14 photocopies later and I have authorization to travel

Today, Khartoum residents awoke to what I initially thought was a dense fog until one of the other guests at the hotel informed me that it was a mini-Haboob.

Let me explain.

The Haboob is a dust storm that typically consists of windy conditions and a dense cloud of sand dust. So instead of airborne particles of water that create the mist we associate with fog, we get airborne sand. Sound like a housekeeping nightmare? It is. I remember eating sandwiches at the beach as a kid and always finding at least one bit with speckle or two of sand. Imagine that scenario times one thousand. Everything edible really has to be covered, or it will certainly be full of sand. Sand manages to creep in through cracks between the window and the wall, under the door, and every time you enter or exit a building or room. That means that mopping is a constant chore.


Three years ago, Khartoum was exposed to a centennial Haboob that featured much stronger winds and dumped tons (literally) of sand onto the city. Here is a picture. It is not altered in any way. I am glad that happens only once a century.

Tomorrow I travel to North and South Darfur and I am looking forward to seeing our offices and getting my feet wet.

More news to follow...

Sightseeing is over - back to the grind stone

NOT LONG NOW IS THE PATH TO DARFUR

Since my last entry, I have not had a lot of time for sightseeing. It has been work work work to get the program off and running. Lots of paperwork to file to qualify as an organization authorized to operate on Sudanese soil. The authorities has a special office dedicated solely to the management of all the international and national nongovernmental organizations operating in Sudan called the Humanitarian Authorization Commission or HAC. The HAC has put into place an extremely cumbersome series of rules and procedures to regulate everything international NGOs or INGOs do in this country. For instance, how long an INGO can advertise a position and where. HAC officials will inspect the list of candidates and administer their own tests to determine if they are truly qualified and participate in the final decision-making process that determine who your organization will hire.

INGOs must file reports on their activities and accomplishments, explain whether they have departed from their initial plan, and present qualitative or quantitative proof that they have reached their goals. HAC has also required INGOs to reapply for an operating license every year in January, so every year, non-Sudanese staff members are forced to leave their posts and wait in the capital Khartoum until their license is renewed. The process can take as long a month or be over in a matter of days. It all depends of your ability as an organization to follow-up on the paper pushers and have all the forms prepared well in advance.

I applaud the government of Sudan for its efforts or I would, if.....

I was very surprised to see this level of attention from authorities about the work of INGOs. My experience elsewhere in Africa has been that governments could care less about the fate of their citizens let alone the efforts INGOs are making to assist them. If these rules and close scrutiny are meant to ensure that Sudanese citizens are getting the best possible organizations to help them emerge from the current crisis, then I applaud the government of Sudan for its efforts.

For full disclosure, I should point out that some (read many) do not see this "special"attention in such a positive light and believe that the rules and bureaucracy are actually meant to slow down the effectiveness of INGOs and place additional constraints on their ability to operate in the areas of conflict where foreigners (read "witnesses") are not welcome. The same criticism is extended to the rebel groups who also place restrictions on the access of INGOs to cities and villages in areas not under government control.

Not to play devil's advocate (OK, yes, I will), but wouldn't you want your government to have this level of scrutiny if your city or state had over one hundred INGOs from every country imaginable on a mission to save you, your schools, hospitals, farms, children, women, youth, and businesses? I know that the chosen system of accounting here acts more as a hindrance to the operations of INGOs than a facilitation of relief assistance, but I think a middle way is definitely necessary. In fact I think governments should be required to assess and facilitate actively any relief operation, so that they can be directly associated with the recovery of their nation.

What would have happened?

What would have happened had 40 Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Irish, French, British, Swiss, Australian, Cuban, and Senegalese INGOs flown into New Orleans during the Katrina calamity and rescued all the people, built new housing, provided medical assistance, psycho-social counseling, organized truth and reconciliation commissions to bring unresponsive government agencies to account, and invoked the international criminal court to investigate violation of international humanitarian law? Okay, yes. It would have been great for the people of New Orleans. I know. But think about whether people would feel that they could trust their government to come to their assistance when it was all over.

