Tusker

by Dougie Arnold

  “Thank you Jim,” said Ana. “I feel I have hardly been here but there is something so magical about this place that draws you in. If I can help in any way it would be great and I promise to behave.”

  “Leave the Chinese to me and I will keep you posted. Now the morning is ticking by Harry, I’m sure you have lots to do.”

  “Gosh, I hadn’t realised the time. I said I would help some of the guys replace the old wood on one of the small bridges. Catch you later.”

  “Before you shoot off Ana, I haven’t seen you on your own and I was wondering how you are doing? I can see the outward signs of you, which seem really positive but inside with all of us can be a different matter.”

  “That’s kind of you to ask. PTSD is a difficult thing to explain and personal experiences that brought it on even tougher to talk about if I am honest.” She offered him rather a sad smile. “The wonder of being here is that I am so far away from the place that triggered it all off. That is a massive help. You are all so lovely and although I have tended to detach myself from others your warmth definitely heals. I am also the sort of person who loves having something to believe in, I need to be busy and if I can help in any small way to protect Uwingoni, that is wonderful for me; there is the selfish bit, but hopefully useful for you too. I am afraid at the moment that is about all you will get from me. Sorry.”

  “Thank you. I don’t want to probe into people’s lives, not really my scene but your dad was such a friend to me so anything I can do please ask, no matter how daft it might sound.” He got up from his desk and gave her a hug, surprising himself almost more than her. “If I had a daughter I would have wanted her to be like you. Now off you go and find something useful to do.”

  Ana returned to her tent, added quite a long passage in her journal and no sooner had she closed it than she shut her eyes and went into a blissfully dreamless sleep.

  She was woken by a gentle coughing and saw Harry standing there, the sun behind him already high in the sky.

  “You have been asleep for ages but I left you to it, obviously something you needed.”

  She smiled groggily up at him. “As a correspondent in some pretty out of the way places you develop the habit of sleeping when you can as you never know when the next chance will come. I suppose old habits die hard.”

  “Let’s hope those journalistic skills of yours are sharp because tomorrow first thing we are off to the dam!”

  “Already!” she exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”

  “That’s what I thought too but Mr Pang got back to Jim almost straight away and everything is sorted. You have to have a driver of course and Bethwell is busy in the morning so it will be you, me and old Bluebird again.”

  “That will be great. You had better be on your best behaviour too,” she chuckled.

  After yet another early start they reached the eastern gate of Uwingoni sooner than expected and before long Bluebird was enjoying the experience of driving on tarmac again. Despite her age she was like an old thoroughbred horse suddenly discovering terrain that gave her the will to gallop again. The road surface was wonderful after what they had been used to. Harry had discovered from Bethwell that there used to be more potholes than tarred surface until a few years back, so much so that it was far worse than driving on the rough tracks in the bush. However, with the building of the dam had come a new road too, also part of the deal with the Chinese. Most roads in the country were notoriously bad and he knew the accident rate was dreadful. It had been drilled into him – assume the other drivers have never passed a driving test, expect the worst and you will probably be fine!

  There was little else on the road except a number of matatu mini buses transporting people and their goods to the local market.

  “Anyone who complains about London commuting in the rush hour should try a ride in one of these,” he laughed as a bright orange matatu with the words, Jesus Saves, emblazoned in electric blue down the side, roared past. Stacked high on the roof rack were baskets of vegetables and wooden cages full of chickens.

  “I am always amazed,” said Ana, “just how high things can get stacked. Vehicles like this are the same in almost every corner of the Third World I have been to. There are so many little farmers everywhere who work all hours their particular god brings. I have such respect for them.”

  “Sadly those are just the sort of people whose whole way of life is at risk from projects like the dam. Anyway we are almost there so we should be able to see for ourselves very soon.”

  Bluebird pulled up in front of a large yellow barrier, stopping with ease thanks to Kamau’s recent magic with the brake repairs.

  There were sentry huts in the same colour either side of the barrier. A burly looking guard came up to the window.

  “We are here to see Mr Zhang Wei. He is expecting us.”

  There was no attempt to be welcoming. “Names please.”

  The guard disappeared back to his hut and Harry could see him on the radio. The barrier opened and they were directed to a small car park where there was one solitary vehicle.

  “You must wait for company transport. No private cars are allowed to drive in the restricted area.”

  Ana got out, adjusting her sunglasses to the sharp glare. There was little or no vegetation, just large bleached rocks and a gravelled road heading off in a straight line towards some distant buildings.

  “Hardly very inviting,” said Harry. “The people as well as the landscape!”

  “Nothing negative, remember,” scolded Ana. “The more pleasant we are the more we are likely to get something useful out of the visit.”

  A cloud of dust suddenly appeared as a vehicle of some sort headed up the track in their direction. They could soon make out a yellow jeep with a single occupant at the wheel.

  “Seems to be a bit of a favourite colour,” commented Harry.

  It stopped just feet away and a young man bounded from behind the wheel. He held out his hand inviting a polite handshake.

