"In 2022, I had a job at an estate agents in Paris selling ridiculously expensive flats, and decided I needed to do something more meaningful with my life. I resigned, and six months later arrived in Guinea. In hindsight I was a young kid, full of anger, not happy with his life. That 26-year-old is definitely not me now and it was living with primates that changed my life."
"The thing that fascinated me most about chimps was how they processed anger. They can fight really hard hit each other, steal food from each other but they always make peace about five minutes later. I have made peace with myself and with people I felt hate for. I learned from these primates there is no point being angry or living in the past."
"I ended up at the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre, a five-hour drive from the nearest town in the middle of the jungle. I lived in a cabin surrounded by 66 chimpanzees and my job was to care for them. The chimps would constantly erupt with these hoo hooo noises in the night. One would start and then they'd all be at it. I miss that nightly racket now. I was only supposed to go for three months, but ended up staying for 11."
"The Chimpanzee Conservation Centre rehabilitates and releases chimpanzees who have been victims of poachers. I came to accept and welcome my emotions like chimps do: when they are afraid they just scream, when they're happy they do a different kind of scream. They don't control it, and it's so nice to see especially if they are about to get food. It's like little kids at Christmas."
In 2022 a person left a Paris estate-agency job selling expensive flats and sought more meaningful work, then traveled to Guinea six months later. The person joined the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre, a five-hour drive from the nearest town, and lived alone in a cabin surrounded by 66 chimpanzees, caring for them. The stay was intended as three months but extended to 11, with nightly "hoo hooo" calls and deep immersion in chimp behavior. Observations revealed intense fights followed by reconciliation within minutes. The experience led to accepting and expressing emotions openly and making peace with self and others. The centre rehabilitates and releases chimps rescued from poachers, and the species remains vulnerable to extinction.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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