It’s been almost two years since we had PM, Thomas and Alice together at home. The boys are all grown up and Alice is not far behind. Like all young people, they have to make their way in life and we pray that they will continue to make good decisions. We will always be there for them though, but we are at peace that God has a fufure for them.
I am sure that you also wonder what the bad news will be for this week and yes, you are quite right, here it comes…
We have been informed earlier this year that all residents with boats will have to re-register their boats under a Malagasy flag. We were also told that we would have until the end of the year to comply. We welcomed that as we had to focus to get the boat out of the water and then we would turn our attention to the that issue. Well, a meeting has been called last week and we have now been given mere weeks to hand in our application. Nobody understands the change of mood, but I have my own thoughts about that. Apart from upcoming elections, it has become increasingly difficult for foreigners to live and work here.
Let me explain our predicament. Our boat has officially been grounded so to speak, we are not allowed to move until the process will be done. We are not the only boat owners in this predicament, which helps a little. We were planning a trip to Russian Bay to do some much needed maintenance to the school and sort out staff problems before taking the boat out of the water. We are not even able to take the boat around to the north of the island to the boat yard as planned for months now. We have to find another option, but we are between the proverbial rock and a hard place. We were told that the changing of the flag is free, but we have to use an agent and also pay 5% of the value of our boat which incidentally will be determined by the authorities. All the money we put aside for the maintenance work on the boat, will be gone.
Without wanting to sound faithless and without hope, we are simply not able to survive financially anymore. Our monthly income does not even allow for our living expenses.
Running the boat under a Malagasy flag also has its own challenges. We will not be free to go anywhere unless approved by the port authorities. Camping with the Rangers in Russian Bay will be the first to be axed. We won’t be able to take a group of people as before. I think the thing that really hurts is that there are clearly two sets of rules, foreign and Malagasy, even if we’ll all be Malagasy boats. At this point in time, we are not sure how this will all work out. We have to state our “activities” as part of the application and we pray that some official somewhere will realise that Gabriel has only been used for the good and out of love for Malagasy people.
Please pray with us. We know that God has never abandoned us and we trust in His will and purpose for us.
Have a blessed week.
E-posadres: lynettedj@gmail.com
Bank: ABSA, Lynette de Jager, Rekeningnr: 1410142909, Takkode: 632005