  “Good morning. We have been expecting you. My name is Michael Cheng, one of the assistants to our wonderful chief engineer Mr Zhang Wei. He is looking forward to receiving you.”

  He opened the passenger door for Ana and Harry clambered in the back.

  As they drew up at the collection of huts their earnest young driver was equally swift to open Ana’s door for her again and as he ushered them in to the largest of the buildings, Harry almost began to feel himself invisible.

  When they entered a pristine office the first thing that struck him was how sparse it was. One enormous desk dominated the room with an open laptop placed exactly in the centre. There were no books or papers or anything resembling clutter. A large picture of a monstrous dam holding back a sea of water filled much of a spotless wall. Behind the desk, glass doors gave a panoramic view and silhouetted in front of them was a diminutive figure, hands behind his back, intent on something the other side of the glass.

  “Forgive my manners,” said Mr Zhang Wei, as he turned to greet them. “I was lost for a moment in thought. Please sit down. Michael, have you offered our guests refreshment?”

  Michael looked crestfallen, even though they had been in the office only a matter of seconds.

  “That’s fine thank you,” smiled Ana. “I don’t feel we need anything just at the moment.”

  Mr Zhang Wei moved briskly round the desk, hand outstretched. “You must be Ana. Mr Pang told me to expect you. And you…?” his gaze rested briefly on Harry but seemed to instantly dismiss him.

  “I’m Harry,” he replied with an unaccustomed nervousness. “My uncle Jim runs Uwingoni,” he added, almost as though he needed to assert a certain status.

  “Indeed,” expressionless eyes swivelled back in his direction, peering slightly over the top of rimless glasses. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I trust your uncle is well?”

  “Yes thank you,” responded Harry, almost taking on the same formality in his speech.

  “Welcome to Prosperity Dam. Ou
r directors in China have recently selected this title which they hope will reflect what it will bring to the people of this region. Water and power from the hydroelectric plant for the growing towns, which in time might resemble those of our wonderful Chinese Republic itself. Ching Pang is bringing progress.”

  “Absolutely,” said Ana, “and that is something I am keen to write about, so it’s kind of you to allow me access. I would like to highlight the benefits of the partnership that has grown up between China and Kenya in this project. I hope it is in order for Harry to accompany me, he is a talented photographer and spectacular images will only enhance what I write.”

  “That will be in order but please check either with Michael or our head of security who will also be accompanying you on the visit to our site, before photographs are taken. Some parts of our work might be a little sensitive, for example new technology that I wouldn’t want our competitors to know about. I am sure you understand.”

  As if on cue there was a firm knock at the door and a large unsmiling man joined them. He bowed slightly from the waist to his boss and inclined his head to the others in the room.

  “I have meetings in Nairobi, indeed the helicopter should be here very soon, so I fear I won’t see you later but I am sure you will have an informative trip. Oh and Mr Hu here will make sure you come to no harm. Building sites can be dangerous places.”

  Michael showed them out of the office and as Harry glanced back Zhang Wei had taken up his position by the window again, a frown on his face and a phone already in his left hand.

  Michael seemed rather subdued at the wheel now that Mr Hu was sitting next to him. Ana and Harry looked eagerly about as they headed down to the gorge, searching for any clues that might indicate a suspicious area that had nothing to do with building a dam.

  Mr Hu remained grimly silent but as they approached the dam site itself Michael became genuinely excited, talking of the problems they had encountered and how they had solved them.

  As agreed Ana had a recorder on, the days of jotting in a notebook, long gone.

  When they arrived at the crest of the gorge it became apparent why they had hardly seen any signs of activity so far. Everything seemed to be happening beneath them, it was almost as though they had stumbled on a giant ants’ nest. Countless figures moved with a sense of purpose in various directions. Huge plumes of dust trailed lorries as they crisscrossed tracks. Everything seemed dry and barren and the only relief in the desert-like landscape was the river itself which gently twisted and turned its way, water glinting in the sunshine, its banks lush with vegetation.

  As they drove on it was obvious that this was a much bigger project than either of them had imagined.

  “May I take some photographs from up here?” asked Harry.

  “That is permitted,” came Mr Hu’s terse reply.

  As he looked through the lens he could see even more clearly how the gorge narrowed and the rocky cliffs on either side converged to something almost like the tip of a V.

  “I can see all these men at work at the base but where has the water gone?”

  Michael smiled with pleasure. “That was a particularly clever piece of Chinese engineering. If you look carefully you will see there is a large opening, like a huge cave on the left-hand side. They blasted an underground channel which takes the water round where the dam is being built and allows it to feed back into the river on the other side. You will get a much better idea when we move closer but we will have to do that on foot now.”

  As they made their way down a gravel track the heat became progressively more oppressive. There was no shade, light glanced off the rock surfaces and thick dust clung to everything.

  “These are tough conditions for your workers,” commented Ana. There were a mixture of Kenyan and Chinese toiling away in what almost felt like the bowels of the earth. Concrete was being poured into vast square containers as they passed. “These will dry and become the main building blocks of the dam,” said Michael.

