The arabic Red Crescent and Red Cross song

This song was sung to us on our third farewell party. It is a beautiful song about the movement, its work and principals. For those of you who does not understand arabic the song is still cool to listen to...

Our first good bye party

We have just had our first good bye party last night. And the volunteers in all parts of our city all want to throw parties for us. It is a true honor and we have no less than five parties like this one this week. Three city local branches, one headquarter and one we will throw for the volunteers.

Here follow some pictures of the people we have come to know so well. And the wonderful gifts we have been given. It is sad to say good bye. We feel it is to soon and that time has flown away really quick the whole mission. 
Some people say I will soon be back in Norway feeling the whole stay in Sudan as a dream. And I believe that they might be right. However we are making preperations to stay in touch with them after we leave. So a full good bye it is not.

Sitting in good company

Jokes, speeches and us being deeply grateful on the carpet throughout the evening. Delicious homemade snacks with tea and coffee circling around.

We got beautiful handmade gifts. Anine a pearl decorated mirror usually only given to newly married women. I got a Beja knife also decorated in pearls and some shells. We both also got a key chain pearl piece with our name on it. 

How do like us in traditional Beja clothing? 

Now we have only four more good bye parties to go and less than a week till we leave Port Sudan city towards Khartoum. We will take the old road to the capital Khartoum which leads us through Kassala. And Kassala is said to be green and beautiful. The old road is almost 1700km long I think. A good roadtrip. 

Our contribution to the Sudanese Red Crescent and Sudan

Our nine months has been a success. Our contribution has made a range of differences and in some ways changed the organisation we have participated in. And it feels great to think those two sentences. Here is how...

Our presence, according to staff in SRCS, inspired more activities overall and created a higher productive nine months for the branch, especially for the volunteers.
The sexual health programme is running better with more resources and initiative because of Anine`s contribution through countless hours of work and talk.
The International Humantarian Law (IHL) & Movement Structure activities trained over 100 more volunteers in basic introductions and had a deep IHL session with 25 IHL experienced volunteers.
The Street Children Centre has been opened and helps 10-20 street children every weekday (five days a week) with breakfast, free soap for washing clothes/ body and the hospitals have come together to help the children with basic healthcare for free.
A temporary private donor has been secured who funds half of what the centre needs for critical basics such as described above on what the street children recieve.
However the centre needs a fixed consistent donor. The children also need more support than just the critical basics. They need help on drug/alcohol abuse, education, reunion with family, older children proffesional experience for jobs, sexual health and more.
But the little the centre is open now, hope is there and the children do not starv or die of easily threated diseases. Maybe they are also able to stay out of trouble more because of the primary needs covered.

Our "mandate" or task description as youth delegate has roughly described been to participate in and support existing activities in Sudanese Red Crescent. The activities has been International Humanitarian Law, Sexual Health, the Street Children Centre and presentations of us and our national society and our methods of working.
Also we have participated in english and computer knowledge on the volunteers. We have witnessed vaccination campaigns, women and health centres, water and agriculture support schemes, first aid trainings, home nursing courses, water and sanitation trainings and organisational development.

Picture: From a dinner at the fishmarket with Disaster Manager Hashjim Saleh`s family. Here we are with Sohel, Hashjims daughter.

We have also, in the field of organisational development, had the joy of helping with the new strategy and structural documents for Sudanese Red Crescent and been around freshly established ambitious local branches in Port Sudan City.
While Anine was sick in hospital i Khartoum for a week I helped the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) with maps and latest geographical information on Sudan from United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
We have also had the pleassure of meeting all relevant SRCS, IFRC and ICRC staff in their head quarters in Khartoum and given introductions to our movements work through all these levels and parts.
We have participated in a UNDP initiative to collect information from all organisations in Sudan called 4W. This software might be adapted by UN to all post-conflict zones in the world if the program continues to succeed.

Picture:  This is from a rural community north of Port Sudan city called Arba`at. The community is facing severe dessertification.

Within a year or two it is said maybe volunteer elections will be held for the boards of the Red Sea State branch. This means new general assembly, which currently hasn`t been held for 6-7 years now. Creating a room for volunteers to make agendas, common goals and take charge of their organisation again. The documents I helped with on strategy and structure are the basis for such a general assembly and elections. Right before christmas these documents where used to train 60 volunteer community leaders. I wish the volunteers and staff at Sudanese Red Crescent Red Sea State good luck in realizing this ambition.

Picture: Volunteers having fun with my devilsticks (juggling) at Kilo Beach in Port Sudan.

Also the two foreign volunteers who joined us during this year: Our good friends Celine and Guillaume. Celine helped us train the volunteers in english and Guillaume provided computer skills, a private generous donation to the street children centre and helped us get a computer engineer (who helped us do maintainance on all office computers). Thank you so much for all your help and continued volunteering. 

So when we look at our rules and the fact that we were not supposed to start new activity, but rather support the existing activities and democratic structures inside Sudanese Red Crescent Red Sea State, we brooke the rules when establishing the street children centre. Any work we did had to be sustainable, rooted in the volunteers and financed from somewhere other than the youth delegate program. The street children centre is currently running on temporary donations and a single donation from Ullensaker Red Cross in Norway (not very sustainable), its volunteers are few and unexperienced (also not sustainable, but they are growing quickly in numbers and they will be trained). 
So with the street children centre I learned my most valuable lesson from my time in Sudan. A street child said it very well to Anine: "If you have money to feed me for òne day, why do you not feed me?". One less day for him to be hungry. My lesson is that our rules and procedures are there sometimes in the way of the point. That when we want something done we have to just take the first step and see what opportunities arrives along the way.
If we followed all the rules from our national society the centre would still be closed.

Picture: The beautiful sunset from our house (Bathroom window :p )

So that is all I remember for this little description on our work. There might be something I left out, but this surtainly covers the most important issues. So now the time is really drawing near for the time to head for home again. But not quite yet. We still have some things to do and places to see. Home ticket is currently set at 13.june.

The 15th of September 2009 two new youth delegates will arrive in Sudan and continue our work. I wish Anniken Førland Schwamborn og Ingvild Rørholt the best of luck.

