Episode 45: Changer de camp (Switching Sides)

Andoh Ashu Rex thought he’d found his dream job working for an American company in Cameroon. But after learning that his employer might be harming his homeland instead of helping it, Rex decided to sacrifice his steady income and choose a different professional path.

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Transcript

Ngofeen: Hey everyone, a quick note before we begin. At Duolingo, it’s important to bring you diverse voices from across the French-speaking world. So today, you’ll be hearing a powerful true story from Cameroon, but our storyteller’s accent is pretty different from what we’re used to hearing on the app. For example, you may notice that the storyteller pronounces some “r” sounds as a “w,” so “droit” becomes: [droit]

Other times, you may not hear an “r” sound at all! For example, you may notice that a word like “mère” is pronounced: [mère]

If you’re having any trouble following the story, we encourage you to follow the episode transcript available on our website. Okay, onto today’s episode!

Ngofeen: It was June 2007, and Andoh Ashu Rex, who goes by “Rex,” was finishing his undergraduate studies at the University of Buea in Cameroon. One day, his parents sat him down to discuss his future. Rex had loved studying geography as an undergraduate, but his parents wanted him to go to grad school to study law, le droit.

Rex: Ma mère m’a dit : « J’aimerais que tu fasses des études de droit. » Pour elle, c’était essentiel d’aider les gens et de les défendre contre la corruption. Elle pensait que si je faisais des études de droit, je pourrais facilement recevoir des aides financières pour payer l’université. Et puis après, j’aurais une bonne paye.

Ngofeen: But Rex told his parents he didn’t want to study law. Instead, he dreamed of working in one of Cameroon’s 19 national parks, protecting endangered species and his country’s natural resources. His mother was upset. She called him stubborn, têtu.

Rex: Ma mère a pleuré. Elle m’a dit que j'étais trop têtu. Je m’entendais très bien avec ma mère et c’était difficile pour moi de la voir pleurer. Et puis, elle avait raison. Être avocat, c’était une belle carrière. Mais je voulais faire ce qui me semblait juste et continuer mes études de géographie.

Ngofeen: Rex knew he was choosing a less secure professional path. So when a friend told him about an American corporation hiring geography graduates, it almost sounded too good to be true.

Rex: Un ami m’a parlé d’une entreprise qui payait très bien des experts en géographie, comme moi. Avec ce poste, je pourrais faire ce que j’aimais et aider ma famille. Alors, j’ai décidé d’envoyer ma candidature. J’étais loin d’imaginer que je faisais la plus grosse erreur de ma vie…

Ngofeen: Bienvenue and welcome back to the Duolingo French Podcast. I’m Ngofeen Mputubwele. Every episode, we bring you fascinating true stories to help you improve your French listening and gain new perspectives on the world.

The storyteller will be using intermediate French, and I’ll be chiming in for context in English. If you miss something, you can always skip back and listen again. We also offer full transcripts at podcast.duolingo.com.

Ngofeen: Rex and his four siblings grew up in Buea, a small city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by farming villages. Rex’s father was a schoolteacher, un instituteur, and he also tended a field in a village for additional income. Rex’s parents sacrificed a lot to support their family and put him through college.

Rex: Mon père travaillait beaucoup pour pouvoir payer nos études. Il était instituteur et il avait aussi un champ. Chaque année, pendant l’été, il partait dans les villages près de Buéa et il travaillait dans son champ.

Ngofeen: As a child, Rex would always hear stories from his dad about how important palm oil was to local villagers, les villageois. Each village had its own land where villagers would grow palm trees, then harvest the palm kernel to make oil and use it for their own local needs.

Rex: L’huile de palme a toujours été sacrée dans nos villages. Elle a toujours été essentielle dans nos repas et dans nos vies quotidiennes. Quand mon père nous racontait la vie des villageois, leur courage, j’avais envie de les aider.

Ngofeen: Hearing about the villagers inspired Rex to study geography…and later, to apply to his dream job at Herakles Farms, an American company specializing in the production of palm oil. The company had been granted permission by Cameroon’s government to plant palm trees, des palmiers, and they hired Rex to do field surveys.

Rex: J’étais tellement content d’obtenir ce poste ! Mon équipe voulait cultiver de l’huile de palme, mais aussi protéger les conditions de vie des villageois, leur environnement et les espèces en danger. C’était vraiment ce que je voulais faire.

Ngofeen: At the young age of 26, Rex already had what he thought was his dream job. He made roughly 450 dollars per month… That’s more than 40 times the average salary in Cameroon. This allowed him to buy food for his whole family, and gifts for his mom.

Rex: Je voulais que ma mère soit fière de moi, et surtout je voulais qu’elle soit très heureuse. Elle s'était beaucoup sacrifiée pour ses enfants, alors je voulais aussi être généreux avec elle. Maintenant, je pouvais lui donner des beaux cadeaux.

Ngofeen: Rex also liked that his company had pledged to donate money to local schools and equipment to local farmers. The company had also hired local kids to show them the habitats of endangered animals, des animaux en voie de disparition.

