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