Bahai Beach 33

Bahai Beach 33

December 25, 2006.

Peace, salaam to all on this joyous day.

To all who are with family and friends I wish you all your hearts desire. They are most likely right next to you. Here in Chad I feel like a purring cat. My break is doing wonders to the mind. It puts things into perspective. Let the negative emotions out and tank up on my positivism. A large part of that has had to do with Stacy and Gabriel.

http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact2/day3.php.

A website dedicated to end the crisis in Darfur. Gabriel and Stacy came out to Chad to talk with people in the camps around the Eastern parts of Chad. Inter-connectedness rules!
They would like to hook up young people between 13-17 from the USA with those in Chad. A way to make sure a better understanding develops between people from different continents. A relatively simple method as Internet can be used for this. Video messages can be recorded and sent to and fro.

Oure Cassoni has not left my mind or heart. I am sure that the systems are functioning smoothly as I heard that there was a transfer by car (arranged by the refugees) from O.C. to Bahai and then to Abeche by plane. The lady lost her baby but may well have died herself as the labor was obstructed. Yet she got operated in Abeche and she is doing well. Without medical expatriates in the field and only one national staff medical expatriate to run the system. I am very pleased. Self-reliance will make the system strong and expatriate positions redundant. The refugees in Oure Cassoni do very well for themselves. Make no mistake.

Here in N’Djamena we will have a medical meeting to plan for the first 6 months of 2006. Also we will address outstanding issues. Some of the plans are the introduction of functional laboratory with microscope in the camp, a check up center for newborns, construction of gates and fences, introduction of teaching curriculum. All up for debate naturally. What is a priority and what is achievable given the security situation. Outstanding issues include the preparation for an eventual departure of the camp. An exploratory mission to another site where there are several thousand Chadian on the run for violence, how to hand over the hospital back to the ministry of health, cost recovery. I can go on and sum up all the topics but it will be a long fruitful discussion I am sure.

In the mean time I have been looking around N’Djamena to get my working visa and my travel visa for Cameroon. But as in many Asian and African countries that takes some patience. Any way I am nearly off to Kenya and have absolutely no right to complain.

Well finally may peace come upon us. A dream perhaps but if you cannot dream you might as well not live. –Namaskar Ashis