Like most Malagasy, Florentine grew up in a grass hut in a small village with no phone, no electricity and no indoor plumbing, amenities that even our so-called poor take for granted here in the United States.
At about age five or six, she noticed the contrail from a jet plane and asked what that was. She was told that it was an airplane taking people on a voyage to the world beyond Madagascar.
"That's what I want to do when I grow up!" she decided right then and there.
Even though she was told that it was impossible, she set that as her goal and began to visualize herself on an airplane. For years, she was ridiculed as crazy as she held fast to her seemingly impossible dream. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she continued to visualize the result she wanted and she realized that in order to fulfill her dream, she was going to have to take action as well. Someday, she knew she would have to leave her village and move to somewhere that at least had an airplane.
So at age 15, she set out alone with three changes of clothes, no shoes, no money and a cup of rice rolled in a leaf. After walking for three days, she came upon a village with some relatives that weren't doing too well so she gave them what was left of her rice. After two more days of walking she came to a larger village and was able to find a job as a nanny and house maid. She eventually made her way to the port city of Antsiranana at the northern most extreme of Madagascar which is where she was living when we met in May of 2000.
The fact that a small child could grow up in a remote village in arguably the poorest and most isolated country in the world, set a goal and with no resources whatsoever other than a positive attitude could, literally, walk out of the jungle and make it all the way to the heart of the California Riviera is truly amazing.
Florentine still believes that if you set a worthwhile goal, live your life in a positive manner with respect and concern for others, have a positive mental attitude and do what you can to help yourself, God will intervene and bless you with success.
I don't believe there is a more enlightened person anywhere on this Earth.
With over 2,000 miles of undeveloped coastline, Madagascar is one the most exotic and tranquil places on earth and the Malagasy are famous for their sense of humor and for being friendly and helpful to travelers.If you have ever had the urge to get away from it all, Le Grand Isle is just about as far away from Southern California as it is possible to travel and still remain on the Earth. The anti-pole of Los Angeles lies in the Indian Ocean just off the east coast of Madagascar.
The two official languages are Malagasy and French. There are a few people in the northern city of Antsiranana that speak Spanish but English speakers are rare. You will meet a few Europeans here and there but you will probably never run into anyone from the United States.
Much like the Cajuns and Creoles of Southern Louisiana, the Malagasy have incorporated French country cuisine into the preparation of their local, predominately seafood-based diet... and with spectacular results. You can get a great meal with entrée, plat and dessert (what we call appetizer, entrée and dessert) just about anywhere for about 30,000 FMg (about $5.00). In Antsiranana, I had the largest lobster tail I have ever seen (it took me all afternoon to eat it) with rice, vegetables and Bananas Foster for 50,000 FMg. And I was treated like a big spender!
The tiny island of Tsarabanjina, which lies in the Mozambique Channel 40 miles off the Northwest coast of Madagascar, is the most surrealistically beautiful place I've ever seen. Incredibly, for over 300 days a year, it rains at night followed by a day of sunshine. Extraordinarily remote, there are no phones. Transportation to and from the island is provided by a small sea plane based in Nosy Be. There are only 18 very well-appointed bungalows and a very nice French restaurant on Tsarabanjina. The rest is unspoiled tropical beach and wilderness... sort of like the Ritz-Carlton version of Robinson Crusoe. Florentine and I highly recommend Tsarabanjina. The same group also owns and operates a luxury hotel in Anjajavy. We haven't been to that one yet but - based on our experience in Tsarabanjina - I would expect it to be fabulous as well.
For a FREE MP3 from Randell Young's soon-to-be-released Tsarabanjina CD, click on below...
Florentine
(Randell Young) 3:37 MP3
Tsarabanjina contains all new original material written about Randell's adventures in Madagascar.
Madagascar - The Movie
Major kudos to Dreamworks for directing a bit of the lime light to Le Grand Isle. No, foosas do not hunt in packs (as depicted in the film) but Florentine and I are just happy that Dreamworks has put Madagascar on the map so to speak. Currently, most people we meet do not know even where the island is located much less anything about Florentine's native country. The foosas issue notwithstanding, Dreamworks has done an excellent job of providing information about Madagascar both in the movie and especially on their web site. They also have a terrific trailer and you can check it all out by clicking on below...
http://www.madagascar-themovie.com
Conservation in Madagascar
There are many fine organizations doing conservation work in Madagascar. Here are two with very interesting web sites.
The Conservation International web site has much information and a great little film which downloads and streams in quickly. Click on below for their Madagascar Virtual Tour...
Another cool film can be found at Fanamby, the web site of Madagascar's own première environmental conservation group.
Phone Calls to Madagascar
Placing a phone call to Madagascar is expensive and frustrating (calls only go through about 20 percent of the time, or less). ATT, MCI and Sprint all charge in excess of $6.00 per minute. Even with their "International Calling Plans" (for which you pay an additional monthly fee), the rate is still well over $2.50 per minute.
The best deal we have found on prepaid calling cards (about $0.20 per minute) is available online at...
Other reliable calling cards for Madagascar can be found at...
Another site which offers a great rate (about $0.08 per minute) but has connectivity issues (you can easily burn up most of your card trying to get through) is...
If you find a better rate with adequate reliability, please let us know.
News From Madagascar
For news about Madagascar, the best sources we have found are...
Tiako I Madagasikara
More news about Madagascar can be found at Tiako I Madagasikara, the official web site of the political party founded by Marc Ravalomanana, the President of Madagascar...
Currency Exchange Rate
Since Madagascar changed it national currency from the Franc Malgache to the Ariari, many of the usual sources for exchange quotes have been inaccurate. Here's a link to one that's good...
Immigration From Madagascar
If you are living in Madagascar and would like to move to the United States, check out this program...
