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Who's
the most amazing person you have met ever since you're
travelling?
There were hundreds, including the personal secretary
of Pol Pot and the Prime Minister of Barotseland (Western
Zambia), but two people stand out:
One is a man I have met in the most distant corner
of Cambodia. He was imprisoned by the Vietnamese-friendly
regime that had toppled the Khmer Rouge. For eight
years, he suffered from malnutrition and maltreatment
on a daily basis. In general, there is a lot of xenophobia
in Cambodia against the Vietnamese.
This man probably had even more reason to be xenophobic
because of his prison experience. But after this humilation,
he decided to dedicate his work to human rights.
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He now works in a distant province - away from his
family, which he sees very rarely - to educate people
about their rights, independently of their nationalty.
An American human rights organization pays his 150$/month
salary.
Asked if he never thought of revenge against the Vietnamese,
he said no, that is the past, we have to let it go.
If it has something to do with him being Buddhist,
I don't know. And I don't care.
Because this man is a hero for me no matter what
his religion is. He inspired me and brought tears
in my eyes when he described his sufferings. |
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Another person I have met will stay in my mind because
he drove the only other car up to the Livingstonia
Mission in Malawi, at 2000 m altitude. His Landrover
was equipped like a car on an expedition.
Our VW Beetle from 1974 followed him on the dangerous
curves up to the mission. In the evening, I asked
the 50-year old British if he was a tourist. He was
first reluctant to give an answer and reflected for
a few seconds about the question. "I am definately
not a tourist", he said, "I would say, I
live in this landrover".
He has been traveling for the last five or six years
all over Africa, without getting once malaria and
without getting once killed in Algeria's or Liberia's
civil wars. The money keeps flowing from the 50% of
his company in Britain; his son owns the other 50%...
He wanted to get away from it all, and if you think
that I have a lot of experience, think again, this
guy has more true exciting stories to tell you than
any other person I have met. At the same time, he
didn't get "backpackedized" but remained
a "normal", clean, friendly human being. |
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Which
is your best and worst experience while travelling?
This shows why I wanted to become a journalist:
It's much easier to pose questions than to answer
them :-)
So here I go, with the same reservations that I've
made above.
Best experience: Driving a VW Beetle through
the potholes and sands of Africa.
Being observed by hundrets of children and adults
everywhere you pass.
Digging the sand out and overtaking a Landrover
stuck in the sand.
Listening
to Kenny Rodgers "The Gambler" over and
over again.
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Talking
to a car that you become to love because it takes
you 11'598 km through Southern Africa.
Worst experience: Talking to war veterans in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Almost every man who was not a refugee
is one. I got very tired of these hero's stories everyone
likes to tell.
What is a hero's story for one person is a horror
story for another. Guess what: Bosnia and Herzegovina
is one of the few places in the Western world where
women don't like men with uniform.
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What kind of advice would you give
to anyone wishing to make his/her way to a rather politically
unstable country?
First of all, if you would like to go for the thrill of
danger, go somewhere else. The US has a lot of theme parks.
A bullet in your head is extremely bad for your health.
I met a German traveler who went with his motorbike through
Zaire in November 1996, when government and rebel troups were
approaching from both sides. He already knew about the danger
when he entered the country, and was only saved through an
air evacuation - and with a lot of luck.
So my first advice is: Don't try to be "cool"
or a hero. An American tourist who had just arrived in
Phnom Penh was stunned about all the military presence on
the streets - he has not heard about the elections...
Second advice: Don't go if you don't know anything about
it. Read a lot of historical, political, and cultural books
about the place. Follow the news. Go through reliable
internet sources and directly write to people inside the country
to ask them about the current situation.
And my third advice is to keep your eyes open when you
are there and follow the advice of other foreigners. Last,
but not least: There are many misconceptions about security.
First, relatively safe places are considered unsafe just because
of their name, i.e. Mozambique; and vice-versa, i.e. parts
of the United States of America. Secondly, both in "safe"
and "unsafe" countries, the real dangers are often
ignored.
The event leading to your death in a developing country is
most likely a traffic accident or an HIV infection, not a
landmine or bad food... |
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What
are you planning to do next year once you get your degree
on International Relations?
I am open for any offer :-)
Responsible journalism is what I am trying to get ready
for (and trying to do, as far as possible), for example
as a foreign correspondent or a freelance writer for
a major organization.
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But I said at a certain point in my life that I would
like to be a positive factor for other people's lives.
Journalism has some limits when it comes to ethic
considerations. I have been very fortunate in my
life so far, even no I went through a lot of crisis.
The fact of the matter remains that I am part of the
priviledged minority of this planet. So development
programs or NGO work would be another option.
But I will see what destiny (God?) has in mind for me.
So far, I was guided in my choices by my inner voice.
I am convinced that a person with good will will approach
me at the right time.
What I hope is that whatever I will do has a real meaning
for other people and me, and that I will be able to
live out my creativity. |
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You
have mentioned before the spiritual aspect of your
travels. Do you have something like a motto, a conclusion?
Memento mori - it's a latin expression difficult to
translate. Consider death, see everything in the light
of death.
For me it also means: See everything you do from the
point of view of your last minute. Some things become
more important, others less.
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©Photos
Marcel Stoessel - All rights reserved-
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