to the rangers of Sapo (March 26-27)

On our jungle hike in Sapo National Park, we had a group of rangers with us. Solemn men who had grown up in the Sapo village, equipped with machetes and the jungle in their blood.

The head ranger, Augustin, didn’t talk much. He was patient. His writing skills were quite rudimentary. But when asked, he could name almost any plant we pointed at, in both English and Latin. He had his machete, a GPS device, and a notebook in his pocket that he took out and made notes in whenever we had seen or heard traces of an animal.

When Augustin and the other rangers discovered my fascination with fungi, they started pointing them all out to me, and then patiently waiting while I was rolling around in the wet leaves on the ground trying to find the perfect angle. They also went out of their way to find other pretty or cool plants for mom and me to look at and photograph. I think I could sense a sort of pride in them every time we gasped in amazement at the wonders of their forest.

The first time one of them showed us an edible plant, the water liana, and I asked if I could try it, he seemed surprised, cut me a fresh piece and laughed while I tried to catch the sap flowing out of it. I bet he hadn’t been asked to share his wild jungle treats by a white person before. We tend to be so scared and careful with our poor stomachs.

I think they found us amusing, in general, our fascination, our mountain of luggage, me constantly taking photographs, our excessive drinking of water.

Only two of the rangers were actually employed by the Liberian park service, the others were there on a voluntary basis, funding their efforts to protect the forest through the tips that they received from the rare visiting tourist. And the rangers that officially were employed didn’t actually get a salary, but were only allowed a percentage from the visitor fees that tourists had to pay at the park headquarters in the village. Augustin said that this might be changing, that he might soon be getting a small salary, but it would probably still take a while for the arms of the weak administration of the Liberian government to reach all the way into the deep, dark jungle.

I think it is admirable, the devotion that the rangers of Sapo National Park have for protecting their rainforest and the creatures living in it. They are the true silent heroes in our battle to protect the environment, against the currently ongoing mass extinction of species on Earth and the disappearance of the trees that are the photosynthesizing lungs of our planet. But I wish that they had more than their devotion to keep them going. How far can it reach, how wide can it spread, when there are families to feed and pressures attacking from all angles, logging companies and palm oil plantations and poachers. This is where the true environmentalist’s battle lie.

Oh, I don’t know what to do with this realisation. I just wanted to tell you all about Augustin and his brothers in arms, and share my admiration and appreciation for them with the whole, wide world.