creativity and technological mastery. Its 10
main principles include a just and trustworthy government and a free and independent people. Instead the nation’s endemic corruption has gone largely unchecked, while top officials tenaciously defend the status quo and browbeat the public into subservience. After a secretly recorded video clip surfaced last month of V K Lingam, a prominent lawyer, allegedly brokering judicial appointments with Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh
Halim, the minister in the prime minister’s department, Nazri Aziz, said the identity of the whistleblower must be revealed in order to determine the authenticity of the clip, popularly known as the “Lingam tape”.
Nazri’s consolation to the whistleblower was that the government could offer him or her plastic surgery. He later said he would he would pushfor a Whistleblowers Protection Act
to be tabled in parliament. Some are perplexed as to why a prime minister vowing to stamp out corruption without fear or favor didn’t make that among his first priorities of business, and why the anti-corruption agency remains under the jurisdiction of the prime minister’s office.
Others wonder how the creative revolution the government is looking to kickstart
to lead Malaysia into the 21st century can take off with such severe limits
to artistic expression. It’s perhaps no coincidence that Malaysia’s music and arts
scene lags behind those in neighboring Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
A number of Indonesian bands, for instance, have significant fan bases in Malaysia,
while Indonesian media “throw our promotional CDs out”, a top Malaysian artist
recently told this correspondent.
To be sure, Abdullah’s soft, accommodating demeanor cuts a sharp contrast with
the surly vicissitudes of his predecessor. And he possesses a handy political tool
in Islam Hadhari, which puts a good face on Malaysia’s situation when Abdullah
convenes with dignitaries abroad. Despite this, the Abdullah era has been riddled
with controversies, some involving Abdullah’s own family members.
Low points of the last year include a by-election in the small town of Ijok, in
which Abdullah’s government spent some RM100 million to narrowly defeat
the opposition Justice Party; a landmark court decision in which a woman
was not allowed to renounce Islam and declare herself with a religion of her
own choosing; a case where members of Abdullah’s United Malays National
Organization (UMNO) used the party’s annual assembly to threaten Malaysia’s
minority communities; UMNO officials’ intimidation of bloggers for exposing
government malpractice; a senior police official and the director general of the
anti-corruption agency faced allegations of accepting bribes; a political analyst
and security guards with close links to Najib stood trial for murder; and, of course,
the damning revelations of the Lingam tape.
These occurrences have begun to curtail confidence in Abdullah and UMNO
domestically. Some 1,000 lawyers marched to the prime minister’s office in protest
after Abdullah said there was no need to set up a commission of inquiry to handle
the Lingam scandal. The last time Malaysian lawyers marched was in the late
1990s and the only other time on record was in the 1970s. Some of these developments are also taking a toll on Malaysia’s international reputation. And the government’s
crackdown on international artists certainly won’t stem the tide. “[Beyonce’s cancellation] is an opportunity lost for the Malaysian public and for Malaysia’s name,” said Razlan. “Bringing in these artists is the most direct way to promote Malaysia. They just can’t see this is a small issue when it comes to dressing.” He added: “They are losing out on the bigger picture - especially Malaysia’s name.” Razlan said international agents “very familiar with the region can’t be bothered to offer Malaysia because of the
potential problems they foresee.” He said Western music acts Cold Play, Christina Aguilera, Eric Clapton and the Red Hot Chili Peppers had all recently bypassed Malaysia
in favor of Singapore. Like Malaysia, Singapore has garnered a reputation for
strictness. But authorities there have lightened up in recent years, going as far as to even allow bar top dancing. Officials in the neighboring city state seem to be coming around to
the idea that, at least in entertainment venues, though not the political arena, respect for freedom of expression is good for business.
Mohamad Daud of PUSPAL, a subsidiary under the ministry of culture, arts and heritage responsible for issuing permits and enforcing compliance with the guidelines, said that
playing host to international performers was good for Malaysia but that the most
important thing is that they comply with government rules and regulations. “We
are not worried about the question of what it will do to our reputation.” The Malaysian government certainly cannot be accused of selling out; rather it’s chosen to risk negative publicity to prevent the risk of moral decay. And somewhere that’s bound to win over
some hearts.
