The Song of Mawu. Jeff Edwards
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they claim to be of a modern, scientific mind there will always be a part of them in which superstition lingers?’
In answer to the question Daniel loosened his tie and undid his shirt top. Reaching inside he pulled out a length of leather that hung around his neck and into which several small brightly coloured feathers had been inserted. ‘This was a gift from my mother to keep me safe, feathers from a hen to her chick.’
‘You don’t feel embarrassed to be wearing it?’ asked Brian.
‘Do you feel embarrassed when someone throws spilt salt over their shoulder, or a famous footballer insists on placing his right sock and boot on before his left, or the rather strange delight in finding a four-leafed clover? At least our superstitions have a practical purpose.’
Brian laughed, ‘I see your point. I’ll move on to my next question. What is the relationship between Lattua and the international mining companies in Namola?’
‘I haven’t any recent knowledge but they used to regard him like the rest of the world did. A despot, but one who could appreciate the efforts they were putting into the development of his country. They regard him as a money hungry dictator who’s no worse than several others and possibly better than many.’
‘Better the devil you know.’
‘Correct. With no viable alternative they’ll do his bidding and reap their profits. He charges them exorbitant taxes but they build that cost into the prices they charge at the marketplace. If they’re attacked for dealing with a man like Lattua all they have to say is that no one else is doing anything about the state of affairs in his country so why should they go out of their way to stir up trouble.’
‘Meanwhile he continues to get away with murder.’
Daniel nodded, ‘And with no opposition he will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.’
‘Unless someone decides to stand up against him,’ replied Justine with a degree of righteous indignation.
Daniel opened the palms of his hands to the audience, ‘One man cannot do it alone and the minute Lattua suspects there are opposing forces uniting against him he will crush them as brutally as he has done in the past.’
Brian looked around at the assembled group. ‘I have a number of further questions here for Dr Zibu but I don’t want to keep him from his duties. With his permission I’d like to call him back at a later date. That way we can further refine our line of questioning. Is that agreeable for you Doctor?’
‘I’d be delighted to help my beleagured country in any way I can.’
***
The brain-storming session broke up for drinks while Daniel Zibu was escorted back to his limousine by Brian and Lana.
‘I’m not used to travelling in such style. The Tube is my usual method of transport.’
‘Well, we couldn’t have you catching the train all the way out here and then getting lost among the country lanes. You could have wandered for hours.’
‘With such an exceptional landmark as your headquarters, I doubt if I would have lost my way.’
Brian opened the rear door for him.
‘My fellow doctors at Guy’s will be suitably impressed when I am delivered to the door in this car. For a charity, your organisation seems to be unusually well off.’
Lana smiled, ‘When you get to know us better you’ll come to realise that we are a rather unusual charity.’
‘I’m looking forward to that.’
As the limousine pulled away, Brian said, ‘He seems to be a rather nice chap, very down to earth.’
‘Yes. Justine thinks so.’
‘What! How do you know?’
Lana smiled at her husband and left the question hanging in the air.
***
Following the break, the conference resumed with Rod Taylor now taking the lead.
‘From what we’ve learned so far, I’d say we have problems on several fronts, with the main one being, ‘How do we deal with President Lattua?’
Toby nodded, ‘Do we give in to him and buy our way back into the country, or do we continue to pass the funds to other charities so that they can do our work for us?’
Brian replied, ‘We could maintain the funding to other charities but their aims and ours are different. As soon as our refugees are out of danger then most of the other charities will be off to the next hot-spot, whereas we’re seeking much more long-term goals.’
Rod continued: ‘So we need to find a way for The Fund to infiltrate the country and set up a permanent presence without Lattua being aware of us. We’ll mark that down as Goal One.’
‘We have the military in our camp. Can we do anything about that?’ asked Suzie.
‘We’re not in any sort of a position to take on an army. The only way that we will be able to recover our property back will be through political pressure. Getting into a position where we can exert that sort of pressure will be Goal Two.’
‘What about the future for the country as a whole? Does it have one?’ asked Toby.
‘It looks like a basket case at the moment and will get worse by the day. At least it hasn’t gone down the path of total anarchy yet so I think it can be turned around. All it will take will be for someone of good will to lead the way.’
‘So Goal Three will be for us to find such a person,’ declared Brian.
‘What about Daniel Zibu?’ asked Justine.
‘He’s a bit young. Perhaps we can convince his father to return to politics,’ said Rod.
‘Not if he’s being kept under close watch by Lattua. His own life and anyone he talks to will be at risk,’ answered Bree Lake.
‘Well, it looks as though finding the right man for the job will remain Goal Three.’
‘Or woman,’ piped up Justine.
‘Or woman,’ agreed Rod. He wrote the three goals on the whiteboard. ‘These will be our basic aims. Can anyone think of any others?’
‘Just one thing,’ said Toby, ‘What’s our budget to be on this project? From where I’m sitting it looks as though millions won’t cover it.’
‘You’re right of course. Can we afford to take on a project this complicated?’
‘Well we certainly have the money, but the question is whether we may be wasting it by trying to save Namola and the refugees,’ said Brian.
‘I, for one, believe it’s worth the money and the effort,’ said Justine forcefully.
‘I think we all agree that we have to try something but how long do we continue to throw money at the problem before we decide that enough is enough?’
Lana thought back to a previous difficult project, ‘Why don’t we get the Namolans to fund their own project?’
Brian looked at his wife, ‘That was obviously a rhetorical question. Tell us what’s on your devious mind.’
‘I was just thinking about our run-in with Harry Soh and how we ‘liberated’ the funds he had squirreled away overseas. Lattua has done the same and it rightfully belongs to the Namolan nation. Why don’t we find out where he’s hidden it and give it back to the people who earned it in the first place?’
Rod smiled as he wrote, ‘Goal Four. Locate Lattua’s funds’, before stepping back and surveying the list. Turning back to the assembled group he said brighlty. ‘There’s a lot of work to be done here and I think my agents and I would be best at working on the military problem.’
‘Nori