Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Sudanese Tease

One of the greatest abilities that Sudan seems to have is the ability to tease. To say the right things to the right people to diffuse a tense situation and then days or weeks later claim that there was miscommunication and that what was interpreted was not their intention. This is the continual back and forth that has been happening in trying to decide if and how the UN will come in to assist with Darfur. Lately, there has been a lot of pressure on the government to process aid workers papers quicker and with less money and bureaucracy surrounding it all. We have two guys here right now that are still in the middle of their process to get work visas, residency visas, stay visas and travel permits. It has been at least 5 months in this process and until things are completed they can not leave the country and constantly battle with trying to get travel permits extended so they can stay in Darfur. The situation with all this paper work continues to decline. More and more people are trapped in the country unable to leave for an R&R or to go home at the end of their contract. It's one of our biggest frustrations and issues that we deal with on a daily basis. But good news! The government has signed an agreement with the UN to improve this process, and not only that but form a committee to make sure that things continue to stay on track. That will solve the problem! Nothing like more meetings and committees to solve the issues in a government. Here is some of an article written about the agreement.


'The United Nations and Sudan signed a joint communiqué today in which the Government pledged to support, protect and facilitate all humanitarian operations in the strife-torn Darfur region, where an estimated 4 million people now depend on outside aid.

Sudan has committed, among other measures, to extend the current visas and permits for humanitarian workers through next January, and to issue multiple-entry visas to the directors of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their families. It will also fast-track visa applications and customs procedures for UN staff and NGOs.

The communiqué also stipulates that a high-level committee will be set up to monitor and regulate the commitments, and this new grouping will includes representatives of the UN, the Government, NGOs and the international community.'



'The Sudanese government, which has been accused of hindering aid work in Darfur, signed an agreement with the U.N. on Wednesday, reiterating a promise made three years ago to take "fast track" measures to remove bureaucratic obstacles obstructing the world’s biggest humanitarian effort.

Da Silva, Sudan’s U.N. humanitarian coordinator, said he was encouraged because Khartoum spelled out what actions it would take.

"It is very specific, there is no vague language. I can give examples, it says 48 hours to issue visas. Stop, all over. On stay permits, for example, stay permits for the whole period of the moratorium (on free access), instead of every three months that we have today that is always a nightmare," he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Explaining his concerns in the sprawling United Nations building in Khartoum, Da Silva said the deal could bring "partial" relief from troubles plaguing the Darfur relief effort, which requires more than 13,000 aid workers.

"It doesn’t deal with other issues that are very important for our operation, like for example, security issues. Of course the situation in Darfur is still very dire when it comes to security issues," he said.'



The next blog that I write I expect it to be about how the government didn't really mean what was agreed upon. How it is once again the west misinterpreting his words and he has no intention to improve the process. The Sudanese tease.

So in looking to the beginning of May when I am supposed to return home, I am trying to get an exit visa and extend my residency and stay visa for when I return in July. The probability of this getting done in the next month is not good. So there are some adjustments that I will have to make in my plans. But I will work around it. I am learning more than ever than my plans are not my own. The government of Sudan owns them and I have no choice but to submit.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Learning to Share

Communal living on the field is a blessing and a curse. The greatest thing about living with five other people is that there is always someone around to chat with or to watch a movie with. As I continue my cooking adventure there is always someone that will eat my culinary delights and tell me that it's good no matter what. Life here is so intense and like no where else in the world that it's great to be around a group of people that understand it and can sympathise with your frustrations. Friendships are formed so much faster due to the amount of time we spend together and reality that we live in. These guys out here have become a strong support group for me just because they listen to my ramblings of the good and bad days. We share almost everything. If one of us gets our hands on some good food then there has to be enough to go around or the excitement of your find is just not as good.