Rex: Pendant nos analyses de terrain, on travaillait avec les jeunes des villages. Ils nous montraient où étaient les champs des villages et où vivaient certains animaux en voie de disparition. Alors, je disais à mes chefs d’éviter ces endroits. Et puis, l’entreprise payait les villageois pour les remercier de leur aide. C’était bon pour l’économie des villages.

Ngofeen: But, then, one day in 2013, Rex was on a lunch break when a news report came on. He heard on the radio that the government had ordered Herakles Farms to stop its activity and that the company was under investigation.

Rex: Mon chef nous a dit qu’une organisation, qui s’appelait Greenpeace, avait publié un rapport sur notre travail. Ils nous accusaient d’avoir un impact négatif sur les villages. Mon chef a dit : « À cause de cette organisation, vous avez tous perdu votre travail. » Je n’arrivais pas à y croire.

Ngofeen: His boss blamed the layoffs on a report from Greenpeace, the environmental NGO. The report had criticized the company’s practices. They were accused of bribing and intimidating villagers and endangering the forest. Herakles Farms denied everything. Rex had never heard of Greenpeace, but now, because of the layoffs, he saw them as evil.

Rex: J’étais très en colère contre Greenpeace. L’organisation disait vouloir aider la cause écologique dans notre pays, mais en même temps, elle nous mettait dans une situation très difficile. On ne pouvait plus faire notre travail et aider notre pays à se développer.

Ngofeen: Without an income, Rex began to worry about his future. But after a couple of months of negotiation, the Cameroonian government agreed to let the company resume their activities. Rex was rehired, and he got a promotion with a full-time contract. He moved near the palm fields, three hours away from his family, and got to work.

Rex: J’étais très content de revenir travailler. Et maintenant que j’étais employé à temps plein, je pouvais me donner à 100 %. J’allais dans les villages pour vérifier qu’on choisissait bien les terrains pour nos plantations d’huile de palme.

Ngofeen: One day, Rex and his colleagues were sent to visit one of the villagers’ palm fields. When they arrived, the villagers took one look at them and began chasing them away.

Rex: Les villageois n’étaient pas contents. Ils criaient : « Partez ! Nous ne voulons pas de vous ! Ne revenez plus jamais ici ! » J’étais très choqué…

Ngofeen: Back in the office, Rex asked to speak to his supervisor and told him about the incident with the villagers. It was clear to him they wanted nothing to do with Herakles Farms and people like Rex. Rex really wanted to understand what was going on.

Rex: J’en ai parlé à mon chef, mais il ne voulait pas discuter. Il m’a seulement dit : « Ne retourne plus jamais dans ce village. » Je ne savais pas quoi penser…

Ngofeen: Rex did as he was told. He didn’t return to the village, but over the following weeks, he asked different villagers what they thought about his employer.

Rex: J’étais très surpris par les réponses des villageois. Ils m’ont dit que l'arrivée de l’entreprise avait eu un impact négatif sur leurs vies. L’entreprise leur avait promis des écoles et des hôpitaux, mais ils n’avaient pas respecté leurs promesses. Les villageois m’ont aussi raconté que les gens qui travaillaient sur les plantations de l’entreprise étaient très mal payés.

Ngofeen: The idea that Rex’s company wasn’t keeping its promises to support local villagers…and that maybe, the company was harming them — it upset Rex. And he wondered, was his dream job actually a nightmare?

Rex: J’avais toujours voulu aider les gens. Mais j’ai fini par comprendre que je faisais l’opposé. Au lieu d’aider les gens, je les rendais malheureux par mon travail. Alors, je me suis dit que je devais changer les choses.

Ngofeen: Soon after his discovery about the villagers, Rex’s mom became ill. He already felt something wasn't quite right about his job. So Rex decided to move back to Buea and be closer to his family. But first, he sent his letter of resignation, sa lettre de démission.

Rex: J’ai envoyé ma lettre de démission. J’ai dit : « Je suis jeune, et je veux poursuivre mon éducation. Je ne peux plus travailler pour vous. » Mais j’étais très inquiet pour le futur…

Ngofeen: Rex knew he was taking a big risk by giving up his salary and steady employment, especially since unemployment remained high in Cameroon. But he decided to go back to school anyway — this time to get a master’s degree in Natural Resources at Buea University.

Rex: Je voulais retourner à l’université et écouter ma mère. J’avais une mission dans la vie : je voulais aider les gens. C’était ce qui me rendait le plus heureux.

Ngofeen: But in January of 2015, during Rex’s first year of his master’s program, the unthinkable happened. His mother passed away.

Rex: Ça a été très difficile… J'ai arrêté d’aller à l’université pendant un mois pour préparer les funérailles de ma mère et passer du temps avec ma famille. Et quand je suis retourné à l’université, je me suis promis que j’allais rendre ma mère fière de moi.

Ngofeen: When Rex returned to school, his classmates told him that while he was away, a representative from the environmental organization Greenpeace had come to school to discuss their mission and volunteer program. His friends had formed a volunteer group and they asked Rex to join them.

Rex: Quand j’ai entendu le nom de Greenpeace, je me suis souvenu de la colère que j’avais contre eux.

