MAGAN'S WORLD: MANCHÁN MAGAN's tales of a travel addict
ON A BEACH in Kenya a fortnight ago I came across a Dublin couple with a nifty new device that might help address the fear people have of travelling in Africa. Called the Spot Satellite Messenger, it uses the GPS network to calculate its co-ordinates, then sends them home via satellite to someones phone or e-mail account. With the press of a button your family or friends can see exactly where you are on Google Maps. It might help overcome the unwarranted fear some of us have of Africa, that sense of an uncharted expanse that might swallow us up if we dare step beyond the air-conditioned halls of the Hilton.
Leaving the city in any developing country can make you feel like a cork bobbing on a vast ocean of foreignness, but somehow it’s more palpable in Africa. There’s a thrilling sense of the pull of the unknown, the way early astronauts, when opening the catheter to pass urine, could feel the hungry tug of space, of absolute vacuum, pulling at their innards.
Conrad, Casement, Livingstone and Stanley have all played their part in creating the myth of deepest, darkest Africa, and the likes of Trócaire and Concern haven’t helped much, either. For as long as I can remember, every Lent we’ve been fed images of famine, pestilence and drug-crazed militias.
The latest Trócaire ad campaign is yet another incidence of the manipulation of the image of Africa for the sake of boosting donations. Is it even ethical to portray a continent largely in terms of fear, desperation, hunger and terror? The money raised may help in some small way, but what of the cumulative damage done to people’s perceptions of the place? How can we ever convince people to travel there and see for themselves?
The couple I met in Kenya, Jon Mooney and Jeanne Gallagher, had bought the satellite tracker largely to alleviate the fears of Jon’s father back home. It was a way of circumventing those horrific images loved ones picture. “But you’ll get eaten by lions, you’ll be chopped up with machetes,” people said before I set off on my first overland expedition, 20 years ago.
Jon and Jeanne decided the satellite tracker would reassure both themselves and their families. The unit costs €200 and the satellite service an extra €100 a year. They upload its co-ordinates directly on to their blog, www.africanism. wordpress.com, so people can track exactly where they are. They are in the middle of an 18-month trip from Morocco to South Africa, mostly overland. They’ve done most of west Africa and are now moving towards Botswana. For a little vicarious travel you could do worse than visit their blog.
Jon says he’s found the tracker to be an invaluable bit of kit. “It’s small, light, rugged and floats. All we have to do is turn it on for 20 minutes with a view to the sky and an e-mail is automatically sent home with our precise co-ordinates. Our loved ones can see that we are moving and still alive.”
The device has two extra buttons, marked Help and 911. They decided before the trip to use the Help button for non-medical emergencies. Jon has arranged with his brother David that if the Help button is hit David will come immediately to the co-ordinates transmitted if he cannot get through to them on the mobile. The 911 button is for medical emergencies. They paid the satellite company an extra €11 to guarantee extraction within 24 hours anywhere in the world without local medical support once that button is pressed.
It’s an impressive service, but look at me: I’m already returning to the worst-case scenario. The old fears are kicking in. It’s just hard not to get caught up in drama when considering Africa.