Last
September, my niece Julie married Quentin. Yes, I was there – in my liturgical
robe and for the first time pastorally involved with my French family. ((
emotion mixed with pride in a totally not Calvinist way ))
A few months
later, Julie officially became a veterinarian and was hired by the Musée de l’homme
in Paris, in the research department. Her mission of 3 years : study elephants.
This means living 4 months a year, in 2 installments, in a place where they
live in the wild. (I regretted instantly that that hordes of wild elephants do
not roam free in the Olympic peninsula)
A few weeks
ago, Julie arrived in Uganda, in the research station located at the north of
the national park of Kibale. She went along with a friend who studies chimpanzees.
They flew to Entebbe via Bruxelles. We know she made it ok and now receive collective
news when the internet accepts to collaborate.
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| Julie ready to fly off. All the suitcases are not hers! |
Her mission
is to study elephants, but she is also in charge of working with farmers on the
damages that elephants have been causing in fields and crops for the past 10
years. She met villagers about it, some of them upset and frustrated.
Scientists have been coming and asking them questions over the years – for their
researches, not for providing help. People affected by the situation feel, understandably,
that they got forgotten in the process.
Julie’s project
will be different: support will be included. But she cannot mention it yet
because all the papers are not all signed, and she does not know when this
program will be able to start.
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| Elephant met in the forest |
As for the
daily life at the research station, there are ups and downs. Water and power come
and go. The closest road across the forest is in construction – it will be
larger. The pipes bringing water were buried along the road and suffer from the
work being done so close. Water has been turned down a lot, which means no flush
and no showers. Rain is rare, this is dry season.
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| The research station |
But Julie’s
enthusiasm is intact. She is delighted with the discoveries that this new life brings,
including meeting Jerome, a chameleon. He spent a few days with Julie and her
friends, but after a standoff with a colony of ants, he went on to live in a
banana tree close by.
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| Jerome |
To be
followed…
