Ben Tshin

I have been thinking recently about poverty, since it is all around me in Sudan. But one thing I have seen is a difference between slum poverty and village poverty. I mentioned this in an email to a friend:

It’s all about contrast and our sensitivity to poverty. Village
poverty is wide spread through a village. Usually, the entire village
has very little, including the elders and leaders of the community.
Village poverty is more akin to rural poverty, in that people are
usually survive through subsistence activities. It is usually no
market economy. Also, villagers are usually more spread out having
more land with which to scavenge materials like firewood, as well as,
land for their cattle to roam. Slum poverty usually occurs in pockets
within a larger city. Slums are packed and congested, and usually
without proper sanitation or water. A lack of sanitation isn’t a
problem in isolation. The diseases occur when people are congested,
bringing the lack of sanitation closer to each person. Slum poverty
might be a stones throw from a 5-star hotel. I was once in the Ritz
Carlton in Shanghai, and it overlooked a neighbourhood on the other
end of the economic scale. It wasn’t necessarily a slum, but you can
easily translate the scenario to Africa, and Asia and shift the
economic scales downward.

So slum poverty akin to acute pain and village more like chronic pain.
If you stayed in villages and small towns for long enough, you become
inured to the standard of life that people “enjoy”. But in a city,
it’s easy to see the horrible conditions endured in the slums,
especially when you sleep in a nice house with guards at the door.

Your comments on this would be very appreciated. I haven’t fleshed this out completely, but it is still on my mind.

“TIA.”

Says Danny Archer (nee Leonardo di Caprio) in Blood Diamond. “TIA”: This Is Africa. I’ve just been reminded that this is still Africa. Or more accurately: This Is Sudan. It might be post-civil war Sudan, but this is still Sudan.

Safety and your sense of security is all relative. It’s relatively safe in most parts of Southern Sudan. Of course, it’s safe where Medair operates since it doesn’t make sense (operational sense, business sense or any other sense) to work somewhere where there is a high risk of losing money, assets or staff. Ironically, Medair regularly warns and reminds staff that the security situation in Nairobi, Kenya (where we go for our R&R) is notoriously worse than Sudan. Perhaps worse than Sudan collectively. Nairobi is affectionately called Nai-robbery, with good reason.

But Sudan can still be a dangerous place. There are mines, and accordingly, lots of de-miners (Zimbabweans, South Africans, Cambodians, Bangladeshis), frequent nights with gunshots and of course, crazy drivers on pothole-rife roads. We hear reports of cattle raids, and even our own local Sudanese staff had his cattle stolen.

There have also been lots of events that have made the news back home:

• May 2, GoSS Minister of Defence killed in plane crash: We had 3 days of official national mourning two weeks ago. There were rumours of foul play. But another theory is that they overloaded the plane.
• May 9, Attacks on aid workers in Juba: Just after arriving in Juba, I saw some of the aftermath of attacks. In our compound, I was shown the splintered trunk of a tree struck by a bullet. There were several consecutive nights where different NGOs were attacked near us. Our neighbour behind us was attacked twice apparently. The most reasonable explanation: people with guns (ex-military or ex-militia) not getting paid, and needing money for food. Or just opportunistic, since Juba might have the highest concentration of aid agencies with lots of US dollars.
• May 11, Darfur rebels attack Khartoum: This was the big shocker because Khartoum was considered one of the safest cities in Africa, even during the civil war.

So I’m reminded that this isn’t home. I’m far away from Canada and the safety of Sherwood Forrest.

It’s the same old, same old. I feel as if I’ve been here before. And I have, but in slightly different circumstances.

Here’s the new news since my R&R: Two weeks have passed. And that’s all. Since returning to the field, nothing new has happened. There has been very little work for SWAT, so I’ve spent the last two weeks in Malakal sitting on my hands. And when not sitting on my hands, I’ve probably read all the news I could read. In most other circumstances, and in most other jobs, a two week break would very much appreciated. But add a three week R&R and the current two weeks, and it’s been five weeks since I’ve done real WatSan work.

I know there are perfectly good reasons for the delay in work, but I’m restless. I’m starting to have some of the same feelings I did late last year waiting for responses from various agencies. Perhaps the eight months of unemployment prepared me for this. But even with preparation, the boredom is almost overwhelming. Ironically, I’ve even become the resident computer fix-it guru. What I tried to run away from came and found me on the other side of the world!

So hopefully I’m flying out of here tomorrow. A change of scenery and maybe a little more work to do. Otherwise, it’ll be a long way until my next R&R at the end of June.

Pictures from my R&R in Uganda and my first Kenyan wedding.

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Here are pictures from the 2 week SWAT installation in Khaldak. I left halfway through so no pictures of the finished product.

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