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civil unrest in khartoum

The recent accidental tragedy of Vice President John Garang's death in a helicopter crash Saturday evening, (His death was confirmed Monday morning), which has caused an outbreak of violence in the city.  It appears Southerners in the outer areas of the city have taken to setting fires and causing senseless random attacks.  I witnessed a mass exodus of hundreds of people earlier yesterday morning as it appeared they were answering the call to demonstrate. Unfortunately, a group of people can sometimes not think in times of anger as clearly as one person. 

I have delayed my departure due to the events and am waiting to see how things go today.  Hopefully, the calls for calm after this tragic death of Garang will be heard. 

Three days of national morning have been called and Bush is sending peace envoys to help.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4736991.stm

-Dan

my first year

I haven't made an entry due to the glut of things to do before I leave Sudan. So one last entry before I hit the tarmac one last time.

Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit last week.

A stop at Khalifa's house to visit the museum I never thought I'd be able to make time to see. Look up Gordon and Sudan around the turn of 1900 and you'll find out more.




Emmanuel, Nadir, me, Abdalla, and Abubakar
-My best friends in Khartoum-

A few flashbacks . . Juggling for the kids at the Camel Market



-Nightscape-



What happens when everyone cleans a rug at the same time

My first year abroad with the Foriegn Service is over. I've made several friends and will miss them all, as I move on to my next post in Sydney. It was an amazing and enlightening year and I lack the words to do it justice. I wish everyone peace and blessings as I know Khartoum will stay in my heart as a place where the people are so very kind. God bless and I hope to come back soon to see Southern Sudan and more of this beautiful continent.

Regards, Dan Sweet - Diplomat

haboob sends me to cairo

So after 27 hours of traveling, when I tried to land in Khartoum last Sunday, we were told a sandstorm was going on.  As we got withing 50 miles of the capital, the pilot came over the intercom and said due to visibility and the rain storms we would be returning to Cairo to land.  I figured we would either wait for another airline to take us early in the morning or they would put us up in a hotel.  There wasn't much I could do at that point but watch another movie and ask for a refill on my drink.

We arrived in Cairo, and fortunately, the airline had decided it would be best to put us up for the night in a hotel.  The airline, Lufthansa, was great about making the arrangements.  They reserved some rooms at the Sheraton Hotel for the 50 or so passengers.  The hardest part of the whole night was taking all our baggage from the claim area to a buses that we all scrambled to get on.  We moved in packs and by the time we reached the hotel it 2:30am.  We checked in and called it a night. I awoke in the morning and had breakfast with a coworker that had been on the same flight.  We decided we would have time to take a trip out to the pyramids so spent the day with our guide and a car.  The trip was worth it and the weather wasn't too hot.  I'll post some shots of what photos I took in the next day or so.

Well, by the end of the day, we were herded back into buses and back to the airport.  It took a bit of time to check our baggage but I have to compliment the airline and the hotel for making it all run smoothly.  I was on the flight after our 24 hour delay and heading back home. 

back home

Back home for training. Up early due to time difference so I thought I'd up date my blog.  It was a race to the last minute to get everything done I needed before I left.  My yearly evaluation still had the ink drying on the signatures as I was getting on the plane.  But it's done and I can enjoy the time off now.  I got off the plane in Dulles to a rainy day in Virginia.  It felt great.  The temps were in the 50's and the sun was overcast by rain clouds most of the time. Stayed with a friend in Old Town all weekend and enjoyed a day in Occoquan, Va.  Now I'm starting some classes Monday and looking forward to a few weeks of good food and drink on my evening agenda.

Finally saw "Hotel Rwanda". Don Cheadle who played Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager was great, as were the rest of the cast.  Although, I'm always a bit thrown when I see Nick Nolte in a film.  There was one line in the film when Don as Paul said, "We will shame the world into sending help". That line sums up the whole feeling of the movie for me.  All the media and non residents were evacuated from Kigali, as the Tutsis stayed behind to face the Hutus violent killing of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutu people.

Before I left Khartoum, I received the eagerly awaited shipment of Embassy merchandise that the recreation association had ordered.  Just in time to bring home some nice Logo polo shirts for folks that had requested them.  It's one of those things that helps folks feel like we're one step closer to running as a full service Embassy. 

13 months of sunshine. .

. . Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-  Work required me to fly for a 2 day trip to Addis.  Actually it was more like arrive in the early AM and depart in the early AM the next day.  But during the day I was able to get out and see the city.  A friend of mine, Randy, was touring there and found out I was coming. So with someone that knew the city of 3 million more than I did, I got the condensed city tour.  I always hate it when people start describing a city by how the traffic is.  But now I know why.  It's the first thing you notice when you come to a city.  Addis was no different.  Khartoum drivers are fast and like to cut in front of you.  Whereas Addis drivers are still getting use to staying in lanes and like to drive slower.  Several cars would ride the line like a San Francisco trolleycar.  I was told it's because they overestimate how close they are to the curbs and other cars. 

Lunch at Randy's. I got a chance to really enjoy an Ethiopian meal.  In the past, I was put off by the bread used during the meal.  It's spongey consistancy always distracted me from the rest of the food.  This time, I finally appreciated the homecook feast and was eating 2nds and 3rds till I had to stop. 

After lunch we stopped in at work to tie up any loose ends before I left for the day.  I got a chance to talk with some of my counterparts that I've only been able to email in the past. Felt good to see another post even if only for a day.  I was envious of the differences.  Definitely a place I would enjoy working at in the future.

We ended the afternoon with a drive up the Entotto mountains. If there was any time for an insert of a picture from the mountainside this is it.  Sadly, I left the camera in the hotel since I wasn't expecting a trip up the mountain in a jeep.  As far as the conditions in Addis; the city streets are paved and well marked for primary roads.  Buildings and secondary roads are run down and in states of disrepair.  Several places I saw looked like they had been working on a house for years until someone just called it quits.

Beggars are common and can approach you at any time.  Police do what they can to move them along. 

The air is beautiful and clear.  A couple months a year they receive rain but most of the time its like a spring day.  The city is surrounded by mountains and the elevation is around 8,000 feet. 

The people, from what my friends say, are very kind and treat foreigners warmly.  My brief meetings with Ethiopians would back that up. 

All in all, I enjoyed the trip and would love to go back and explore the city more.