Kili - EpilogueJul 31, 2006
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| We woke refreshed, ate breakfast and made our arrangements to head into Arusha for the day. While we were waiting for our taxi (driven by the super-nice Mr. Mbuya) Machaka, our favorite porter came to tell us that Urassa had not tipped the porters and had not even paid them their proper salaries. We were very angery. So we cancelled the traveler checks that we used to tip the no-good thief. We then went to the main boss of Klub Afriko - Guidion - to explain the situation. Guidion reminds me of Ving Rhames character in Pulp Fiction. He is a very stern, no-nonsense businessman. He was pissed. He called some of his workers immediatley at told them to find Urassa. He promised us that Urassa would no longer work at Klub Afriko and that he would further blacklist Urassa with the mountain officials. We have know idea if any of this has taken place. We were off to Arusha and then on Safari for the next ten days. When we returned, Paul (the spineless, assitant guide) phoned our Safari guide who handed the phone to me. Paul told me that he had made sure that Urassa gave the tips to the porters. Obviously a lie. Several weeks later (while at the Vervet Monkey Sanctuary) Machaka emailed us to say that he had only told Guidion that Urassa hd paid the tips so that Urassa would hire him again. It seems that the guide/porter relationship is very corrupt. Guides choose porters based on how easily the porters can be manipulated. And since the porters choose their line of work because it is a poor country with few option, they feel obliged to work for less than promised. In fact, Machaka's out-spoken attempt at justice could mean that he will be labeled as trouble for the other guides and therefore will not work on the mountain again. This all could have been avoided if I had demanded to give the tips directly to the porters (as planned) rather than being swindled by Urassa. There have been few instances in my life where I truly dislike a person. Damn Urassa! |
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