Blackout

Over the past week and into this week the power across Khartoum has been blacking-out for increasingly longer periods. All is the result of technical problems with the integration of hydro-generated power from Meroe Dam in Northern Sudan. The Dam hailed as an infrastructural triumph and the largest project of its kind on the continent of Africa. It seems that now that it is up and running it has failed to live up to the hype. Granted engineers are working around the clock to remedy the problem. But in the meantime we residents are living in excruciating agony as we struggle to move about with lack of electricity under such scorching hot conditions.

Daily highs these days regularly hover in the 50 (degree Celsius). It is as if someone is playing a cruel joke and hovering a magnifying glass above your head. It honestly feels as if the sun's rays are directly above you. To make matters worse, the moment you step outside "samoom" dreadfully hot gusts of air (not sure if there is an English equivalent to that word) ungraciously slaps you in the face. For anyone not familiar with the feeling of such gusts, it is akin to placing your face in close proximity to an over as you come to open it and the burst of smouldering compressed air greets your face, similar experience to samoom except you can't escape it.

Power has going out for 6-12 hour periods at a time. It now seems that it is scheduled blackouts as some areas of the city are experiencing these blackouts during the day (from sunrise till near sunrise) and others in the evenings starting from sundown till the near midnight or beyond.

The current joke in town, as this is Sudan and no one has faith that anything can be accomplished properly that instead of providing electricity, the new dam has started sucking out power from the network. In reality there actually isn't a problem with the dam itself and it is theoretically capable of providing all the power officials boasted about. The problem most likely lies in the network that in some regions of the city is dilapidated and in need of rehabilitation or replacement.

As I currently write this we are currently experiencing such a blackout and I'm relying on my remaining laptop battery power to briefly entertain me. I have found some relief by soaking a piece of thin cotton cloth in water and laying it over my head and neck. I have no idea when this torture will be over but I pray to god they find a solution pronto!!!!

Leia Mais…

journey to the motherland: in pictures

Leia Mais…

Journey to the motherland: part II

Once we passed Al-Seliem Basin, the paved road ended and we reverted to using dirt roads. I was astonished once we entered regions passed Abu Fatma. The familiar desert topography that I had in mind faded, to be replaced by desolate and never-ending string of mountains and valleys. I was astonished at the sights before my eyes; I truly thought the only significant mountains in Sudan were to the West, in the Jabal Marra region. Only then did I begin to get an appreciation of the hardships faced by family members travelling to and from Khartoum to Al-balad (region of origin). The drive was backbreaking and this was felt from the comfort from our fully air-conditioned 4wheel drive land cruiser. So I could only imagine how much tougher it was in the Nissan buses that occupy this route. The roughly 280km from Dongola to Abri was covered in over 4 hours.

We arrived in Abri late in the evening and we pleasantly greeted at the DAR Consulting Guest house overlooking the Nile River and directly across from Arnata. From the numerous tales I had heard of the region, I imagined entering a completely pitch-black region, yet another contradiction was the enchanting dots of light that lit our path. Electricity which was once a luxury in this region seems to have been made accessible, in Abri at least. The guest house we stayed at, which I was told was designed and constructed by an Arnata native son was quite impressive. Definitely not the type of lodging you would expect in Abri of all places. It is definitely on par with some of the finest hotels in Khartoum.

Exhausted from the trip, we called it an early night in eager anticipation to finally see Arnata. The next morning I awoke and looked out my window to finally realize the island of Arnata is directly in front of our view. The weather was chilly, much chillier than I anticipated. A warm cup of tea and we were off to find a way to cross over and finally see that island that has captivated me. After arranging for a boat to help us cross over, we hesitantly wobbled down the steep embankment that contoured the banks of the Nile River.

Half way across the river, among a few men standing at the top of the embankment in Arnata, was my great-uncle. His boisterous laugh could be heard from a distance, as he waved his arms to greet us. As we arrived, I took a good, long look at the embankment we were about to climb; the equivalent of a 1 storey building, nearly vertical and composed of soft, silty unstable soil. The imposing climb made sympathize with those who use it on their daily route to and from the island. A few minutes later we were on solid ground among the wheat and fava bean harvests. The soft greenish-yellow stalks of wheat waved to and fro with the gentle gusts of wind. With each step our feet sank into the dark, fertile soil. Abruptly the arable plots of land were interrupted by sand dunes. Although not suitable for farming, these golden sand dunes sustained flourishing date trees. A short climb over the dunes and houses came to full view.

Neatly aligned houses overlooking central squares filled the landscape. Constructed of mud aggregate as a cooling mechanism as weather in these regions tend to be among the hottest on earth. The mud as opposed to conventional building materials tends to bring higher degree of relief from the scorching sun. Especially since electricity is scarce and fans or cooling systems are virtually nonexistent on this island. From a distance one would could not even tell the difference in building materials, as special care is taken to erect the houses and polish them with fresh coats of paint.

Upon arrival at my greatuncle's house we were greeted by a host of extended relatives. Some of which I had previously met, others it was a first time encounter. Our time was very limited despite their persistent efforts to persuade us to stay and have something to eat and drink, we wanted to cover as many houses as possible. So with a second cousin as our guide we quickly mapped out the houses of extended family we wanted to visit and got on our way. With each house we entered, looks of bewilderment and surprise were painted on their faces. I was the last person they expected to see. At each stop it was a struggle to persuade them that our time was limited. All wanted to honor our presence by having us over for a meal. Regrettably, time did not permit. Still processing our arrival, family members left what they were doing and joined in an ever growing procession across the island to visit other relatives. The sounds our laughter and chatter grew in size and even those who we were not planning to visit peeked outside their doors to find out what was going on.

