Today I was practically molested... Project 21 had to pay a visit to the 6 most important people in Bere district. The MCD, the superfre, the mayor, the head CP, the CP of police, and the assailant. Basically, the man who was a little too friendly towards me was the head of military for the state, Tandjile.
I was driving Charis and Naomi on the four-wheeler, while Zach was driving Daniel on the moto. Of course, everyone was staring at us the whole time. We walked over, said hi, and cut to the chase. We explained what Project 21 was about, why we were visiting them (we were brown-nosing, but of course we didn't say that out right), and we gave them a gift.
After giving them the gift, which was a Project 21 shirt, we took a picture. (Everyone loves receiving photos here, so the picture would serve as another gift down the road). All the Tchadian men were giving Charis and I extra attention before we took the picture. However, because this is usually the norm we ignored it and continued talking.
By the time we stood to take a picture, the head honcho called me out. He told me to stand next to him for the picture. I didn't want too, but I didn't want to insult him either. So, I stood next to him and put on a smile for the picture.
Typically, Tchadians don't show affection in public, but this guy obviously wasn't a gentleman. He put his arm around my waist for the picture! I know we usually do that in America, but it is unusual for Tchad. I stood with my arms at my side (how we all should have been posing) trying to grin and bear it. However, the guy grabbed my arm and made me hold his waist too. After the picture he gave me a squeeze and patted me on my chest.
I was shocked!! Luckily, my hands were close to my chest, so I prevented him from copping a feel. To bad we had to take another picture because Charis was standing too far from the group. (Charis was taking pictures the right way. You keep to yourself with a decent amount of space in between, but it looked weird because everyone else was huddled close together).
Zach saw what the man did, so both he and I protested taking another picture. Unfortunately, the head of military knew a little English and asked us why we didn't want to take another picture. I gave Zach a look that said it was "ok" and prepared for round two.
By this time, the crowd that had gathered when we first arrived had grown larger. The man was probably trying to show off because for the next picture he put his arm around my neck. The second picture was taken, then a third, and a fourth. During each picture he would pull me closer, and after each picture he would pat my chest again. Only Zach noticed what the man was doing.
Finally, it was time for goodbyes. I politely shook everyone's hands and turned to subtly run to the four-wheeler. But they stopped Naomi and I. They wanted to know if I was married. Everyone kept saying no I wasn't for sale, but he was persistent. We named an outrageous price when he wouldn't stop asking. (Zach asked for 20 cows, which is a ton of money for Tchad). Mr. Touchy-Pants happily replied, "I would gladly pay 21 cows for her" in French. I didn't need a translator for that statement.
My eyes grew big and my heart stopped. What do you do in situations like this in a corrupt country? He could have easily made our lives a living hell. Praise God He placed the right words in Naomi's mouth. She was able to talk him down and by the end of the conversation we were cracking jokes. We were able to leave on good terms, but I will never show my face in that place again.
This picture has Naomi in it. The guy was all up in my grill and the other men kept trying to inch closer and closer. There is excuse for us all being that close!
No comments:
Post a Comment