Yassin was our destination. We never got there. We were headed down to do an assessment of education needs in the village and surrounding areas. We left Sani Afondu in One Landcruiser and a pickup truck. After tumbling through one mud hole after another we found ourselves stuck for the third time that day. We figured that just like the other times we would just dig and push and pull our way out and then be on our way. We were wrong.
Murtada was driving the Landcruiser and he is probably one of the best drivers I have ever seen but we were stuck bad this time. As is usual in most parts of Darfur, even when you think you are stuck in the middle of nowhere eventually people start showing up. Eventually we had 32 people crowded around digging and shouting desperately trying to help us get to our destination. We tried pulling the landcruiser out with the pickup but in doing so managed to get the pickup stuck too. Oh hell! Eight hours later we we still digging. It occurred to us that the mud seemed to be filling back in as we dug and eventually we hit the spring that caused the ground to be so soft and then we had not just mud but a foot and half of water. The Sun started to go down and we were concerned but had come to grips with idea of sleeping in the "lake" we had gotten stuck in. Somehow, maybe by the grace of God, we got the pickup out and there were shouts of joy from all the people involved.
As the sun fell out of the sky we decided that Murtada and Abdul Hamid would stay with the stuck Landcruiser and the rest of us would return to Sani Afondu in the pickup. We said goodbye and tore off back towards the compound. I stood up in the back of the landcruiser with Mr. Amir, the translator. Saida and Sara, the Ladies working with the Protection Program, sat in the front with Osam, the driver. There we were, wet, dirty and absolutely exhausted. As the wind blew through my hair and the sun went down I remember looking out over the land and thinking "Here I am, and I am happy here".
Soon after that happy thought I heard a clunk and the truck came skidding to a hauled. Immediately the driver jumped out, looked under the truck and shook his head. "Of course" I said out loud, "Why not break the driveshaft now, seems like a very appropriate time". Off we trucked in the dark for and hour and a half through the mud until we reached the compound in Sani Afondu.
The next morning, still tired and sore from the day before I woke early and called Abdul Hamid to tell him we were coming to get them with two other landcruisers. Thinking that he might be hungry or thirsty I asked him if he needed any water. His reply was simple and to the point "No I am sleeping in water, JUST BRING CIGARETTES!". Fair enough.
So we went and found Abdul and Murtada looking as though they hadn't slept at all and covered in mosquito bites. After four hours of digging and pulling and getting the other two landcruisers stuck we managed to have Murtada's Landcruiser out and we hauled back to Sani Afondu as though the devil was right behind us. When we brought in Murtada's truck to the compound there were cheers as if we had just come back from saving the world...and for a second we all felt like that is exactly what we had been doing. Such is life, at least in Sudan. We settled in after a delicious meal and fell asleep like children in church.
That was an adventure...And we never actually got to our destination. Worst of all, my camera battery was dead and I don't have a single picture.
Murtada was driving the Landcruiser and he is probably one of the best drivers I have ever seen but we were stuck bad this time. As is usual in most parts of Darfur, even when you think you are stuck in the middle of nowhere eventually people start showing up. Eventually we had 32 people crowded around digging and shouting desperately trying to help us get to our destination. We tried pulling the landcruiser out with the pickup but in doing so managed to get the pickup stuck too. Oh hell! Eight hours later we we still digging. It occurred to us that the mud seemed to be filling back in as we dug and eventually we hit the spring that caused the ground to be so soft and then we had not just mud but a foot and half of water. The Sun started to go down and we were concerned but had come to grips with idea of sleeping in the "lake" we had gotten stuck in. Somehow, maybe by the grace of God, we got the pickup out and there were shouts of joy from all the people involved.
As the sun fell out of the sky we decided that Murtada and Abdul Hamid would stay with the stuck Landcruiser and the rest of us would return to Sani Afondu in the pickup. We said goodbye and tore off back towards the compound. I stood up in the back of the landcruiser with Mr. Amir, the translator. Saida and Sara, the Ladies working with the Protection Program, sat in the front with Osam, the driver. There we were, wet, dirty and absolutely exhausted. As the wind blew through my hair and the sun went down I remember looking out over the land and thinking "Here I am, and I am happy here".
Soon after that happy thought I heard a clunk and the truck came skidding to a hauled. Immediately the driver jumped out, looked under the truck and shook his head. "Of course" I said out loud, "Why not break the driveshaft now, seems like a very appropriate time". Off we trucked in the dark for and hour and a half through the mud until we reached the compound in Sani Afondu.
The next morning, still tired and sore from the day before I woke early and called Abdul Hamid to tell him we were coming to get them with two other landcruisers. Thinking that he might be hungry or thirsty I asked him if he needed any water. His reply was simple and to the point "No I am sleeping in water, JUST BRING CIGARETTES!". Fair enough.
So we went and found Abdul and Murtada looking as though they hadn't slept at all and covered in mosquito bites. After four hours of digging and pulling and getting the other two landcruisers stuck we managed to have Murtada's Landcruiser out and we hauled back to Sani Afondu as though the devil was right behind us. When we brought in Murtada's truck to the compound there were cheers as if we had just come back from saving the world...and for a second we all felt like that is exactly what we had been doing. Such is life, at least in Sudan. We settled in after a delicious meal and fell asleep like children in church.
That was an adventure...And we never actually got to our destination. Worst of all, my camera battery was dead and I don't have a single picture.