Copyright 2007 www.atimes.com
Obscure Tour - Benin
SO YOU HAVE BEEN EVERYWHERE HAVE YOU? YOU HAVE FACED UP
TO MISSING LUGGAGE, DODGY TAXI DRIVERS, KIDS USING THE BACK OF
YOUR SEAT FOR FOOTBALL PRACTICE, BORING IN-FLIGHT MOVIES AND
CONNECTING FLIGHTS THAT DO NOT CONNECT. YOU SIT BACK WITH A SMUG LOOK ON YOUR FACE COMPARING DESTINATIONS WITH OTHER
GRIZZLED, SEASONED TRAVELLERS. BEEN THERE, THERE...AND THERE!
WELL WE ARE DELVING INTO THOSE LAST FEW DESTINATIONS LEFT ON
THE PLANET YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TO, FASTEN YOU SEAT BELT FOR
YOUR JOURNEY TO... BENIN.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in Western Africa, formerly
known as Dahomey (until 1975). It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to
the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the
south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its capital is Porto Novo, but the seat of
government is Cotonou.
Stretched between the Niger River in the northeast and the Bight of Benin in
the south, Benin’s elevation is about the same for the entire country. Most of the
population lives in the southern coastal plains, where Benin’s largest cities are also
located, including Porto Novo and Cotonou. The north of the country consists
mostly of savannah and semi-arid highlands. Running southerly, down the middle
of the country is the Oueme River.
The climate in Benin is hot and humid with relatively little rain compared to
other West African countries, although there are two rainy seasons (April-July
and September-November). In the winter the dust winds of the harmattan can
make the nights rather cold.
The largest city and commercial capital is Cotonou. The town of Ouidah is the
spiritual capital of Vodun (Voodoo). It was a major slaving port under Portuguese
occupation. The town of Abomey is the old capital of the Fon kingdom of
Dahomey, and the Fon king continues to reside there.
In Atakora province, Betamaribe settlements straddling the Togolese border are
called tata somba ‘Somba houses’; they are famous for their fortifications, with
livestock housed inside and the people sleeping in huts among the granaries on
the roofs.
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence
agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade.
Benin’s politics takes place in a framework of a presidential representative
democratic republic, whereby the President of Benin, who is currently Yayi Boni,
is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party
system.
The name Dahomey was changed in 1975 to The People’s Republic of Benin,
named after the body of water on which the country lays, the Bight of Benin.
Though the founders of Dahomey appear to have initially been against it, the
slave trade was active in the region of Dahomey for almost three hundred years,
leading to the area being named “the Slave Coast”.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey started to lose its status as the
regional power, enabling the French to take over the area in 1892. In 1899, the
land became part of the French West Africa colony, still as Dahomey. In 1958, it
was granted autonomy as the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence started
on August 1, 1960.
There are several dozen ethno linguistic groups in Benin, representing three of
Africa’s language families: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-asiatic.
The largest ethnic group are the Fon, with 1.7 million speakers of the Fon
language (2001), followed by the various Yoruba groups (1.2 million), the Aja
(600,000), the Bariba (460,000), the Ayizo (330,000), the Fulbe (310,000), and
the Gun (240,000).
Near the ports in the south can be found people of lighter skin who are descended
from returned Brazilian slaves. There are also small numbers of Europeans,
principally French, and Asians, mainly Lebanese and Indians.
Indigenous religions are followed by a majority of the people. They include local
animistic religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces) and Vodun
among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the centre and south of the country. The
town of Ouidah on the central coast is the spiritual centre of Beninese Vodun.
The principal introduced religions are Islam and Christianity, followed in different
parts of the country. Most Christians, however, continue to hold Vodun beliefs
and have incorporated into Christianity the pantheon of Vodun.
For the intrepid traveller to Benin, both transport to, from and around, and
communications there are reasonably good. Many international flights arrive and
depart at the main airport in Cotonou, while there are four other airports of
varying quality. From here you can connect to Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, and a
variety of cities in West Africa.
In order to enter the country you will need proof that you have had a yellow fever
shot, and this will need to be readily available at the airport.
Getting around the country can be done in a variety of ways; Benin possesses
a total of 6,787km of highway (of which 1,357km are paved), 578km of single
track, narrow gauge railway and some mainly locally used waterways. Benin does
not, at this time, share railway links with adjacent countries.
