So it is amazing for an Arabic/Muslim (not to be confused as one in the same) that punishes gay people and punishes for public displays of affection between married couples and relationships and yet two men who are friends or who are having a conversation are allowed to walk hand in hand.
Just bringing this up for the in the past week I have had my hand held (daintily) by another man well walking and having a conversation with him. It does throw you off a little at first and it is a bizarre feeling but you try to appreciate the culture of it and carry on.
This will be my last blog I think until Feb 7/8th area. I am heading out on my vacation to Europe.
As of the 20th of Jan (Today) I am now 50% done my mission in Sudan. There is only 14 weeks left until I make my way back to Canada and my friends and family.
There was news from one of the other sectors which is out hottest spot in Sudan. Shots (warning shots) were fired at a patrol last week. There was also another patrol who were stopped at gun point and made to get out of their car. The patrol members were separated by religion. after about an hour they were all let go with no injuries. This makes me kinda glad that I am in a fairly peaceful area.
One of the other UNMO's from Canada came across an Alligator on one of their patrols.
6 people were hanged along the Nile river the other day for starting a riot a few years back which resulted in some deaths. The riot was started because the Gov was forcing the eviction and movement of IDP's from their shanty town to a place in the desert in the middle of no where.
Other then that I am still trying to get a few of the CIMIC projects up and running by the time I finish the mission. Good news as well. I had submitted a proposal for improvements to our little bar shelter and some of them were approved. So I now have paint and a painter. I also have cement and a person to complete the repair work. So just a few more things for me to do and the bar will be complete!
I will write again when I return to Sudan.
Take care, be safe!
Mike
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Long Trip North
It was my turn to go on another long range patrol to a village that is located at the very top (north) of our area of responsibility. We packed our gear and gassed our vehicles. I was the patrol navigator and communicator. I was located in the passenger seat of the 3rd vehicle. My driver is a nice guy who is a Major with the Chinese army. The only problem with him is that he speaks less than 1% English!!! There are only a couple of requirements to work as an UNMO and one is that you MUST speak English (even as a second or 5th language). From what I understand is that the English test they administer here in Sudan has been copied and circulated around many countries and the officers memorize what answers to check off in which box. The other problem is if they fail the test then there is a great deal of paperwork in order to send the person home. Also, knowing how the UN works, they would fear insulting the home country. So, I have a driver who, when you ask him “How are you” he quickly pulls out a pack of cigarettes and says Yes. That seems to be his main MO is to offer cigarettes to distract from the fact he has NO IDEA of what you just said! So it is going to be a LONG LONG 120kms!!!
Our wonderful UN tires, Notice no tread? Oh yah and the patch job...LOL
There is also one other problem… With every war, especially in underdeveloped countries there is a heavy use of land mines. This trip north really drove that point home. On a very large leg of the trip there were non-stop rock markers of danger areas and areas that had been cleared. You always drive a little slower and more cautiously when you see the red rocks! Check out the pics for ideas on what the rocks look like.
Land Mine area Rock Markers.... White = Good, Red = Bad, Blue = We haven't figured that one out yet... LOL
Tomorrow I meet with one of the heads of the local government. I have been warned about him but he is also the one who I need to take the lead on my other projects of employment and education for locals and a recycling program.
Nite
BTW just a reminder this is NOT the 401! 120kms can take 2 days! It's like the 401 in a snow storm.
So I make sure that I have my MP3 thumb drive that plugs into the lighter socket and plays through the stereo. As we head out the first tune is one that TODD made!! Before I left I asked him to make me a CD of all of his music. This is music (dance tracks) that he wrote, produced and edited! It was nice to have something familiar in this very quiet car…LOL
Along the road we passed many villages. The kids yell out Ka-wa-ga which means white man. Read the posts from Uganda… They are always smiling and eager to run to the road to meet you. As we drive I realized that I forgot to tell you that many of the areas remind me of fall back home. The leaves have changed colours and are falling to the ground. Winds make them fall quicker and there is always the crunching sound as you walk around. The main difference is that it is 40 degrees and dry! The leaves are falling and dying due to a lack of water. Some areas still have very green trees and it also depends on the type of tree. Some do better with very deep roots that can find deep water.
