Jeg er taknemelig / I am grateful

Jeg er i denne uge blevet rørt over mine medmenneskers medfølelse og evne til at give af den smule de har.  Jeg befinder mig igen i Jongelei, en af de mest fattige og underudviklede stater i Sudan. Et resultat af den lange borgerkrig her  landet er at folk har været tvunget til at flytte rundt. Stammer har bevæget sig fra deres fædrene jord, i håbet om at finde fred, og nu da krigen er ovre er de ikke altid velkomne gæster mere. De bliver bedt om at tage hjem. Nogle gange meget pludseligt og bestemt. Det er sket her. Fra den ene dag til den anden blev hele landsbyer bedt om at finde et andet sted at bo. De fik ikke muligheden for at pakke, kunne ikke medbringe nogen ejendele. De har nu søgt tilflugt på deres fædrene jord, i nogle landsbyer 1 1/2 times sejlads op ad floden nord for Akobo. (eller 6 timers travetur i raskt tempo) 

De er ankommet tomhændet, uden mad, har intet andet at søge i ly for solensstråler eller den massive regn under end de få træer der står langs flodbredden. De er nødsaget til at drikke vandet direkte fra floden, der er ikke andet drikkevand, mange har allerede diarre, mange er børnene hoster og har en lungebetændelse på vej grundet det skiftende vejr, og manglene ly. De sidder tæt sammen under træerne, for at udnytte skyggen.  Det er her jeg møder dem, har muligheden for at tale med dem, høre deres historie, høre om deres behov. Men det er også her jeg møder denne gavmildhed, og overvældes af værts-befolkningens imødekommenhed. De nye flygtninge overgår i antal værtsfamilierne, alligevel har de delt deres mad med dem, inviteret dem indenfor i hytter og stalde da regnen blev for stærk, og selvom de helt har overtaget hver et ledigt hjørne i landsbyen  har de ingen intentioner om at jage dem bort, eller bede dem om at søge ly et andet sted. Jeg spørger mig selv hvad jeg ville gøre hvis 1 million flygtninge pludselig dukkede op I København? Ville jeg give en familie husly i min lejlighed? Ville jeg gå i Netto og købe en måltid til dem? Eller ville jeg bygge et hegn om vores by, fortælle dem at de ikke var velkomne, at det vil koste mig for meget af min velfærd hvis jeg lukker dem ind? 

I Dengjok giver de den smule de har. I Europa giver vi nok et større beløb,  men ville du give hvis det virkelig kostede dig noget? Ville jeg?

Jeg er et priviligeret menneske! Jeg har et fantastisk job, hvor jeg gang på gang bliver mindet om dette. Jeg har muligheden for at rejse frivilligt, opleve, vælge mit liv. Jeg har økonomisk frihed, venner, famillie, kæreste.  Jeg har en uddannelse der åbner døre for mig, jeg har aldrig været rigtig sulten.  Mange af de mennesker jeg møder gennem mit job har ikke de samme muligheder, ikke de samme resourcer. De ting jeg tager for givet er ikke en selvfølgelighed,  jeg håber at jeg kan lære at værdsætte de ting, at være mere taknemlig i mit liv, og at dele ud af alt det der er mig givet her i livet.

English: This week I have been touched by  the compassion of fellow beings  and their ability to share the little they have. I am again in Jongelei state, one of the poorest and most underdeveloped states in Sudan. A result of the long civil-war here in the country is that people have been forced to move away. Tripes have moved away fro their fathers land, hoping to find peace somewhere else, and know as the war is over, they are not always welcome visitors anymore. They will be asked to go home again. Sometimes very sudden. That has happened here. From one day to another whole villages were asked to uproot and move to another place. They did not get the chance to pack their small belongings, they could not bring anything. They have now sought refuge on the land that used to belong to their fathers, in  small villages 1 1/2 hour by boat north of Akobo (or 6 hours walk) 

They have arrived with empty hands, they have no food, they have no other place no  to hide from the strong sun or the heavy rain than under the trees on the riverbank. They have no choice than to drink the water from the river, many is already suffering from diarrhoea, the children are coughing and many developing pneumonia from the sudden changes in weather, and the lacking shelters. they are sitting close together in the shadows of the trees. This is where I meet them, this is where I have the opportunity to talk to them, listen to their stories, hear about their needs. This is also where I meet this generosity, and where I am overwhelmed by the host-populations courtesy towards their neighbours. The new refugees are outnumbering the host population, but still they share their food with them, they invite them into their homes and stables when the rain becomes to strong, and even if the refugees has overtaken  every available spot in the village, they have no intentions of chasing them out.

I am questioning myself, what I would do if suddenly 1 million refugees turn up in Copenhagen? Would I give shelter to  a family in my apartment? Would I go and shop for groceries to cook them a meal? Or would I build a fence around the city, tell them that they are not welcome here, that it is costing me to much of my welfare if I welcome them? 

In Dengjok they give of the little they have. In Europe we might give a bigger amount, but would we give if it was a loss for yourself? Would I?

