Sudan Update 8

Mangos are now in season; this adds an unpredictable, if not dangerous dimension to all daily activities since mango trees are rampant in this part of Sudan! I have yet to feel the need to wear my protective gear during a patrol, but have considered wearing my helmet to walk across the parking lot to work. The mangos fall from high in the sky with no warning, soundly crashing down on their unsuspecting victims below …. And they are relatively heavy as well! A strong pre-rain wind, further adds to this, now routine, adventure!

Can you imagine the sound a mango makes when hitting a sea container? It is a loud thump, substantial and impossible to ignore. The first few times you hear it, even if it is not on your container, your first thought is to run for your protective gear. Well, for those of us that are military it is anyways … A few of my civilian friends first dropped to the floor and considered hiding under their beds ;)



Note the mango tree in the left side of the photo. It
hung over five sea containers. Many scary nights
for the occupants, except for the brave
Army Brazilian Ricardo!





Then, you get used to it -- sort of. At least your brain registers what the noise is, though at times it takes your body a few more seconds to register the thought and you can’t help but jump a little!









I thankfully, do not have a mango tree on top of my container; my heart wouldn’t be able to take it!

Another amusing pastime is watching our BANBAT (force protection battalion from Bangladesh) pick mangos.

This feat consists of one lucky soldier taking off his shoes and climbing high up into the tree, with no safety ropes, tie off, or ladders in sight. He then uses a long pole with a metal end to gently knock ripe mangos from the tree.

While he is doing this two other soldiers are on the ground holding a sheet between them, ready to catch the falling mangos. This requires quite a bit of coordination and skill as the mangos can easily hit the soldiers on the ground, miss the blanket, or bounce off the blanket.

 

Any of these scenarios ruins the mangos; unnerving, yet hilarious to watch. TIAB (this is Africa baby)!

I found a mosquito resting on my Permithrin sprayed bug net – hmm, definitely makes me question the effectiveness of the repellent!  Apparently he likes it, and he did not die. Well I am hoping it is a he since the females are the malaria carriers. The mosquitoes here are tiny and silent – a deadly combination. Also, they rarely hurt when they sting, leaving one to find the swollen, bruised bites the next day. Their favourite target areas are the legs, especially near the ankles, so it’s prudent to wear heavy socks and running shoes at night, despite the heat, and to add a layer of 33%-50% DEET spray for good measure!

Driving. The driving here is challenging, unpredictable and slightly crazy!

As an example, if you are approaching an intersection and have the intention to go straight through it, you are to slow down or stop and proceed with your four way flashers on – yes four way flashers signify your intent to go straight!



It's always important to dodge the random animals
in the middle of the road!





Also, if you are passing a car on a main road and you intend to stay on your side of the road (here they drive on the right) then you put on your left flasher.









You also put on your left flasher if you are turning left … see where the confusion might come in? It is absolutely hilarious!

In an effort to make the roads safer, they have random traffic police standing in the middle of intersections directing traffic … well, periodically, directing traffic.

There are also countless HUGE, red dirt coloured speed bumps, which are strangely, if not inconveniently, camouflaged with the road. 






They are quite painful to roll over if you are travelling faster than second gear or have the unfortunate luck to ride in the backseat of any of our vehicles.

8 April 2011 patrol to NABIAPAI. The market in this payam is half in Sudan and half in the DRC. So today I visited two countries!

Some of our patrol in the DRC!

We were happy to make it past the checkpoint in GANGURA as last time we were not allowed to pass.

The road from GANGURA to NABIAPAI was somewhat challenging and will become impassable during the rainy season.

Two vehicles got stuck and one overheated. It was good fun!

It is only 30 km away and the patrol took 6.5 hours total due to poor road conditions!

The reality for the people in this payam is markedly different from many other regions within our AOR (area of responsibility).

Most areas have a school or two accessible to the children and at least some form of very basic health care.

In NABIAPAI, none of this exists; the schools are vacant and there is no health care due to the security situation.

The area is markedly poor and their hopes for a brighter future rely heavily on stability and security in their payam.



The head of the Home Guard (Arrow
Boys) in NABIAPAI holding
a locally made rifle.



The UPDF (Ugandan Peoples Defence Force) is active in this part of Sudan, helping to counter the ever present LRA threat that hangs over the locals as they attempt to go about their day to day life.

 

One of the most pressing issues with the instability is that locals are scared to cultivate their crops and to stay in their homes.

Their bellies remain empty and further IDPs (internally displaced person) are generated, creating a larger food and water burden for those living in safer areas with already limited resources.

 

Today while on town patrol, we stopped at the power plant. There were four children standing outside by the road and I happened to have some suckers in my pocket - enough for all of them and there didn't appear to be anymore kids in site. So, I took some out and gave them each one. They were so excited! There were two little boys, about 3 and 5 years old. The oldest child was a little girl of about 7 or 8 years old, carrying a baby that was over half of her size. She had the baby propped up on her hip, the baby’s legs dangling down around her body, past her knees. The baby's bare bum was exposed as she happily played with her sucker. In the older girl's other hand, she carried a large machete that was the size of one of her legs. She used it to balance and at times as a walking stick while she went about her business. None of the children had shoes and they were walking across the road unsupervised, heading off into the bush...