So I make sure that I have my MP3 thumb drive that plugs into the lighter socket and plays through the stereo. As we head out the first tune is one that TODD made!! Before I left I asked him to make me a CD of all of his music. This is music (dance tracks) that he wrote, produced and edited! It was nice to have something familiar in this very quiet car…LOL
Along the road we passed many villages. The kids yell out Ka-wa-ga which means white man. Read the posts from Uganda… They are always smiling and eager to run to the road to meet you. As we drive I realized that I forgot to tell you that many of the areas remind me of fall back home. The leaves have changed colours and are falling to the ground. Winds make them fall quicker and there is always the crunching sound as you walk around. The main difference is that it is 40 degrees and dry! The leaves are falling and dying due to a lack of water. Some areas still have very green trees and it also depends on the type of tree. Some do better with very deep roots that can find deep water.
So it took us just over 7 hours to travel 120kms and arrive at our destination. The village, I am happy to say has done very well for itself and doesn’t need any support or help. The only thing it requests is a secondary school. These people are so keen for education for their children.
We did our task and began the 7 hour drive back to our team site. We ended up stopping in a small village just after dark where we met the Sheik. He invited us to stay at the local school overnight. Once camp was set up and the Pak Army was busy cooking our dinner I became bored. So I rummaged through my back pack and found the Frisbee that I was going to give to a school (only have one soccer ball left) and I found a glow stick. So in the middle of this dark school yard we taped a glow stick on to the underside of a Frisbee and had a game of Frisbee with the Sheik, school head master, our language assistant and my two German friends Matt and Kai. It was awesome and the sheik and teacher loved it. I did give them the Frisbee the next day as a gift for their school. I also gave the head master pencils from Lynda and books, erasers and bubbles from my mom. Ohhh they LOVED the bubbles. They had never seen such a thing and thought I was a little crazy! LOL. Even my language assistant (translator) asked if I had any more bubbles so he could give them to his little girl at home. Of course I did!
We did our task and began the 7 hour drive back to our team site. We ended up stopping in a small village just after dark where we met the Sheik. He invited us to stay at the local school overnight. Once camp was set up and the Pak Army was busy cooking our dinner I became bored. So I rummaged through my back pack and found the Frisbee that I was going to give to a school (only have one soccer ball left) and I found a glow stick. So in the middle of this dark school yard we taped a glow stick on to the underside of a Frisbee and had a game of Frisbee with the Sheik, school head master, our language assistant and my two German friends Matt and Kai. It was awesome and the sheik and teacher loved it. I did give them the Frisbee the next day as a gift for their school. I also gave the head master pencils from Lynda and books, erasers and bubbles from my mom. Ohhh they LOVED the bubbles. They had never seen such a thing and thought I was a little crazy! LOL. Even my language assistant (translator) asked if I had any more bubbles so he could give them to his little girl at home. Of course I did!
This is a tree in the middle of the school. Hanging in the tree is the school "bell" and on the ground are the hammers for ringing the bell. Please zoom in on the pic and look at the bell and the hammers... Thay are all Tank and rocket shells!!!
The night was spent under the stars. It was an awesome night. The temperature dropped a little and there was a slight breeze. There was no moon but the sky was clear and there are no city lights so the sky was crystal clear! I laid in my tent with no fly and fell asleep looking up at the stars. What a RUDE awaking! The sun comes up at about 615am. BUT at 0501am the local ROOSTER which was located about 100ft from us decided it was time for all of SUDAN to wake up!! Once he started then of course all other roosters with in 100miles decided to call out to him and challenge him to see who could be the loudest! If I only had a gun…. We had to get up by 6am as this would give us an hour to eat breakfast and get cleaned up to carry on our journey home. This was mainly due to the fact the kids arrive for school at 730am and we were sleeping in the middle of their school yard and inside their class rooms.LOL. Matt decided to sleep inside of the Tukul classroom that night. I was amazing to walk into this grass hut and feel the warmth that was trapped in there from the day’s heat. It was almost too warm. During the day the Tukul traps the night cold in for quite some time.
