Sudan Update 6

Night time here is always tricky, but when the power goes out, it’s practically impossible to stay on the elevated path.

And that is the secret, because if you step off of the path there are snakes and a giant lizard the size of a large dog (but not as tall) ....





Apparently, its teeth are poisonous, but it is only aggressive if you approach it in a threatening manner. I wonder if it may misinterpret fear as aggression? I am not taking any chances and have correspondingly reduced my nightly liquid consumption!

I can now comfortably sleep with my container temp in the mid 20s. The days reach highs in the mid 40s. The evenings can go down to 17 degrees.

I keep my air conditioner on all day and find that a few times a day I still have to sit in the air conditioning for at least five minutes before I can continue with my day!

When the power goes out my container becomes a huge oven; it’s impossible to stay inside it, with the power out, between the hours of 0800 – 2100.

At night, the thing I find the most striking is the smell. It is a mix of dirt and burning garbage (the most common method of garbage disposal here). During the day it also smells, but it is as if the daytime heat brews the mixture and then the decrease in temperature at night allows it to spread freely in the air.

Or, perhaps, I just take more time to stop and register the smell in the air at night as I search the sky for stars.

I have started to walk the parameter of the camp and into town at night with a friend; it is a lovely way to end a day and live the true pulse of Africa.

It is so quiet, except for the ubiquitous sounds of generators and the occasional boisterous, lively Ugandan music playing from shacks along the side of the road. Each person you pass greets you and wants to shake your hand. Everyone is outside, taking advantage of a slight breeze or decrease in temperature before returning to their tukuls for bed. Some compounds have electricity from 1900-2300, but none of the locals do.


One day, while out for a Sunday afternoon drive, we stumbled on
the most beautifully landscaped tukul community!



They have built a power plant and power lines in Yambio. At some point in the future the locals will have access to electrical power.

I am not sure how this will factor into their tukul construction or what type of fire hazards it could present. I can’t help but think that, in some ways, it will be a move in the wrong direction.

For now, at night, everyone gathers outdoors and visits, plays games, and drinks as a community.

Coming from a society with all modern comforts imaginable, it is easy to observe that they, without many conveniences, are currently doing something very right here.





And I’m sobered by the thought of what they may loose with the addition of electricity to this village.

The money here is impossibly dirty. So dirty that you can’t tell how much it’s actually worth! Everything is dirty here, but the money feels gritty and turns your hands and all that it touches black.

It actually feels thicker than it is due to the layer of caked on dirt and God knows what else. I could never imagine that money could be so dirty.








The Romanians have it right, they have plastic money. It is clean and practically impossible to break! I hear our first Canadian plastic bills will be out soon as well.

One, two, and five Sudanese pounds (Canadian 30 cents, 60 cents, and $1.50 respectively) are the working currencies on the street and at the market. All items are placed on the ground in little piles and each pile costs a different amount. For a pound you can get: three breads (round or long), three lemons, a clove of garlic, and four/five little bananas.

Two pounds will get you: five tomatoes, four potatoes, five onions, three oranges. Pineapples are ten pounds (at this time of year because they are not in season). Cabbage is eight pounds. A 1 kg chicken is 25 pounds.









A box of 24 waters is 35 pounds. A carton of cigarettes (ten packs) is fifteen pounds. A bottle of wine is 60 pounds. A case of 24 beers is 75 pounds. These are the staples of our diets here in Yambio.



16 March 2011 - Yambio Team Site UNMOs!

Yesterday I began patrolling. My first patrol duty was town patrol. Normally this requires two trips into town and around the area, to the market, and through the streets to show the UN presence and to assess the security situation in town.



The Yambio Airstrip



Yambio Passenger Terminal.

We also had three flights arriving and taking off (including one air patrol),

so we actually spent most of the day at the airfield instead.








I have been going into town with the patrol each day for something to do, but today was the first day that I was actually on duty and driving – the fun begins! I will describe driving conditions in this part of the country in another email; there are some pretty interesting differences to Khartoum driving!

The curiosity in the eyes of the local children and adults is palpable. They cautiously observe us, especially when we are in an area where they don’t often see UN or vehicles.

