Re (kind of) Mmogo

Everybody wants to be a VIP. Every special event has them. They get the shade, the chairs, the snacks, the blue and white tulle-draped tables, and they give the long speeches. It is the fear of offending them that necessitates endless protocol. I’m not a fan of this tradition- hence, our all-VIP parties. Nobody needs shoes or a primary school certificate to enjoy the perks.

That said, we met a few VIPs this week that were kind of impressive, and showed very un-VIP humility by showing up at a Peace Corps party. The party celebrated the end of our one and only All-volunteer Conference. Without this short get-together, volunteers from our intake group (Bots 14) who haven’t been facilitating sessions at Bots 15 trainings have no opportunity to meet the newest set of Americans to hit the ground in Botswana. Its a nice chance to meet another American who might be stationed only a long walk through the bush away from you, but who is only reachable by bus in the opposite direction, through the capital. Due to a booking error, Owen and I were shuttled to a different hotel that didn’t have a working shower. Ironic, since the theme of the conference was “Re mmogo” (we are together), and we were about 20 km away from togetherness.  Dawn and Botho, who could have hoarded their much-coveted shower, shared their room key with us, and we still basked in the luxury of hotel amenities. We were thankful to have showered and spiffed up for a banquet with His Excellency Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana.

Mogae was one of the “founding fathers”, working alongside Sir Seretse Khama (the first president of Botswana) and others to establish the hybrid of tribal law and democracy that earned Botswana its independence from England in 1966. They requested Peace Corps volunteers to help set up the fledgling country. Mogae describes a situation in which only 40-some nationals held University degrees, so Peace Corps volunteers stepped in to help draft the constitution and the national budget. These volunteers were also some of the first teachers, so many older government officials remember them from the classroom. Fast forward to 2002, during Mogae’s presidency, when Peace Corps had long since left the country due to its rapid development and middle-income status. That year, HIV/AIDS broke out in a big way all over Southern Africa. Mogae was one of the first to admit to the UN, “we have a problem.” He sought out the ear of President George W. Bush, and asked for the Peace Corps to return to Botswana. “When you think about your future presidency” (as one does) he said, “you don’t expect that it will be all about fighting this disease”. But, for him, it was. He worked hard to provide health care and put his people as his top priority.

National heroes are more complex than they seem. Mogae’s presidency was not free from corruption. I thought I would dislike this man, but instead, found him smart, witty, and very down to earth- even while discussing an impressive career and life doing a lot of good for a lot of people. Owen highly recommends Diamonds, Dispossession, and Democracy by Kenneth Good for an overview of some of the ways in which he helped to build the facade of democracy, which hid centralized power, the personal gain of top officials, and controlled the flow of information. Hopefully, the banned book that forced a professor to flee the country won’t get our blog shut down. This is when small readership is nice :)