So stay with my blog for the final words on my mission. 

All the best
Thomas

The latest norwegian newsupdate on sudan:

VG

Updates

Dear all readers

I have changed and edited quite alot lately and decided to let you in on what is new here on my blog.

As the Sudanese Red Crescent Street Children Centre progresses more pictures and picasa web albums has been made. The picasa web albums can be found through the link with the same name under the picture "My face..." in the right side bar. Also the two picture slideshows in the sidebar are from these albums.

I have created my own youtube channel, which on its own is not very well built for now. But the different birthdays I have been missing out in while in field, has been greeted with short movieclips from Port Sudan city through this channel. And more clips and presentations of work are very likely to occur there as well. These clips are added to the embedded movies on top of the sidebar. The movies are from Port Sudan in the morning sunrise and evening sunset and gives a glimse of the city life from our rooftop. And so it could be interesting to watch not only for my close family and friends. :)

On top of my blog, under the title, are selected movies from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Youtube channel. It gives a good presentation on work as delegate and on projects to help vulnerable people across the world. Some are well known crisis and situations with the movies documenting the work to improve conditions. So visit the IFRC Youtube channel and get to know the work of 115 million volunteers with belonging staff all over the world.

So it is Our World, Your Move...

All the best

Thomas

Al Jazeera`s Listening Post video of the day: Here is something for campaigners and activists to admire

Here is Al-Jazeera`s Listening Post Facebook page...

Days of low energy

The last couple of days I have been thoroughly reminded that I am but humble mortal. All my energy has been completely vacant. I think my body is signaling the time for summer vacation. So to all you friends out there in beautiful summer Bergen I am coming home in mood for sun basking.

While I was at home doing virtually nothing I have added and updated my Picasa web albums to this blog. You can find them in the links on the sidebar. If you wonder how the street children centre look like you can watch the slideshow on the top right of this blog or go into Picasa through my link down by the Facebook links.

And do not worry, many more stories and experiences await before our time here in Sudan is over, so catch them by popping by on regular basis or join my followers for automatic updates.

All the best

Thomas

Todays joke

We are sitting in our office at the headquarters of Sudanese Red Crescent in Port Sudan city. And some volunteers are about to leave the office after meeting the volunteer coordinator Mahmoud, so i say: 

Me: "See you around!"

Volunteers: "What?"

Me:"You know one can say; See you. And one can also say; See you around. Like in around the place and here".

Mahmoud:[The volunteer coordinator looks at me with a big smile in his face and says:] "See you in line! Hehehehehehehehehehe".

Sometimes when I explain and get understood it feels really great and then these sort of jokes become hilarious. Hehe, I am getting local I think. 

Our status quo on monday 18.May

Time passes fast. We have 19 working days left now. The pressure is on at the same time as the feeling of a need for vacation is growing slowly stronger. The weather is bright blue (as always) and the heat and humidity is getting heavier. This means slow sauna type of pain for norwegians, normally. At the moment for us we are largely weather adapted and only feel agony when the sudanese them selves complain. In other words: "We will come home and freeze our assses of in the norwegian summer". 

The Street Children Centre is open in critical mode. We only provide breakfast, healthcare ones a week and clean water and soaps.  The kids are happy when at the centre and they thank us on regular basis. Three volunteers now take shifts at the centre, namely; Sadiq, Abeer and Ali Ushi. Us youth delegates are around and so is the volunteer coordinator Mahmoud Sharif.

In the picture you can see the centre from within and the children who clean and keep the centre themselves. But they have to be encouraged and someone have to stay with them at all times. The centre opens every day at 10am and closes at 2pm. The volunteers are now starting to register all the kids again and do follow up on what medical treatment they are on amongst other things. The centre has a highly insecure financial future still, but a private donor has come forth and offered 1/5 of needed funds for the critical basics. And this donor is working on finding others who could help him find the rest. Wish us luck.

Picture of Tokar city :p

This week we are going down the Red Sea coast to Tokar city. In this little rural agricultural city we will hang out with volunteers and keep a sexual health workshop. I will have a session on the movement, the values and the Red Cross mandate which is the Geneva Conventions and its protocols. We will stay in Tokar city for two days.

Next week I will hold a workshop on the Norwegian Red Cross Youth methods for teaching rules of war. 'This workshop will also cover the rules of war themselves. It will be a mix of so called participatory activities where the point is to get the participants to do the activities themselves, not just you standing infront a group lecturing. It works great in Norway, so wish me luck on my explanations here in Sudan :)

Picture: "After a hard days work"

Other than this we are now building Oslo presentations, picking out our best pictures to Norwegian Red Cross and prepare for home again. We also have alot of "afterwork" to do up to maximum one year after returning home. Five working weeks in total time has to be given to the afterwork.

I constantly deny begging people money and keep referring them to the Sudanese Red Crescent which I know do not have money to help them. If I gave them money the staff at our office described it like this: "If you give these people money there will be big mushkilla (problem)". For security reasons (not flash around money to become a target for beggers and thieves) my hands are tied. Yesterday this old nice man, clearly troubled asking for money, asked me for 30 pounds sudanese (12$) to take his wife to the doctor. I had to refer him to Sudanese Red Crescent and then he refused to follow me there. I suspect he had allready been turned down there. I have never felt so small and helpless in my life.

Stay well people and always look for the safe and genuin opportunity to help someone. I feel I have failed in that respect because one always thinks: "I can do more".

A famous Sudanese joke

Here is a famous Sudanese joke for you. The last time I heard it was tonight at the local coffee shop on the corner. And yes, this is one of those jokes nobody seems to go tired of except you. Enjoy...

There was a Sudanese boy who had a rather well situated family. His family and especially his carrier focused father wanted his son to have a solid education. So english language was a must to master. But unfortunately the son was quite bad in this particular class and consantly fell behind the rest of the class.

His father was deeply worried and thought some drastic meassures had to be done to get english into to this boys head. In the area there was foreigner who spoke excellent english so he would have to help his son. 

The father entered negotiations with the foreigner. And the result was an agreement where the two, his son and the foreigner, were to be locked into the boys house for three months. Provided that the foreigner got well paid salary and all the supplies needed to live there with out leaving. The agreement was agreed and so it happened. A part of the deal was also that noone would disturb the two in these three months. Just leave the supplies at the door and go away.