Even in town, they wait until we acknowledge them with a smile or wave, and then their faces break out into the friendliest smiles you can imagine -- huge grins from ear to ear accompanied by gentle waves. They are truly beautiful when they smile and it makes you want to help them just that much more. It strikes something deep inside you and you want to do more than you possibly can. The kids are unbelievable, and so happy; some playing naked in the dirt, some walking around holding hands between classes, all trying to figure out what to make of me -- priceless.

Sudan Update 5

I have arrived safely in Yambio. The journey here was quite exhausting however! It began at 0530 from Khartoum with a trip to the air terminal – I am using the word, terminal, quite liberally. My flight from Khartoum to Juba was uneventful. I ran into two other Canadians in Juba who were a welcome site – one UNPOL and one UNMO. Unfortunately, I did not have much time to visit as I had to catch my connecting flight. 

The next two legs of my journey were in a large helicopter, with a stop in Maridi and then on to Yambio.

 

  

I unfortunately had to use the washroom in Maridi.

  

Now I understand why some people here stand (oddly enough) on the toilet seat -- it is because the holes in the ground used as toilets have elevated sides to stand on. This little bit of bathroom confusion now makes more sense to me!  

Once in Yambio, I was greeted by about 10 UNMOs from my team site (there are 22 of us total) and a marching band! The band wasn’t actually for me but I still think they planned my arrival quite nicely.  

My gold bags (parcels from home) arrived with me on my flight, however I had to watch them take my barrack boxes away from the aircraft in Juba as there was no space on the helo. Perhaps they will arrive later this week, or next, inshallah (God willing).

 

The landscape is so lush here; what a change from the north!  Mango trees are plentiful and there is lots of vegetation. Mangoes will soon be in season – I can’t wait! When the rainy season begins there will be even more growing. It’s hard to imagine after the barren, arid climate that I have spent the past three weeks amid! It also feels like a different type of heat here, more humid and quite aggressive! I will have to increase my water intake from that which I had adapted to in Khartoum.  

Internet and power are both intermittent here. Last night we lost power for about six hours. They installed a new generator so we’ll see if it gets better. It is unbearably hot in my sea container without the air-conditioning. They had a small party and made pizza for my arrival but we didn’t eat until 2330 due to the power outages! Until then, the Germans and Romanians welcomed me with some very strong mixed drinks.

This morning I went out to the market and on town patrol. The grand tour of Yambio took about an hour and a half.

It is quite a large sprawling village and the capital of this state, so there are many state buildings. The locals live in tukuls, a circular type of hut; some are even made out of bricks. I was overwhelmed by the number of schools and catholic churches that I saw in town. There were also kids everywhere! All the locals were incredibly friendly and quick to wave and smile when I greeted them.

There are a few different markets in town. In time I will describe them all to you. I will start with the vegetable and fruit market. Everything here happens on the ground. All food is placed on a cloth on the dirt in little piles of 30 cents, 60 cents, or a dollar. 30 Canadian cents is about the equivalent of one Sudanese pound. You can buy onions, tomatoes, cassava, potatoes, bananas (two bite bananas), and green oranges.  Today they also had cabbage and pineapple, which was quite exciting for my colleagues!  Women and children were selling all the produce; there were no men working in the market. All stores were run by Ugandan, Ethiopian, and Eritrean men.

 I am living alone in a 20 foot by 10 foot sea container. I have an air conditioner, desk, chair, night stand, bed, closet, and fridge. There are two windows and I have fashioned my bug net firmly over my bed.

 

I am missing one piece of my bug net that is in my barrack boxes -- it is the piece that separates the top to give you space inside. So last night, my first night sleeping in the bug net, I found it somewhat confining and difficult to move around without being blocked by the net! Today I will try to rig it better to allow myself more space.

 

I also have a bug net set up by my door to allow an extra layer of protection when I go in and out of the container.

 

The living containers are set up in groups; there are eight per group with a small common area in between.

I am in section B, our common area is full of beautiful purple flowers which I’m told will increase with the rains – it is quite lovely!

 We have two tukuls that we can sit under and socialize. There is a separate container for men and women’s washrooms. It is about a minute from my container, though more difficult to find in the dark! This morning we did not have hot water, but the water was clean – so not a bad start at all!

