Some Final Words

One last run down the dusty roads of Torit and one last sunrise in Africa. This was my daily escape throughout the mission and one that I will not soon forget.

I spent my last few days in Torit packing and trying to take as many photographs as possible so I can remember the place. They through me a nice going away party in Torit and then we had our own Canadian Contingent party in Juba. From the photos below you can see that we celebrated well. I am in Khartoum now going through the checkout process. So far it has been relatively painless. I was excited to leave Torit for Juba because I was on my way home, but the flight 2 days later from Juba to Khartoum felt a little different. It has been an amazing experience here and I am thankful to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for allowing me to partake in this mission. A part of me would like to stay longer, but it is time to go home and get back to some sort of normal life.


I would like to take this moment to thank my contingent for all of their support. Inspector Wayne HANNIMAN, Corporal Wayne PLIMMER, Constable Scott BURGE, Constable Jaskaran PUREWAL, and Constable Charles OBENG. I enjoyed being in the mission with you and I am very proud of our entire contingent. We were a good team and we each did our part in this mission setting a high standard for other Canadians to follow and continue our work here. We led by example for others in the mission to follow. We also left our mark with the local people, especially Corporal Wayne PLIMMER who, without making a second thought, jumped into a lake to recover the body of a young boy who had drowned so that the family would be able to give him a proper burial. He did this when the local authorities were not willing to act. I am honoured to have served with all of you.

On behalf of myself and my fellow contingent members, I would also like to say a special thanks to our Contingent Commander, Inspector Wayne HANNIMAN. We could not have asked for a better leader in this mission. You took on the fight not only for your contingent in times of need, but also for those international UNPOLS who had the pleasure of working for you while in the mission. I know that you will not only be missed by us, but by those who you worked in the mission. Your efforts in this mission were very much appreciated and will not be forgotten. Thank you Sir.

I would also like to thank my colleagues, friends and family for their support while I have been in the mission. Whether it was a message on this blog, a pin message on my blackberry, an email, a brief phone call, or a second hand hello, it was very much appreciated.

A special thanks as well to my habibi at home who ventured with me into unkown circumstances when I joined this mission and who has been a great support from the beginning right until the end. You endured hardship to be left alone at home, but you also shared in my hardships in this mission and were always willing to listen to the difficulties I was being faced with and providing advice when you could. Thank you very much Amanda.

These are my final words. After today I will not be adding anything to this blog. I hope that everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing about my experiences. I hope you enjoy these last few photos. Thank you again and goodbye. May there be continued peace for Sudan.

Cheers,

Rory Goncalves

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) One last sunrise run in Torit, 2) Mary my driving student and stand in mom, 3) Local kids, 4) Pelicans, 5) Torit boy, 6) local Latuko tribal people, 7) School teacher with her students)

SSPS Graduation

My final weeks in Torit have been busy. We had the SSPS Basic Police Training course on going for 3 months and it finally came to a close. In this Basic Police Training course we try to enlighten the SSPS on their role as police covering several different topics in policing at an accepted international standard. This is not always easy. Alot of these people are, as they say themselves, "straight from the jungle" with no education whatsoever. My training officers did well and the best they could given the circumstances.

As the Basic Police Training course was coming to a an end, I received a call that a delegation from UNMIS main headquarters wanted to come to Torit for the graduation ceremony. So my team and I went to work and were able to organize a formal graduation ceremony in about a week. We had high ranking officials from the SSPS, the state government, and UNMIS main headquarters attend. Everything went off well and the graduation was a success. After the ceremony, we played a football match versus the graduates. We lost horribly, but the locals enjoyed the entertainment.

After it was all said and done, it was time to plan one last Long Range Patrol. I sent a team of 9 UNPOLS to a place called Kapoeta approximately 5 hours drive away towards the border of Kenya for 6 days. They were a little leary about going. We have had a lot of violent cattle raids in the area, but we have no choice. We needed to go as it has been over a year since any UNPOLS have been to this place. This was most of my team that was going except for 2 and the last time I would see them. I got up early the morning of the patrol to make sure everything was in line and to see them off. I would be leaving Torit before their return to start my checkout. I stood at the gate to our compound and waved them one last goodbye as they left for the patrol.