So after three months the father was anxious to speak to his son in english. So when the two came out of the house the whole family waited in anticipation.

The foreigner came out and spoke fluent arabic and the boy still did not know a word of english.

Hehe. Those hardheaded Sudanese. Cheers... 

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Check out the video from Port Sudan and me at top of the sidebar...

Our flat

We live in a quite nice flat after we moved from the first one 1. april. So this is our place until the mission  is complete...

Our building from ground and main entrance. Looks nice and simple

Our house has a very good standard and it was significantly cheaper than the previous place

The place is just built which is great, but the downside is no generator temporarily. So WHEN, not if, the power cuts we are left to the heat.

At the moment it is about 35 degrees. But that goes to 40-45degrees on a hot day. The house feels like a sauna, without power. And I would literally sweath as if in a sauna. To sleep is more like swimming in bed. So this causes problems for work efficiancy some days.

Lower down you can see my bedroom with the mosquito net on alert. I hate sleeping with buzzing around my head. So I am addicted to mosquito net. There is not much Malaria or Dengue Fever in this region, so if I did not mind the stings and itch, one can sleep without the net.

"Knock some wood..."

The two last pictures is the view from my bedroom window and the last picture is the view from the roof in the direction of the sunset.

So now you have seen our "base". In only four weeks we are finished here and head for home.

See you soon my fellow Red Cross`ers, friends and family :)

Flu and me

I have got flu. And usually; who cares! But now it is quite a manic different story. The media is all over "swineflu" and the world shivers. I have currently now more a cold than flu. Difference is a standing Thomas not laying. I feel I have to say: "Knock some wood!" But seriuosly a cold like this in Norway wouldn`t be recognized enough to stay home from work even. But I guess if I went back to Norway now I would be put in quarantine. 

So now I am confined to home for a couple of days and enjoy the sunset. Sommer is coming in Norway now isn`t it? I feel like I have had summer in a whole year straight now. Good luck with all your exams and work deadlines, good people. There is four weeks left of our mission now and I feel the pressure for a best possible ending of tasks. Let us hope what we have done has made an impact and is carried on by the volunteers here in Sudanese Red Crescent. The work done and maybe the final presentation video will be published here, I think. :)

Until later; See ya.

Thomas

To be as neutral, or not to be?

In the last year, as long as I have been in the field here in Sudan for the Red Cross, there has been a huge debate on why a humanitarian organisation tries to be neutral where they do their work. The critics I have picked up on could be summarized like this: “They try to be neutral to all the politics and all the different interests of many different people in a region or a country. When we get to know somebody it is pretty hard to not side in anyway with anyone. This seems impossible. Besides, a humanitarian organisation wants to protect the people they want to help, so they have to choose side with them. Then why and how can they claim to be neutral?”

The arguments for and against neutrality and what is called a “humanitarian space” in the society is many and varies according to exemplified situations. But resent developments in The Sudan give a very strong example on why being clearly neutral might matter more than we think. Here is the case:

On the 4.march 2009 the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced it indicts President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan with five acts of Crimes against humanity and two acts of War crimes. Moments after the ICC made their official decision the government of Sudan expelled 13 International nongovernmental organisations (INGOs) and shut down three national nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). They were all humanitarian organisations which the government accused of breaching their humanitarian mandate by, allegedly, aiding the ICC with information.

Whether the organisations did or did not breach their mandate is still disputed, but according to the Sudanese government there is evidence against the organisations that made the government react. The delegates of these organisations has denied any “double agenda” and reacted with frustration not to be able to do their humanitarian work anymore among the poor population in The Sudan.

In the dispute between these parties it is fair to say that the evicted organisations failed to gain or maintain the trust of the Sudanese government. Sudanese government is at the same time accused of refusing/ stalling aid to regions and population groups they wish to control (Alex de Waal 2008). Rightfully or wrongfully accusations of humanitarian organisations is in the final moment up to the hosting state to act on or not act on. In the bottom line the Republic of Sudan no longer wants these organisations help on the humanitarian challenges. Maybe, or in this case clearly, despite the need for humanitarian assistance in the general population. This is especially in Darfur according to the UN.  

A significant organisation in field here in The Sudan (the organisation requested to remain anonymous because of the current disputes) who had close partners evicted, even though all confirm to have the strictest policy on full transparency and follow laws and regulations to the letter, says:

“Neutrality as a concept is no longer fully understood and to make partners and authorities fully understand our purpose it is now, more than ever, vital to be completely transparent in everything we do. It is of vital importance to prove that there is no hidden agenda by sharing every single piece of information which isn't contained in the medical secrecy charter linking the patient and his practitioner exclusively. If you have nothing to hide you can show all your cards.'' 

And by showing all your cards, you have a role to play on the side of any ongoing conflict and can demand full neutrality status in all hostilities. This last point makes field delegates safe, when the rules are upheld by all parties to the conflict, and grants a humanitarian space for the organisations to assist the vulnerable people.

Also in order for the national states to be able to follow the International Humanitarian Law and its four Geneva Conventions the state is obliged to give room for humanitarian assistance, from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), during any armed conflicts on its territory. All the states in the world have ratified (signed) the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

 So it is evident that taking any side with any part, other than insisting on aiding and protecting the vulnerable people on only medical and humanitarian priorities, would easily put your work and sometimes, your life in danger. And further the huge importance to allow the authorities to look into every single thing you do, so that there is no room for distrust, suspicion and/ or false accusations. So sometimes this is not even enough to avoid trouble with the parties to the conflict. Further this shows giving into pressure to take side in the conflict would make such problems very likely to develop. The importance of neutrality becomes clear and there needs to be a fully accepted undisputed humanitarian space in every society where suffering people can survive and maintain their human dignity, regardless of all other conditions. And this humanitarian space in society is operated by the different neutral organisations specialized in their field within humanitarian aid. 

