Love for travel or an obsession?

KOHEI HAKAMADA is Japanese, retired after working in his country in a printing press for thirty years. He is married, and has an adult son. Kohei was born deaf. I met him in Kigali, when a colleague of mine brought to my attention an imposing heavy duty motorbike parked nearby and loaded with a large container, two smaller containers on either side and canvas bags. Looking at the bike, you know instinctively that whoever owns it is headed for a long journey. Not far from the bike, Kohei sat on a bench, apparently exhausted but quite welcoming and friendly. As we shook hands, he indicated that he is deaf. Disappointed that I had no chance to communicate with the friendly gentleman, I scribbled a question about how he communicates with the people he meets as he travels. For an answer, he put his hand to his mouth to show that if he made that gesture, people understood he needed food. Kohei reached inside his jacket for a bank visa card which I understood he uses to obtain money for his needs and fuel for his bike as he travels. Due to my poor knowledge of sign language, I had a feeling there was no hope of getting a worthwhile interview. However, twenty minutes later two people appeared on the scene and one of them was Jolanda Harrewyn– who works at Rwanda National Union of the Deaf. Harrewyn kindly agreed to translate my questions into sign language for Kohei to answer. Kohei told me he loves travelling and that his family—whom he is in constant contact with through text messaging on his mobile satellite phone—is very understanding and supportive. He made his first journey around the world between 1973 and 1977 by hitch-hiking – a way of travelling by obtaining free lifts in motor vehicles. So the trip in progress, he said, is the second one around the world. He has a large map that shows his route from the starting point to the end. A member of a motor cycling club in Japan and the only deaf member, he said, he has known people who made trips around the world but no deaf person, had made the attempt. His aim was to show that deaf people are also capable of great achievements. In addition, he said he is interested in learning about other people’s culture and way of life. Learning about other people’s culture and way of life has become a lot easier today, thanks to science and technology that has shrunk the world. I am reminded of a passage I read at school long ago about a black traveler in Russia, who narrated how people in a certain town scrambled to see him, a black person, for the first time. The man, a musician who travelled with his guitar, entertained people in the evenings where he spent nights during his journey. One evening, after he sung to the people who gathered at his host’s home, a curious native wanted to know, quite innocently, if, just as cows in Russia produced white milk, those in Africa gave black milk. The traveler, taking no offence at all, corrected the misconception to the amazement of his audience. If, like me, you are wondering about Kohei’s security as he travels in strange places and meets strange people, he categorically assured me he has not encountered any life threatening situations or people so far! This was a relief to me but I could not help imagining his fate if his route crossed towns engulfed in chaotic uprisings such as those currently taking place in North Africa and Middle East. One thing is curious: Kohei has no sponsor for his journeys around the world. He said he uses his personal savings and his pension money. As we talked, Rwanda was the 18th country he had passed through since May 2010, when he started his journey. By the time he completes his journey in 2014, he will have covered all the continents of the world for the second time. Ends