Benin -v- Liberia

The Africa Mercy was cleared by Benin Immigration late last night, so today I went exploring ashore. I got my bearings very quickly, and the noises and smells bought back many memories of our time in Benin 4 years ago. I couldn't help but compare Benin with Liberia. There is obviously more personal wealth here; there are more cars and privately owned scooters, and more overweight people (another sign of wealth). Within half a mile of the port are several clean and shiny western style banks with ATMs, and shops and pharmacies with glass fronts, air-conditioning and a huge range of stock. There is running water and mains electricity, a fully functioning postal service, manhole covers and working drains, tall buildings with glass in their windows, painted walls and beautiful fresh flowers and fruit for sale. There is no razor wire, few window bars, no bullet holes, no visible refugee camps, no open sewers or missing pavements, and the roads are decent. But the place is covered with sand, building rubble and garbage, and amongst the garbage live the poor and needy, including the thousands of people with disfigurments and medical conditions who we are here to serve over the next ten months. This afternoon our vehicles were cleared by Customs, so we can now start unloading them and setting up the dockside workshop. Its great to be here! Olly