British pilot in prison in Central African Republic
 

I found this and am surprised that it has apparently not yet found its way onto Pprune. Very sad.

Inside the African jail hell of British pilot charged with murder - Telegraph

It has ........ someone beat me to it by a few minutes :
http://www.pprune.org/biz-jets-ag-fl...d-simpson.html

Getting caught up in the sometimes brutal bureaucracies of third world countries (and some supposedly first world ones, vide. Italy) is no picnic.

I trust that he is released soon and that he is back boring holes in African skies.

The threat of getting maleria or food poisoning runs very high in this Bangui prison. Hopefully he will be released soon and be reunited with his loved ones.
Godspeed to you young man.

You are living in La-La land. This place is a toilet. In countries like this you have no rights. This guy is stuffed. Not unless you can grab one of the ruling bastard's family and send bits of him to his relations back home in an envelope will you have a chance. So I'd start the hunting the scum in Bond/Sloane/Regent Street, the places where these vermin shop.

But that doesn't mean to say I'm not sympathetic - just realistic.

Well ,unlike yourself , I never give up hope . To be so negative and live in despair is not really living a worthwhile life..

I have added a couple of posts on the other original thread in
Biz Jets, Ag Flying, GA etc that provides a bit more information
from Hunting forums and web sites including a link to a blog
of the company, the staff of which were arrested and jailed
with David.

Cacophonix, I would imagine the only hole he will be planning on boring in African skies will be courtesy of a Northbound Boeing/Airbus the day he is released. . . . . if not, well, "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"

Sure, let's be positive and have trust in the local judicial system and the kleptocrats running the place... :rolleyes:

I hope it ends well for this guy, and he gets his release soon. However, it sometimes appears that the Brits, and for that matter, other Western nation citizens, move around the globe with a view that their idea of reality/democracy/decency/how to do things, is the way and manner in which everyone around the globe behaves:sad:

The reality is that vast tracks of our planet, if not totally lawless, certainly are pretty dangerous places to be, whether it be working, or a tourist. I would have thought that Central Africa, and North of that, would raise the game of any Westerner, and that the daily motto of 'let your watchword be take care', would kick in extra hard.

Pitdown is correct. There is no, repeat, no sense or logic or even justice in such places. Life has virtually no value and to imprison someone like this (ie not in their tribe) is just another badge they wear with some sort of misguided pride. I've delivered aeroplanes to people working down there and the first thing they fit in the flight deck is a small hand gun cabinet.
I stopped doing it in the end and did something else more satisfying (and rewarding).

It's not just one person who has been jailed. It's 13 people.

Might be worth reading this link (which I put in the other thread)
which is the company the staff who are jailed work for (including David).

Central African Wildlife Adventures

500N thank you for some factual and intellegent information. It' refreshing compared to the trailer park crowd's trash talk.

No problems, it's only because I hunt that I knew about it
since it happened and as I said on the other thread, it's been
discussed at length for a few months.

If I see any other news / developments posted on the hunting
forums I'll cut and paste them to here.

regretfully this is what can happen when you go and work in such places - it's part of the job risk

I just hope the authorities here are doing something rather than the usual Foreign Office "mustn't upset the natives" routine

I used to fly the Central Arican Rep.

Please let me know (PM me) if i can help with at least some contacts there: International Red Cross, United Nations, other aviation companies, etc.

Alas, one can't buy insurance retroactively but I wonder if an outfit like GlobalRescue is a handy thing to sign up with. I think they get something upwards of USD2k/year for 'travelers insurance' that includes being plucked out of tight spots by a gang of ex-US Navy Seals they have on hand.

Re the topic, is the British Government involved/interested? I guess if the gang running the prison were unofficial terrorists instead of government terrorists there'd be some chance of a bit of a midnight arse-kicking.

Maybe he should become a muslim... Then the British goverment would do anything...

The only thing that will get this guy out of jail is money in cash. It might be as simple as his employer taking out a "security" contract with the local police. Get Controlrisk to handle it if they aren't already.

Most probable cause of the issue (apart from the money angle) is that the police either can't or won't identify the real culprits and this arrest is the easy and profitable option.

Don't EVER interact with police outside a First world country, you will just be seen as a meal ticket. Furthermore, you should carry an open airline ticket and your passport with you and in the event of even a traffic accident, consider leaving immediately, even if you aren't the driver. Don't take anything into the country that you are not prepared to just walk away from.