I am a privileged person. I have a fantastic job, where I again and again are reminded of this. I have the opportunity to travel freely, experience, choose my life. I have economic freedom, friends, familly, a boyfriend. I have an education that opens doors for me, and  I have never been really hungry. Alot of the people I meet through my job does not have the same opportunities or ressources. The things that I take for granted, should not be taken for granted, and I hope that I can learn to appreciate the things I have, be more grateful for the life I have, and learn to share of all that have been given me here in life. 

I mudderets land / In the land of the mud

Når det regner i Akobo, så regner det. En stor del af året er her tørt, og sidste år udeblev regnen næsten helt. Man ved at det snart bliver regn når der kommer skyer på himlen, temperaturen falder (til omkring 32 grader) og der pludselig blæser en mild vind. Også er det om at lukke sine vinduer og skifte klip-klapperne ud med et par solide gummistøvler, eller som mange af de lokale, vælge at gå barfodet omkring. For når det regner bliver alt omdannet til mudder. Forsøger man at gå på hovedgaden, synker man i til midt på skinnebenet. Det er ikke almindelig jord de har her, men en type jord der nærmest omdannes til splattet ler, der limer sig til gummistøvlerne, så man knapt kan løfte dem fra jorden. Det er rigtig god træning for balder og lår...

Man må jo nødvendigvis bevæge sig, og derfor ender man med at vade rundt i mudderet.(glem alt om at forsøge at køre i bil, medmindre du nyder at bruge timer på at skubbe din bil ud af mudderet igen)  For et par dage siden befandt jeg mig således gående rundt i Akobo med mudder til knæene sammen med min kollega  Claudia, og jeg kunne ikke lade være med at trække på smilebåndet; For hvor ville jeg have elsket dette som barn. Det er umuligt ikke at gå igennem en vandpyt, til tider er man lige ved at skride i mudderet, og ja jeg kan godt blive en lille smule fristet til at starte en rigtig god gammeldags mudderkamp (men har behersket mig indtilvidere.)

Og mudderet kalder da også kreativiteten frem i landsbyens børn. Ved flodbreden er der lavet mudder/vand rutsjebaner, som de suser ud i floden på, og der skabes små figurer af mudderet som der kan leges med.

så måske jeg også bare skal nyde det, glemme alt om at være voksen, og lade legebarnet titte frem... Jeg har jo trods alt hjælp til tøj-vask, og hvis tingene går lidt langsommere så når jeg jo nok stadig det jeg skal nå!

Og det er ikke engang slemt /  and this is not even bad...

English: When it rains in Akobo, it really rains. For  more than half of the the year it is completely dry, and last year there was hardly any rain at all. You know that it will rain soon, when the sky becomes cloudy, temperature falls (to around 32 degrees) and there is a sudden breeze. Then it is time to close your windows and change from flip-flops to wellingtons, or as many of the locals do, walk barefooted. Because when it rains, everything becomes mud. If you try to walk down the main street, you will sink in to your mid calves. It is not normal soil here, but a kind of soil that becomes like slippery clay as soon as it gets wet, clinging to the wellies, so that you barely can lift them of the ground. It is good exercise for buttock and thighs...

But as movement it necessary, you do end up walking through it (don’t even dream of taking a car, unless you enjoy spending hours getting it out of the mud). A couple of days ago I found myself walking in mud to my knees together with my colleague Claudia, and it brought a smile to my face, as I was thinking how much I would have enjoyed this as a child. It is impossible not to pass through the big puddles of rainwater, sometimes you are almost slipping in the mud, and yes it is quite tempting to start a good old-fashioned mud-fight . (though I have restrained myself so far)

And the mud does call on all the creativity in the children of the village. At the river banks a mud/water slide has been created, that they are sliding into the water from, and small figures is created out of the mud that they play with.

So maybe I should also just enjoy it, forget about being a grown up for a moment, and let the playful child inside of me out for a day or two... I do after all have help to do the laundry, and if things move a bit slow for a day or to, I will most likely still end up doing things in the right time...

Ko lavet af mudder/ Cow made of Mud

Hvad er jeg?/ What am I?

Siden jeg ankom i Sudan har jeg måtte ligge øre til meget. Nogle af de steder jeg rejser til, får ikke ofte besøg af en blond kvinde, der bærer bukser, og det skaber forvirring hos de lokale. Her er bare et nogle af de kommentarer, som jeg har været heldig at få oversat, der er blevet sagt om mig, og som har fået mig til at trække på smilebåndet. Håber de også bringer et smil frem på dine læber:

• “Er det en hat hun har på, eller er det hendes hår?” hørt en dag jeg havde flettet håret i to fletninger
• “før var vi i tvivl om hun var en mand eller en kvinde, men nu ved vi hun er en kvinde” -efter at jeg havde iklædt my en malaya, den traditionelle klædedragt... 
• “ der går den gode kvinde” -hørt på gaden i Akobo, og et tilnavn jeg ikke har noget imod at bære
• “ hvor gammel tror du hun er? -det er svært at sige, de europæiske kvinder får jo ingen børn”

English: Since arriving in Sudan, my ears have heard a lot. Some of the places I travel to, does not often have a blond lady visiting, that dresses in trousers, and it does seem to confuse people. Here is a few of the comments that I have been lucky enough to have translated for me (sure many other things are said that never reaches my ears) They have made me smile, and I hope they will also bring a smile on your lips.

