April 26 – Bodies on the Beach

Yesterday was Easter Monday. We were told that there would be more people than usual as many come from around the country to spend the day on the beach but we were definitely not expecting the almost 2 million people that showed up along this very small stretch of beach (we had guessed a million but we later found out that it was closer to 2 million). It was a similar vibe to that of the Tam-Tam’s at Mount Royal in Montreal. There were people playing drums, dancing, smoking weed, playing soccer and various other activities. We’ve never seen so many people in one place before. Jacob obviously stuck out, and when he would walk down the beach with his big beard (it’s been growing for 2 months now) it was like Moses splitting the Red Sea - crowds of people would move out of his way and stare at him as we walked by, many asking him to be his friend and to go swimming with them. After braving the crowd we decided to just hang out on the terrace of our hotel which overlooked the beach. I remember wondering if anyone had drowned seeing as there were so many people in the water.

 

Today, while eating lunch at the hotel restaurant on the beach we noticed the kitchen staff all staring out at the water and pointing. There was also a large group of people on the beach doing the same thing. Jacob and I got up to see what was happening and before I could even realize what was going on, I saw Jacob running down onto the beach, jumping into the water and then coming out dragging something that looked really heavy. I asked someone what was happening and they told me that what Jacob was pulling a dead body. By the time I got to Jacob on the beach he was ordering the locals to do things – telling one person to call the police, telling another to go get a towel or branches in order to cover the body. As they finished covering it up, another body was noticed in the water. The locals were asking Jacob to come with them to go get it, but the body was too far out and the water was too rough, only someone on a boat could get to it but the local fishermen did not want to do it. It eventually disappeared but apparently washed up a little while later down the beach.  

I asked why nobody had gone in to get the bodies earlier and they told me that everyone was scared. They were scared of the water which had taken these lives and scared of touching a dead body…maybe for religious reasons. Jacob now seems to be well known on the beach. Many random people know his name and they touch and praise him, telling him that he is courageous. 

As I am writing this, the body that Jacob pulled out is just being removed now – the owner of the hotel told us that she had to pay for someone to come get it otherwise it would have just been left there decomposing. We found out that 5 bodies had turned up on this beach and 10 on another just down the coast. They were mostly young men who had probably been drinking too much at yesterday’s party, gone too far out and didn’t know how to swim in the strong currents.

I was really impressed with Jacob’s instincts to go get the body, how fast he went to help and how he was telling people what to do after he brought it to shore. It’s been a pretty surreal day and I can’t stop thinking about how bad I feel for the families of these young men. It doesn’t seem to be such a big thing for the locals – we’ve been told that “life is cheap in Africa” but this is definitely our first experience witnessing it.

Rest in Peace