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have neutrality as one of its seven fundamental principles and have defined neutrality as follows:

Neutrality
“In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all,
the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or
engage at any time in controversies of a political,
racial, religious or ideological nature”

Because of the role Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal has, as an example, it not only gains access to all conflicted areas in the world, but also gains access to all the worlds prisons and camps. Without neutrality this organization would not be allowed in. To me personally this come down to a simple question of motivation; are we here to help or take part in the conflict? There are no both in this sense. Do you see the importance of neutrality?

More news on Sudan and the ongoing Darfur conflict and Mia Farrows hunger strike (Norwegian newspaper):     VG     VG     VG     VG

Anines memories of the last week

Anine, my colleague, has written all her last experiences on her blog for the last week. Her story carries a extraordinary message and a powerful experience.

Our experiences with reopening the street children centre has been a reality smack in the face and we are doing our best efforts to keep the centre. 

Follow this blog and Anines to get the story as it is made.... 

My last blog on the street children centre is named "We are failing to maintain our mandate" and it is found lower on this page.

All the best 

Thomas

The beautiful sunset from from our house...

En ny dag med blanke ark og fargestifter til

Today is a new day after I realized how culture shocked I am. Culture shock is contrary to its name because it sneaks up on you over weeks and months by building your stresslevel slowly up up up. So it usually does not come as a shock. It works as a reaction to a different environment adaptation process. Or as I would word it: Your body refusing to deal with everything and setting up mental defence in curtain areas. Demanding time to grasp it all, meanwhile acting all confused.

Classic symptoms of longterm untreated culture shock is: Sleepiness, apathy, compulsive eating and drinking, depression and isolation.

I am extremely sleepy these last two months, slightly apathic when it comes to the dying people around me at the underfunded hospital (I mean WHAT CAN I DO!?), I eat chocolate and easy or lacy food all day when I am not working, I sometimes feel like staying home and avoid going out (not to much though, I still really enjoy getting out of the house) and logically after my realtionship breakdown the last month I have been small time depressed and sad (Most likely it is more sadness than depression and I just feel it stronger now while it is passing through my system).

Realizing what is the reason for your feelings and reactions, and therefore knowing what you are going through and why it is hard, is in it self calming and some stress dies down. That is why I feel a new day today. In the time ahead my own treatment is guitarhero at a friends house, beer with the chinese, following through the workplan to help people and keep reading and asking questions to understand more of the situation and culture I am in at the moment (This last one is essential because mental orientation/ understanding of your environment gives "standing ground" for your mind to navigate from. For example if you know why the people is sooo slow when they plan to do something about a problem, you won`t annoy yourself as much and focus more on how to speed things up in the local settings) And you would think after 7 months I would have a good idea about the whole setting here now, but no. Sudan is infinately complicated for someone so outside as Norway. And it would take me another year at least before I would have a more comprehensive understanding of the culture and political progress.

I hope, by sharing this most intimate thoughts with you, I give you some perspective on culture shock and how you can avoid it when far away from home or some wierd place close to home. Hehe (Culture shock is not limited to international travel. For example it also sometimes occure when we move within our own country and region). Awarness makes me able to act and change the reasons for my feelings. Right now I am enjoying a book on Sudan with an italian cup of coffee under the blue sunny sky by palms and the Red Sea, remembering how much I looked forward to come here.

Picture: From our Red Cross briefing in Norway days before we left for fieldwork. This is a method of learning using drama, where I am acting a superhero in efficiency and coffee was like Poppeys spinnache. We were 16 youth delegates all in all here who could not wait to go into our designated fields.

Good luck in your work everybody

Thomas

We are failing to maintain our mandate

Today is a brilliant day, because we have finally reopened the street children centre in Port Sudan city. And that feels quite good. The first day and only 3 street children found out about it, but word will spread like fire in dry gras. 

Picture: One of these boys is now unconscious at the hospital, the man with the hose is Mahmoud the volunteer coordinator. This picture was taken 5 hours ago in the street children centre. I looked the boy in the eyes and shook his hand. He seemed ok taking the conditions into account. Strange how we are able to stand up only in spite sometimes.

While we where cleaning and fixing the centre the three boys discovered us and started working harder than any other to get the centre back in shape. We were staff, volunteers, street children and youth delegates together. Ten people all in all. The centre quickly sprung back to life in a very basic look.

We have dicided to reopen the centre and provide the minimum support (fresh water, toilet, refuge, breakfast and simple free hospital treatment of the sick) even though we do not have secure funds yet. Application proposals are in the hands of two major organisations and we may send one more in addition. So right now we are waiting and utilizing funds from our own youth delegate budget and a generous donation from my colleagues local red cross branch in Norway: Ullensaker Red Cross. Because of these resources we managed to do the following only the first day:

The three boys who came to day, were in a bad shape. We did some further check ups on them and boy nr1 had a four month old open wound infection hidden under his pants in the left ancle. It may have reached his bone and that is really serious. He is now admitted to the hospital and have lost consiousness because of high fever. He collapsed as soon as there was breakfast in his stomach and he was somewhat safe in the local public hospital. Anine, my youth delegate colleague, was the one who took him there with some volunteers. And she reports it was very difficult to get him looked after properly. Some Red Crescent volunteers had to step in to watch over him. Let us hope he recovers.

Boy nr2 had dysentery and syphilis. The doctors told us that if his syphilis had come to far there was nothing or very limited things to do about it. The dysentery made the boy naturally extremely hungry and he was the most pushy when it came to get breakfast on the table. Can you imagine having dysentery (it gives the worse diarrhea), not be able to treat it and not have food to eat? These poor kids.

The third boy had resently been run over by a car. But survived and the wounds was healed so not really recently, but the scars was really fresh and huge across his body. Anine was told he was an orphan with a twin in the capital city (I asked why the twins where not together, but we do not know) and he fled from Kordofan (Central Sudan) in the 90`s. He was in his teens now, so imagine his age then.

These two last kids was not admitted to the hospital, but where given treatment and medications. They are also going to have more tests and follow up. Medications for one of the boys alone cost 53 Sudanese pounds. We have a total to run on approx 3500 Sudanese pounds, so we are in desperate need to get more help for these children (1$=2.4Sudanese pounds (SDG)).

