When we first arrived in Chad, Africa at the end of 2001, a local man drove Art from the airport to the location we were staying. Denice and the children went on ahead in a friend’s car.
The friend’s car quickly disappeared out of sight, and Art was left with a stranger driving him to a location that neither Art nor the stranger knew. Shortly after exiting the airport, the driver slowed down in front of a gate on the side of the road. He got out of the car and knocked on the large sheet metal gate.
Thoughts of danger were rushing through Art’s mind. Was he going to be robbed? attacked? or maybe taken HOSTAGE?
Shortly after the knock on the gate, a man came out with wine bottles. He approached the car and began REFUELING the taxi from the wine bottles! Art breathed a sigh of relief; he was going to live after all.
That was Art’s welcome to Chad moment, and it did not change much in the following years. Most fuel was purchased on the side of the road from wine bottles, and often the fuel was dirty. We can recall at least two occasions when our truck gave out because of bad fuel.
Fast forward to today, and gas stations are prevalent throughout Chad. Even the small town of Mongo where we used to live now has gas stations.
It all changed over time and through the exploration of oil in Chad. When we first arrived in Chad, international oil companies were just beginning to drill for oil, now Chad has hundreds of oil wells and even has an oil refinery just outside of the capital of N’Djamena. The country is now dependent on oil, and when oil prices decline, Chad is left struggling economically.
For the people of Chad, the new gas stations are a welcome sight, but life remains much the same as it did when we first arrived in Chad. While oil has become one of Chad’s major exports, the economic benefit has failed to reach those who need it most, leaving Chad as still one of the poorest countries in the world.