 

It is impossible to stay clean here. Everything is covered in a layer or two of fine orange dust and dirt and with the coming of the rains it will all turn to mud. My hands are forever dirty, my body always covered in a thin layer of sweat and then caked in dust.

You shake hands with everyone here, all the time, everyone …. My cute silver purse and fabulous boots have been replaced by hand sanitizer and wet naps as my favourite accessories! 

Sudan Update 4

We lost power for 10 min last night around 0200. Deafening silence… pure bliss! There is always noise here; I didn’t truly understand how much until I, once again, experienced silence. There is always an air conditioner, fan, singing, or talking in the background of my daily life here.

In Khartoum this is how tradesmen advertise that they are available to work.
They place a few tools of their trade by the side of a main road and wait in
the shade, further back from the road until they are needed!

Last week, during class held in a sea container, I was struck by the intensity of the background noises. I was completely unable to concentrate. There was construction outside to the right and out front there was music and signing to celebrate International Women’s Day. The false walls of the container were no match for these sounds, the four competing air conditioners, and forty people. 

Suddenly, a construction vehicle pulled up and seemed to continuously back up. Then a cell phone began ringing. It was right after lunch and in the mid 40s outside. The air conditioners were set to +32. Someone began to snore -- that pretty much sums up my week of integrated (civilian and military) training.

 

I received my team site (TS) initial deployment order. I am headed to Yambio, the capital of Western Equatorial state, in south western Sudan, near the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is a lush, tropical, and highly fertile area with quite a bit of rainfall. The TS is quite small with about 22 UNMOs and TCC (troop contributing country - force protection soldiers). There are very few UN agencies and NGOs in the area. There is a local market but no PX (Canex), mess hall, or restaurants. There is clean water for drinking and one washing machine and dryer. I’ve heard many good things about the TS and am excited to head out tomorrow morning! I will be flying from Khartoum to Juba, taking a helicopter from Juba to Maridi, and another from Maridi to Yambio.

For my last weekend in Khartoum, I took a bus tour of the city and went on a pyramid excursion!  

 

The tour was hosted by a local hotel and was comprised of journalists and aid workers.

  

 

The first stop was the National Museum, which was both amazing and upsetting since most of its treasures were in various stages of decay. 

 

  

Then it was off to the boat yard,

 

followed by the Palace Museum,

 

 a short stop at Mahdi’s tomb, and a ride through Omdurman Souq (market). 

 

 For such an old country, the chosen tour sights were surprising and telling.

The highlight of the trip was the Dervish Dances at Al-Nil Tomb. The whirling Dervishes are dressed in bright green and red, a stark contrast to the white robes worn by most Sudanese men. 

They chant, dance, and pray to the beat of drums while being surrounded by a circle of chanting men who are also rocking back and forth with their arms throw first up in the air and then back in a trance-like motion.

 

This is an old Islamic ritual, and it is said that once they are in a trance state their souls communicate with Allah. 

Yesterday was a day trip to the pyramids and Temple of Amun. Obtaining the proper papers and permits for this trip took the better part of a week.



Typical housing in a northern Sudanese village.



On our drive up we passed a few checkpoints but managed to navigate them with no issues.

When we arrived at the pyramids, we were the only people there!

 

We carefully explored, walking inside and around them, feeling and living the history in their walls.

 

The endless sand and barrenness of the desert was breathtaking.

A brief camel ride completed our visit to the pyramids. Who knew they could run?

After a quick lunch out the back of our vehicles, we put them into 4x4 and were off.

The loose, dry, deep sand road presented the opportunity for some off road racing and our own personal Northern Sudan safari!

We spotted camels, goats, and donkeys during our trek. 

The Temple of Amun dates back 4000 years.

Our guide was an older gentleman who lovingly explained the history and legends behind the engravings on the walls.

Next, we saw a huge gathering of people and animals. Upon closer inspection we found that they were circling a well. They were patiently hoisting dirty water from its depths with the help of some donkeys.

It was quite the site to see!

Luckily they loved cameras; it must be magical to them to “appear” on the camera screen.