South Sudan Journal, Parts 19 & 20 (of 29)

Message #19 December 28, 2003



Hello Mom and Dad,

Well, I'm back in Loki now.

We got pulled out of Lankien on Sat the 27th and we have been here since, and will probably go back in on the 5th. It is a nice break from the work there, and a chance to sit back and tackle some issues that have been building up, without the small distractions that fill the day in Lankien.

This is a complex situation, and the reasons why we left are not as clear cut as a security threat to us, or the project, but rather some signs indicating there may be a tense situation coming up, and MSF is keen on us observing that situation from Loki, instead of in Lankien.

I'll try to simplify the politics of the area and reasons for our leaving.

Compared to Sri Lanka, this war is quite different. In Sri Lanka, there were clearer lines distinguishing one side from the other. Culture and language, along with the LTTE's ability to outlaw and enforce the suppression of any competing militant group in the fight for a homeland made the situation quite simple, the LTTE vs. the Government. Here there is a similar struggle, but I believe the geography and climate dictate that things cannot have that much order.

The leading militant group in the south is the SPLA, right now. There have been others, and there still are some that want a piece of the peace agreement between the Government and SPLA, but they are by far the minority, and will not get much from the peace agreement (when it is signed in January).

There are also the "White Armies" which are the local Chief's security forces, comprised of a rag-tag contingent of semi-armed farmers, sort of like a local volunteer fire-fighting force in a small town in northern Ontario.

Then there are the Government of Sudan (GoS) militias that comprise of South Sudanese, but hired by the Government for the fight with the south. These militias are comprised of Commanders that have the loyalty of men, and for a price, will be hired out to fight anyone’s fight. Our latest issue is with one section of GoS Militia.

The militia groups are caught in the middle of the people. These are south Sudan people, fighting with the government. They cannot easily return home (in SPLA territory) and be welcomed with open arms. We are living in SPLA territory, and the militia leader Commander Mabour brought some of his militia with him, to return home to Pultruk, approx. 15 kms north of Lankien. And that is just a tense situation to have.
When he first came to the area, (in early November) the team was pulled out of Lankien, just because it raised many questions and our local counterpart agreed that there were not many answers as to what this meant, and they suggested the leave.

Mabour moved south around Lankien, then further to the south, but the issue was not resolved (what he was up to, and how he would peacefully stay in SPLA territory) In the south (south of Lankien), he wasn't welcomed, so he moved north again to Pultruk.

As I've said before, Lankien is a NGO village, CMA and MSF are there (and not much else) and the people do appreciate our presence (thought at times is doesn't feel that way) and dislike it when we leave (mortality rates increase, issues become unresolved, etc). One indicator of this, is the Chiefs in the area, along with the SPLA commanders agree to keep any fighting out of Lankien. I believe even Mabour was respecting this, as he returned north to Pultruk and he stayed on a path very wide from Lankien.

So he returned to Pultruk to discuss things again, and tried to stay there, home again after the war. The SPLA informed him that he could stay, if he joined the SPLA, or they would allow him to go back north if he wanted to stay as a GoS militia commander, but he couldn't stay in SPLA territory, as GoS militia. There were a few days of talks, then the talking stopped, and it was decided that it is better to observe the situation from Loki.

We heard that fighting did start up and it was concluded shortly afterwards, with Mabour heading north again. But that doesn't matter to our situation since we are in Loki waiting for the situation to not only be okay, but have all appearances of settling itself. The SRRC (the SPLA civilian governing body, and our local counterpart) has seen us through many evacuations, and they know our dislike for the fighting and the value of our work. Leaving is not only due to the insecurity of the situation, but also because of the message that if they would like our assistance, there shall be no fighting in the area, or we'll leave. I believe that our leaving on Sat. was more for the message that we will only work if there is no fighting, rather than any threat to the team.

Enough politics. In short, Mom, I'm okay, and as we talked before, MSF is very quick to pull the team out if things get a little tense.

