May 19th – 45 Years Later
photo of Gombe chimpanzees by Larry Goldman
photo of Jane Goodall, smiling at me as I came up to give her a hug during her WWU visit October 2018, courtesy of WWU University Communications
Reflecting on, and with respect for, the courage shown by Tanzanian park rangers and my kidnapped research colleagues on this unforgettable day 45 years ago — I'm reposting this again as part of my Gombe saga from when I worked as a student research assistant for Jane Goodall in western Tanzania in 1975. An archived New York Times account is found here.
Asleep farther up the mountain, we were wakened by other researchers who were fleeing, hearing the commotion. No one really understood what was happening down lower on the mountain. There were shouts and screams, and gun shots had been heard. Had someone been injured or killed? There was no choice but to run and hide deep in the bush at a predetermined gathering spot until an "all clear" signal was given by the rangers.
That was the longest wait for morning of my life, sitting alongside Jane holding her eight year old son Grub. A hand full of other students had also made their way to the hiding spot, none of us knowing what to think, say or do. We could only barely see each other's faces in the darkness and were too frightened to make any sounds. We carried no weapons, and there was no way to communicate with the outside world. We had no idea how many of us may be missing, or possibly dead.
Jane clasped Grub in her arms, endeavoring in vain to keep him quiet, but his fears was ignited by the events that had just unfolded.
Grub began to sob silently into her shoulder.
When the morning of May 20 dawned, the park rangers located us, and pieced together the events as best they could–the soldiers were Zairean rebels living in remote mountains, fighting an insurgency against the Zaire government. Seeking funds for their cause, they saw a kidnapping of Americans and Europeans as a way to raise quick funds and world publicity and sympathy. Four of our friends/coworkers were missing, the camp was ransacked and the rangers beaten but with no life threatening injuries. There was no way to remain safe at the Park, and our colleagues needed whatever help we could offer for their rescue.
In Nairobi, at the US Embassy, I met CIA agents who viewed our wild primate studies with suspicion. Each of us were grilled individually as to our political beliefs, our activities at the camp and whether we may be somehow involved in subversive actions against the Zaire or Tanzanian governments. We were dumbfounded that our own countrymen would be so skeptical about our motives for being in Africa. It became clear our own government could be no help in resolving the kidnapping and bringing our friends home to safety. The agents did not shed any light on whether they knew our friends were alive or dead.
We were then hustled into a press conference where we were interviewed for television and print media by the worldwide news agencies, and my parents saw me on the CBS evening news before they actually heard my voice over the phone. I flew back to Stanford the next day, spending 24 hours on a plane that made six stops up the coast of West Africa on its way back west, to tell what I knew to Stanford President Lyman and other administration officials as they prepared a plan to locate and free the students. I then returned home to Washington state to await any news that came too slowly from a place so far away that I remain astonished to this day that I was ever there at all.
It took over three months, private negotiations and ransom money to free all four of our friends back to safety. They remain close to each other and to the remarkable man who helped free them, Dr. David Hamburg. We have had several reunions together over the years to remember those days of living in a place that at one time seemed like paradise.
Just this past year we have lost both Dr. Hamburg and Dr. Donald Kennedy, both instrumental as our faculty and mentors during our years at Stanford. Dr. Goodall, now 86, remains a vital part of the global message to preserve the wild chimpanzee, traveling over 300 days a year giving lectures around the world through her organization www.janegoodall.org
Several of my colleagues have written about their experience at Gombe:
Out of Africa – the kidnapped students speak
Following Fifi by Dr. John Crocker
A Model of Prevention by Dr. David Hamburg
Jane Goodall by Dale Peterson
The Jane Effect by Dale Peterson
and of course, Jane's wonderful books that led me to Gombe in the first place:
In the Shadow of Man
Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Wild Chimpanzees of Gombe
A documentary "Jane" is found streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime and is reviewed at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/movies/jane-review-jane-goodall-documentary.html and there is an immersive Gombe experience at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C.
45 years since we met in her Stanford office full of wild birds
giving Jane a hug, courtesy of WWU Communications
Gombe Alumni and faculty reunion in 2011 at Stanford
(I'm in the very back 5th from the left)
Posted in Africa, aging, Fear, Gombe, Kigoma, Lake Tanganyika, TanzaniaTagged chimpanzees, Gombe, Jane Goodall, May 19 kidnapping, Stanford University
A Most Unusual Job Interview
October 26, 2017 barnstormingblog6 Comments
Standing outside a non-descript door in a long dark windowless hallway of offices at the Stanford Medical Center, I took a deep breath and swallowed several times to clear my dry throat. I hoped I had found the correct office, as there was only a number– no nameplate to confirm who was inside.
I was about to meet a childhood hero, someone whose every book I'd read and every TV documentary I had watched. I knocked with what I hoped was the right combination of assertiveness ("I want to be here to talk with you and prove my interest") and humility ("I hope this is convenient for you as I don't want to intrude"). I heard a soft voice on the other side say "Come in" so I slowly opened the door.
