An Email From the Saddest Country in the World
Mr. Moga Regrets to Inform Me of My Relative’s Death
I should have realized what I was getting into when I responded to the first email, which went along these lines:
Hello Friend,
l am Mr.Totte Hassan Moga.
I am sorry for the email once more. I was thinking about whether you got an opportunity to read the last email I sent?
I would value your affirmation and important remarks in my last mail. I’m anticipating your answer.
Best Regards, Mr. Totte Hassan Moga
I had no memory of meeting Mr. Moga, but I’ve met a lot of people in the last year, most of them online.
My job as an editor here at Illumination and at other Medium publications has allowed me to make connections with a variety of people, from all over the world.
It’s been a wonderful experience, and it’s also been quite a ride. It made me hesitate to dismiss the email, and in that hesitation, he had me.
So I didn’t delete the email right away, I gave them him the benefit of the doubt and sent a reply….
“Sorry, I didn’t receive your email.”
and hit send.
Bad move.
Now I’m on the list of someone in Lome, the Republic of Togo, and they’ve found a long lost relative that died with a lot of money in the bank.
What to do, what to do…….
My default is google, I’m sorry to admit it, but that’s where I go when I need more information.
Togo is in West Africa, a sliver on the coast between Ghana and Benin. It’s a tiny country, in the crook of the curve of Africa, like the armpit.
The most striking fact that I discovered about Togo, is it was chosen (2015)as the Saddest Country in the World by the United Nations as part of their World Happiness report.
How do you choose the world's saddest country?
The UN used the following six criteria: The ability of members of the population to sustain positive emotions and how long it takes to recover from negative emotions, what are the pro-social behaviors that commonly occur in the country, and how generous is the country (social support), and the metric of mind wandering vs. mindfulness.
Most of the criteria used to rank happiness, or sadness, in this case, are linked to poverty. It’s no wonder Togo ranks at the bottom.
It’s been ignored by the international aid community. Most support was suspended in the 1990s after a lengthy political conflict. The country isn’t mineral-rich or otherwise attractive to investors.
There has been a slow return of support to the country, mainly through partnerships with the local health community. One such partnership is with Hope Through Health, an organization that supports local care workers with training in basic healthcare.
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” Dr. Paul Farmer
Togo used to be the heart of slave trade operations in West Africa, located on what used to be called the Slave Coast.
After the slave trade was abolished, Germany colonized Togo but lost it to the Allies at the end of the war. It was split between British and French rulers. Eventually, British Togo joined Ghana, leaving a much smaller country.
Togo became independent from France in 1960 but that glimmer of democracy was extinguished. Conflict over control of the country has left the population to fend for themselves, resulting in extreme poverty. It’s right beside Benin, which also made the saddest country list, which doesn’t bode well.
Today I received a reply from Mr. Moga. He apparently works in an industry that specializes in internet fraud using manufactured family ties. His email reminded me of a book I recently read.
The book 419, by Will Ferguson, was a fascinating glimpse into another world. It’s a fictional account of an actual internet scam.
We make jokes about internet scams but I had never really thought about the lives of people in countries that were so poor that this was a viable occupation.
419 is a reference to the Nigerian Criminal Code regarding email fraud.
This book brought a new understanding of the people on both sides of the conversation, in this case, a man in Canada and another in Nigeria.
Here’s the latest email I received from Mr. Moga.
Now I’m considering if I should continue this conversation with my new ‘friend’.
“Hello Friend,
Mr.Totte Hassan Moga <[email protected]>
2:21 AM (5 hours ago)
to Tree
Hello Friend,
l am Mr.Totte Hassan Moga, a Forensic Auditor and also the Head of the Internal Audit Department with one of the international banks here in Lome, Republic of Togo, and the personal manager to one of our foreign clients, (Late Engineer Jonathan Adler Langdon), who bears the same family name with you and both of you have the same nationality (the same country).
I have an important message for you about his untimely death and the balance of funds of US$11Million (Eleven-Million United States Dollars), which he deposited with our bank before his untimely death.
The Late depositor (Late Engineer Jonathan Adler Langdon) had a deposit account with our Bank dated 15th January 2006 for 60 calendar months valued at US$16.5Million (Sixten-Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars). The deposit duration date for this contract was on the 16th of January, 2011.
Sadly, the late Engineer Jonathan Adler Langdon was among the victims who lost their lives in the natural disaster (Earthquake) that took place in the city of Yogyakarta, Java Island, Indonesia on the 27th of May, 2006 which took his life and the lives of over 5000 people.
However; he made his last cash withdrawal from this very said account, the sum of US$5.5Million (Five-Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and that was before his trip to Java-Island in Indonesia and according to the last audit conducted by the Internal Audit Department of our bank in December 2020, Permit me to frankly say that the account blinks a green light the sum of US$11Million (Eleven-Million United States Dollars) as the total balance at this very moment and is still unclaimed. As a Petrochemical Engineer, a businessman, and a contractor, these funds were the proceeds of the agricultural equipment and heavy industrial machines he supplied to many private companies.
Now, this is what i actually want you to do; Since you bear the same family name with the late depositor and both of you have the same nationality (the same country), I have reasoned very professionally and l feel it will be legally proper to present you to our bank as his next of kin so as to enable our bank release the funds to you as the fund’s beneficiary for us to share before the fund is confiscated and transferred into our bank’s treasury as abandoned funds because the expiry date of the fund’s deposit duration is fast approaching.
Percentage terms will be discussed with you before we proceed.
I need your urgent response to help me give you more information/details on how we are to proceed with this deal/transaction.
With the hope for your understanding.
With Respect,
Mr. Totte Hassan Moga.”
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