Bahai Beach 36

Bahai Beach 36

January 15, 2007

Kicking up some dust.

N’Djamena – Abeche by car is what I can recommend all. Fourteen hours of landscapes. Passing through little villages with mud brick round tukuls (houses) with straw roofs. Meeting camels and men on horse back with long spears. Even an anteater on a mission was spotted. They look so cute. The landscape becomes more and more mountainous and the road gets progressively more crap. At one point you can envision seeing a lady lying on her back in the distance. The natural rock formations are pilled up as if some one has helped to put up layer after layer. Luckily we did not need to progress to Bangui (capital of Central African Republic) as the mud path there looked really tough.
Halfway through the day our car went air born as the hole next to the road we hit was deeper then expected. Luckily to quote Joseph; “Stop!!! We lost our log frames” and not our lives. We could pick up some carton rolls containing posters with the IRC philosophy. The end of the journey was a nice encounter with the Chadian troops who were not pleased when one of cars almost ran through their barricade. It took some gentle explanation form our side to let us enter into Abeche.

Just thinking back it is less than 2 months ago when rebels took Abeche in a mighty swoop. The same rebels which now have switched allegiance and have joined the Government to eradicate other rebel groups still available. Let us hope the violence will stay under control.

In our neighboring country; a peace agreement, un troops can come, o sorry did we say that, no un troops and the rebels did not sign a peace agreement. How long can the Janus faced Omar el Basher get away with his rule and divide?

The camp is near! Our flight is booked on Thursday and I cannot wait to be back with my chickens. Friday inch Allah I may finally see what has happened in the camp. As I said when I left for a break I am sure they did an excellent job and there was Dr Ponce to cover so all things will be fine. Worries of course about the mental state of mind of the refugees. I just cannot imagine how they will feel after the bombarding near the camp. Just imagine the sight of the ugly sight of the Antonovs. The vicious planes used in the campaign to drive them out of Darfur in the first place. How much silly ness need they go through?

There is good news as well! We have hired a Chadian doctor and the Chadian midwife will be on the plane as well very soon towards Oure Cassoni and then somewhere next week we have a big medical meeting to set out the health priorities for 2007. And a photo exposition of people in the camp will be organized over the next two months. Youths will be given digital cameras and training. We hope to see some beautiful results. If all works out well all the photographers who have visited Oure Cassoni have been requested to send some of the photos they made so an exposition can be organized in the camp, in our Abeche office as well as our N’Djamena office. And we have deployed our huge Mercedes truck. It means that we are less dependant on other agencies to transport our goods to and from the camp. As a first shipment medication, computers, construction items as well generators may be sent.

For tomorrow and the day after in Abeche a media training is being planned. Looking forward to that as well. The intricacies of getting the story told. The story of the refugees.

And the next blog will be from Bahai again….


Lucky me,

Namaskar,

Ashis