feb 23. today, Friday, is the traditional muslim day of rest and the day off for this MSF project. however, there is little distinction between the work and any life outside of it. at 7 pm, we are still talking about the day that just passed, at 8 pm, our plans for tomorrow. it is our last words before sleep, and our first on awakening.
today, on my day off, I was woken by the nurse, andrea, from Switzerland.
“james? james?”
I throw the mosquitoe net from my face, and abyei rushes in.
“yes.”
“you have to go the hospital. there has been an accident. six or so casualties.”
“alright.”
I had spent much of the night in the latrine or lying on the ground outside of it. my head was banging and unclear. I grabbed some water and tried to drink some on the way to the hospital.
within three minutes I was at the front doors, and pushed past the large crowd gathered around them. inside was no better. the difference was I was surrounded by men in military uniforms. one of their trucks had crashed into a car, then rolled over. six people were hurt, one of them run over by the wheels of the truck. another was badly injured by the glass. every time I tried to move from one room to another, to get some idea of how many patients we had, I had to negotiate a dozen shouting men and women.
the situation was quite tense. there were other injured people, from a different tribe, and a different area. at one point, I am told, someone pulled a knife. I didn’t see it. I was too busy examining and stitching and being dizzy. at one point, I found myself alone in a room with some of the militia who were insisting that their injured soldiers needed to be transferred to Khartoum. by airplane. I started to explain the difficulty, about how we transfer only if it is life threatening, and never to Khartoum. we simply can’t. they did not accept my explanation. I was well out of my league. thankfully, my field coordinator, fran, entered and assumed the role of negotiator, taking the heat off of me. I went back to splinting and sewing.
I returned back to the compound several hours later. I have just heard that the military has taken two patients from our hospital, and were taking them elsewhere. unhappily.
I am here now, typing in my tukul. it is 39 C in the shade, hotter in here.
I have been here for 2 days.
the girl I spoke of yesterday, the one with the noisy breathing, who sounded like each breath was her last, she is getting better. she breathes silently. when I waved hello, she ignored me. she is ten. that is normal. yesterday, she wouldn’t open her eyes.
the thing that has me terrified the most, since I received my briefing on my arrival, is not the political situation, nor the risk of getting ill myself, nor the remoteness, nor the lack of resources. it is that, on Fridays, our kitchen staff has the day off, and we must cook for ourselves. cooking is a thrill in [Toronto's] Kensington market. you can barely find the Jamaican allspice amidst all of the organic lemongrass. here in the local souk, well, there are tomatoes. onions. goat. ummmm… i’ll let you know.
I found out that an NGO nearby has wireless access, and that i can go sit in a car on the road, and use it. I hope it works. if it does, I encourage you to send me word if you can. it has been nice to hear from some of you through the blog. all the comments are forwarded to me. again, as usual, you can email me at the MSF satellite here in abyei.
may you all find some quiet this weekend.
Ugh I’m never going to find this man!!!!
I knew u were a beatiful person…I just didn’t realize How beautiful ;)
Sorry….I can’t stop thinking about the sunrise….and your smile! I’m thinking we should meet up for one of our sessions very soon. I’m sad I let u go!! Haha. I hope all is well and u r still being u!! Much love <3
Thanks for the post.
Great info.
James
I stumbled upon your blog this morning and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind ever since. The work you are doing is commendable to say the least and I am in utter awe of your ability to press on in such chaos and less than ideal circumstances.
I am writing to you not only to applaud you for your work but to ask a favor of you. I am a fellow Canadian currently working on a fictional novel about a group of doctors working in the Sudan as part of a Doctors Without Borders type initiative and I am in desperate need of the input of someone who has experienced this life firsthand.. Would you mind if I use some of your experiences as part of my work? (Not verbatim of course ) I would give you credit if and when the book is published.
Yours is a story that needs to be told and I would appreciate any insight you could give me into the world you are in. Would it be possible for me to contact you with questions? I look forward to hearing back from you.
Be safe and know you are doing Gods work
Jennifer In Alberta
James, You think you’ve got problems. It’s cold here, snow and sleet and freezing rain and I may not get to Fratelli’s for lunch.
As usual, my early morning read and then run. Deep into Proust who has just been invited to visit Albertine in her room "Stop that or I’ll ring the bell!" cried Albertine, seeing that I was flinging myself upon her to kiss her. But I reminded myself that it was not for no purpose that a gril made a young man come to her room in secret, arranging that her aunt shoiuld not know – that boldness, moreover, rewards thoses who konw how to seize their opportunities; ,,,,,I was going to learn the fragrance, the flavour which this strange pink fruit concealed. I hear a sound, precipitous, prolonged, shrill. Albertine had pulled the bell with all her might.
James,
I start my day reading your blog updates…stay safe and hope you’ll feel a lot better soon.
Take care of you,
George
James,
I started reading your blog, and was "green with envy" Now I am worried sick for you. I hope your are feeling better soon. I hope your weekend is peaceful and calm.
all my love
Mary
trap.,
in chile for ten mins. and managed to have my passport stolen. have been dealing with that since i arrived yesterday, but have finally sat down to read your updated blog.
ditto on what dan said, plus a solid ¨wow…¨ al my own.
will email when i can. bon apetit and sleep well. damn the braying burritos.
xo.
acs
bro,
worried sick about you. we all know you are more than capable of handling yourself regardless the situation or circumstance… but the worrying is all we have as apathy isn’t possible when it is someone you love.
everything on this side is "same same but different" – differnt bat-times same bat channel.
when r u back?
love you much.
keep cool, stay warm,
dan
Sorry to hear that you are physically not well. I hope this will pass by soon. Tell us about the culture. Looking forward to hear some more about the girl as well. Take good care James.