The evacuation went very well. By 0900 we heard the talking was over and the issue may be resolved by force. The previous day the SRRC had informed us a lot about the situation, and to our surprise, that matched our own staff's commentary on the events, and what they mint, so we had confidence in what they were saying. By 1000, we heard unclear reports of fighting starting, and SRRC could not confirm or deny it, so it was agreed to prepare to leave, (and confirm the reports later from Loki.) By 1100, we had a plan for a flight to be diverted to pick us up by 1300.

The compound is actually quite easy to pack up. We took all the valuables (there really isn't that much there, a couple computers, solar panels, files and some extra medications), and locked all the tukels not in use. We took down the communication equipment and solar panels (the panels have a long wire connecting them to the office. The thought is that during an evacuation, one can just snip off the wire next to the connection, then on return, reconnect the slightly shortened wires. I figure we still have 50 or so evacuations before those wires will be too short and need replacing.)

The medical people (James, Lindsay and Annagret) were busy handing over the medical part of the project to the staff. The national staff has been through so many evacuations, it seemed like they knew the routine and were coaching us on how to do it. Keys were handed over and extra pens handed out.

Evert (our PC) was busy liaising with the SRRC, and getting more info from them. They updated him on the situation, and things started looking better apparently between Mabour and the SPLA, but once a decision is made, it is final, we were leaving.

The plane came, and we loaded our gear, gave final goodbyes to our staff, and took off. Every time I think I am roughing it in Lankien, I think of the food that is by far superior in every way to what our staff eats, and I look at my return ticket back home; I am only a visitor there, the people that live and die there rough it. I do live in Lankien South Sudan, but I do live in a bubble of western life, with a passport and return ticket to take me out at
any time. It was hard to leave my friends and co-workers there. Through no fault of their own, they are condemned to stay; they were just born into it.

On the plane, there was a religious group heading to Loki for something. There was one sister, and many young men, dressed very smartly, all carrying bibles and crosses. We must have made an impression. Clad in dust, sweat and rags (well older cloths that we don't mind sacrificing to the Lankien God of Dust, Wear and Tear) we pushed our way on the back of the plane with a load of gear, greeted the pilots with big handshakes (since we had grown to know and like them over the time working with them) and tiredly settling into the chairs as if it held a comfort we hadn't had in a while. As we took off, I woke up and looked around, and everyone was trying to pray a quick one off before the end of the runway. (Funny, we all thought later; shouldn't religious people have less to worry about? Having faith and all...)

The flights coming out of South Sudan, always are... interesting. On this one, we had brought a patient that was "green lighted" to go to the Loki ICRC hospital, (gunshot wound to his hand,) then there was this religious group, traveling south to Loki, and there was us (an odd crew of people doing medicine in the bush) and our gear. We noticed the lack of chairs around, so once we were up, we went to the back, allowing others forward to the chairs, and allowing us to re-arrange the gear into a lounge area where we could play a game of dice and chat in a circle.

The sister kept looking back, disapprovingly, as we played dice, but I think she changed her perceptions of us, as we were attending to an airsick companion of hers, and all his airsick mess. I even caught a smile out of her, as I stood up after a turn at cleaning up. That smile quickly turned sour as we continued playing dice after the clean up was done. I guess you can't please everyone all the time. (We refrained from taking out the Christmas wine we brought with us for the flight back to Loki.)
As we landed on the tarmac, we met up with Arjan, our Head of Mission (HoM) in South Sudan. A lot of people have worked with MSF and have left because of bad impressions of the organization and the people running it. I can see how a large organization can collect some unpleasant situations or people. My experience in this mission, and my last in Sri Lanka, have been extremely good in the respect to people and the organization. My travel plans have been clear, and my personal opinions, accommodations, and other considerations have always been well taken care of, including during this evacuation.

