CNN's Richard Quest Faces Elephants In Southeast Cameroon

Interviewed By Pegue Manga

He is a bag full of humour. He is a charismatic TV anchor who superbly paints serious scenes and articulates crucial issues with a torch of humour. He is Richard Quest; that lawyer-turned-journalist. Quest, 45, led a three-man crew recently into the Congo Basin, where they visited conservation projects executed by WWF in the Southeast of Cameroon. In this exclusive interview, the CNN journalist relives his experience with the most exciting being his encounter with a forest elephant. "We ran for our dear lives when the elephant charged at us," he says. Read excerpts of Quest in the rainforest.

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The Post: You spent four days in the WWF program area in the Southeast of Cameroon. How did you find the place?

Richard Quest: I think it is the most extraordinary thing I have seen for a very long time. I am just amazed. First of all, it takes you hours to get there over these bumpy roads that sort of almost shake up the bones in your body. And then you get there and the scenery is just breathtaking, absolutely beautiful; unbelievable.

What brought you here?

We are making a program about conservation, saving planet earth. It is about different people in different organisations and different ideas and, crucially, how all these affect all different stakeholders. You have the developed world, the indigenous population, the animals and the forest itself.

What did you see?

We saw a gorilla, lots of birds, numerous monkeys and elephants. One of the elephants did charge at us.

And what did you do?

Well it was a mock charge. Late at night we set up a special camera, which could see night scope. The elephant was chewing then all of a sudden it decided that it did not like us. We ran in different directions for our dear lives. It seemed to have been angered by the fact that we were disturbing its meal.

Then all of a sudden the elephant stopped some five feet away from the camera. It looked frightened. In the morning, while we were driving out of Djembe, we saw a gorilla just sitting on the road. We wished it had stayed longer, we wished it had come on to the car and waved at us and say, "Hello, I am Mr. Gorilla", but it did not.

Did you have the opportunity to talk to WWF people?

More importantly, may be than the wildlife itself; we got a chance to talk to WWF people. We heard what the goals and the mission of WWF were. From that, we got an understanding of how difficult it is to assuage the various competing interests. Perhaps that is the most important thing I have learnt.

WWF Regional Director made it clear to me. It is not an answer to say "we should stop logging" because $16 million worth of revenue comes into Cameroon every year from taxes paid by logging companies and jobs are given. It is also not an answer to tell people "do not hunt" because the Baka pygmies hunt.

You bring professional hunters in but they will pay large sums of money, which can then be used to build schoolrooms, provide HIV/AIDS education and so on. I have learnt that the simplistic idea of "the world must be safe, we must stop cutting down the rainforest, we must save the elephant, is not as straightforward as that.

I come away with an enormous respect for WWF. I had always thought that WWF was concerned with saving pandas and worried about the zoos in the West. But I am realising that WWF is at the very core phase, whether it is collecting data, assessing data, negotiating between indigenous populations so that they agree amongst themselves and setting up community forest.

You spoke with Baka pygmies, what did they tell you?

We spoke to them as much as we could. We heard what their concerns are. They believe the forest is much difficult for them. They do not like the fact that they cannot move around as much as they used to.

There is a certain contradiction to what they say, some would say they are happy to live near the roads, others would say the forest is not big enough. What thus comes across is that whatever is happening they are not very happy about it. Their traditional way of life is being questioned and ultimately being threatened, that is one of the things WWF is working with.

What is happening here in Jengi is more of economics as it is social and geo-political. It is a conflict that exists between one side versus the other and unfortunately and who gets caught in it? You got the logging companies with their money; you got the Bakas who got no political and economic power. You got the animals that have got no powers at all.

How did you get to choose Jengi as a place to visit?

It was WWF that basically led and directed us on what we are doing. We asked WWF to put together a programme for us that will show the various sites of conservation. WWF recommended sustainable forest management, animals in the rainforest and the indigenous population.

I do not know much about wildlife but I know about making TV programmes. WWF has been absolutely superb at basically saying here is the program, do with it what you will. We are not going to spin this in one way or the other. There will be no propaganda. We would say turn right but if you want to turn left fine.

You seem to blend seriousness with humour, how do you do it?

It is the desire to have a good time. If I come on television and say oh, this is bad, oh, this is terrible, oh, this is awful you will soon get fed up. I want to feel you in the story. I have an experienced team with two producers and a cameraman.

I think we are very determined about what we want to get out from this. It is not for us to come here and say this is right or this is wrong. We want to show to the world that this is earth's lungs. You have heard so much about global warming, climate change and endangered species. This is what it is really like there.

What propels that sense of humour in you?

Life.

Was it an experience you had in life?

No, no, no. I enjoy asking questions, I enjoy meeting people, going places. If I look at a plant, I want to know what is underneath. I want to know the soil component and why it grows like this.

Are you happy being a journalist?

It is not for me to say but I suppose so. It is whether or not I am getting to make the programme I want to make. At the moment, yes, I am. CNN has a great commitment in Africa. Whether it is through our correspondents in Africa, whether it is through our programme "Inside Africa" or "African Journalist of the Year Award." So we have a commitment to Africa. I have been to Africa many times but this is my first time in Cameroon.

