The temperature here in Nyala is rising fast. Not only in terms of heat, which has been consistently in the high eighties to low nineties during the day with a slight reduction at night, but also in terms of personal frustration at being unable to accomplish many of the tasks I had carefully planned beforehand in the UK and Khartoum. In the one week I have spent here so far, I am about as far forward as I would have been in half a day in the UK. And I am not alone, many of the expats here experience similar problems. Facilities are very basic; every item in terms of food, equipment or spare parts has to be airlifted, at great expense into the region. The most precious commodity here is undoubtedly fresh drinking water.
. At present we are relying entirely upon imported bottled water. Taking water from local sources can be seen as a drain (sorry about the pun) on the meagre amounts stored in the wells. In terms of water, nothing is ever wasted; even the toilet and washing facilities are designed so as to allow the water to be recycled. Where water is available, it is pumped from underground, providing the electricity supply has not been cut off again, and stored in tanks above the buildings. These containers sit in the full glare of the daytime sun getting ever hotter and hotter as time passes. There is no such thing as a cold shower. By evening the water temperature in the tanks has risen to such a degree that hot water flows out of the showerhead. Almost to hot to handle! Incidentally, if you do find a washbasin, the hot and cold taps are the same. They are usually connected together! And every one of us in Martley flushes gallons of good drinking water down the loo every day without giving it a thought.
From first light until dusk the temperature here is over bearing. Combined with dust everywhere it is not a favourable medium in which to work. Visiting the offices of some of the major players in Nyala, such as WFP, UNDP and UNHCR the air conditioning proves a welcome relief from the stifling heat. The temperature inside all stationary vehicles is so great that paper turns brown if left in full view of the sun all day! Consequently, air conditioning is a must when driving around.
The room I sleep in has a ceiling fan and a smaller floor standing fan. Both are operating continuously throughout the night and even with the floor fan directed towards the mosquito net covered bed, I am still not cool. With the electricity cut off, which it usually is anyway, I sweat like a pig.
As an idea of the circumstances in which we work in Darfur, I would count the following as typical. Part of my job entails installing, repairing and programming mobile HF radios for use in and around refugee and displaced persons camps. This method of communication being the only reliable and secure means available during an emergency situation. There are few telephones available here and where they exist are pretty unreliable. Sending e-mail for instance is like watching paint dry. Very, very slow with no guarantee of completion. Anyway, it’s very easy to knock out a telephone system, microwave, mobile or otherwise.
On this assignment the radios had been pre-fitted to the vehicles and were due to be checked over and reprogrammed with the correct networks, stations and frequencies and emergency calls. Programming can be done by hand, a laborious job taking a fair amount of time especially where the network is a large one. Everything had been prepared beforehand, the laptop computer was taken to the first vehicle and plugged in, programming then commenced. Two minutes later the computer crashed, overcome by the heat: before the job was even half finished. My only course of action was to remove computer to a cooler place. Result: Computer working fine, radio programming still not done! We now have to cover the windscreen of each vehicle sometime beforehand: it is even difficult to find some shade, so as to allow the cabin to cool sufficiently for the computer to operate without crashing. And the same procedure needs to be done over and over again until all radios have been programmed! Tomorrow I cause further chaos in the Oxfam Nyala camp as I attempt to program as many of the vehicles as possible in one go. Hopefully in the shade this time. It being a Friday and predominantly a Muslim society here, it’s the only opportunity I may have for an all out assault on the problem.
Regarding rebel activity it is sparse around the area at the moment although there is a need to be always be on your guard. For instance, someone planted a landmine, blowing up an aid vehicle just before I arrived killing both of the occupants. But that’s the only incident of note in the last couple weeks so it’s fairly quiet. After all, I could have struck an unlucky patch myself and been knocked off my bike as I delivered the Villager along the Worcester Road, just as easily.
PS. Must remember to eat food with my right hand!
Have a nice day.
J.