river of grass

with the rains falling, the grass and crops have grown.  tall sorghum hides the huts, only leaving the thatched roofs visible from the road. all farm work is done by hand, people laboring in the hot sun with simple tools. we spent the end of this week finishing up a project and preparing for an opening ceremony that was visited by several Sudanese and US VIPs.  i was reminded many time that in order to get something done the way you want it, you need to physically present.  we worked long hour putting the final touches around the building and site including an emergency run to a neighboring project site 2 hours away on bad roads to get a generator cable.

 the sites along the roads

 

a truck load of onions got stuck on the site of the road...and the smell as not very pleasant, i'm sure they had been there for a while. it is often difficult to find truck drivers to go to most locations during the rainy season because they fear they will get stuck, and then unable to earn money for several weeks (or how ever long it takes to get free and pass on the road).

having coffee in wara#war

the kitchen from where we catered lunch one of the days

 

the lunch - couldn't get anymore fresh

on the day of the opening ceremony, the crowds form, dancing and drumming erupt.  the opening ceremony is for a peace center that we constructed as well as to encourage dialgouge and way forward for the different tribes that live in this particular region.  to date they have been getting along much better than the rest of the country, a unique blend of darfur north sudan, nomadic herders that follow the grass and water, and south sudan cattle herders. the day before the ceremony, peace committee members from the various tribes assembled at the peace center to talk about their differences and propose resolutions.for the day of ceremony i went to the gravel airstrip which is about 20 minutes away from the peace center to meet the four charter planes and coral the VIPs to the site.  We waited at the remote airstrip for about an hour and finally the first plane arrive, a small caravan buzzing over out of no where.  the plan circles and lands...meanwhile the govenor (who has a house near the airstrip) appears with a huge mass of people.  he wants to steal the VIPs and take them to his house for tea.  there isn't much you can do, the govenor gets his way.  at this point an opening cermony is at the fate of the most powerful and sudanese culture and protocol.  you have to just let it roll, agendas are thrown out the window and you go along for the ride.  after a tea break we are off towards the the village in which we built the peace center.  about 50 white SUVs - an entourage for a king, pickup trucks full of the governors body guards, armed to the teeth and every minister in the region, including our own people and the press.  quite a scene for those living in the little huts when this happens so people naturally are lining up along the road way and the closer we get to the village, word has spread of what is going on, so the mass of people become incredible.

 

the crowd splits to allow a cooridor for the governor and the VIPs, but we wait and wait - the govenor decided he was going to take the VIPs to his other house for lunch.  finally the procession arrives and the dancing, chanting, yelling - over all noise, gets really loud.  below is the traditional bull (this one quite young) that will be slautered and jumped over (usually the blood is used to make a mark on the forehead) all as a sign of good luck.

village elders, chiefs, dancers, actors, village folks, all are present to give the governor a warm welcome.  meanwhile, the thunder clouds are getting darker and more menacing.  will we be able to complete the ceremony and get back to the airstrip before the rains?

 

the time arrives for the procession to enter the compound.  the bull is wrestled to the ground (in this case he put up a good fight and they were not able to kill it before the people walked over it). but he did finally meet his fate...

 

meanwhile, the lucky bull seen below with a south sudan flag wrapped around him, is a gift to the US ambassador.  due to the complications of getting a bull onto a small airplane (especially this one who was quite feisty and almost got away) the bull was left behind and i think someone given to Obama, who now owns a bull in south sudan.  it will live a life of luxury no doubt. 

 

the rains finally hit which is a good thing as it shortens the speeches. after the talks, we race back to the airstrip where the four planes are waiting.  the pilots are trying decide whether to go for it or not and decide to wait and see if it lets up.  so i go to a restaurant nearby with a few other folks and one of the pilots to grab a bite to eat.  after three spoon fulls of beans and rice, i hear an airplane engine start up and there is a call from someone on board that they are going to leave.  that is the plane my bag is on, so i tell them to wait and race off towards the plane.  the single engine caravan is sitting at the end of the airstrip, ready to taxi, engine screaming...i run up to it, not sure how i'll get in and the person in co-pilot seat is pointing to the back door.  surprisingly, it is easy to open and i climb in, fighting the gale from the exhaust (almost blowing me off the stair into the plane).  when i'm closing the door, the last latch doesn't stay in where i think (intuitively) it should stay so i'm unsure if the door is properly closed.  i try it again and again...  then notice the latch on the other side is the same way, so i figure we are good to go.  to be on the safe side, the pilot had radioed one of the pilots on the ground who came over to close...but didn't do anything different.  the rain was still coming down, we taxied to one end and took off, buzzing over the tree tops and planes on the ground and into the air of which ended up being one of the most turbulent flights i've been on.  we went up and down, side ways, tilting. a sheer mix of panic and pure excitement.  the pilot was trying to find a way around the clouds, but kept encountering more storms.  the worse part was that there wasn't a place to take a leak.

and we finally made it to juba and several (guys) went straight to the bushes on the side of airstrip.