There is no one to care for these children. Our core mandate in the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement is to heal the wounded and treat the sick. We are failing at this basic human need in Sudan. Let alone feed these starving children. The other external national societies must come stronger together for Sudan and help Sudanese Red Crescent reach more people. The Republic of Sudan has asked the Sudanese Red Crescent to increase their activities in Sudan. They are currently and always on full capacity, with the largest humanitarian force in Sudan. To gain more capacity we need more funding, technical and administrative help.

In the late day today 8 more children came and gave their names for tomorrow. By the end of the first week the local volunteers say they will be fifthy. The need is here and we are here. If you feel you can help in any way, please drop me a comment and let us discuss what can be done. I would like to see ideas on: I know someone somewhere, we are available, we are RC/RC volunteers, I give my support and my voice, I work for the movement, I might have good ideas and advice on running a centre like this, I am inspired but do not know what to do...and every other form of support we can imagine. From this we can establish more communication and that always leads to rare opportunities. So at the very least drop a phrase like this: "I am Thomas and I am a carpenter. I support what you are doing" i.e.

All the best

Thomas 

Norwegian updated news on Sudan:

VG     VG     VG 

Mission easter holiday impossible

Today is the day I should have set foot in Beirut, Lebanon for my 8 day easter holiday. However faith or Sudan ment otherwise.

Two months ago me, my girlfriend and my lebanese sister Marya decided to spend a holiday together in Beirut. I booked my flight tickets, my girlfriend the hotelroom and flight. Marya the vacation plans in general. I asked my boss here at the Sudanese Red Crescent if it was possible to renew my residence visa and get exit/entry visa within the next 6 weeks. Yes was the answer.

And to everyones surprise, Anine my colleague, gets seriously ill with dysenteri and has to be flown to Khartoum for better treatment with me as support with her. She came around and is well now. While we where there I checked on the status of the visas I needed. "hmm, how far have we come with the visas?" I thought. When I asked the right people, they had not heard of it at all. We had now three weeks left to departure. I was speechless and worried.

After alot of talking and documents exchange the prosess of getting the visas was finally started. All they needed now to reach the deadline was the cash transfered from our branch to the headquarters in order for them to pay the fees. "Good", I thought, "we are finally moving ahead and there is hope to get in time still". I went satisfied back to Port Sudan city with a healthy Anine after almost two weeks in Khartoum.

Two weeks went by and I was reassured over phone that prosedures where going as they should and the money was transfered without any problems. But closer to the last week before departure my contact person in headquarters had to much to do and assigned me to another person. I called this person and was told no money was transfered to them and because of this nothing which needed payment had been done so far. Now there was 4 days left to departure and hope deminished before my eyes. "What!? How is that &%¤# possible?", I thought.

It shows, after connections has been used to get information,  that the finance department had attained the money for accountacy security reasons. In effect stopping the whole prosess and nobody thought of telling me about the issue. My boss here in the branch where, by coinsidence, in Khartoum these days because he had been in Geneva. He discovered the issue, asked for transfer documentation and had the money released...on late thursday. In sudan there is holiday friday and saturday. My departure was on tuesday morning 6am. 

It WAS tuesday morning 6am. So the date was lost, no doubt about it. All I had to do was to rebook my flights to leave two or three days later...

So I called my airliner: Egypt Air. It was now monday morning. No answer. "Have I pressed the wrong number from the internet?" I thought, "I will try to call all possible ways and numbers".

Two hours later, after calling between two numbers I was absolutely sure (The numbers where busy sometimes, but still would not answer when I called right after they hung up) the numbers where right. I also called their main base in Egypt frequently between the constant recalling to Khartoum office. No answer. A local sudanese friend of mine tipped me of a skilled travel agent here in Port Sudan city. I went to him and he told me Egypt Air never answers their phone. "What kind of buisness is this?" I thought.

I decided I was not going to lose my ticket without a fight, so I called without break for the next hours between two numbers to the egypt office. At 2 pm they started answering their phones right away. So now that I had reached them I was safe that my ticket was not lost.

Almost. You see, they needed everything on mail. Approval of fees as well as the changes to the ticket had to be sent by mail. "No problem" I thought. So I sent it all. I called them back 15min later, but they had recieved nothing. So I sent it again, after checking thoroughly the mail both on phone and contact details on egypt air webpage. I called back an half hour later, still nothing. We did it a third time and then the operator started accusing me of having something wrong with my mail or computer. Emphazing strongly this was MY fault. I argued that no matter where the fault was we should rebook by phone, since the mailsystem is not working whereever. The operator kindly declined and said he had to have it writting in a mail that I approve the fees for rebooking. I pleaded an oral agreement as strong as a written one. As well as pointing out that every other airliner in the world was able to make changes to a ticket wihtout a mail over phone. The operator now goes from kindly declining to bluntly refusing. "You better hope there is no rule I can fry you on this one, good bye!" was my kind last word to the operator and my face was purple at this point. I would most likely be in jail, for ripping a susrtain someones head off, if the operator was there in front of me at that time. I had then spent 6-7 hours with the good service at Egypt Air. Stay away from these guys!

So now I am here still in Port Sudan enjoying the sunset, not allowed to leave the country by state and airliner. So this was out of the country vacation plans. Do you wanna come visit us into the country? 

Happy easter everybody.

All the best Thomas

Strong volunteers

Just one of the volunteer groups in Port Sudan. There is 30 of these in this one city.

"Ikke se så svart og hvitt på det" hehe.

Things are moving slowly

We have now moved from our current flat to a cheaper and new apartment which is great. Finally no more generator probems, leaking sink and just about every technical thing went wrong in that old driedup house. We paid a high rent and the landlord did not care much to follow up. So I am happy to now live in a brand new apartment...which has leaking sink, no generator, broken toilet and squicing aircondition (only on my bedroom ofcourse). Hehehe. It is faiths irony. But regardless, I am happy in this beautiful new apartment. And the new landlord is a friend who cares. So it is all in the psychology I suppose.