The night was spent under the stars. It was an awesome night. The temperature dropped a little and there was a slight breeze. There was no moon but the sky was clear and there are no city lights so the sky was crystal clear! I laid in my tent with no fly and fell asleep looking up at the stars. What a RUDE awaking! The sun comes up at about 615am. BUT at 0501am the local ROOSTER which was located about 100ft from us decided it was time for all of SUDAN to wake up!! Once he started then of course all other roosters with in 100miles decided to call out to him and challenge him to see who could be the loudest! If I only had a gun…. We had to get up by 6am as this would give us an hour to eat breakfast and get cleaned up to carry on our journey home. This was mainly due to the fact the kids arrive for school at 730am and we were sleeping in the middle of their school yard and inside their class rooms.LOL. Matt decided to sleep inside of the Tukul classroom that night. I was amazing to walk into this grass hut and feel the warmth that was trapped in there from the day’s heat. It was almost too warm. During the day the Tukul traps the night cold in for quite some time.
While driving to our camp location
I forgot to mention that this place we traveled to was the most northern place in our area and why this is significant is because our entire area is located NORTH of the 1-1-56 line and therefore is susposed to be 100% Northern controlled. But as you may recall my area is a contested area. MANY wars and battles were fought here over the past 24 years. The area is now controlled by the north and the south. So as we made this trip north we could notice the difference in flags being flown (review flags in the very first of my posts from Sep/Oct) and type of uniforms we would see.
There is also one other problem… With every war, especially in underdeveloped countries there is a heavy use of land mines. This trip north really drove that point home. On a very large leg of the trip there were non-stop rock markers of danger areas and areas that had been cleared. You always drive a little slower and more cautiously when you see the red rocks! Check out the pics for ideas on what the rocks look like.
Land Mine area Rock Markers.... White = Good, Red = Bad, Blue = We haven't figured that one out yet... LOL
So we got home safe. I had several calls from the CIMIC officer from Canada who works in Khartoum and she informs me that they liked my project ideas so much that they have gone ahead and completed all of the paperwork for me and did most of the leg work from the UN side. They want me to get at least 2 of the projects up and running when I return from my time off. It’s going to be busy when I return! We are no longer going to educate the children from the village where 6 kids have sustained major injuries from playing with landmines. Turns out there is a group already doing that. However they had never thought of, and absolutely love my idea, of making t-shirts for all of the kids that attend the training. On the shirt we will have a cartoon graphic that shows the kids that landmines and UXO’s are very dangerous. The kids will were the shirts for several years. It gives free lessons to anyone that looks at the shirt! The goal is to educate as many kids as possible before there are any more accidents.
Tomorrow I meet with one of the heads of the local government. I have been warned about him but he is also the one who I need to take the lead on my other projects of employment and education for locals and a recycling program.
I will let you know how it goes.
Matt and Kai, my German friends and camp mates.
Nite
PS: These are Nomads, the women are from the Nubian tribe, notice the costumes they wear. Thay all wear the same, the boys hair cuts are often shaped like Mohawks. Notice the braceletts.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Long Range Patrol - Video!?!?
I figured I would try to download one of my many videos... I think this might work better in Khartoum as there is a faster internet connection
Monday, January 11, 2010
My Food
Another Pic of Rainy season! Not now...
My food storage
My patrol food... Munchies
Soups and canned goods... enough for a year or two
So, When I say I have milk and bread this is what I mean. The milk, while closed does not need to be kept cool. Only once opened. This bread is the only style of bread we can get. It is very thin. The lighter is just to demonstrate size......
My food storage
My patrol food... Munchies
Soups and canned goods... enough for a year or two
So, When I say I have milk and bread this is what I mean. The milk, while closed does not need to be kept cool. Only once opened. This bread is the only style of bread we can get. It is very thin. The lighter is just to demonstrate size......
Pics
Me answering many Christmas cards from Canadian Kids (St Nicholas School) - Thanks Ken! Notice the Mats Sundin mini hockey jersey!!
Enlarge to see where I live and work
The big picture - On the left is the Pak Army camp and on the right is the MSA camp that I live in.