No.

Confidence in government tends to drop to an all-time low during a major humanitarian operation and that only decreases further the chances for a constructive and inclusive reconstruction period in the post conflict period -- if there is a post-conflict period.

Does that mean that HAC is my new hero? The piles of forms in quadruplicate originals, and quickly developing cramps in my left hand say, eh, no. Not really. Particularly since, for all the surveillance and bureaucracy, there does not seem to be much more than passive interest in whether conditions are actually improving. Now I have only been here for a short while, so I will let you know if my opinion on this point changes. But at this stage, I highly doubt it.

A little cultural note to quench your thirst

I will end today's entry with a little cultural note about something you can see everywhere on the streets of Sudan and (or so I am told) in much of the Middle East - free water!!! The stories vary greatly as to why, but many people place ceramic jugs in front of their houses to offer to the public. In some cases, a sign explains that the water is in honor of a relative who has died and those who drink are invited to say a prayer. In other cases, just the act of offering water to the thirsty is a positive karma-building machine. Ceramic pots have micro pores that evaporate tiny amounts of moisture and keep the contents very cool. Imagine 50 degree water in 120 degree heat, and you get the idea. Now, if they would only come up with a ceramic refrigerator, we would reduce our carbon footprint immensely.

Now back to those forms.....

Sights and Sounds of Khartoum

Museum hopping and Sufi dancing


I was fortunate to be allowed to join a group of tourists to take in the sites in Khartoum. This was my first opportunity to really see the city and also to learn how Sudanese represent themselves through history, art, and religion.
















The first visit to the ethnographic museum was an interesting glimpse into some of the Sudan ethnic groups but the lack of details and informed guides to understand the traditions and practices of the peoples portrayed, I felt like little more than a voyeur. It would have been nice to have at least one person with a vested interest in informing the public of the meaning and purpose of the ethnographic museum other than to say that Sudan has over 500 ethnic groups and 150 languages. Still the display of traditional clothing, pottery, and hunting and fishing tools were interesting. I think you all would appreciate the image of the hippo hunting spear that involved embedding a spear in a heavy object like a trunk of a tree and then releasing it from a limb of a tree to kill a large mammal or stun it long enough to move in to kill it. Really innovative and brutal at the same time. Okay, that may be a boyish thing to have highlighted so I will move on.


We also visited the national museum, which contained a lot of history about Nubian civilization. Egypt is referred to as lower Nubia at times in the same way that Sudan is referred to as upper Egypt in their national museum. I was particularly interested in the transitions from ancient religious practices focused on the Ram god Amon to Christianity and Islam.

The guide underlined several times that Christianity came from the north and not from the south, making direct reference to the long-standing north-south conflict that took on a Islamic north versus Christian south tone as the conflict gained political support from outside interests. Sudan still has pyramids but unfortunately most of its monuments were flooded and submerged when the dam was built on the Nile. Lots of Sudanese tourist visit this free museum and it was heartening to see children reading about their own history with interest and pride. I hope to visit the pyramids from the Kush and Moroe periods on one of my vacation days.

For a speed session on Sudanese history, I highly recommend a visit to the Republican Palace Museum where the story of Sudanese independence is told with seemingly little attempt to mask the ugly sides of the tumultuous history. The section devoted to the rise and fall of presidents mentions military overthrows in the same breath as college diplomas. It is also a good museum to see some of the gifts that local associations and foreigners have bestowed upon the Sudanese heads of state. If you like cars, a quick tour of the silver shadows (Rolls Royce) of the past presidents is also worth a look. The museum is housed just across from the presidential palace and in an old church that was moved to another location. No mention how you move a church to convert it into a museum, but the curators retained many of the religious references in the building, so it felt respectful of the history of the building as a place of Christian worship.