Other than this we are working step by step to make a initiative strong volunteer crowd in Sudanese Red Crescent Red Sea State. And that might sound like I think I am coming as a saviour, but I really do not. These volunteers are so incredible strong, but somehow the organization is down. It is a path of challenges to make the arena again on which the true power of volunteers shine. Their own governed organisation. At the moment it is staff and local governed volunteer groups only and I believe this is the force that keeps the volunteers from taking initiative. The Sudanese Red Crescent national strategy is taking shape in the many state branches around the country (Sudan is a republic with 26 states in it). I hope the volunteer strategy is soon implemented in Red Sea State as well.

That was it for now. Stay tuned. Thomas

Back in Port Sudan by the Red Sea

Now we are back in our base city Port Sudan. Our work will resume tomorow and we are both exited to find out how much we have lost out on during our little med.evac to khartoum. The work is drawing closer to end also, we now have approx 11 weeks left to change the world. hehe. No. But to share ourselves with all the volunteers as much as possible and create activities with them which can endure beyond the point of our departure back to Norway.

Life in Port Sudan has just gotten increasingly sticky again. Which means the heat is coming back up faster. In the summer around juli-august this place reaches above 50 degrees celcius. HOT! On google earth if you look at the pictures from/on downtown Khartoum you can see a picture of the tarmaq (asfalt) melting. And the people in Khartoum has respect for people living in Port Sudan because it is even more extremly hot. So there is some perspective for you. To me right now this means two things: 1. Hot water in the shower (which is not the case during the winter months, allthough cold here means 15-20 degrees celcius :P ) 2. Sticky existence espesially at night when the fan goes off because of powerfailure (approx every night). So when you wake up because you lie in a insaneasylum jacket of a twirled sticky bedsheet and can not move you feel rested and in no need for coffee in the morning. 

Up here I think I sound tired and demotivated, but despite all this and lots of other challenges I really enjoy this challenge and self development/learning experience. It is highly reconmended.

All the best 

Thomas

"All out of Sudan within 12 months"

President Omar Al-Bashir of the Republic of Sudan has just anounced that every foreign aid organisation have to end their aid work within one year in all of Sudan.

What this means to the Norwegian Red Cross support to Sudanese Red Crescent programmes is most likely nothing. I hope and think it will be able to resume since it is within a national organisation of Sudan. But I am not sure.

For the youth delegate programme in Sudan I hope it has the same destiny. It will be able to endure despite the throw out of all aid organisations because of its foundation inside the Sudanese Red Crescent. I hope. But I am not sure.

Everybody is working hard in order to understand exactly what this means in field and every day operation solutions. Maybe nobody right now knows what this will mean to the people who rely on the current aid. They are in the millions. The projects in the hundreds, at least. We are talking about a country on the size of Spain, France and maybe even a part of Germany. I haven`t had time to check my geography properly. I am going to the IFRC offices now.

In my recent talks with UNDP in Khartoum it was clear that oversight was just beginning to get established after the 13 international and three national organisations was shut down with all their belongings confiscated. Hopefully their belonings will be returned to them after concluded investigations. My point allthough is that today UNDP and all other organisations including our own international bodies, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Comittee if the Red Cross (ICRC) is to my guess working hard to find out what this means exactly and how we can help the suffering and needy from this point. This means: There is proberly chaos and meetings on a string at all offices today and the coming period ahead of us. 

Wish us all good luck and give the people of Sudan our prayers/best wishes for a swift and sustainable change to other approved organisations who can reach the people.

VG, VG & VG Norwegian newspaper articles.

All the best from a deeply worried

Thomas

The little medical evacuation to Khartoum

[Continuation from the blog before this one]

The decision was made and we where sent to Khartoum to seek professional treatment for Anine my co-delegate. In 6 hrs the plan was executed and we were suddenly in the middle of the capital city with Anine admitted to hospital for severe dehydration or not far from it. Two times a day I updated staff and management in all three layers of the organisation, the national society Sudanese Red Crescent, the international federation and our home national society Norwegian Red Cross.

Plans were discussed wether Anine should be sent to Oslo for the best treatment. But now she after one night in hospital, 5 bottles of IV fluids and penicillin through IV, three days rest at hotel and continuance of penicillin through pills she is finally starting to recover properly. Dysenteri is not a joke. That is for sure.

All in all the dysenteri took 10 days to get reduced and some more days to fully recover. She is not yet fully there, so we will stay in Khartoum until we are safe it is over.

Anine has written about the experience herself on her blog.

All the best

Thomas

A little medical evacuation

Anine, my colleague, is sick with dysenteri. She has been suffering for over a week now. Diarrhea, headaches, weakness, stomach cramps and pains and so forth. She has been treated with penicillin for four days now and it seems not to be working. The situation other than that is not very dramatical. All she needs is a good doctor and the right medicin. So...

The Norwegian Red Cross (NRX), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) are right now about to decide wether to send us both to the capital where hospitals are better. I follow to take care of her. We will be under the guard of the IFRC in Khartoum.

So exciting days of new experiences on a regular basis here in Sudan for us. So stay tuned for later updates and news. :)

All the best

Thomas

Red Cross youth delegates in Sudan and ICC Ruling

The International Criminal Court (the court which hunts war criminals) have endicted President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan. Now that they have decided to charge the president with crimes against humanity and  two cases of war crimes, it is the first endictment of a sitting government head in history. And a warrant for his arrest has been issued. The Justice and Equality Movement (a Darfur rebel army) has woved to get Bashir "by all means necessary" if this arrest warrant is issued.

In the norwegian newspapers VG and Dagbladet you can follow the situation in Sudan:

VG     VG     Dagbladet     Dagbladet     Dagbladet     + Alertnet (Reuters)

VG     VG     Dagbladet     Dagbladet                            + Al Jazeera International

We live on the other side of Sudan by the Red Sea in the most important harbor city to Sudan, Port Sudan. Me and my co-youth delegate Anine has been given orders to be accompanied by a volunteer or staff from the Sudanese Red Crescent at all times outside our home. This is from now until the consequences and reactions have come to a steady again.

It is no visual signs of trouble in the city of Port Sudan yet, exept a little more troop activity maybe. And rally trucks driving around with messages from speakers on the roof. The capital Khartoum is considered a much less safer place the next following weeks. The army and intelligens authorities is said to be at highest alert level. Allthough the international comunity has its doubts about the security provided by the very government who has two members charged with crimes by the ICC. And in addition is the head of Janjaweed militia, said to be in line with government on Darfur issue, has also an arrest warrent out on him.