As part of an evacuation, the HoM comes to Loki to de-brief the team to discuss things, and ensure that we are all right. So there he was, getting off his plane, as we were getting off of ours, 5 hours after the decision to leave was made (including a 2 hour flight for each of us). It was nice to see him there, as opposed to his best wishes and some reasons why he couldn't make it. The team is good, I am good, we are just a little saddened by leaving our co-workers behind. I know they will be all right, but it is more the fact that all people are not equal that gets to me.

MSF took us out for dinner and we would have stayed later for a good night out, if we weren't so bloody tired, so we slept instead. This evacuation is quite well timed, as we were starting to get pretty tired, and the rest is very welcome.

So, there you have it. Never a dull moment, again. As I said over the phone at Christmas, I'm glad I chose this work, for the challenges it presents would be unwelcome if I didn't. Also, I'm glad I have that return ticket, for when I get tired of this I can leave. For now, the rewards still outweigh the unpleasantries, and I am happy to be able to do this work.

I think that is not appreciated fully back home, I chose this work, and I am very glad I have, it is still the right choice for me. I received some letters from Canada trying to console me for the horrible Christmas and other times I must be having. I was a little offended by the thought, and the misunderstanding. With the team, we had a different Christmas than we anticipated, however through letters, emails, phone calls and our thoughts we were able to share it with our families and through what we had, we were able to make it a very special day indeed. (We didn't have the Christmas rush at the malls, the angry people at the cashiers, or the Boxing Day madness that raises one's blood pressure; and I'm not sad to miss that.)

I think the image of unpleasantries blocks out the very special things that we have in Lankien. There is the simplicity of life there that holds a stress-free atmosphere. I walk to work, it doesn't snow, my cloths are done for me, and if I am walking around town, kids join me and teach me things. I learn of other ways of living that I would never have figured out by myself. Also, I enjoy and value the work I am doing, to me that is important too. The nature is wonderful and very dynamic. There are a thousand different types of insects each with their different actions and particularities. I am fond of the praying mantis; I have seen about a dozen different types of mantis' each looking like they are praying. At night, sometimes they come to the computer screen and sit on the top, and just watch the human watching them, for hours. Also, in quieter moments in the office, you can hear the surround sound of ants eating the roof; it is really quite frustrating that our roof is being eaten away while we work; you can hear the lifespan of the roof being eaten up. Where else in the world can you have that in your office?

Well, I should get on to some work. Loki is nice and cool these days, temperatures around 28-30 and cooler in the nighttime. The team here is very friendly and knows to have some cold beers in the fridge when the team comes from Lankien. (Very nice!)

I hope all is well back home. Thank you all for your Christmas Wishes. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too!

Cheers,

Steve

P.S. Christmas started on the 24th. We received a large load of food and gifts from Loki, including turkey, goat, cheeses, wines, chocolates, etc etc. We had a great night of food, drink and presents on the 24th, and a nice day off work on the 25th. The 25th we cooked the turkey (deep fried it in oil over the fire; odd looking, but it tastes great) and continued the other food. It was a Christmas away from home, but the spirit was alive and very well and it was very nice.