I have now packed all of my things and have 2 more days before I fly out of Torit to begin my check out process. First Juba for 2 days, then Khartoum for 7 before flying back to Canada.

Cheers,

Rory

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) Physical Training with the SSPS recruits, 2, 3, & 4) SSPS graduation drill presentation, 4)The State Police Commissioner Brigadier Joseph NATIO, Brigadier General Jackson ELIA, RHQ Training Coordinator Sam ORJI (Nigeria), and me watching the drill presentation, 5) Address to the Graduating Class, 6 & 7) A final salute, 8) SSPS versus UNPOL...hey is that Cristiano Ronaldo out there?)

Patrol to Ikotos

Last week I went on a Long Range Patrol to Ikotos. Ikotos is approximately 90 kilometres from Torit and about a three and a half hour drive. We were stopped at an SPLA checkpoint in a place called Kyala. This is always an unpredictable situation. The UNMOS have previously been stopped and detained there at the SPLA camp. I was in the lead vehicle and an SPLA soldier came to my door with his AK47 in hand. He was obviuosly drunk. A happy drunk though. I explained where we were going and what we were doing in the area and my language assistant translated. No problem. I shook hands with him and we went on our way. The patrol went well and we only suffered two flat tires which was good because we were quickly running out of spares. A local helped me out with our 2nd flat tire. I gave him my tilley hat for his help which he was quite happy with. Then he wanted my "Canadian" lanyard. We made a trade.

In Ikotos, as in other counties in our AOR (area of responsibility), we have a responsibility to support the UNPOL mandate by monitoring, mentoring, and training the SSPS as we do in Torit on a daily basis. Our area of responsibility is quite large. It is impossible to effectively fulfill our mandate and it is a constant battle that I face with both our Sector Headquarters and Main Headquarters. This is due to manpower shortages, lack of effecient vehicles, and the rainy season when many of these places are not accessible by road.

The Human Rights Section from Juba also joined our patrol as they had an investigation to conduct from an incident that occured in November of 2008. The County Commissioner had used the SPLA to investgate the murder of a Ugandan man in the area. Their investigation resulted in two 4 suspects being arrested which included an SSPS offcer, a prison warden, and two SPLA recruits. The SSPS officer and prison warden had hired the two SPLA recruits to kill a man. They were given 100 pounds ($50 dollars) to kill the man and they killed the wrong one. The SPLA ended up hanging these men upside down for 5 days beating and torturing a confession out of them. The end result was that one of them died. The cause of death was that the man bled to death from the wounds to his wrists caused by rope being tied too tight. Human Rights was investigating the death of this prisoner while in custody of the SPLA and the use of SPLA to investigate a murder instead of the SSPS. I guess that is what happens when you get a soldier to do the work of a police officer.

Upon arrival to Ikotos we visited the County Commissioner as a courtesy to announce our arrival. We were well received, but obviously there were some suspicions as to what the Human Rights Section was doing there. As UNPOLS we had to make sure that the local officials understood that Human Rights was a separate entity and that they would be acting on their own and that we were not involved at all in their investigation.

We then went to find a place to stay. We found some people that would rent us tukuls. It was great. I had wanted to sleep in a tukul and finally got the chance to do it. For $20.00 (which is actually pretty expensive) we all had our on tukul which included traditional Southern Sudanese cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The bathroom, as always, took a little getting used to.

We met with the SSPS Police Station Commander and were briefed on the security situation of the area. The usual problems exist regarding cattle raiding and violent clashes between different tribes over grazing rights. It is not rare to see a 12 year old boy carrying an AK-47 in these parts. They are not child soldiers as some might think, they carry weapons handed down from their fathers who had fought in the war to protect their families cattle from cattle raiders.

We spent two days conducting some on the job training with some of the local SSPS officers and also visted the SSPS detention cells. There were 9 people in custody, 4 men and 5 women. 8 people were being held for adultery and 1 woman for murdering her husband. The cell was filthy. I walked in and could barely breathe. The odour of urine and human feces filled the place which was one room in small rock building. The woman we were told slept outside at night.

