And Then There Was One

Well it’s just me and the boys. Mary Ann finally got out of Sudan after weeks of waiting for an exit visa and is now enjoying Christmas at home with her family. So that leaves me with 6 guys. I don’t think it will be so bad to be the SP Princess but I will miss the good girl talks where you are allowed to be way too emotional and still be heard and understood. But the good news is that my friend that I worked with in Mozambique has finally arrived in Sudan. He’s still sitting in Khartoum waiting for a travel permit but at least he is here. So it looks like there will be three of us in Nyala for Christmas. It will be very quiet and in some ways I’m looking forward to that part of it.

This is my second Christmas in Africa. The first one was spent in the bush in Ethiopia far from a phone or internet to call home. But this year I will be able to at least communicate with friends and family. But it is still the farthest thing from a Canadian Christmas. It has cooled off a bit here and it’s kind of nice to sleep with blankets and have to wear a jacket in the mornings. But it will be a dusty Christmas rather than a white one. I inherited a Christmas Tree shaped candle which is sitting on the two gifts that I brought back with me to be opened Christmas morning. That’s about as festive as it gets. I was going to pick up some Christmas lights when I was in Khartoum by time flew by and I missed the opportunity. But I have realized that even though the egg nog, shortbread cookies and turkey will be missed it’s more about the friends and family time that will make it a lonely Christmas. I love the Christmas parties and the gatherings where you huddle into a warm house and drink hot cider and eat too much and talk about nothing. There are some other expats from other NGO’s that will be out here so maybe to can do a little of that even if it looks a little different.

Things here in Darfur continue to decline. NGO’s are starting to pull out of areas because it has gotten too dangerous. Vehicles are being stolen every week and there is not much we can do about it. So far we have been blessed to not have any incidents. We have stopped working in one of our areas north of Nyala again. So we wait for things to quiet down again so we can head back in and pick up where we left off. The rest of our areas we continue to get the work done but food rations are being cut back in January so some of our activities will slow down. I don’t know if things will ever change here. Everyone just keeps on saying ‘it’s just a matter of time’. The implications for that are many. So we sit and see what time will bring.

So that’s the update from the dusty Canadian. I miss you all and I really wish we were together for Christmas but know that you are all in my heart and prayers. Until next blog …