Message #20 January 7, 2004


Hello Mom and Dad,
I'm still in Loki. On Monday we went to Lankien to see how things were,and to re-stock some of the drugs there, but not to stay. Things are stilla tense, and unresolved so we do not have any plans to return just yet.It was good to see the staff again, and hear that most of them are well.Most, but not all. With everyone being related to everyone else, no doubtthat with the fighting, some of our staff had lost brothers and fathers. Allof the fighting had been outside of Lankien, near Pultruk (15kms away), butstill within the reach of family ties.
Our clinic in Pultruk was looted and the staff had fled to Lankien, sinceMabour is looking for health workers. "What an evil man" was one of myfirst reactions, but (as with everything else) it is a little morecomplicated than that. During the fighting, the SPLA was able to surroundhim and his men, and he had some losses and severly wounded. The SPLA didnot allow his wounded out to the CMA clinic where they could assist. Ithink that is part of the reason why he looted our clinic in Pultruk, toget some medical supplies and maybe a health worker to assist his wounded.International Humanitarian Law (the Law of warfare) has some strong wordsabout allowing the wounded to seek medical attention, and it also has wordsabout looting health facilities. In Loki we have been in discussion withthe ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross, who deals withProtection issues like that, and also patient transfers) as well as the VMT(Verification Monitoring Team, who mediates between the different sides toensure people play by the rules). What a joke I think some of that ishere, "playing by the rules." Mabour had killed some SPLA soldiers, andthey are suppose to hold back all grudges and allow wounded through tobecome healthy again, and maybe fight them again. That may work in theconventional wars of Europe, (where courts of law can hold back combatants)but here where the value of life is much different, (where the mere valueof food to feed patients is too much) the same laws don't apply so well.After Lankien, we went to Bimbim to re-supply and change some expats. Itwas good to see the team again from there. Over the last month I had onlybeen in touch with them on the radio, wishing them well and trying to makethings easier by sending them all they need. But seeing them in person,giving the big Christmas and New Year's greetings as they should be given,was very nice.
Bimbim is another place in the middle of no-where. ("No-where" is becominga really big place for me!)
Their compound is very basic, the start of a fence, a couple shelters fromthe wind and sun, an enclosure for a shower and another one for the latrineand that is all. They have it quite rough there. After a rough landing onthe short, bumpy airstrip, we unloaded and re-loaded other supplies, and hada good time catching up with the team and discussing some operational issues.Then, off again, no rest for the plane, it was a long rotation, and a longtrip back to Loki before the evening.
After landing again in Lankien (to re-fuel) the pilots showed us the shockpiston of the front wheel of the plane, it was leaking fluid. On thelanding and take-off from Bimbim, we had broke the seal they had warned uswould be broken with that rough airstrip. They declared Bimbim to again bea no-land airstrip. What a hard place this country is.
The issues are... "a little more complicated than that", that being, justan airstrip in poor condition. The black cotton soil there, has dried,cracked and formed little particles like gravel, for the whole length ofthe runway. After clearing more trees to the side of the air-strip,burning the grass on the air-strip, and trying to fill the holes in themiddle, the labour force of the community is spent. (Most of the communityhas Kala Azar, or is caring for people with Kala Azar. So their minds andbodies are not too able.) We discussed filling fuel drums with water androlling the airstrip, compacting it with more water, but there is verylittle water there (one borehole with a 3 hour queue even in the late hoursof night, and early hours of the morning.) There are no roads to Bimbim,etc etc. We are trying to find other options to servicing this place, butwe are running out of options.
On the long flight back to Loki, the team was silent. There was agreen-light (the ICRC term for someone they will take in the Loki ICRCHospital for repairs and fly back home) a kid with a pretty bad openfracture in his arm that happened a few days ago, and his mother.
Pretty incredible health service this place has. You break your arm oneday. The local clinic, if there is one, immobilizes it and puts somedressing on it too. Then a message is sent by foot to a location wherethere is a radio to contact ICRC to request a green-light. ICRC determineswhether it is something they can fix, (under their mandate of emergencylife-saving surgery) and they account for life expectancy of the patient onthe trip to Loki too. If all approved, the green-light is given,(red-light means you are on your own), and you are allowed to hitch a rideon a willing plane returning to Loki. A couple days later or maybe a weekor two, there is a plane in the area and it can take you to Loki. Sometimespeople are carried to Lankien to stay there, until a plane comes. The plane comes, there is a dash to meet it and then you get on-board,bound for the magical place... Loki.