There are also indications that nothing happens. When Sudan was kicked out of the International Monetary Fund in the 90`s, it was said to be chaos here. But nothing happened, it was buisness as usual, literally. Sudans currency has remained strong through all of these events over the last years, it is said.

So we are facing a interesting time ahead of us. Visa`s in and out of Sudan (for vacation) as well as travelpermits to drive across state and country could be alot harder to get. This depends on the level of hostility towards foreigners from the government.

I feel safe and think I am in a very little dramatic part of the country "action vice". Our international body, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the Sudanese Red Crescent is all at the ready together with us if, against our beliefs, something should happen. In worse case we will be evacuated effectively. Most likely nothing violent happens. Only the protests.

All the best

Thomas

From President Omar Al Bashir`s visit in Port Sudan

The overwhelming feeling of apathy

In Sudan there is a overwhelming feeling of apathy. My engagement, courage and willpower is slowly loosing its grip on me. It feels like you just want to sit down and do nothing, play a computergame or otherwise fool around unconstructively. I feel it is a larger feeling among most Sudanese as well. So I believe I have come to gain a small innersight to Sudans living conditions which now affect my own motivation and psychological well being. I feel straight out powerless, insignificant and overwhelmed. There is so many things I would like to change and work with, yet I can not even take a photography legally, by example.

The feeling of apathy also exist in Norway. When our faith in the political system fails or diminishes we feel like giving it all up. "What is the point anyway?", we might say. The feeling is horrible and it first and foremost only hurts ourselves. When the ancient martial art teachers talk about our inner enemy, I am convinsed this is a great part of it. Because this feeling actually very often do make us sit down and give up for shorter or longer times. That means to give up on life for a shorter or longer time, because I believe to live life is to accept the challenge.

Another time I have seen people apathic is when we are faced with large amount of suffering. Hunger, war, watershortage, torture and many many other horrible situations. And it is not the people in the trouble I am talking about now. Now I am talking about the people who sees it and hear it happen, but do not react. "what is the point anyway? If we give them food now they will only die later. It is their own responsibility to not get so many children". I have heard Norwegians say that. These fellow Norwegians are themselves victims, in my oppinion. They have given up on the challenges. Given up on life. And after giving up they strive to justify their own apathy and choices with their arguments.

My spirit is still intact, allthough allways under attack by apathy. I feel this challenge too is part of accepting life. Hopefully it is a feeling I will be able to see and observe, but not be affected by as I learn of its ways of getting to me. So maybe todays strong feeling of apathy is put to the side only because I learn of it when I wrote it here now.

"There is a plain behind the anger, frustration, arrogance and ignorance. I will meet you there"

Good luck to all who feels the same at times or most of times, and all the best

Thomas

Genocide and war crimes - ICC Ruling

The International Criminal Court (the court which hunts war criminals) are to endict President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan. If they do decide to charge the president with genocide and the eight other alleged cases of war crimes, it will be the first endictment of a sitting government head in history. And a warrant for his arrest will be issued. The Justice and Equality Movement (a Darfur rebel army) has woved to get Bashir "by all means necessary" if this arrest warrant is issued.

In the norwegian newspaper Dagbladet you can read all the news on this by following this link: http://www.dagbladet.no/sport/2008/08/07/542939.html and VG by this link: http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/artikkel.php?artid=548491

Me and my co-youth delegate Anine has been given orders to be accompanied by a volunteer or staff from the Sudanese Red Crescent at all times outside our home. This is from now until the consequences and reactions have come to a steady again.

It is no visual signs of trouble in the city of Port Sudan yet, exept a little more troop activity maybe. The capital Khartoum is considered a much less safer place the next following weeks, espescially after 17.february. The army and intelligens authorities is said to be at highest alert level.

There are also indications that nothing happens. When Sudan was kicked out of the International Monetary Fund in the 90`s, it was said to be chaos here. But nothing happened, it was buisness as usual, literally.

So we are facing a interesting time ahead of us. Visa`s in and out of Sudan (for vacation) as well as travelpermits to drive across state and country could be alot harder to get. This depends on the level of hostility towards foreigners from the government.

I feel safe and think I am in a very little dramatic part of the country "action vice". Our international body, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IFRC, and the Sudanese Red Crescent is all at the ready together with us if, against our beliefs, something should happen. In worse case we will be evacuated effectively. Most likely nothing happens. Exept maybe some protests.

All the best

Thomas

On the edge of my reason

I have to admit it, at first to myself then now to my readers. Sudan is hard. I think hard is the word. I seem to block out so many things. Those things find a way to take its mark on my deep inside anyway. All the personal struggles are one issue and the struggle for survival and dignified life around me is another issue. But deep inside me they are both present as stress.

To be dignified and to believe in one self and then have the possibility for dreams, thereby realizing that potential, is a luxury. It is a life only the privileged can live. Here in Sudan the privileged are very few and most of the people think about getting a full stomach. 

For me personally this means many things. First of all it means I do not want to spend much time wondering about it. Because I am here to do a job, not get depressed. But since a lot of people have expressed to me that they miss “the real picture” on Sudan, I will tell you this fictional story to exemplify what some times is right there in front of our faces in the field.

This is Fatouh Mounir. She is 10 years old. She is living on the street of Port Sudan and tries to make ends meet by begging the rich white people in the little tourist area up town. She and her mother have a safe alley to sleep in. It is safe because there are many women together in this alley and a mosque is near. She sleeps on cardboards and has already suffered malaria many times, a little bit of dysentery, dog bites, and many more infections and fungus attacks. There are also lice and other insects disturbing her sleep sometimes. When she grows up her mother has plans to get them out of this country but they have to work together to get the chance. All the women work in a particular part of the city where they seem to follow men home from the coffee shops. Men must really like the company because the women say they pay ok. 

