 |
 |
Wealthy leaders of countries at the Johannesburg Conference, like Bush and Blair, recently expressed disquiet at having a conference designed to tackle world poverty in the sumptuous surroundings of a luxury hotel. Next year's conference will therefore be held in the border town of Umm Hagar, on the Eritrean/Ethiopian border. Access is by plane to Asmara, then local transport (please contact local warlord first for safe passage across the Highlands). Attendees concerned at adding to the world's CO2 emissions can travel by boat to the port of Massawa, then local pack animal transport. Delegates will be housed in tents from the UN refugee camp across the border in Sudan. Basic UN food rations will be provided for dinner (sorry, no breakfast or lunch, only 1 meal a day here). However food rations may be supplemented by maize, locusts, beetles, or any other locally available food. Please eat these raw as much of the local tree cover has been deforested and cooking fuel is in rather short supply right now. We also regret the absence of the usual hotel freebies at this 2003 conference. There is no air conditioning, but daytime temperatures should not exced 45 C; nights are somewhat cooler. Suits and ties are NOT recommended dress. We regret the tents do not have en suite bathrooms but there will be at least 1 latrine for every 100 delegates, freshly dug close to the local water supply. Should the water supply dry up, delegates will be issued with buckets to carry water from the next nearest source, 3 hours walk away. The nearest medical centre is in Tessenei, just 50 miles by dirt track from Umm Hagar. Nearest hospital is in Asmara, 235 miles away. We hope no medical attention is required, although there are extensive, unmapped, minefields in the vicinity. The conference will last for 3 weeks and attendance will be compulsory for all leaders of OECD states. For some obscure reason, the poorer states of Africa and Asia are much more confident of real gains from this Umm Hagar 2003 conference than from Johnanesburg this year. Hillary Shaw, School of Geography, University of Leeds, [log in to unmask]