Ngofeen: Rex dug out the old report Greenpeace had written about his former employer. Only now, he understood the situation in a new way.

Rex: Je pensais travailler pour une entreprise sérieuse mais je m’étais trompé. J’avais travaillé avec tout mon cœur, mais en réalité, mon entreprise avait ignoré mon travail. Je comprenais enfin que Greenpeace souhaitait aider nos villages !

Ngofeen: Rex decided to join his friends’ Greenpeace volunteer group. He started out by trying to learn as much as he could about the organization. And he began to share its mission with other students.

Rex: J’ai tout fait pour encourager les jeunes étudiants de Buéa à travailler ensemble pour la cause écologique et la protection de la végétation de notre pays.

Ngofeen: Greenpeace was holding a two-day conference in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, and Rex’s friends were all planning to travel to the conference by bus. Rex desperately wanted to get on that bus, but as a newer member, he wasn’t invited.

Rex: Le matin du départ, un chef de Greenpeace m’a appelé pour me dire qu’une volontaire était tombée malade et il m’a proposé d’aller à la conférence à sa place.

Ngofeen: At the conference, Rex met with environmental activists from all over the world: Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa… They talked about sustainability, including how to help Cameroon’s villages preserve their natural resources for their own inhabitants. For Rex, it was eye-opening.

Rex: Pendant la conférence, j’ai aimé partager mon expérience avec des gens qui avaient la même vision du monde que moi. Mais surtout, on avait tous le même rêve de protéger la nature et les espèces en danger.

Ngofeen: Back at school, Rex volunteered for an unpaid coordinator role on his campus. His mission was to do outreach to other students and convince them of the importance of caring for Cameroon’s flora and fauna, la flore et la faune. In March 2016, he developed his first project.

Rex: J’étais très motivé parce que je savais que la flore et la faune étaient en danger depuis l’arrivée de grandes entreprises étrangères dans notre pays.

Ngofeen: Rex managed to convince the dean of Buea University to let students plant trees on campus. Rex wanted all students to be aware of the risks of deforestation for their country.

Rex: J’étais très heureux que l’université ait accepté de planter les arbres. On discutait de l’environnement et des arbres avec les étudiants. J’ai adoré cette expérience.

Ngofeen: A couple months later, Greenpeace posted a job offer for a full-time position. They were hiring someone to fight deforestation in the Congo Basin. This was the kind of job Rex had dreamed of back when he’d told his mother he did not want to go to law school — the kind of job he’d thought he’d been doing at Herakles Farms.

Rex: Je n’avais pas encore fini mon master, mais je savais que ce poste était parfait pour moi. La protection de la nature et des espèces en danger me passionnait depuis longtemps et je pouvais enfin y travailler.

Ngofeen: Rex was still in touch with his old friends and colleagues from Herakles Farms. But when he told them that he wanted to work full-time for Greenpeace, they were shocked and couldn’t understand his decision. One of them even called him a traitor, un traître.

Rex: Un de mes amis m’a dit que j’étais un traître. Mais moi, je voulais suivre mon cœur et respecter mes valeurs.

Ngofeen: During the job interview, the recruiters asked Rex about his journey from a large corporation that harvested palm oil to an environmental non-profit. Rex gave them his most honest answer.

Rex: Pendant l’entretien, j’ai expliqué que j’avais été très malheureux quand j’ai appris la vérité sur mon travail chez mon ancienne entreprise. Je pensais que j’aidais mon pays, mais en réalité, c’était le contraire.

Ngofeen: His honesty worked. To his amazement, Rex got the job.

Rex: J’allais pouvoir aider les villageois et contribuer à la préservation de leur environnement. C’était une très grande joie !

Ngofeen: Shortly after Rex received a full-time offer from Greenpeace, he came home to show the contract to his father.

Rex: Mon papa a pleuré. Je lui ai demandé : « Papa, pourquoi tu pleures ? » Et il a dit : « J’aurais aimé que ta maman voie ce que tu es devenu, toi qui es si têtu. Mais aujourd’hui, elle serait très fière. » Elle est avec moi dans mon cœur tous les jours.

Ngofeen: Rex is a Greenpeace activist living in the west of Congo.

This story was produced by Camille Lindbom.

We’d love to know what you thought of this episode! You can write us an email at podcast@duolingo.com and call and leave us a voicemail or audio message on WhatsApp at +1-703-953-93-69. Don’t forget to say your name and where you are from!

Ngofeen: Here’s Harrison from New York.

Harrison: Hello, I'm Harrison and I'm from New York. Thank you for your podcasts. I really enjoyed L'aquanaute and I was wondering how you found the grandson of Jacques Cousteau. I think that's great. If you’d let me know in the podcast. Thank you. Hope you have a great day.

Ngofeen: Merci Harrison! We were thrilled to work with Fabien Cousteau on The Aquanaut! We found the story through an independent producer. Her name is Andy Kubis and she is based in Pittsburgh and she had met Fabien when he gave a talk at a local school.

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The Duolingo French Podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media. I’m your host, Ngofeen Mputubwele, à la prochaine!

Credits

This episode was produced by Duolingo and Adonde Media.