Travel by road is mainly by bus, bush taxi and car (whether with a hired
driver or driven yourself). There is an extremely timely and reliable bus
system that runs your average tourstyle bus through every major city in
Benin everyday, and even some in and out of Benin. Bush Taxi is possible between most cities, every day in major cities, periodically for the more remote
ones. The total price for long distances will be a little higher than by bus,
and comfort and security are significantly lower. Hired drivers cost more
and are the typical means of transport for foreigners. The price depends
on the driver and a local helping to negotiate is recommended. Traffic
is chaotic and the rules of the road are rarely enforced (sound familiar?).
The cheapest way to travel within a city or village is by motorcycle taxi.
They are cheap and the drivers usually know the city well.
As of 2005 there were 76,300 main line telephones and over a million
mobiles in use, and you can connect to the outside world if you want
to via the network, as well as via the internet, at last count there were
679 Internet Service Providers in the country.
Generally there isn’t really a best time to go to Benin, although
possibly the December to March period might be slightly favoured
as it avoids the rainy seasons that occur at different times in the North
and South, and also avoids the hottest periods as well.
Most visitors will require a visa, although people from Denmark,
France, Germany, Italy and Sweden do not, and certain African nations
can get a 90-day visit without one.
Benin has great potential for tourism, and the government is striving to
develop this sector of the economy. The country has a rich cultural heritage,
varied scenery, and impressive national parks.
In the art world, Benin might be best known for the striking bronze sculptures
produced there during the heyday of the Dahomey empire. But elsewhere, it’s
best known for its other major historical exports: slaves and voodoo.
These days, there’s little left of the great Dahomey empire, of which Benin was
the centre. The royal palace in Abomey, although interesting to visit, is only a
remnant of what was once the grandest structure in all of West Africa. These days
vodun is one of the country’s top cultural attractions. You can
visit a museum to learn about vodun’s past or visit a market
and buy a fetish from a current practitioner.
Benin has other attractions as well that can work a spell on visitors: the fishing villages on stilts along Lake Nokoue, the beaches of Grand Popo and the fine restaurants in Cotonou.
Hunting lodges have been built to foster safaris in the two national parks,
where strenuous efforts have also been made to preserve wild game.
Accommodation for tourists is mainly hotels, although there are
other alternatives. Prices range from CFA2600-5200 per night (4-8 Euros)
for a very basic room to CFA8500- 53,500 per night (13-83 Euros) for a
good hotel room. Booking anything other than a hotel before you go is
pretty difficult though! At present we found it difficult finding information
on purchasing property in Benin. Food and drink is generally very cheap
as long as you avoid the hotels and nightclubs - for example in a local pub,
found on every corner in every neighbourhood, you can get a bottle of local beer
“La Béninoise”, Heineken, Guinness, Castel and others (depending on the bar) for
about 250 CFA for a small bottle or 500 CFA for a large bottle. Contrast to that
the 30000 CFA a bottle in a nightclub.
SUMMARY: Benin would be a very good starting place for anyone interested in
the slave trade or voodoo, but it has so much more to offer than these two ominous
subjects. By all accounts the Beninese are very hospitable and welcoming, and
their country offers wonderful natural attractions as well as historical interest that
still has a bearing on many countries today.
The seasoned traveller would get more out of a visit here than the two week
tourist, simply because they would be more prepared to venture out and about,
given what most travel guides advise about safety and health. However there are
beautiful beaches and top class hotels available for the tourist who just wants to
go somewhere different, and who knows, they might just get hooked and end up
travelling by bush taxi everywhere, quaffing the local moonshine!
Tsunami Relief
“We need to get the word out to the world.” Said Kelly, a volunteer at North Andaman Tsunami Relief. Many people are wondering how they could help the Tsunami victims. “They could help by just coming as a tourist and staying in a community based tourism project.” The 2004 Tsunami, which ripped through Thailand’s Andaman coast, left thousands dead. The death toll only represents a fraction of those made homeless. Tens, even hundreds of thousands more lost their livelihood. When the angry sea finally receded, shop owners and farmers found they had nothing to return to. Near Koh Phratong, the bulk of the largely Muslim population made their living as subsistence fishermen, catching enough today to eat tomorrow, with little or nothing to spare for a rainy day. With their boats lost, the men realized they would be unable to feed their families.
