Giles Foden

Author of The Last King of Scotland, Ladysmith, Zanzibar, Turbulence, Freight Dogs and, most recently, Thirst

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

And so, alas, the Congolese nightmare continues: how many times must Goma fall? See Freight Dogs for the prequel to this week's events. Somewhere near the end, two characters discuss war breaking out again. How I wish their prescience was not so acute.

[Mike and Jeff show @AgrisAcademy @AgrisAcademy]

My Venezuela experience as head of trading in the region for Cargill.

Cargill was/is the leading producer of critical staple ingredients such as flour, pasta, vegetable oil, and rice in VZ. I am not saying I agree with grabbing the dictator, but I did have a front row seat to the damage a kleptocracy did to innocent people.
1. The government took over our "minute rice" facility at gunpoint because we were "gouging" the nation's poor. The government was never able to run the plant. It never ran again. It was returned years later with no equipment inside
2. There are 1000's of generals in the army. They are each given a slice of the economy to loot. The large number of generals made it difficult to organize a coup against the regime.
3. The government opened grocery stores and sold staples below the cost we sold them to the government. In theory they used petro oil money to lower grocery prices. Our regular grocery outlets were forced out of business. When the government demanded we sell them products below cost we simply had to shut down. The populous became ever more dependent on the government handouts. (PS this is the mayor of New York City's proposal.
4. Dollars- We needed dollars to go buy raw materials like wheat from places like the US and Canada. The government would periodically allocate us some dollars that could only be spent for raw materials and freight. Eventually only the local companies that can and would pay bribes got dollar allocations. We had several facilities closed for lack of raw material
5. My employees liked working for Cargill. The office was an armed compound with access to a gym, high speed internet, global communications, and a weekly box of basic staples. Cargill provided a safe and secure environment if only for the working hours.
6. Employees became very close to others inside the apartment building. Going out on the street with a desperate population was not advisable.
7. I needed wood pallets for feed. We tried to export wood pallets to swap for grain. We refused to pay the bribes it would take to export the pallets
8. I once tried to set up a closed loop wheat planting to flour mill supply chain. A. They came and stole all the seed wheat for food. When we tried to ship in seed wheat in containers via US donors there was no way to get it out of the port without it being stolen
9. Livestock- Our feed business completely collapsed. Even if you could raise a pig, you couldn't defend it from being stolen. People with guns were hungry.
10. Employees- In the end my highly skilled team alone with other highly educated people chose to leave. Cargill often found jobs for them in other Latin countries. The regime was more than happy to see the well-educated leave the country. Setting these employees up with high quality stable jobs after fleeing remains one of the best things I ever did in my career. No one remembers millions in trading earnings.

This is a short list. In my opinion the first money spent needs to happen now and it needs to be food. The US is already on the clock. The current regime does not care if it starves the population. The orgy of theft will actually accelerate if they believe their days are numbered. VZ should be an outstanding customer of US grown ag products. Rice, bread wheat, veg oil ect. Feed the people first.

Jeff Kazin
Former head trading Cargill

[NTV UGANDA @ntvuganda]

UPDATE: Hundreds of foreign military contractors crossed into Rwanda from Goma on Wednesday (January 29) after surrendering to the United Nations, as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels consolidated control over eastern Congo's largest city.
#NTVNews
📹Reuters

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@stevenpoole @rwilliams1947 @sgediting @HadleyFreeman I believe I commissioned many of them, but always in service of Sauron. Soz for not telling you at the time.

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@DalrympleWill No worlds left to conquer!! X

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@adriennemwest Sorry to hear that and best of luck in your search

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

Congratulations to another group of brilliant young African writers, winners of the Miles Morland Foundation scholarships, who each receive a grant of ₤18,000 to allow them to take a year off to write a book. https://t.co/5sd5QFLukc

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

Out Nov 7. 2039, the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. 160,000 kilometres-square of ocean-crashed desert, littered with bones, shipwrecks and shattered dreams. Cat Brosnan, a young scientist, has just arrived, aiming to track down a much-needed water source . . .

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@EtheHerring Looking forward to reading that!

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@TheSimonEvans @GrantTucker @willsmithwriter The movie, as in Mr Limbani?

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@CBeditions @ariskindt And do they have invisible uncles?

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@gerbrandbakker So pleased you have a new novel out Gerbrand. I’m a great fan of The Detour and keep recommending it to students. As for reviews, one must these days arm oneself with patience. But wonderful to have one coming from such a good critic as @leorobsonwriter!

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@MBU Uganda style!!

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@_ryanruby_ @MichaelJarvie Unless we think of dialogue markers as an intake of breath, when they perhaps become introductory or paranthetical (with respect to main body copy) like dashes? I wonder when they were first referred to as dashes anyhow, Clarissa interesting for all this as well as Shandy.

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@_ryanruby_ @MichaelJarvie As sure you know, m dash specifically a hot metal printer’s term — m being widest letter. As opposed to n dash. Nuts and mutton as the old compositors used to call them when I was a sub on the TLS. Often decision between n and m was made on fly to get to column width.

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

The first plane crash…

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

PBM 9026. The actual ‘number plate’ of Hemingway’s plane when he crashed in 1954, about 200 metres from the crash site near Murchison Falls. As featured in Mimi & Toutou Go Forth by GF.

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@SimonScarrow Power to your elbow!

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@Tom_Benn The Matrix. But you knew that already. Or did you?

[Giles Foden @FodenGiles]

@NoreenMasud https://t.co/WEL9aeM7EF