Enlarge to see where I live and work
The big picture - On the left is the Pak Army camp and on the right is the MSA camp that I live in.
Ambulance
Our local Baker and behind him is our fresh bread
At the Hospital they have an ambulance, the guy that sits with it is strictly a driver. the local Dr or RN will go with the Ambulance if required...
Guess who made the ambulance?
Not much room or supplies in here... just the basics...
At the Hospital they have an ambulance, the guy that sits with it is strictly a driver. the local Dr or RN will go with the Ambulance if required...
Guess who made the ambulance?
Not much room or supplies in here... just the basics...
Friday, January 8, 2010
An update......
Just a pic I found of Rainy season......
Well it’s been a week since any updates as it has been busy.
The other day we were notified of a possible mine accident in one of our distant villages. Three of the injured were brought to our village hospital and one person had died on the scene. I heard it was men and not children this time. I went to the local hospital with the UNPOL to do an investigation. Once all of the formalities were complete and we had our information I spoke with the head doctor and nurse about the various wards the hospital had.
It turns out they have several wards which have a few patients in each. During rainy season they get quite full. The next day I returned to the hospital with a box of toys I had received from my cousin Tammy and a few other people. This included stickers for the walls (no windows in south Sudan). The Dr and RN were quite happy to accept the toys for their children’s ward. I was given a tour of the hospital. The children’s ward had approx 5 kids in it. All were infant and toddlers. Some had surgery and were recuperating.
The other day we were notified of a possible mine accident in one of our distant villages. Three of the injured were brought to our village hospital and one person had died on the scene. I heard it was men and not children this time. I went to the local hospital with the UNPOL to do an investigation. Once all of the formalities were complete and we had our information I spoke with the head doctor and nurse about the various wards the hospital had.
It turns out they have several wards which have a few patients in each. During rainy season they get quite full. The next day I returned to the hospital with a box of toys I had received from my cousin Tammy and a few other people. This included stickers for the walls (no windows in south Sudan). The Dr and RN were quite happy to accept the toys for their children’s ward. I was given a tour of the hospital. The children’s ward had approx 5 kids in it. All were infant and toddlers. Some had surgery and were recuperating.
I was also able to get a look at the local ambulance. They only have one and guess what?! It was built by a Canadian company!! They only have basic supplies and the driver normally grabs the Dr or RN if they are avail and then they head off to where ever the call came from. 99% of all patients make their own way to the hospital. The ambulance doesn’t more to often. It will also provide transport to patients that need to be moved to Damazin 3 hours away.
I also received 3 more gold bags the other day. I think my team mates are starting to get jealous. I now feel that with my holidays and time left at the site I do officially have enough food!! LOL I will always accept “Nestea Ice Tea” mix… As it is my favorite.
I received a weird call the other day from Canada House. They had a box from the Norwegian Consulate marked MIKE. It was opened. There were some wrapped gifts and a soccer ball. They figured it might be mine as there are only two Canadian MIKE’s and it had a soccer ball! Sure enough it was for me. Thanks Marry-Ann and I am not sure if that meant the package made it to Norwich or what happened. Thanks for the DVD’s as well!!
So.. just a note PLEASE do not send any more KRAFT DINNER….LOL I am now the owner of 18 boxes!! The funny part is that we only got milk in town last week and it may be gone by next week…LOL And like I said… I don’t think I will need any more real food… Mom supplied LOADS!! I think I am well stocked for the rest of the tour.
I can’t wait for the new bottle openers that my cousin Lorelei was able to get for us. I am still working on the improvements for our bar. Next painting may occur tomorrow as it is a holiday here called CPA Day. This day marks the 5th year of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South Sudan which ended the 21 year war and is the reason I am here today. I am the duty officer tomorrow which means I am in uniform and have the overall watch of the camp.
I received another batch of Christmas cards and letters from various Canadians and from Captain Ken Perry’s school and the class he teaches. I spent yesterday answering many of the letters and cards.
I even received a Mats Sundin mini Jersey and hockey card from Matthew who is one of Ken’s students.