This one time Fatouh was really hungry and stole an apple from the market, she remembers this situation well because she was unfortunate. A policeman stood right by her and grabbed her hard in the arm. He said: “I will teach not to steal!” And then he took her to a dark room in the police station. Here she had to stay alone in the cold, wet room for five days. When they took her out she could not see in the strong light. They gave her five whips with a painful long and thin rope and sent her on her way to find her mother. Many of her friends in the alley have been attacked by men who does not understand the word no. They seem very, very sad afterwards. “Why do the people here hate us?”, Fatouh thinks. Some of her friends are sick, but not like the malaria or dysentery. “This is for life”, the doctor said. They cannot get well again. Some of them were sick after working for some time with following men home. “I don`t want to do this. I want to be a singer”, Fatouh says.

It stung like hell to write this to you. So I hope you find a way to do your best for the poor and deprived in this world. I for my sake will do that and live my life to the fullest, because not one of the poor people in this world would like the rich and/or fortunate to pity them. Only give them a chance and join them to build a better place. 

[The story of Fatouh Mounir is fiction, but the cases in the story is collected from the stories we, the youth delegates Thomas and Anine, get from the children living on the street in Port Sudan and the situation on work opportunities and prostitution. The picture is of a homeless girl in Port Sudan]

All the best
Thomas 

Comment mistake

I am sorry for the trouble with comments. I had some moderating options active, which made the comments unpublished till now. All comments and discussions are most welcome. :) 

Malaria and dengue fever carrying Mosquito`s

How would you like this to eat on you? This is a sample from our beautiful blue tiled bathroom floor. I hate these creeps. Anine has more resistance now, because she is bit soooo many times. hehe

Reality of Second World War still around

Have you ever heard from your grandmother and your grandfather about how it was to be a child during The War? Have you ever heard the stories from your great grandparents on the life they lived during The War? I have heard them several times and I have not believed my own ears when I understood how horrible it must have been. Just to mention a few: Secret police, bombing, torture, prison camps, racial differences, religious differences, hunger, famine and maybe most of all the unsafety. Nothing was sure. To plan ahead just one month was a joke, a luxury. You could be in pieces by evening or just several minutes from now.

Do you see where I am going with this? Do you understand what I find myself having to say right here and now? War means war. With this I mean that every civilian now enclosed in Gaza is in these writing minutes in The War. We Norwegians have a near relationship to The War, even after almost three generations. What happened during this time was so horrible we still remember the details. Can you tell me anything we remember better then the years of The War? The War is also, by the way, on a longer visit to Sudan, DR Congo, Sri Lanka, Somali, Afghanistan, Colombia and many other places. The War is truly an enemy of human kind. We agreed on this after the Second World War. We answered this by establishing supranational organizations and strengthening the ones who were already there. These are designed to work on the lowest level of human decency all humans SHALL be treated after.

And then what do I see today? I see a bunch of people highly educated or otherwise strongly opinionated people criticize and hack away on the problems of these organizations. That is their contribution. It is possibly not hard to agree that there are enough people out there to evaluate the work, so can we who itch for participation and action get together and drown this misery with our hope and ability for action? What say YOU? I would gladly walse straight into Gaza with YOU right now if we go there to save life and demand the basic level human dignity amongst the fighting. And the same goes for all the other places.

So what do you say? We are either a part of the solution or the problem. Silence is acceptance. And I do not very often see criticizers as part of a solution, I find them criticizing the solution as well. Let us get behind the forces that represent Human Rights and The rules of War. These are the basic demands for respect of human dignity. This is what we SHALL have. And we do not ask for much. Come with me and screw all the people sitting comfortably at home with all their knowledge and strong opinions. A human rights fighter in Sudan said to me: “The state sets up a large number of fake Human Rights Organizations to drown the ones who are serious. This is after they realize they cannot stop us. And I understand them, because if they did not and we would have our voice freely distributed we would very soon take over in just share numbers.”

This is the power we have been given. We as humans have an own ability to realize what we crave the strongest and we are without a doubt the majority of earth who wants these rules respected and upheld. All I need is YOU, and then you say the same. Soon we are annoyingly many.

Write to me on: johmoetho@gmail.com and read my blog at: lifeofthomasmj.blogspot.com. On mail we can speak directly on topic or you could just go for it through Red Cross (Or your local Red Cross Branch) or Amnesty: http://www.amnesty.no/web.nsf/pages/index (It is also a infinite number of organizations to work from, but in my personal opinion Red Cross forms the best network platform as a starting point)

All the best

Thomas Moe Johansen, Youth Delegate in Sudan for Norwegian Red Cross.

Back to keep fighting

My role here is to get to know more about the situation in Sudan with a focus on the people suffering. And I will start working to share my knowledge and skills to anyone who is strong enough in english to understand me. The goal is to be a central part in a work to create a democratic movement within the Red Crescent in Port Sudan City and Red Sea State. This movement will crave their elected in the board positions up and through the system in time. The focus will be this because I can not see how we can build the organization by and work for the suffering in this society if we do not give our own volunteers, on the ground, a voice.

Finaly I am back in the desert by the Red Sea. It is a looong painstacking journey here. Luckely the roads where built only 3 years ago, but then again the traffic is really dangerious. The road here is one of the oil roads out of sudan through Port Sudan City port into the Red Sea and the world. The traffic is huge overloaded trucks and blown tires lies scattered by the road in the thousands.

The heat is down know from 50 degrees celcius to approx 28. Life should be alot more comfortable. And it is somehow, except know the insect, espesially the flies, are booming and creating local epidemics here and there with diarrhea, eye infections and water pollution.

I feel tired today. It is hard to explain how one can feel so tired after four weeks of vacations back home in Norway. If feel frustrated at the sight of my enormous challenge here. To create as much humanitarian support as possible for the people here, through well trained and motivated local youth volunteers, without funds from Norwegian Red Cross. Except the youth delegate activity budget which is to low to get any activity started in a sustainable focus. 

And the secret is I see this enormous potential in Sudan, but feels the heel of the ruling elite crushing down on its people. The people here are powerless. To speak out means jail. One of our coordinators from the Red Crescent spoke out about the horrible situation of the street children in Port Sudan City in the newspaper. He was jailed in a "secret prison" or "ghost house" for three days and was let out after his family paid him out. So the time has not yet come for a free and productive people in Sudan. This is the time of patience and frustations. The wait for a military regime to collapse.