Ben Tshin

Last week was my first change of scenery since arriving in Sudan. I was one of 7 lucky contestants sent to basic security and safety training in Juba. Juba is the new capital of South Sudan and it’s literally a gold rush boom town. The gold rush here is from NGOs setting up offices all over Juba and bringing in Dollars, Euros, Pounds, etc. The longest tarmac road in South Sudan is also there, all 10km of it!

Medair has very good security policies, plans and protocols that everyone is drilled almost endlessly, since on arrival in any new location, you’re given a 30 minute security briefing. It’s good, it’s thorough, and most of all, it’s especially necessary in Sudan where fighting can break out between anyone and everyone at anytime. Ironically, I encountered my first security incident right before I got my security training. A bit of bad photographic timing, and I was seriously afraid of my near future.

That’s right, my first brush with the authorities. My intention was to capture the text on a sign: “Our Land, Our Peace, Our Oil, Our Liberty”. But picture taking apparently is not allowed from the tarmac. At least in Juba. I had done it in all the other airports (Loki, Malakal, Rumbek), and it was an innocent enough. But I looked to be some sort of Chinese agent. Chinese oil companies and by extension, Chinese people, are not looked highly upon here. He glared at me as he demanded my passport and details. It only got worse when he saw that I was missing a Sudanese entry stamp. I plead that I wasn’t checked my first time. Instead of explaining my circumstances, that only provoked a discussion (one-sided, albeit) about taking immigration and customs seriously.

Upon discovering that I was legitimately Canadian (ethnically Chinese, but not nationally), he let me off. I deleted all the pictures I had, and he was pleased that I at least took him seriously. Of course I did. I had heard stories firsthand of passports being confiscated for missing those entry stamps, and that was only part of my problem. I got out of it with a scare, but with some lessons that I took into my formal security training.

Security training was interesting. Lots of theory on the first day, but really “hands-on” the rest of the way. The best part is learning to deal with aggression. I wish I had that lesson 3 days earlier since it would’ve helped me deal with that official/guard/guy. It’s amazing how effective tension control works when you’re in high stress situations. There’s only three things: focus on your posture (show relaxed but confident body language), focus on your breathing (deep slow breathes from your belly) and recognizing and releasing any tension in your body.

Perhaps it’s only simulation, but when someone is yelling at you, manhandling you around, those three things might be a life saver. It might get someone else killed too.

We did a hostage scenario. At one point, the hostage taker asked for information, but hen no one volunteered information, one person was taken out to be shot (so we were told). Sadly, no one said anything. Me, I was too focused on my breathing, and making sure my arms didn’t go numb from holding them up. I thought that if I even spoke up that I’d be singled out for extra punishment. Even worse was when they choose me next. Again, no one said anything. You can run your imagination on what would’ve happened in real life.

It was only a simulation, but it got me thinking: “What would I do?” Would I try to speak out and save a colleague, to the risk of my own life? All hypothetical, but at least it got me thinking. I know how to placate someone with frustration aggression and someone using aggression as a tool for showing power, etc. I know all the security procedures, and what to do when things go bad. I just hope I’ll never have to use it.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 am and is filed under Sudan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.