• “Is that a hat she is wearing or is it her hair?”
• “Before we did not know if she was a man or a woman, but now we see that she is a woman”  - after i dressed in a malaya, the local fashion
• “ there goes the good woman” -heard on the streets of Akobo, and I name that I happily carry
• “how old do you think she is? - it is difficult to say, the Europeans do not have children”

Opdatering af mit liv / Update on my life...

Efter en stykke tids pause, er det vist tid at opdatere jer her på bloggen. Jeg har foradt Akobo, men er nu tilbage igen. Vores Ernærrings program er nu hændet over til Red Barnet. Den sidste måned har stået på lidt tid på kontoret i Juba, en ferie 2 ugersferie med fødselsdag i Holland, Københavner besøg, bryllup i England, en uge i sommerhus i Gedesby og et endags visit i Rostock.

Grill hygge på planen ved sommerhuset / BBQ'ing at the summerhouse

Jeg indrømmer gerne at jeg var en smule træt da jeg kom tilbage til Sudan, men har haft en fantastisk ferie.

Efter ferien har jeg været på en 5 dages “joint assessment” til Kajo-Kegi i den sydlige del af sydsudan. En gruppe mennesker, der i 1970‘erne flyttede til grænseområdet mellem Sudan og Uganda, er nu blevet smidt ud af deres hjem, husene er brændt ned og deres landbrugsredskaber og øvrige ejendele taget fra dem. Uganda hævder at jorden er deres, og vil lave et skov reservat. Så menneskerne søger nu tilbage til deres fædrene jord, for at slå sig ned, og starte forfra. Min opgave var at vurdere sundheds og ernærings forholdene bland disse folk. Vi kørte i bil, og vejene er mildest talt i en forfærdelig tilstand. Der var tidspunkter hvor jeg tvivlede på at vores landcruisere overhovedet ville kunne forcere vejene,  men det lykkedes. Og det var skønt at se landet fra vejen. Der findes faktisk smukke grønne områder i Sudan!

Det er også blevet til en tur til Northern Bari for at verificere Internt fordrevne (flygtninge i eget land) så at vi senere kan uddele “non food Items” til dem. Det er i sig selv lidt af en process, da Sudaneserne selvfølgelig ikke er dummere end resten af os, og selvfølge prøver at blive registreret mere end en gang... 

Og nu er jeg så tilbage i Akobo, hvor 5000 mennesker på flugt fra lokale stamme opgør har slået sig ned.(og 9000 flere forventes at følge dem denne uge) Det er meningen at jeg skal besøge det område de bor i, tale med dem, se hvad der er af behov for at holde dem sunde, men det har vist sig svært at komme til dem, tildels fordi de er taget til Akobo by for at få mad, og tildels for de det regner (og så stopper alt...) -men i skal nok høre mere herom senere

English: After not writing for a while, I think it is time to update my blog. I have left Akobo, so that I could return! The nutrition program has been handed over to save the children. The last month has been spend with some time in the office in Juba, followed by a 2 weeks break including a birthday party in the Netherlands, Copenhagen visits, Wedding in England, a week in the family summer house in Gedesby and a one day trip to Rostock.

I admit that I was quite tired when returning to Sudan, but had a wonderful holiday.

Og dronningen hilste selvfølgelig på når jeg nu var på hjemme visit...

And naturally the Queen came by (it is her boat) as I was on a homevisit...

After the Holiday I have done a 5 days joint assessment with the UN to Kajo-Kegi in the southern part of South Sudan. A group of people, who in the 1970’s moved to the border area of Sudan and Uganda due to the civil war, has now been kicked out of their houses, that has been burned down, and their farming tools and other personal items taken from them. Uganda claims that they were on Ugandan soil, and it is now being turned into a forest reserve. So the people are now forced to move back to their ancestral land, to start life all over again. My job was to assess the health and nutrition needs amoung these people. We were driving in cars, and the roads was in so poor condition, that I had moment where I was doubting that our land-cruisers would be able to make the trip (it toke 2 1/2 hours to drive 20km) but we succeeded. And it was wonderful to see the country from the roads, believe it or not, there is actually beatiful green areas in Sudan!

I have also been on a trip to Northern Bari, to verify Internaly displaced People (IDP’S), so that we later can distribute non food items to them. It is a challenge in it self, as the sudaneese is not more stupid than the rest of us, and naturally tries to get on the list more than once...

And now I am back in Akobo, where 5000 people who are fleeing inter tribal clashes have settled north of town.(and 9000 more are expected within thhis next week) I was intended to be visiting the sights where they have settled, talk to them, see what help is needed to keep them healthy, but it has turned out that it is difficult to get there and meet them. Apparently they are all gone to Akobo to get food (but I do not see them here???) and it has been raining so they will have taken refuge in the host community, so we sill not find them (rain stops everything from happening here) -but you will hear more of this later, I promise.