No one has been on a plane before, and it is not known how the whole thingworks and how long it takes. Most people don't realize to relievethemselves before getting onboard, and almost everyone gets sick during theflight.Once you arrive in Loki, there is an ambulance (landcruiser) waiting, somefriendly, but seasoned, attendants to take you away to the hospital (mostpeople have also never seen a car before) and there you will spend the nextmonth or two, until the process is reversed. Unless you die there, thenthere is a message sent home to your village, and the family finds whatclosure they can with that. I think it is easier to find closure here,death is everywhere, and as such people move on quicker.
On our flight back to Loki on Monday, things weren't any different, butthis patient and his condition were just one more thing, along with thenews from Lankien, the situation in Bimbim, etc, etc, to remind me of theplace I was in, and the hardships that the people here have, and againquestion that infinitely popular question in aid work, "what are we doinghere?"A few days ago, I read a poem that I think puts to words some of mythoughts.
A Bed for the NightI hear in New YorkAt the corner of 26th Street and BroadwayA man stands every evening in the winter monthsAnd gets beds for the homeless thereBy appealing to passers-byIt won't change the worldIt won't improve relations among menIt will not shorten the age of exploitationBut a few men will have a bed for the nightFor a night the wind is kept from themThe snow meant for them falls on the roadway.Don't put down the book on reading this, man.
A few people have a bed for the nightFor a night the wind is kept from themThe snow meant for them falls on the roadwayBut it won't change the worldIt won't improve relations among menIt will not shorten the age of exploitation.- Bertolt Brecht
I somehow find comfort in those words. (In engineering skule, I neverthought I'd say something like that. But really, that's it.) People dieall over the world, that's what people do, they live, then they die, hereis no different. The way I get involved is "giving a bed for the night."Humanitarian action (assuming it started in 1860 with the creation of ICRC)hasn't stopped all wars, but it has eased some suffering and soften thehardships it brings. And maybe that is all I'm shooting for. We can bringsome incredible medical things to people who are suffering because of thewar, and that helps them sleep easier at night, eases some suffering, in anenvironment (physical and political) that is harsh. It will not change theworld, it will not improve relations among men and it will not shorten theage of exploitation.
Well, got to go, still work in Loki to do,
Lots of Love,
SteveP.S. Wanda, I did receive your email just now. Regarding organizationsworking in Iran after the earthquake. There are many. The UN has manyorganizations, UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, etc. ICRC is there, Oxfam (water andsanitation), ACF (Action Contra Fam, or something food wise) WHO (WorldHealth Org.), WFP (World Food Program) and many many others. Also MSF hasresponded to the emergency with providing some emergency health care.(With an emergency like that, the population will become weaker due to foodand water shortages. With a weak population, they are more at risk todiseases and other usually non-threatening problems. Similar to here, mybody can fight Kala Azar, but I get three meals a day, the reason it iswiping out a large population is that they do not have ample food orwater.) If you are serious about finding a good place to donate somemoney, I would investigate it on the web. The NGO's I listed above I knowdo good work, but there are hundreds others too. The only one I know wellis MSF, and as you know, I approve with how they do things. (Also I wouldlook into which ones have won a Nobel Peace Prize before, and why.) As forgetting an honourable NGO, not one that is bogged down with administrationfees and high salaries, you'll have to dig for that one, but maybe thiscould be a good project to spend some time on, learning of the differentNGOs, what they do, how they do it, and more importantly, Why. There arealso some books out there that critique different NGO's and how they dothings. The one that I picked up this week is called, "A Bed for theNight." It looks into humanitarianism and the different players over thelast few decades. (That may be different than what you are looking for;Humanitarian Law is about warfare and rights of people in wars, whereasHuman Rights is basic human priviledges outside of warfare, but often theissues are deeply related. The famine in Ethiopia is a natural disaster(falling under Human Rights), but the genocide that caused the people toflee their fertile lands and force them into areas that have drought makesit more of a Humanitarian disaster.) Sorry, no answers here, but yourwillingness to donate money is a grand thing, and I trust your carefulnessto apply it will make someone appreciate your gift.