Aid poured in from benevolent organizations and generous individuals around the world. Once immediate needs, such as food, water, medicine, and shelter were met, long-term solutions had to be found, to ensure the future well being of this community which had endured more than its share of suffering. Bodhi Garrett is founder and director of North Andaman Tsunami Relief. The purpose of the organization is to provide the local communities with sustainable alternative income sources through community-based tourism. The NATR projects encompass a large array of excursions and eco-tourism all run by locals. The NATR also provides villagers, many of them female, with training in English language, tourism, marketing, and management.
After I had spent the night at the home of a Muslim fisherman and his wife, as
part of an NATR home-stay, my guide, Mustafa, took me in a powerboat, down
an inter-coastal waterway. The scenery was breathtaking. Along the banks was a
pristine, primeval forest, like taking a tour through the set of Jurassic Park. The day
was growing late and it was time for the fishermen to take in their nets. They smiled
and wished us peace, as we rode past. It was hard to believe that just a few miles
down the coast, German backpackers in bikini briefs, drinking beer, packed
like sardines on a crowded tourist beach, believed they were experiencing Thailand.
On a small, quiet island, Mustafa pointed at the remains of a village. Nearly everyone
had been killed. The remaining villagers voluntarily relocated to a new island. The
village, called Baan Pak Triem, was the site of one of NATR’s projects. As we came
around a bend, we could see the floating bungalows, just waiting for the tourists
to come.
We docked the boat and stepped onto one of the floating hotel rooms. They were absolutely beautiful and made from woods that blended with the natural environment. It was easy to imagine that a night in the bungalow would be a peaceful experience, being slowly rocked to sleep by the gentle rise and fall of
the water.
The manager came out to greet us. Her name was Ghi, a local Muslim girl, wearing a head shawl. The NATR team had given her four months of training, helping her transition from stay-at-home fisherwoman to running a small business.
Ghi explained that in addition to relaxing in the tranquillity of the place and taking in the beautiful scenery, guests could fill entire days with fishing, laying squid traps, snorkelling, or tenting out on the island. When they returned to the bungalows, the local women would help the tourists cook up the fish they caught. Sitting out on the floating veranda, eating freshly caught grilled fish, listening to
the serenade of the jungle animals, would be the perfect end to any day. Visitors
could also spend their time tenting out on the island, taking long jungle walks, or
just hang around the village, getting to know the people.
NATR tries to include as many locals as possible, particularly women, who may
have been overlooked in traditional societies. In Baan Pak Triem NATR has
helped the women create a small business of making tie-die clothing. The dies,
made from natural bark and plants, found in the jungle, represent one of many
examples where NATR tries to employ local knowledge.
According to Kelly, a volunteer from NATR, the women need the tie-die clothing business as a source of income because their husbands were killed in the tsunami.
Kelly explained that aid was kind, but often misguided. “For one thing, much too much clothing arrived.” These were simple people who only had one or two changes
of clothing to begin with, and of course, the city clothes were useless to them out here.
“Coffins were donated, but they were the wrong kind”, said Kelly. Other problems arose from the improper storage of donated items, which resulted in their being rendered
unusable. A huge school was apparently built in an area where there were only six students. By law, you need a minimum of fourteen to have a teacher, so the school
closed. A modern clinic was also built, but there was no doctor, so it closed.
“L’Oriel is one of the major sponsors.” Explained Kelly.
“They didn’t want to just give money to the people. They wanted to invest money in creating programs that will create jobs and incomes.” NATR was culturally conscious and had built a wonderful tourism program, but one thing they lacked was tourists.
Just how would people find out about your tours, I asked Ghi. “We have a website.” She answered timidly.
Assuming people stumble onto your website, are you monitoring your email? I asked. “What is email?” She answered, looking to Kelly for help. Any other marketing programs in the works? “We are planning to print a brochure.” And how will this brochure get into the hands of tourists? “I don’t know.”
The program seems like an excellent idea, but it still has some kinks that need to be ironed out. “There has been no emphasis beyond the building of the program”,
said Kelly. “We put all of our energy into that, but now what?”