It was a bit like going through the wardrobe to enter Narnia. Bright sunlight streamed into the dark hallway as I stepped over the threshold. Squinting, I stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind me as I realized there were at least four birds flying about the room. They were taking off and landing, hopping about feeding on bird seed on the office floor and on the window sill. The windows were flung wide open with a spring breeze rustling papers on the desk. The birds were very happy occupying the sparsely furnished room, which contained only one desk, two chairs and Dr. Jane Goodall.
She stood up and extended her hand to me, saying, quite unnecessarily, "Hello, I'm Jane" and offered me the other chair when I told her my name. She was slighter than she appeared when speaking up at a lectern, or on film. Sitting back down at her desk, she busied herself reading and marking her papers, seemingly occupied and not to be disturbed. It was as if I was not there at all.
It was disorienting. In the middle of a bustling urban office complex containing nothing resembling plants or a natural environment, I had unexpectedly stepped into a bird sanctuary instead of sitting down for a job interview. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do or say. Jane didn't really ever look directly at me, yet I was clearly being observed. So I waited, watching the birds making themselves at home in her office, and slowly feeling at home myself. I felt my tight muscles start to relax and I loosened my grip on the arms of the chair.
There was silence except for the twittering of the finches as they flew about our heads.
After awhile she spoke, her eyes still perusing papers: "It is the only way I can tolerate being here for any length of time. They keep me company. But don't tell anyone; the people here would think this is rather unsanitary."
I said the only thing I could think of: "I think it is magical. It reminds me of home."
Only then did she look at me. "Now tell me why you'd like to come work at Gombe…"
The next day I received a note from her letting me know I was accepted for the research assistantship. I had proven I could sit silently and expectantly, waiting for something, or perhaps nothing at all, to happen. For a farm girl who never before traveled outside the United States, I was about to embark on an adventure far beyond the barnyard.
(published in The Jane Effect in honor of Jane's 80th birthday)
A new documentary "Jane" is in theaters and is reviewed at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/movies/jane-review-jane-goodall-documentary.html
photos courtesy of The National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com)
Posted in Africa, Chimpanzees, Farm, Gombe, Jane Goodall, noticing, observation, Primates, StewardshipTagged Africa, Gombe National Park, Jane Goodall, research, Stanford University, Tanzania, wild chimpanzees
In recognition of this unforgettable day 40 years ago, I'm reprinting this part of my Gombe saga, working as a student research assistant for Jane Goodall in western Tanzania in 1975.
In Nairobi, at the US Embassy, I met CIA agents who viewed our wild primate studies with some suspicion. Each of us were grilled individually as to our political beliefs, our activities at the camp and whether we may be somehow involved in subversive actions against the Zaire or Tanzanian governments. We were dumbfounded that our own countrymen would be so skeptical about our motives for being in Africa. It became clear our own government would be no help in resolving the kidnapping and bringing our friends home to safety. The agents did not shed any light on whether they knew our friends were alive or dead.
We were then hustled into a press conference where we were interviewed for television and print media by the worldwide news agencies, and my parents saw me on the CBS evening news before they actually heard my voice over the phone. I flew back to Stanford the next day, spending 24 hours on a plane that made six stops up the coast of West Africa on its way back west, so that I could tell what I knew to the administration officials at Stanford as they prepared a plan to free the students. I then returned home to Washington state to await any news that came too slowly from a place so far away that I remain astonished that I was ever there at all.
photo from a press conference at Stanford a few days later
Posted in Africa, Chimpanzees, Fear, Freedom, Gombe, Jane Goodall, Kigoma, Lake Tanganyika, Primates, Remembrance, TanzaniaTagged chimpanzees, Gombe National Park, hostages, Jane Goodall, Kigoma, May 19 kidnapping, political kidnapping, Stanford University, Tanzania, Zaire
Thirty Eight Years Ago
Tonight I received a remarkable email from Bill Grueskin, Dean of Academic Affairs at the Columbia University School of Journalism. He looked me up on the web to share a scan of an article he wrote as a intern reporter in May 1975 for the Palo Alto Times. He had been assigned to interview me after I returned to Stanford University following the Gombe kidnapping of May 19. He keeps his articles like any good journalist and was reminded about this interview after his wife heard my professor and mentor Dr. David Hamburg at a Grand Rounds presentation at a New York Hospital today refer to the Gombe kidnapping and subsequent rescue of the students.
I was the age that our daughter is now–twenty. This does not feel like it happened only yesterday. It feels like it happened in another life. Thank you to Bill for sharing his story with me after all these years. I'd like to hope I was one of his first interviews leading to his remarkable career of journalistic achievements.
Just click on the image of the article to get it to enlarge for easier reading.
Posted in Africa, Chimpanzees, Gombe, Jane Goodall, Primates, TanzaniaTagged 1975, Bill Grueskin, chimpanzees, Gombe, interview, Jane Goodall, journalism, kidnapping, May 19, newspaper, Stanford University