I have two patrols this week including a Long Range patrol. I am also being assigned to meet with one of our local military force commanders who is not really a nice man. We will see how that goes.
I am looking forward to my trip away next week. I leave the team site on the 17th Jan to conduct some business in Damazin and then Khartoum.
Take care. Mike
I also received 3 more gold bags the other day. I think my team mates are starting to get jealous. I now feel that with my holidays and time left at the site I do officially have enough food!! LOL I will always accept “Nestea Ice Tea” mix… As it is my favorite.
I received a weird call the other day from Canada House. They had a box from the Norwegian Consulate marked MIKE. It was opened. There were some wrapped gifts and a soccer ball. They figured it might be mine as there are only two Canadian MIKE’s and it had a soccer ball! Sure enough it was for me. Thanks Marry-Ann and I am not sure if that meant the package made it to Norwich or what happened. Thanks for the DVD’s as well!!
So.. just a note PLEASE do not send any more KRAFT DINNER….LOL I am now the owner of 18 boxes!! The funny part is that we only got milk in town last week and it may be gone by next week…LOL And like I said… I don’t think I will need any more real food… Mom supplied LOADS!! I think I am well stocked for the rest of the tour.
I can’t wait for the new bottle openers that my cousin Lorelei was able to get for us. I am still working on the improvements for our bar. Next painting may occur tomorrow as it is a holiday here called CPA Day. This day marks the 5th year of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South Sudan which ended the 21 year war and is the reason I am here today. I am the duty officer tomorrow which means I am in uniform and have the overall watch of the camp.
I received another batch of Christmas cards and letters from various Canadians and from Captain Ken Perry’s school and the class he teaches. I spent yesterday answering many of the letters and cards.
I even received a Mats Sundin mini Jersey and hockey card from Matthew who is one of Ken’s students.
I have two patrols this week including a Long Range patrol. I am also being assigned to meet with one of our local military force commanders who is not really a nice man. We will see how that goes.
I am looking forward to my trip away next week. I leave the team site on the 17th Jan to conduct some business in Damazin and then Khartoum.
Take care. Mike
Teamwork.... accomplish anything!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thanks Again
I just received 4 more gold bags full of boxes...... I now have no room to sleep!! LOL
Thanks everyone for the great packages... I will prob not need any more for the remainder of my tour! :)
Thanks again....
Hope to see you soon
Mike
Thanks everyone for the great packages... I will prob not need any more for the remainder of my tour! :)
Thanks again....
Hope to see you soon
Mike
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Sooooooo COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So today we were on another patrol. I was the assigned driver and my German friend Matt was my navigator and communicator. We were heading along one of our normal routes having a casual morning with the music playing and the windows down (it was a cool morning of about 27 degrees).
We were about 10-14 kms away from camp (about 20-30 minutes) when Matt sat straight up and was looking at something. As I have explained before as the driver you can not afford to take your eyes off the road immediately in front of you for more then 10 sec as the road will change and you'll hit a rut, rock or hole.
All of a sudden Matt is yelling "look look over there what is that?" I try to slow down and get a look and what I see is what appears to be the ass end of 3 rather good sized LIONS!!!!!
And then over to our left someone spots another one in the distance. They were running away from us and we only caught a quick glimpse of them but it was AWESOME!!! Oh did mention they were heading in the direction of our village and our camp?
We figured we'd wait till we got home to see if they made it into town LOL
The patrol went well. Another ( and my last) soccer ball was delivered to a needy village.
The next day we had off!! I am not sure why... but I'll take another day off. Really I still go to work but in shorts and T Shirt and i still do work but only 2-3 hours. We (Kai and I) decided to finally begin the next phase of the Bar and we painted it ( all of the posts). It was painted UN Blue (its all the market had). The next phase will be buying bamboo for the walls.
The paint looks great!
I have only 2 weeks before I leave again to Europe. I have to get some CIMIC projects off the ground by then (it will be hard to do). I have found some interesting avenues to help this country and this community plus one other community.