The greatest highlight for me was the visit to the Friday sundown Sufi gathering in the older part of the city called Omdurman. The visit began with a drive through a cemetery composed of very shallow graves with makeshift tombstones made of stone, metal, wood, or plastic. When we saw the thousands of these earthen mounds all around the vehicle, conversations in the vehicle ground to a halt. It was hard to believe that we were actually driving into this site. I felt as though I was violating the sanctity of the place just being there. But then further down the road we saw a huge gathering of people in white tunics but also colorful patchwork tunics. These were the members of more than 40 different Sufi sects that make up the dominant religious in Sudan's northern populations. The Sufis are members of an Islamic sect that believes in praising God throughout our lives in thought and in deeds and use music and movement to drill home that realization.

The Friday sundown event takes place in the middle of this graveyard, bringing up thoughts of our own mortality as the members swayed to the beat of the drums, moving their arms in a pumping motion on either side of their bodies, singing out praise in the same way congregations would yell out "Amen" in a Baptist or AME church. It was really an uplifting environment. It reminded me of the Powwows I have attended in Indiana with the Pottawatomie tribe. At some point, members took off their shoes to dance in the center of the circle that had now become a place of worship. Mosque officials helped to keep the momentum of the energy constantly building by changing the chants and bringing incense for the crowd to cleanse their minds and bodies. The twirling dervishes were less formal or graceful than the ones you may have seen on stage touring the world, but the intensity of their movements and expressions on their faces told me that this was the real deal and not some performance for onlookers. I was approached twice by members of the Mosque asking whether I could feel the rhythm in my heart and whether I wanted to join their group. I just smiled and nodded that I felt it. It was a heady experience. i do plan to go again before I leave Sudan and take more pictures and video of the event. Many people in the crowd also had cameras, so I know that will not be a problem in the future.

Perhaps the most bizarre part of the tour was the sight of the giant egg-shaped 5-star hotel that the Libyans are building in the center of town. It is not yet ready for visiting but I will keep you updated when it is.

Ma'a salaama

UNAMID missing a beat

The UN peacekeeping force for Darfur, UNAMID, entered into existence on January 1st of this year but has experienced a number of setbacks. The government has insisted that the composition be primarily African and many of the 7,000 strong African Union soldiers already in Darfur have changed their berets from AU green to UN blue to fill the ranks of the 27,000 strong force.

However that is still a far cry from the target number of 27,000. So far, very few forces have arrived to provide logistical and civilian support to this unit that now stands at around 9,000. See their website for more details. http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/

The following article also says a lot about the current situation in terms of UN deployments. It does not reflect the security situation on the ground however which seems to be morphing from a proxy war into an open international conflict between Chad and Sudan. More on that later.

Sweden and Norway cancel plans to send troops to Darfur ©2008 AFP

Sweden and Norway said Wednesday they had withdrawn their offer of a joint force of 400 troops to be sent to Darfur as part of a United Nations-African Union mission due to Sudanese opposition. "Norway and Sweden have long been preparing to support the UN effort in Darfur. We therefore regret that we are forced to withdraw our offer of an engineering unit to UNAMID," the foreign ministers of Sweden and Norway, Carl Bildt and Jonas Gahr Stoere, said in a statement. The unit was to help build up Darfur's infrastructure in the early stages of the mission.

Click on the headline to read more ....

Sana sa'eedah! - Happy New Year!

The arrival of Eid al-Adha (January 9) and the Islamic new year (today) so close together has given the city of Khartoum a festive feeling. Lots of buildings decorated with lights. Today, the shops and banks were closed to celebrate the new year. I see people in the streets wearing their best and heading for mosques or parties.

I also have something to celebrate. An airport official facilitated the recovery of my luggage, which was tucked under a small mountain of other bags waiting patiently for their owners. Some of the bags were leaking liquids creating a small moat around this monument to lost luggage. Fortunately, my bags were visible and dry, and I was able to maneuver through the throngs of blissful travelers returning from the Hadj - religious pilgrimage - to pull them free. Getting out of the terminal was not so easy. The customs officers created a very efficient barrier to the bring the movement of persons and goods to a trickle, so that they could tag and subject people returning from their pilgrimage to searches and appraisals of their carts of boxes and bags.

