Guinea has a reputation for being a country where people lack discipline: lots of laws and rules exist but few are followed or implemented. People also employ some interesting double logic, which is somewhat like a child covering its eyes and saying "You cant see me". The picture is one such example. I wanted to show the gendarmes in the entrance lobby of a government office doing exactly what they were doing: they were eating raw peanuts and the table was piled with the husks. Nothing terrible, except that many would feel that it's not a good image. But as soon as my camera came out they removed the evidence. I pointed out that as I and everyone else passing through the lobby had clearly seen what was going on, removing the trash did not change that fact. But for them it did. If it's not in the picture then it was never there, ne c'est pas?To go back to my previous blog about security guards (see link), it was comforting to hear from some Guinean friends that sleeping on the job is a common problem (and supports my theory that it's part of the training--the reality is that these guys work other jobs during the daytime and need to catch some sleep). So, is stealing diesel. Again, using the "see no evil" notion. With no evidence of a break-in the guards will swear that they have no idea how the diesel is being reduced at a rate faster than is being used by the generator. I guess that walking off with a gallon a day does not count. Duh!
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