Although I'm now local to Dayton, I had a business trip to take and found
myself at the Dayton airport for a 1:35pm flight Sunday afternoon after the
Dayton Hamvention, bound for Detroit. Probably 20 or 25 hams on the flight
(regional jet, capacity around 65 I'd guess). As we were waiting, the only
seat vacant was next to me. Who walks down the aisle?
Martti Lane, OH2BH.
Man, what an absolute stroke of luck. 45 uninterrupted minutes of
conversation with perhaps one of the greatest ambassadors of ham radio in
the world. I almost felt like I'd been granted an audience with the Pope or
something ... But here was a very down-to-earth guy genuinely interested in
a conversation with me. Very sincere, very genuine, and very easy to speak
with.
Martti spoke at the contest forum, and is currently organizing WRTC 2002 in
Finland. But on the plane, he spoke to me about the first WRTC in Seattle,
and the problems that were encountered that the Organizing committee was
trying to avoid 10 years later.
That led to a discussion of what good ham radio can do as ambassadors, and
how little the typical DXpedition (both general DX and contest) adds to the
local environment. He (like I) visited Albania. I made about 45 contacts.
He made several thousand contacts, and created 20 or so licensed amateurs,
and instituted the amateur radio system in the government of Albania. Even
the license document format (double columns, in Albanian and English) was
his creation.
He didn't say this to brag ... far from it. Rather, making a positive
impact on the locations he visits has become a priority. He was so taken
aback by the hospitality of the Albanian people, and how the experience
impacted him (and his son, who accompanied him). But since then, his
outlook on DXpeditions has changed. As he told me, DXers will never be the
Red Cross, nor should we be. But we (as a whole) need to examine ways we
can leave the areas we visit better than we found them. And not just with
our equipment. We have to also share our knowledge. And, hard as this is
to realize, we may have a little to learn ourselves. Martti freely admits
he got more from his experience in Albania than he left.
He spoke of his host family back in 1992, and the matriarch going about each
morning to gather the day's food from various vendors in the neighborhood in
which they lived. This same ritual occurred during my visit two years ago.
One shop for bread, another for produce, another for meat. Nothing beyond
that day, as preservation of foods is still quite difficult, and appliances
hard to come by.
But one particular morning, the matriarch returned with something special.
After asking around, she had located an egg. One egg. And as the family
gathered, they insisted that Martti's son enjoy the egg that obviously they
hadn't had in some time. Martti's son told him that was the most difficult
egg he had ever eaten. But the family did receive their reward ... they
enjoyed him, enjoying the egg!
He spoke of the Solomon Islands trip, and how they convinced the locals to
manufacture soaps and other materials from the native coconut trees. For a
$25 donation to the local cause, you got a commemorative QSL, rather than
the standard QSL. You got the card perhaps a few days quicker. But the
locals got the money. He expected to raise perhaps $4,000 to $5,000 and
ended up with five times that, through the generosity of the DX community.
I really didn't intend that this sound "preachy". But I hope we all begin
asking questions of the DXpeditions about how they have a positive impact on
the places they visit. I hope we demand our contesters who were selected
for WRTC also remember that they are ambassadors for amateur radio and the
USA, whether or not they want to be. The WRTC is an excellent opportunity.
Recall the US Hockey Team at the Nagano Olympics? They trashed the place
after a loss. They did not remember that they were not only competetors,
but also Ambassadors.
Other countries come to mind -- North Korea offers some real opportunities,
just as Albania did in 1970 when Martti first visited. It took 22 years,
but Amateur Radio is now established. And the Albanian regime was even
tougher than the current North Korean regime! Many inroads can still be
made in Southeast Asia, China, and the African continent. Ham Radio --
Ambassadors of International Goodwill.
Martti, thanks for sharing that plane ride with me. It has changed my
outlook on Amateur Radio, and how we might impact our world for positive
change.
de N5NW/8 (Marty)
Bellbrook, Ohio
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