I hope to leave for Darfur sometime next week. In the interim, I am going to get a chance to stroll the streets and take in the local culture. I did manage to find a falafel stand and I spoke my first sentence in Arabic while actually being understood. With confidence, I hope to build on that experience with an actual brief conversation about the weather. I may sound simple, but in this environment, any social contact is great progress. Sudanese do understand some English, but, unless educated, they do not engage willingly in the language of Shakespeare. Most of the people I have encountered answer my English questions in Arabic.

Now, excuse me as I revel in the unpacking of my new year's gift.

Ma’a salama

IT'S A LONG WAY TO KHARTOUM - especially via United Airlines, Lufthansa, Egypt Air, and Kenya Airways

Finally in Khartoum after many missed flight connections due to freaky winter monsoon and tornado weather that hit the Midwest just 24 hours after a major snow storm dropped 20 inches of snow on Indiana and Illinois. My luggage did not fair so well however and is still missing in action despite the arrival of several flights that should have or could have brought a new change of clothes. I am still wearing a sweater and jeans - not ideal clothing for a stroll in Sudan.

First impressions: Khartoum looks similar to Ndjamena- the capital of Chad (located just to the west of Sudan). There is a lot of sand on the sides of the roads, people dressed across the spectrum from conservative with full head dress and white or blue tunics (for men) to people in more western dress with blue jeans, bare shoulders, skirts, and high heels. Hard to say that I have any real feel for the city in only 8 hours, but first impressions are always a nice reference for future discussions.

I hope that my next entry will include praise for the ability of my airline to retrieve luggage. I would like to explore more of the city on foot and definitely do not want to have that experience in a warm sweater. The high yesterday was 78 degrees but it will gradually get hotter over the next two months.

This picture was taken from my hotel room. Gives you limited idea of the lay of the city.

Peace

Available modes of transport in Darfur

Leaving for Darfur

Following in the tradition of other bloggers who have aired their views on the unfolding events in Darfur, I will commence this blog of one person's odyssey to Darfur.

The apparent assassination of the U.S. official, John Granville, working for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who had been assigned to help to implement the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) between Sudan's north and south after more than two decades of civil war is very troubling. No sign at this time how USAID will react to his death. Granville's Sudanese driver was also killed in the attack. Intially, the US downplayed the possibility that the attack was the work of terrorists. Despite the animosity between the two governments, Sudanese do not normally display aggression toward US citizens in Sudan. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/world/africa/02sudan.html?em&ex=1199336400&en=5df99a677d101c6c&ei=5087%0A

On Tuesday night however, the American Embassy sent out an e-mail message to Americans in Sudan notifying them about the attack on the Granville, reminding them that terrorist groups continue to seek opportunities to carry out attacks against U.S. interests and warning of the risk of indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in public places. Suggesting that the attack may have been indiscriminate.

I look very much forward to my stay in Darfur, but this news also reminds me of the dangers associated with travel to a conflict zone.

WHY NUBIAN KNIGHTS?

Knights, like the samurai of Japan, were a warrior class defending the people and bound by a code of chivalry that governed good conduct. I realize that this code was regularly broken in the quest for power or material goods, but the spirit of the knight fighting in defense of the people seemed an appropriate description of the modern-day humanitarian worker. The shiny land rovers and codan radio antennas may have replaced the steed and lance, but the mission is no less the same: to defend the honor and livelihood of ordinary people everywhere. Knights have been romanticized for prosperity sake, but this blog will avoid the Chaucer version and paint a more realistic picture of the personal and professional challenges knights face in the deserts of Darfur. I will include tales about myself, my hopes and aspirations for a stable and productive Sudan.

Most importantly, I will keep this site respectful of the people and peace process in Sudan.