It was a very short and bittersweet trip. At that point in time I seriously contemplated telling my aunt to carry on further up north with her work as planned and I would find other means of getting back down to Khartoum. Alas reality brought me down to earth and reminded me of my obligations to work and family back in Khartoum. We were whirled off in the same frenzy that brought us onto the island but this time with throngs of relatives bidding us farewell.

Leia Mais…

Journey to the motherland: part I

Still reeling and trying to internalize the events from my last trip to El Gadarif and the Ethiopian border, I got the chance to go to the tiny island of Arnata, where my mother’s family is from. It was an opportunity I had been chasing for sometime but lacked the motivation as no one was keen on accompanying me. Luckily for me my aunt had a preplanned trip to the region to report on the progress of the Al Seleim-7alfa-Gustul, Egypt road that is currently in development. I jumped at the chance and packed my bags within hours of the news eagerly anticipating the journey. To give you an idea of the regions traversed during this trip, take a look at the map below:

The timing for this trip couldn’t be better as, I pleaded with various family members to take me, many gave me empty promises and my trip was never realized. In addition to all the other work trips, I didn’t have much time to take long time off and the journey is arduous so by the time you make it there, you better stay at least a month in order to adequately get the stress from the trip out of your system. Routes to far regions of northern Sudan have always been described as difficult. But I never grasped “difficult” it is one of those routes that you need to see to believe. Road conditions have drastically improved with the ongoing progress on this new route. Prior to the new highway in place, a trip to Abri (and then Arnata) would take 2 full days if no breakdowns occurred. Passengers often camped out in the middle of the desert and awoke the next morning to continue the journey. An alternative route was to travel by railroad via Abu Hamad on route to Halfa and then disembark to take a lorry south to Abri.

The first leg of the journey from Khartoum to Dongola (roughly 500km) was a breeze thanks to a relatively new paved highway that connects the 2 cities. The five hour journey led us into Dongola right around lunch time. We made a pit stop to eat, rest and accompany my aunt on some work related meetings. Up until this point the topography of the region validated my mental image of the deserts of northern Sudan. Large breaks of sandy dunes with a solemn mountain/ rock formation in the distance. For the most part it resembled regions of River Nile State, similar to what I saw along the way to my trip to Abu Hamad. (and the island of Mougrat). The paved road passed Dongola extends a few more kilometers to cover Al-Seleeim region. Beyond that point we entered new territory.

I was taken aback by the city of Dongola. To be honest I really didn't expect it to resemble a city at all but instead had the image of a large village in mind. I was pleasently surpised to enter a meticulously organized city with particular care from local authorities to keep the maintain the greenery that adorned its streets. My stay in Dongola was brief, so there isn't much I can say about the people as I did not have much time for interaction

Leia Mais…

World Water Day recap

>the festivities and events that took place during World Water Day 2009 was a unique breed of cultural infusion and serious social mobilization campaigns geared at disseminating information regarding water, sanitation and hygiene to local communities. It was a action packed day with parades, songs, dances, presentations and forums for discussions. Here's a brief video recap of the festivities that took place in Kunaina Albeer Village on the periphery of El Gadarif State.

Note the dances at the end of the video are unique to the Masaleet tribe, originally from Wester Sudan. Many of whom have long settled in Eastern Sudan.

*** for several days now I have been trying to add the video onto this post, but unfortunately various trial and alternates failed.

Tales from the watering hole

For the past few days, I've spent the majority of my in the village of Kunaina Albeer, located on the Sudan-Ethiopia border. A mere 10 km away, and one would be walking on Ethiopian soil and all that seperates the two nations is a mere seasonal gorge that is dry most of the year.

The 140km trip from the city of El Gadarif, the prominent thatched huts that are indegious of this region come into full view. Although labelled as a village, Kunaina is more like a small town with over 8,000 inhabitants and a sizable local market. It's an interesting village, one that suprisingly has high representation of various ethnic groups from across Sudan. Many came and settled for agricultural purposes. Others such as Huasa and Fulani (known as Falata in Sudan) groups with roots in West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana,etc) crossed the continent on route to Mecca and have since settled and became integrated into the melting pot of Sudanese society. These groups in addition to ethnic groups from Northern and Western Sudan along side numerous Ethiopians and Eritreans who also now El Gadarif home.

Most of the time was spent in the vicinity of the water station. Although not a watering hole, residents living on the outskirts of the village come into the water station to fill up. It's mostly kids who were present collecting water. So by default it has become the local hangout spot. So with donkies in tow children and teens line up and chat while filling up their water containers/ bags. Talks these days surrounded the exam timetable for some and the grueling load of memorization that awaits them. Others with their minds elsewhere, were discussing means of upgrading or buying bikes. A few had their heads in the clouds discussing, mobile phones they have seen some village elders carrying.

Leia Mais…

Dirty water cannot be washed

So many of us take for granted clean water and somewhere to go to the bathroom, but the reality is that the vast majority of the world's residents, Sudan included lack access to these basic services. At that, the world's water resources are rapidly being polluted. As an african proverb stated in the post title says it appropriately points out that dirty water cannot be washed.

World Water Day- March 22 will be celebrated worldwide this year on this coming Sunday. Currently in the process of celebrating this day and bringing to light the monumental issues facing billions of people worldwide. This year the international theme is trans-boundary waters-shared waters, shared opportunities. Nationally, alongside the international theme, it has been decided to add additional messages to suit WASH initiatives. The national slogan is "Share the responsibility for the management of water sources and sanitation promotion" This year the national program will take place with promotional programs in El Gadarif (in Eastern Sudan). The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) has a great campaign materials to highlight this sectors burgeoning problems:

Leia Mais…