My Years in Comoros

Text by Ye Huihui Edited by Huo Yao

The tough days

At the end of 2013,I went to Comoros,an African island country,for the first time.I was 24 years old,serving as client manager during my first month working for Huawei.

Leaving the airport,I got in a car and saw the shabby buildings and old streets through the window—I felt a little uneasy.

I was assigned by my boss to follow up on a submarine cable system project which had just restarted on the island.

My colleagues reminded me that the living conditions there were quite tough.Only one or two hours of electricity were supplied every day,and they were still using the outdated ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) internet service which was spotty.Hence,staying there meant we were basically cut off from the outside world.

艰难岁月不堪提

2013年年底，我第一次来到非洲岛国科摩罗时，我24 岁，进华为不到一个月，做客户经理。

从机场出来，透过车窗玻璃，我看到道路两边都是破败的建筑和街道，隐隐感觉不妙。

领导对我说，华为在科摩罗耕耘多年的海底光缆项目最近重新启动了，派我去跟进。

同事给我打预防针，说这边条件很艰苦，每天只有一两个小时有电，通信信号很差，还是ADSL（非对称数字用户线路）网络拨号上网，来这边基本就是“失联”。宿舍年久失修，设施破旧，没有水也没有电。我拿出手机给国内父母报平安，刚叫了一声“妈”，电话就断了。当时天已黑，我只能借着手机屏幕的光摸到床前，准备歇息，熟料，一屁股把床坐塌了。床垮塌的声响惊动了我的同事和本地司机，大家七手八脚帮我重新拼了床。

我的科摩罗生涯就是这样开始的。

每天晚上供电1 小时，这对我来说非常宝贵，我抓紧烧水做饭。由于天热，睡觉前，我会从水窖打一桶水拎到卫生间，用瓢舀水浇着洗澡。这个时间段，我还要把手机、手电筒都充好电，然后，要么躺在床上思考，要么伏案写点东西。

深夜，吹着印度洋的风，看着窗外深邃而闪烁的星空，听着手机里播放的古典音乐，我觉得内心格外平静。记得有天晚上停电的时候，一位本地员工拿出吉他弹了起来，我会点口琴，跟他合奏起来，其他几个本地的兄弟把手机的照明灯打开，跟着旋律左右摇摆，跟着我们们的音乐唱起来，这个场景一直珍藏在我心里。

到了2014年下半年，科摩罗业务有了起色，公司在科摩罗设立办事处，还配了一名中国厨师。我成了一个拥有“御厨”的人。

厨师老王已经50 多岁，会做一手好川菜，我们食堂也被誉为“科摩罗最好的中餐馆”。这个地方蔬菜和水果极度缺乏，但盛产金枪鱼，老王研究出18道不同的吃法，清蒸、红烧、醋熘、烧烤……甚至能做出鸡肉的味道，我们管这道菜叫“金枪鸡”。

这么多年来，老王一直坚持“留菜”的传统。他说，人在外，吃饱了才不会想家。每到开饭时间，老王都会细心观察谁没能在饭点赶回来，然后给他留好饭菜，菜量会比平时多出一倍。

风雨之后见彩虹

科摩罗几个岛之间的交通工具是螺旋桨小飞机和冲锋舟。有一天，我陪客户乘飞机去另外一个岛考察站点。飞机在空中遭遇雷暴，螺旋桨一度停转，所幸有惊无险，但那种剧烈的失重感让我有了浓重的心理阴影。

The company rented an old dorm for us to live in.The facilities were poor—the building had no water and only a limited power supply.I tried to call my parents when I arrived there,but I got cut off just as I said,“Hello,Mom.” It was dark at night.I had to find my bed with just the light of the phone screen.The bed fell apart suddenly when I sat on it.Hearing the noise,my colleagues and the local drivers rushed to my room and helped fix the bed for me.That was how my life started in Comoros.

I had to make good use of the one hour of electricity every night.During this short period,I had to fetch water to cook dinner and take a bath with a ladle.More importantly,I had to charge my phone and torch.Then,I would meditate on my bed or write in my journal.

At night,I preferred watching the vast starry sky,feeling the breeze from the Indian Ocean in my face,and listening to classical music on my phone.My heart was filled with serenity.I still remember one night when our dorm building was out of power,a local worker played guitar,and I played harmonica.The other workers turned on the flashlights on their phones,danced to the music,and sang together.The scene will remain in my mind forever.

The work in Comoros started to make progress in the second half of 2014.The company then decided to set up an office and assigned a Chinese chef for us.

