Work is progressing well here though it will all come to a stop from
Sunday for a week while I travel north to Sudan. CMS Ireland have asked me to fly up to
make a video about a project that they are involved in there. I hope to fly to
Moyo on Sunday and then take a land cruiser across the border to KajoKeki.
(Click on the map to the left to see where this is).
I believe I was chosen to go because I have a digital camcorder though Andrew likes to joke that it was because I have no dependants! It will be a tough week but also a marvelous opportunity to see a different culture. I hope also to be able to visit the refugee camps near Moyo if we can get the permits arranged. I understand I will have a SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) soldier with me all the time to make sure that I don't take any video footage of anything that could be used negatively at a later date.
The situation in Sudan
The rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army say they are fighting for more autonomy for the mainly Christian south from the Muslim and Arab north, currently ruled by President Omar el-Bashir. Since 1983, more than two million people have died in war and related famines.
Nowadays, the fortunes of war seem to be on the rebel side. In the last few months, the rebels -- who receive money and political support from the United States -- have advanced on several fronts in the oil-rich, southern province of Bahr el-Gazal.
The rebels are besieging the provincial capital, Wau, and government-run oil fields, scattering before them workers from international aid agencies who have struggled to feed hundreds of thousands of people to avoid yet another Sudanese famine.
Facts about Sudan
Population: 34,475,690 (July 2000 Estimate)
Area Total: 2,505,810 km2
Coast Line: 853 km
Capital: Khartoum
Climate: Tropical in south; arid desert , in north; rainy season (April,
to October).
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Diverse dialects of
Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, , Sudanic languages, English
January: 23.3°C / 74°F
July: 31.7°C / 89°F
Annual Rainfall: 152.4mm / 6"