Under the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, 50,000 immigrant visas are made available each year through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States such as Madagascar. The State Department's National Visa Center holds the lottery every year and chooses winners randomly from all qualified entries. Anyone who is selected under this lottery will be given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. If granted, the individual will be authorized to live and work permanently in the United States as well as bring their spouse and any unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.
For more information or to apply online, please click on below...
Diversity Visa Lottery
Gemstones From Madagascar
Several friends have contacted me concerning gemstones in Madagascar. No doubt they saw or heard about the 60 Minutes report showing a few European traders buying raw sapphires for $30 that they claimed would later be cut and sold in Tel Aviv for $3,000.
The reason for the markup is simple. The average Malagasy does not have the resources to finance a trip outside of Madagascar to cut and sell the stones - nor could he get a visa even if did.
So there is money to be made buying gemstones in Madagascar and selling them in Asia, Europe and America. Further, Madagascar has virtually every known type of gemstone including the largest deposits of sapphires on the planet. All current literature refers to Madagascar as "The Gemstone Paradise".
So why isn't everybody rushing to Madagascar to buy gemstones? According to a 2001 report by the German mineralogical review Lapis,
"Principal among the difficulties are the inability to enforce national laws especially in inaccessible parts of the country; the continuation of obsolete mining laws; Behier's list of 'forbidden substances' including most of the rare and interesting mineral species; the flourishing black market for gemstones and gold, whereby Madagascan money is converted to foreign currency; the high cost of transportation by plane and ship; the lack of competent professionals in many native and foreign companies; the lack of roads in many regions, which renders many localities practically inaccessible; the lack of security from bandits in many remote areas; and finally, the lack of information Madagascans have about the outside world."
Since the elections of 2001 which, although disputed, eventually resulted in replacement of the former regime with a pro-free market group headed by entrepreneur, church-leader and former Mayor of Antananarivo Marc Ravalomanana, the corruption factor has been greatly reduced. If you want to buy gemstones, check in with the Ministry of Energy and Mines, get the necessary permits and pay your taxes. There is still plenty of money to be made.
As for thieves and cutthroats, I have visited the sapphire trading area near the mines in Andavakoera and managed to get in and out without any problems. Of course, I did have security both visible and embedded. If you are going into these areas, I would recommend very close cooperation with the natives.
Catholic Relief Services in Madagascar
From December 2006 through April 2007, a series of six consecutive cyclones has battered Madagascar. On the northeast coast, high winds, rain and storm surges have destroyed nearly all of their small homes, crops and stores of rice. Particularly hard hit were the villages where Florentine grew up and most of her family still lives, i.e., Maroantsetra, Sambava and Antalaha.
Vanilla Coast Devastated
Food Insecurity Rises in Aftermath of Cyclone Indlala
Successive Cyclones Bring Country to Its Knees
Rough Road to Recovery
Because Madagascar generally doesn't register on the media radar, you probably haven't heard much about these cyclones - and this compounds their problems.
If such a disaster had occurred in Mexico, for instance, the story would be in every newspaper and on every news channel. Relief would be forthcoming. But as generous as Americans are, they can't help if they don't know about the problem.
"It is striking that so little attention is being paid to a crisis that affects so many that are already vulnerable because of poverty," says Dusan Zupka, the Senior Emergency Coordination Officer assigned to Madagascar by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.
If you would like to help those folks struggling to survive in the aftermath of these storms, my recommendation is to send a few dollars to:
Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
800.736.3467
or put a donation on your credit card by clicking here...
Catholic Relief Services, founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, is consistently identified by independent sources as being "one of the most effective and efficient humanitarian agencies in the world" with less than six percent of all donations going to administration, fundraising and awareness costs and over 94 percent going directly to programs.
The average annual income in Madagascar is only about $800 (and many people live on less than that) so even a very small gift does a lot of good.
PlayPumps International
PlayPumps International is a terrific non-governmental program started by an entrepreneur that harnesses the energy of children at play to provide clean drinking water. They are not yet in Madagascar but hope to launch there before the end of the year.
Malaria in Madagascar
As in all of Africa, malaria is a serious problem in Madagascar.
What can we in the developed world do to help?
First, we need to get the facts and clear up decades of misinformation which has contributed to the deaths of millions of people worldwide.
Here is a good starting point...
Eco-Imperialism
The Malaria Clock
Three Billion and Counting
One Hundred Things You Should Know About DDT
The Great Global Warming Swindle
Mind Your Own Business
Excursions to Madagascar
From Los Angeles, there are numerous flights scheduled to Paris (about 11 hours). The flight from Paris to Antananarivo is also about 11 hours in duration. I recommend taking a few days in Paris to recuperate from each leg. Once in Antananarivo, there are many options. I would suggest visits to the Andohahela National Park and Berenty Reserve near Fort Dauphin and, of course, Tsarabanjina but there are many other interesting and panoramic areas as well.
If you are interested in visiting Madagascar, it is essential to contact Cortez Travel in Solana Beach, California (858-755-5136). They are the only U.S.-based travel agency that specializes in Madagascar and it is very difficult to book flights and hotels directly. Cortez can obtain the best value and arrange the best itinerary possible based on your interests and time available for excursion. One of the owners (Monique) is also an Honorary Consulate of Madagascar so your visa can be issued from Solana Beach right along with your airline tickets and hotel vouchers.
If you are interested in learning more about Madagascar, please send us an email. We would be happy to answer any questions you might have. We belong to a small group of Malagasy expatriates (and their American families) living in California which meets on a regular basis. Visitors are welcome.
If you are planning a visit to Le Grand Isle, please let us know. Perhaps we can organize une délégation Américaine?
- Randell Young