Luckily, people like Kelly and Bodhi are staying on to help the locals organize
and run a profitable business.
Kelly spoke of aid programs by other organizations. “Other programs are even
worse off, with no one staying behind to help the people. Sustainable means
going beyond the building. We will be doing training and marketing.”
These people were simple fisher folk, with low levels of education. Now they
have a website and are running a business. They are expected to operate tours
and manage a restaurant and a hotel for vacationers, but none of them had ever
been on a tour, eaten in a restaurant, stayed in a hotel, or gone on vacation.
Furthermore, they were required not only to learn to communicate in English, but
to embrace the web and answer emails coming in from any number of countries,
asking questions about further issues and situations which fishermen would never
have encountered before. Conceptually, this must all be quite difficult for them
to grasp.
According to Kelly, most of them had never had any English before. “NATR runs
English and training classes for them but attendance is inconsistent.”
“We need to get the word out to the world”, said Kelly. Many people are wondering
how they could help the Tsunami victims. “They could help by just coming as a
tourist and staying in a community based tourism project.”
Foreigners could also help by doing an unpaid internship with NATR.
Both volunteers and tourists need to be aware of and sensitive to local culture.
These community-based programs are not hotels or resorts. Visitors must
remember that they are integrating into the daily lives of local people.
“We have a code of conduct and a code of dress. Ladies have to cover their
arms and legs. There can’t be any drinking of alcohol or eating of pork in the
villages.”
Even without the Tsunami, the coastal fishing villages were facing modern problems
that threatened their continued existence. The waters are nearly fished out and
the men are also looking for another income. Often, villages and entire cultures
get destroyed when the young people leave the village in search of work. With
little or no knowledge of the outside world and no job skills, they become easy
prey for predators from the sex trade or become victims of labour exploitation.
Often, they never return to the village, and the village dies of youth-drain.
“There is a lot of interest from families to educate their children, but there is a fear
of having them leave the village or lose their Muslim ways.” Said Kelly.
The beauty of community-based tourism is that the children can remain right in
the village and have a good job. Many NGO projects educate the children and
teach them English, but they are still unqualified to do any job. They don’t want to
be farmers or fishers anymore, but they aren’t qualified to do anything. Hopefully,
community based tourism will provide well-paying jobs for clever village youth
with good English and computer skills.
Kelly’s parents had flown all the way from England to be some of the projects first
guests. “This is all so totally different from our home in England.” said Kelly’s mom
enthusiastically.
“It gave us an eye on another culture.” said the dad.
“We spent a night with a Muslim family.” Said Kelly’s mom, with a huge smile. “We
lived right in the village, and I helped the mother prepare the dinner.”
According to Kelly’s dad, a home-stay is the only way to see the true culture of a
local people he would never had access to at home or in a big hotel.
The program is facing a number of difficulties, both financial and cultural.
“The work of NATR is still non-profit”, said Kelly. “They don’t take any fee for their
work, but that will have to change if the organization is to continue operating.”
One problem faced by aid workers trying to organize fishermen is that they do
not live communally. Farmers are communal. Fishermen are not. They work and
earn a living, parallel to one another. They have a loose sense of community, in
helping each other to build a boat or helping in emergencies, but for the most part
they are individuals, going to sea with their family, alone.
The Thai Muslim society has some aspects that have helped the programme’s
success.
“There is a lot of equality between the sexes”, said Kelly. “The women doing
handicraft business don’t take crap from anyone “
“In my tourism classes, less than 25% of the students are men”, said Mustafa.
As in so many other fields, in cultures all over the world, women are leading the
way to change.
“This is the way in nature”, laughed Mustafa. “The woman is always the boss. Just
look at the spider, after she is finished with him she eats her husband.”
“Right now it is all theoretical”, said Kelly. “They are taking our word for it that
tourists will come, and that they need to study and they will make money. Any time
a tourist does come, suddenly the attendance at training shoots up. They realize
how important it will be for them to be able to communicate with foreigners. But
then it drops off again.”
As a modern world slowly encroaches on the domain of traditional societies, it
seems the way to save a unique culture is to make them fishers of tourists.
See the NATR website: http://www.northandamantsunamirelief.com
Contact Bodhi Garrett relieffund@inet.co.th
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