Our village has 6 main roads leading to other villages and the rest of Sudan. These roads, as i have mentioned and shown pictures, are BAD! The roads get destroyed during rainy season and never get fixed. I have met with a UN civil engineer who is here working on one main road and have spoken about hiring locals to provide manual labour for other roads. He loved the idea and he brought up points like if they just do this simple task then the roads will survive the rainy season. I Think it is do able.
This is also part of my mandate as there are many unemployed males and females between 20-35 y/o. As part of security and peace it would be good if they had jobs so that when the elections come around and the army offers them employment for a VERY small wage they can say no as they will be making a better wage with the road crew and NOT have to leave their families.
The second project is a little sad. So far in the past 2 months in a large village 6 children have been wounded and disfigured by playing with land mines! One child had died. As far as I know there has NOT been any new education programs for the children of this village. This is a project I will get off the ground and implement in the next 8 weeks. Hopefully before any more children get hurt or die!
So today we have found out that our camp generators are no good. One has died and the other overheats after a couple hours. so each day around 5:00pm they shut down the good one for 1 hour. This of course is at a hot point of the day. I am typing this blog with my window and door open, I am dripping and its 39 degrees here!! No AC no FAN!!! I'm melting!!
PS still looking for a disco ball and a wall mounted beer opener for the Canadian/German UN CLUB!! Thanks!! :)
We were about 10-14 kms away from camp (about 20-30 minutes) when Matt sat straight up and was looking at something. As I have explained before as the driver you can not afford to take your eyes off the road immediately in front of you for more then 10 sec as the road will change and you'll hit a rut, rock or hole.
All of a sudden Matt is yelling "look look over there what is that?" I try to slow down and get a look and what I see is what appears to be the ass end of 3 rather good sized LIONS!!!!!
And then over to our left someone spots another one in the distance. They were running away from us and we only caught a quick glimpse of them but it was AWESOME!!! Oh did mention they were heading in the direction of our village and our camp?
We figured we'd wait till we got home to see if they made it into town LOL
The patrol went well. Another ( and my last) soccer ball was delivered to a needy village.
The next day we had off!! I am not sure why... but I'll take another day off. Really I still go to work but in shorts and T Shirt and i still do work but only 2-3 hours. We (Kai and I) decided to finally begin the next phase of the Bar and we painted it ( all of the posts). It was painted UN Blue (its all the market had). The next phase will be buying bamboo for the walls.
The paint looks great!
I have only 2 weeks before I leave again to Europe. I have to get some CIMIC projects off the ground by then (it will be hard to do). I have found some interesting avenues to help this country and this community plus one other community.
Our village has 6 main roads leading to other villages and the rest of Sudan. These roads, as i have mentioned and shown pictures, are BAD! The roads get destroyed during rainy season and never get fixed. I have met with a UN civil engineer who is here working on one main road and have spoken about hiring locals to provide manual labour for other roads. He loved the idea and he brought up points like if they just do this simple task then the roads will survive the rainy season. I Think it is do able.
This is also part of my mandate as there are many unemployed males and females between 20-35 y/o. As part of security and peace it would be good if they had jobs so that when the elections come around and the army offers them employment for a VERY small wage they can say no as they will be making a better wage with the road crew and NOT have to leave their families.
The second project is a little sad. So far in the past 2 months in a large village 6 children have been wounded and disfigured by playing with land mines! One child had died. As far as I know there has NOT been any new education programs for the children of this village. This is a project I will get off the ground and implement in the next 8 weeks. Hopefully before any more children get hurt or die!
So today we have found out that our camp generators are no good. One has died and the other overheats after a couple hours. so each day around 5:00pm they shut down the good one for 1 hour. This of course is at a hot point of the day. I am typing this blog with my window and door open, I am dripping and its 39 degrees here!! No AC no FAN!!! I'm melting!!
PS still looking for a disco ball and a wall mounted beer opener for the Canadian/German UN CLUB!! Thanks!! :)
Friday, January 1, 2010
HAPPY New Years!!
I had a great new years although being away from Family and friends makes it a little different.
I wish you all the best in the new year and lets hope its a year of PEACE in Sudan!
I wish you all the best in the new year and lets hope its a year of PEACE in Sudan!
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