Day 1 - Settling into Khartoum

The flight from Ottawa to Khartoum, Sudan was awesome. First class all of the way. From Montreal to Frankfurt we flew with Lufthansa and had our own “pods” in first class. You basically had everything you needed and the best part is that you don’t have to sit next to anybody and your seat turns into a little cot so you can lay flat and go to sleep.

Flying into Khartoum, Sudan was a phenomenal sight. Desert for as far as you could see with little make shift villages that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Khartoum was an interesting sight from the airplane with what looked like very rustic housing developments to bigger newer apartment like buildings coming out of nowhere. A lot of these buildings have the top floors unfinished. The reason being that if it is not finished, you don’t pay taxes. We were told before leaving not to take any photos from the plane or at the airport as the Sudanese government was on high alert due to recent altercations between the rebels and the Sudan military just outside the city. The airport was small with not much there. Security was very loose, or at least that’s what it looked like to me. None of us had any problems at the airport.

We were picked up by the current RCMP/UN Contingent Commander and given a quick briefing while we waited for a vehicle to load up our gear. We were quickly reminded again that we were not to take any photographs at the airport or in the city as one of our troop members started snapping photos. He told us that any military or police seeing us take photos at the airport or in the city of Khartoum could create problems at this time due to the government being on high alert. Our short briefing continued while we were driven to our home for the first week , Canada House. It is where a lot of military personnel stay when working in Khartoum, first arriving in Khartoum, or when leaving Khartoum. I took some photos on the way.

At Canada House, we were briefed quickly about the house by one of the military commanders staying there. We were then advised that Khartoum is currently under a level 2 alert and not to go out of the compound alone and to stay away from two main food/restaurant centres. He told us that he could not give us anymore detail than that, so we assumed that intelligence exists that these two food/restaurant centres may be targets of attack. Alcohol is illegal in Khartoum, but at the house we can apparently drink. The military guys are all excited that we may be posted to southern Sudan because alcohol is allowed there as it is mostly Christian. They want us to bring as much as we can carry to Khartoum when we come back. The house itself is very clean and could be described more as a decent hostel. We are 4 in a room and 2 in a smaller room. It is comfortable and I will make sure I enjoy it before we get posted because then, I have a feeling the living conditions could be different.

Some of us joined the military guys to head to a food market at night. They had everything you needed there, but everything was over priced. When we left the market, there was a little boy about 5 years old not wearing any shoes in a ratted shirt and shorts begging for money, food, or anything. I was told before coming to Khartoum not to give anything to people begging because then they wouldn’t leave you alone. I gave him a Sudanese pound. It’s like 50 cents Canadian. He just walked away. On the way back we saw one of the many IDP’s (Internally Displaced People) laying a mattress on the ground to go to sleep. Around the next corner, a truck on the move with a young man in the box of it holding an AK-47. That’s all for now.

Cheers from Khartoum,

Gonzo