The 50-year-old chef Wang was good at cooking Sichuan dishes.Therefore,our canteen was known as the best Chinese restaurant in Comoros because of him.Despite limited varieties of vegetables and fruits,Comoros was rich in producing tuna fish.Wang developed 18 ways of cooking tuna,such as steaming,braising,sautéing with vinegar,grilling,etc.He could even make the tuna taste like chicken,so we named the dish“tuna chicken.”

Wang had a habit of saving dishes for the latecomers.He said that people won’t feel homesick if they eat enough.At mealtimes,Wang would always know who were not back in time and then reserve dishes for them with a double portion.

Rainbow after the storm

The Comoros Islands are linked by airplanes and boats.One day,I accompanied a client to visit an island by airplane.The airplane flew in a thunderstorm,and the propeller stopped working for a few seconds.Luckily,we arrived safe and sound,but I was traumatized for some time by the feeling of weightlessness.

We chose to take a boat to visit the island the second time.The journey was very smooth and we felt quite relaxed when the client finally signed the contract.However,we suffered from the storm again.The blue ocean was suddenly covered by dark,thick clouds.It was the first time that I experienced a storm at sea.As soon as we put the life jackets on,the waves and raindrops fell on our faces.The wind blew so strongly that we couldn’t open our eyes.The boat bounced up and down violently,and seemed to be on the verge of being overturned.

A local woman prayed for God’s blessing.I felt desperate and helpless.

I wrapped the contract file with my clothes and tried to keep it dry.The contract with yellow stains from the rain is still kept at our Shenzhen HQ.

The storm came and went quickly.Our fear didn’t last long.The ocean returned to its tranquility when the dark clouds disappeared.A splendid double rainbow arched above the sea.Amazed by the stunning scene,I suddenly realized how important life was and how lucky I was to have control of my life.

So I started to improve myself.I spent more time learning French and practiced oral French with a local worker.I studied business management and product information attentively,and organized lectures for our clients,including engineers,ministers,and even the President of the country.

Our client gradually acknowledged my efforts and the brand of Huawei.I was too busy to leave Comoros.The planned temporary post became a resident job,and I became the only Chinese worker from Huawei in Comoros.Over the years,I had experienced three presidential elections and worked with six CEOs of the client company.

We rented a bright,spacious new building with two watchdogs.I named them “Revenue” and“Cash Collection” to remind me of the working goals.

Despite countless challenges,our team completed the building of a national backbone transmission network in 2016,which has facilitated communication between Comoros and the outside world.As life has improved in Comoros,the local people have become more and more friendly towards Huawei.

(FromHuawei Story,SDX Joint Publishing.Translation:Li Li)

再次来这个岛时，我们选择了冲锋舟。这次很顺利，客户终于在合同上签了字，我们心情格外轻松。返程时，碧波荡漾的海面瞬间乌云密布，暴雨压来。这是我第一次经历海上暴风雨，我们火速把破旧的救生衣套在身上。风卷起浪花和着雨滴，打在脸上，眼睛都睁不开。冲锋舟颠簸得厉害，感觉要被掀翻。

那名本地妇女一直在祷告，祈求神灵的庇护。我特别绝望和无助。

我把合同文件夹塞到衣服最里面，尽力保护它不被打湿。这份合同如今还在深圳坂田总部，上面泛黄的水渍就是这么来的。

暴风雨来得快，去得也快，我们的绝望和害怕没有持续多久，乌云散去，海面恢复平静。两条壮美的彩虹横跨在大海上。这是我人生第一次看到如此壮丽的景象，我刻骨铭心地领悟到生命是如此宝贵，能掌握自己的命运是多么幸运。

于是，我开始改变自己。我更加努力地学习法语，还缠着一个本地的兄弟练习口语。我还努力学习业务管理和产品知识，给客户开讲座，上至总统、部长，下至工程师，都听过我的讲座。

客户对我、对华为越来越认可，我也根本无法离开科摩罗，原计划的出差变成了常驻，于是我就成了科摩罗“唯一的华为中方员工”。这些年来，我在科摩罗经历了三次总统大选，对接过六任客户CEO，真的是“流水的客户铁打的我”。

后来，我们租了一栋宽敞明亮的新楼房，并养了两条小土狗看门，给它们取名“收入”和“回款”，这两个名字时刻提醒着我们要认准奋斗方向，一个也不能少。

2016年，我们团队克服重重困难，在科摩罗完成国家骨干传输网的建设，从此科摩罗与世界畅连。科摩罗人对华为也越来越友好。

（摘自《一人一厨一狗》生活·读书·新知三联书店）