In The Footsteps Of Jurgen Schultz"But you must know Mr. Jurgen, he is your brother”, said the immigration officer excitedly. I was led into a thatched hut where a large ledger was opened in front of me “Voila”, said the officer, pointing to an entry on one of the pages.
It was true. Jurgen Schultz, nationality — German; mode of transport — foot, had, indeed, crossed the border between Gabon and the People's Republic of the Congo. But what connection did this have to me, standing in the same place, nearly three years later?
I looked down at the ledger again. It was a list of all non-African border crossers.
There were no entries between Jurgen's name and my own, which was now being inscribed. “Ah, yes,” I nodded, “Mr. Jurgen.”
This wasn't the first indication of the remoteness of my location I had received.
Traffic had become increasingly scarce since my departure from Libreville, the Gabonese capital, four days earlier. Although I was on the main international route between West and Equatorial Africa, I had waited all day for the vehicle which brought me to the border. Now, I faced a 20 kilometre walk to the first Congolese town.
David Bennett
to be continued