Some of you will have heard of what happened to a couple of American geologists years ago in Aceh. The locals murdered one of them, the other escaped, wounded, and went to the local police station for help - they shot him and buried him to try and cover up the whole incident.

Sunfish

The article explains the back ground to the whole thing
and who has already been kicked out (the minister).

Most hunters and Professional Hunting organizations in these areas
know that things can get dicey at times - and turn from being a stable
to an unstable situation very quickly. CAR has always been viewed
as more un stable than others and really has only become more "mainstream"
(for hunting) over recent times.


I asked around over the last week if anyone had any updates, no one has come back yet with anything.
.

Nowt wrong with bush piloting, many pilots spend their entire careers there and enjoy every moment.

You just have to know that there are some places to be avoided.
You need to be young, stupid, and VERY desperate for hours to even consider CAR or DRC.

Africa is like any other part of the world, there are the great places and there are the :mad:

When they have finished with him…..best he goes for an HIV test.

Freed - after a fashion
 

Excellent news - David Simpson has been freed from prison (during a riot in which all the prisoners in the jail escaped and the prison was destroyed - an Africa special, this one).

Very good telling of the story here:

Briton behind bars in Central Africa freed during riot - Telegraph

That's what I call a result. But I there's probably some idiot who'll reckon that he really ought to hand to hand himself in to the authorities. After all he was legally detained. Wasn't he?

I hope he is at home with his loved ones.

If you'll read the article, you will notice that he was released by a judge during/after the riots, is in a kind of "house arrest", but expects full and legal release shortly. Curious story.

Surely the moral of this story is- DON'T go to work in one of these god forsaken places in the first place!

the reason why..
 

My grandmother was a KC - a Kenya Colonial. She lived and died in the days before Political Correctness. But from when I was knee-high to a grasshopper I recall she used to tell me this:

"If you want the best life in the world, be a white man in Africa. But never forget, one day you'll walk home in your underpants - if you're lucky."

As true now as it was then. Some of us love the reward and are prepared to run the risk. Some fear the risk and will never taste the reward.

That is so true. I remember telling my very intelligent but uneducated Xhosa 'maid' in Cape Town that I was going to live in Europe for a while. She asked if I would take her with and I said I couldn't. She asked me who was going to clean my house etc, and I said I would have to. She said : "That is not how a white man should live!"

For sure be all that and wallow in the pseudo-colonial self-righteousness of the 'Happy Valley' set, however be clear that there will always be another Mugabe to positively re-dress the balance.

@Tableview

Said the, To the unintelligent but 'educated' non-Xhosa footman?

sAx_R54

Please clarify your meaning - if any. Thank you.

Read your original post, the meaning could not be clearer!

Tableview:Very intelligent because she knows how to please and talk to an arrogant white man?

@KAG

Although I chose the antonym, my sentiments entirely!

From whence do you deduce the 'arrogant' white man part?

At last KAG has the courage to say what he means.

I thought the problem was one of clinical proportion, so courage (lack of) was not within my consideration!

My question was simple (evidently too simple), was it YOU that the intelligent but uneducated Xhosa maid was speaking to? If so, then clearly you are the antonym!

Simple enough??

I take you are trying to imply that because I referred to her as uneducated (which she was, albeit through no fault of her own) you are labelling me as 'arrogant'. If so, that says more about your lack of understanding than it does about me.

I take it you don't know too much about South Africa and the background.

Tableview,

I suspect that the fact you dared to have a maid upsets KAGs' sensibilities. It probably doesn't matter what you wrote, he would have found fault somehow.

I have had employed maids, gardeners, cooks, etc. in many countries I have lived/ worked in - including Europe. Does that make me a really nasty person, or does it mean that I am being helpful by employing people?

I only endorsed the sentiment of 'arrogance' from another poster, and would not have chosen such a lofty description for you myself. If you actually read my post (that is if you can actually read), you will see that I chose unintelligent but 'educated' non-Xhosa footman!

Clinically 'thick' in other words!

sAx_R54 : If you can only respond by personal insults then you are best ignored.

Jesus! Calm down! Tableview was not being derogatory. He was merely stating a fact - she was uneducated - not a criticism, just a victim of circumstance. He also observed she was highly intelligent.

I'm "uneducated" - left school at 16 - but I've done pretty well :) I'm not saying I'm highly intelligent but I'm not stupid either!

Your comment (sAx_R54) "... if you can actually read...." rather demeans YOU.

Don't be so sensitive and go looking for malice when none is meant.