  Harry raised his camera. “No photographs of the men working here! Mr Hu waved his hand in front of the camera. Good opportunity coming up on the dam itself. It will display the skill of Ching Pang.”

  Although the dam was effectively only an excuse for them to be there it was impossible not to marvel at the skill and scale of the project. As they looked down from the walkway on top of it, the wall curved outwards on either side and even the huge slabs of concrete looked small from where they were.

  “When we are finished,” said Michael, “we will stop the flow to the side and the river behind will rise and rise until we have a fantastic lake here in the middle of what is almost a desert. We will feed the towns with fresh piped water and the rest that flows through the middle below us will drive turbines to provide electricity for all here. Truly it is well named Prosperity Dam.”

  Ana was distracted and noticed that Mr Hu had been talking rapidly into his phone and his lips seemed more turned down than ever.

  “Something important has come up. It will be necessary for you to depart now. I am sure Michael will fill you in with additional information on the way back to the main gate. I must leave you.” With the smallest of nods he was gone, summoning other security men to him while he strode away towards the far side of the dam.

  As they walked towards the jeep Michael seemed visibly more relaxed. “So Harry I was interested to hear you are helping out your uncle. Mr Pang is my mother’s brother, which is why I am out here this year to learn more about our business. There is nothing stronger than family, don’t you agree?”

  That explained a lot about Michael’s easy-going manner, thought Harry, certainly not the hard-nosed company man, well not yet anyway.

  As they headed away from the gorge he talked enthusiastically to them. Ana thought he was highly unlikely to have anything to do with poaching or indeed anything else that the company might do which was illegal.

  He took a left-hand fork and she realised they were on a different track to the one they came on. Soon he pulled up at a small building with a neat line of old shipping containers next to it.

  “Let me show you something else while you are here.” Harry was keen to see what this place was. Any piece of information might come in useful.

  He opened the door for Ana, beating Michael to it. “Come on let’s see what this is about.”

  He looked up at her. Just a few minutes ago she had been chatting animatedly but she didn’t say a word. She looked very pale and even her eyes had a glazed faraway look about them.

  “Ana are you OK. Ana?” he shook her arm gently.

  She gave a start, her eyes coming back into focus. “Welcome back, you were miles away,” he smiled. “Come on let’s see what he’s got to show us.”

  “You go. I’m not feeling so great.”

  “Probably just the heat and the ride on this rocky surface. You’ll be fine and stretching your legs will be good for you.”

  Reluctantly she stepped out and they walked slowly across to the hut.

  “I just wanted to show you something else that might turn out to be important,” said Michael. He didn’t go into the hut but instead made his way to the nearest container and with a grunt released the bolt and opened the large doors at the end.

  “There is no light but you can see perfectly well once the doors are open. Come inside.”

  Harry followed Michael in. The heat was even more oppressive. It was after all just a metal box with no ventilation. As his eyes adjusted from the glare outside he saw that the whole of one side had an enormous shelving system running the length of the wall but somewhat disappointingly all it contained was rocks. As he looked more closely he saw that each one had a label underneath it.

  “We have taken rock samples from every place where we have been digging or boring holes. The information underneath tells exactly where it was found and a large grid map allows us to trace the sample back to a precise area. Most of them are just boring old rocks but we hope a few will have precious metals
or stones inside and then we can explore those areas more carefully. Who knows what wealth might be under the ground. We have a team of geologists coming over from China next week. All very exciting! A small amount of gold and even rubies have been found not far from here and that was without any serious mining.”

  “What do you think Ana?” As he turned round he realised that it was only him and Harry in the container. He could see her silhouette framed in the door, her hands hanging loosely by her side, unmoving.

  “Oh my goodness Ana, what’s the matter? You look as though you have seen a ghost!”

  She looked vaguely in his direction as though registering the question but not much else. “That’s closer to the truth than you might realise. I’d like to move on now if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Of course.” Michael smiled weakly, not really knowing what else to say.

  As they set off again she sat impassively in the front, listening to the conversation of the other two but taking no part.

  Just before they got onto the flat surface above the gorge the jeep passed one more familiar yellow barrier. Unusually there was a sentry hut and a bored looking individual stood up straight and saluted.

  “What’s up there?” inquired Harry, intrigued to see a guard but wanting to sound as casual as possible.

  “That’s Mr Hu’s security headquarters. Nobody really goes there except for him and some of his senior assistants and Mr Zhang Wei, of course. I haven’t been invited yet, but I can’t imagine it’s particularly interesting.”

  The rest of their journey to the main gate seemed to pass in a flash.

  They shook hands with Michael. “Whatever it was that caused you to feel unwell during the end of your stay Ana, I can only say how sorry I am and sincerely hope it was nothing I have said or done.”

  “Please don’t worry Michael you have been a caring host. We will see you again I’m sure. You and Harry have got along famously it would be lovely for you to visit us in Uwingoni.”

  “What a good idea,” said Harry. “I will sort something out with my uncle.”