What is your view of Cameroon?

I think Cameroon is a fascinating country. I have spent four days in the rainforest; I will spend two days in Douala and Yaounde that I think will give me an idea of what city life is. But Cameroon seems to be a country at peace with itself at the moment. The Government has a commitment to conservation; the three national parks are a good example of this vast protected area. 17 percent of the country is under protected area. But there are conflicts within these protected areas. Put yourself in my shoes; I have never been to the rainforest before. Suddenly, you see these massive trees and monkeys jumping from one tree branch to the other.

How was the reception you got from WWF?

Magnificent. It was pleasant. We ate very well because the food was excellent.

What didn't you like?

I cannot say there was anything I did not like about the rainforest because it was magnificent. Yes, there are too many mosquitoes and lot of things that bump in the night.

Who is Richard Quest?

I was born in Liverpool in northwest England on March 9, 1962. I grew up in England. I spent 12 years working for the BBC before joining CNN. I have been doing journalism now for more than 20 years. I did business journalism for many years and that helped me understand the variety of issues. 

I was trained as a lawyer more than 20 years ago but I never practised as a lawyer though. I went into journalism instead. I thought I could get to forty being a great journalist.

Why did you leave the BBC for CNN?

It was just time. Before you think I went to CNN for a vast sum of money, let me tell you CNN does not do that. I just thought it was the right time because I spent 12 marvellous years with the BBC but it was time to move on.
You seem to cut across many domains. Which do you hold very close to your heart?
Business and economics.

Some day you will want to become a businessman?

No!! I cannot sell water in the desert or an umbrella in the rainforest.

What souvenirs are you taking home from Cameroon?

I will like to take home some souvenirs but I do not want a spear or a mask. I do not know yet. You got some suggestions? I think whenever you visit Africa there is always a bit of Africa that goes home with you? If I could see a few more gorillas, I will be happier. I enjoyed bathing in the river and feeling the magnificent cold water

Your last word(s)?

I would like to think I tried. That is my last word before I die. I would like people to say of me he was a gentleman. I lose my temper, I get angry and I can be sad. But I would always like to think that people thought I tried and that I was a gentleman.

Comments

[Njei M. Timah]

Nice to learn that Richard Quest was in the rain forest of Cameroon. We wish that more prominent people from the international media could always create time to make such visits. It is only through such people that the world can get to understand the complex problems that plants, animals and humans face in such areas.
Njei M.T (www.njeitimah-outlook.com)

[kenedy Epie]

Great to have Richard Quest in my country. Anxious to watch the documentary they are shooting.

[Kumbaboy]

I hope Mr Quest & Party paid a handsome fee to come in, to cover the equivalent VISA fees payable by all the viewers of his documentary.

[wordweaver]

Kumbaboy, why must u people always see evil and negativity in everything? This man is just a journalist and how nothing to do with the politics behinf VISA fees.Sometimes in life, we need to just relax.

[bamendaboy]

Kumbaboy, you are right, the big guns will let them (Richard Quest & party) in for free and even take them around while we suffer the consequences of their foolishness. They will never learn from the millions collected daily by the big embassies in our country. My brother/sister Wordweaver, if you have been to any of these big embassies in our country then u will understand Kumbaboy.
Courage my brethren

[katakata]

WHILE THE HEAT WAS ON

Sometimes it is good to let those more ardent at an art perform it all along. Dampening their quest for warfare and the pleasure of receiving injuries in return might be taken for impudence.

So while the different opinion leaders on this forum sat in their "hemicycle" discussing serious matters of State,and throwing invectives where necessary,I decided to take a short break.

ANNALS OF THE UB OF MBAMBA shall resurface on Monday.

What caught my attention NOW were the remarks concerning the Visit of Richard Quest to Cameroon..

In my opinion,(which might surely differ from yours), that visit should not be linked to US politics. We all watch and love the programs of Richard Quest. Lets look forward to the day the CNN shall also consecrate time to sell the image of Cameroon to the World.

If cameroon is one , then it doesnt matter to me if he didnt go but to Korup Forest which is as rich as the Forests of the Eastern Province. One thing that is certain is that his guides and translators surely made hay for themselves, and that is good enough if the bread winner gets some returns that enable him put food to table , thanks to Richard Quest,s Visit.

There is a point Kumbaboy raised, which Wordweaver rightly challenged as being out of place...

But taken out of the context of Quest,s visit, Kumbaboy has a strong point...

Arent we tired of western hypocrisy which proclaims the poverty of the masses in 3rd world countries, and at the same time, they close their eyes and impose impossible visa fees on the same suffering masses? Dont you call that exploitation?

Take my word:paying such huge money just for a visa you are not even sure to get is like going to the PMUC to gamble off your money and depend on the horses and their jockeys to make things happen for you.

Even if the US government paid in fabulous sums to make the Richard Quest expedition happen, we should not forget that the monies are put into pockets that leak. Nobody is held to account for it, and nobody is to expect any change as a result of that money because the mindset of those who manage the affairs of the ship of state has not changed.

Be Paeaceable Towards One another, and you shall also find peace.........

KATAKATA