Then there are the negatives of this communal lifestyle. One of these has hit us hard this week. One of the guys was out in the field and got really sick to the point where the national staff forced him to come back to Nyala early. He returned with a fever of 103 and a nasty cough. But in the true spirit of sharing he gave it to the rest of us. Two others were in bed for the day yesterday and myself and one other guy are doing our best to fight it off. So we have rooted through our stash of meds to get everyone treated and stop the sharing. Being one of the healthier ones last night and being the only girl, I felt obligated to try and cook something up that sensitive digestive systems could handle. So I made a big pot of vegetable soup (from scratch - I'm pretty proud of myself) and made my rounds to offer it to the sick crew. It kind of made me smile as I went from one room to another waking people up, asking them how they were doing and letting them know that food was being served. I felt like I was a nurse in a hospital doing my rounds.

In true Darfur style everything stopped working all at once. The heat has gone back up to the high thirties which means that the power is very irregular. All the UN offices and guesthouses have AC so that puts a big stress on the Nyala power system that barely functions on the best of days. So the power continued to cut in and out all day which means that fans stop working until the guards figure out there is no power and saunter over to the generator to get it working. Then for reasons we never really known, the street water was cut off. So we have a crew of sick people with no flushing toilets or working showers. Then just when all you want is a cold bottle of water our fridge cuts out and we can't get it going again. It seems like one thing after another stopped working. It comes to a point where all you can do is laugh at this life we choose to live. So as a big happy family does when you are all sick we sit around and groan and moan and stare at each other because the power is out so the TV is off and no one really feels up to talking. Oh the life - no where else but Darfur.

But we are all slowly on the mend and we are trying to muster some energy because there is a party tonight to attend - the first one in two months. But I'm thankful it's the weekend and I can sleep in and be lazy for a couple of days.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

When to Stay, When to Go

So I'm back in the thick of it. I've been back from R&R for a week now and it has been crazy busy trying to get my month end done and also just catch up on emails and pending issues. I stayed a couple of days in Khartoum before I came back to Nyala on Friday. It's so good to be home again. The only disappointing thing is that the heat has also returned so dealing with a temperature hovering around 40 is never fun - especially at the beginning. So there will be a lot of groaning and complaining heard until we all adjust.

The general situation here in Darfur is about the same. I think. It's so hard to judge what is the same and what is getting worse. There is this constant discussion withing the NGO community and in our late night conversations about when is enough, enough? Since the middle of December we have suspended work in one of our areas due to security issues. We have been trying to talk to the leaders of the area to come up with an agreement for us to return into the area. It's still in the works as they don't seem to want to agree to some points which makes us not have the security we need to go back in. So you look at that and say it is a smart and logical position to take and stand by it. Then in an area nearby that we are working in there have recently been families arriving from our 'no go' area that have severely malnourished children. We know that this is a direct result of us not being able to distribute food or do water programs in the area. So now how do you look at the situation? There is now a very visible direct result of us putting our safety over that of the communities. Of course the answer is that without security we can't go back in but that decision just became a little harder. The other aspect of the whole thing is that if we do return we undermine the stance that the rest of the NGO's are making by not returning until it is secure.

The other issue that we deal with is the crazy bureaucratic hoops and processes that we have to jump through to stay and move within the country. Instead of the government taking a stance and saying they don't want international organizations they just make the processes for them to actually work and stay in the country so difficult to work within. Not only are there so many steps within any process but they can change at any moment. A few weeks ago they fired and rehired different staff. So that means you have a department full of people that don't know what they are doing - plus they centralized the approval process so that one man approves all papers of all the NGO's in Sudan. As NGO's we are pulling together and trying to create a common voice to fight some of this but we all know we are fighting a loosing battle.

We had our second robbery happen in one month the other day. It was a small incident to what it could have been, but significant enough. Basically both times a group of guys wait along the road with guns and jump out and stop the vehicles. We also travel in a convoy of at least two vehicles and thankfully the second vehicle was able to get away. Our staff lost their cell phones, cash, watches, shoes and even shirts off the guy's back. They didn't take the expensive radio equipment or satellite phone or even the vehicle which tells us they were just looking for quick cash. But these incidences as difficult as they may be are not going to change our work. We will take a different road but because of their pettiness and non life threatening nature it does not stop what we do. But the potential is there and if we don't take action then their actions will continue because there are no consequences. Then you think about all those people that will greatly suffer if we don't return to the area.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to all this. Some NGO's have pulled out of Darfur due to insecurity and government restricting papers from being processed but as they step out another NGO fills in their space. So until all NGO's or at least a significant amount pull out at once then there really are no consequences to the actions against relief workers by the government or rebel groups. But then again there is always the other side of this of those that depend on the aid we provide due to the same fighting that may force the NGO's out. But in the midst of this we have a great team out here that have been able to do a great job of assessing situations and being able to make the call to stop movement or to try and open up areas that have been closed. In other words, we keep doing the work that needs to be done and rely on people's prayers to keep us safe.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Oh the Crash


So the last couple of days have been full of nothing. I kept planning on doing stuff and nothing worked out so I took that as a sign to sleep more. Honestly, I'm getting a little tired of the heat and the sun. It's a little different than coming from Canada and I don't get the heat and the sun - so it's not such a novelty. I headed into town yesterday to check it out and do a little shopping. I have never been called 'my queen' or be told that I am a beautiful woman so many times in only one hour. Of course they ask where I am from and there are not too many Canadians around so the normal response was 'oh Canada Dry'. So it's my last night here and maybe I might stay up long enough to get some dancing in at the disco tonight. The last couple of nights I have been hanging out with a group of British guys that can out party me. But they were a lot of fun. I haven't taken a lot of pictures but I thought I would send on a couple of the hotel. It is a beautiful place. Enjoy.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Riding off into the Sunset

I had the most amazing experience today. I signed up for a quad ride through the desert. It was so amazing. The quad riding was fun but that wasn't the highlight. Unfortunatly you go in a line behind a guide and you have to only go as fast as they let you. Plus I was with a bunch of Russians who thought the rules were not for them, so they had to keep slowing down until everyone got back in line. But it was so great to ride along the base of these oddly majestic mountains. At one point I looked over at the amazing sight of a couple of bedouin men riding their camels but of wait .... they were just tourists on a camel ride - but in my mind they are still bedouin on their camels. Then we made a quick stop for a drink and I bought a neckless and bracelet from a very cute little old woman. Then in the spirit of my Egyptian experience, one of the guides was being once again too forward and decided that I should go on a camel ride. So he paid for me to get on this camel and go on a short little walk. That was my first experience on a camel. In true Egyptian style. Then we headed off again to this little tea shop built into the middle of some mountains. There we crashed on some cushions and enjoyed some bedouin tea and smoked a little sheesha. It was one of those experiences that I love. Riding out on some quads to a little tea shop and be served traditional tea. Then I hiked up to the top of one of the mountains and watched the sunset and enjoyed some of the most breath taking scenes in my life. Unfortunaly I forgot my camera so you will just have to trust me on this. The mountains are these strange pillars of rock with very few trees at the base - true desert mountians. Then it was back on the quads riding back to the base in the setting sun. I can't put into words how amazing it was.

The funny parts about the trip were the Russians asking for vodka at the tea shop and the crazy tourism part of it all. You have to wear a scarf (which the guys tie on for you) around your head and over your nose and mouth to protect you from the dust. Then you put on your sunglasses and these funny helmets. As you are sitting on your quad at the base there is a photographer taking your picture in hopes that you will buy it. Why do I want proof that I looked as crazy as I did? Well not me but I guess he has to make a living somehow. They even offer to put it on a t-shirt or a wall hanging - ya I'm sure my dad would love to wear a shirt with me on it looking like that! Well maybe I'm wrong. Then another guy follows you during the whole trip in a truck with his video camera catching every moment. Well ok I bought into that one. I didn't have my camera, I needed some sort of proof. So maybe I will have a DVD release party of my quad ride in the desert. If we put in on the big screen it could be like you were there with me.

Well another day is done on my vacation, a little more sunburnt but so much more relaxed. I wasn't as restless as yesterday and am starting to enjoy myself. My snorkling trip was cancelled for tomorrow so that will have to wait for another day.