We also visited the local prison and met with the Prison Commander. Under the guidance of my Corrections Officer we were able to do some basic training their as well. We were very well received by the prison officers, most of which had just graduated from basic training held in Torit. We were given a tour of the prison cells. One of the prison cells at the prison was simply a pit surrounded in thorn bushes. I prefer to go to jail in Canada...if that is what has to happen one day.

After 3 days we packed up and left the drive back to Torit went well and there were no problems. While driving back we drove by a boy who could not have been older than 12 years with an AK47 over his shoulder walking behind about 50 cows. That is the life in some of these parts. People kill each other for cattle. It is all about survival.

Well not too much longer and I'll be heading home. One week to be exact and I will start my check out process. It is beginning to feel a little awkward. This feels like home, but I am excited to go back to my other home to see my other friends and my family. I am sure it will not be a problem.

Oh yes. One more thing. We were able to successfully have Little Bashir released from the prison last week. When asked about his time in jail how he felt about finally being released, he just smiled. Hey, he is only 2 years old.

Cheers,

Rory

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) En-route to Ikotos, 2) Ant Noll, 3) Spoils of war could be found everywhere on the way, 4) Timone gave us a hand on the way, 5 & 6) My tukul, 7) My toilet, 8)After meeting and training at the local SSPS police station, 9) Prison Commander Major Bol REATH, 10) Armoured vehicle left over from the war, 11) Holding cell at the prison, 12) Lecturing the prison officers, 13) Group photo with the prison officers)

Little Bashir

Well, Christmas and New Years in Amsterdam were a nice and well needed break. It felt like Christmas mostly because of the cold and all of the “Red Lights”. It was a little harder to go home this time and if it was not for the cold I might have gone AWOL.

I returned to Torit from my Christmas vacation to find that nothing had been done regarding the 2 year old boy stuck in the Torit Prison. It has now been a month and a half since his mother escaped the prison. Her crime…adultery.

Bashir is his name and he had to spend Christmas alone without family in the Torit Prison which I must say is nothing like the correction facilities we have at home. There are no beds, nothing we would call a washroom, and only one meal a day. Makes me feel a little guilty for complaining about having to come back to Torit after my own Christmas vacation.

The goal is to find little Bashir a home. I have been working on the issue of little Bashir with Human Rights, Child Protection, and the Torit Child Welfare Office to try to find a solution. So far the best that can be done is that someone from the Torit Child Welfare Office will visit little Bashir at the prison once a week to check on his welfare and they have another female prisoner watching over him during the week. I visited the prison yesterday on this matter as well as others. I found little Bashir wandering around on his own wearing only a green tank top. No one was taking care of him. His belly distended likely
from malnutrition. Hopefully we can get him out
of here soon.

The conditions of the prison are abhorred. The toilet is a whole in the ground and the kitchen is definitely lacking the essentials. There are 19 children living in the prison right now with their mothers. 10 of them are below the age of 8 months. Many of the female prisoners end up giving birth to their children while in prison. Several of the prisoners are also sick and require medical attention. Some have been waiting for over a month.

It is busy here in Torit these days. The level of serious crimes seems to be increasing the closer we get to elections. Cattle raiding related deaths are occurring on almost a daily basis now and several people have been killed or injured. The most serious case involved a group of villages from Lopa County whereby they coordinated an attack on another group of villagers from stealing 259 cattle. The local government sent a group of both SSPS police officers and SPLA soldiers to investigate and establish security in the area. The victims of the attack received information that the people responsible for the attack were traveling in a group en route to their locality and ambushed the vehicles carrying the SSPS, SPLA, and some government officials killing 10 people. Tensions are now quite high in this area.

Yesterday one of my fellow Canadian RCMP contingent members, Constable Charles OBENG, was driving a UN marked vehicle on his way to conduct training in Wau. He was with two other UNPOL officers and a Language Assistant when he noticed that they were being followed by an SPLA vehicle armed with a machine gun. The SPLA vehicle passed them and cut them off. They got out and forced Constable Charles and his colleagues out of their vehicle at gun point yelling in Arabic or some other Southern Sudanese dialect. One of the SPLA soldiers went to strike Charles in the head with his AK47. Charles moved at the last second and was struck in the shoulder. The SPLA soldiers then got back into their vehicle and left. The reason for their actions is still unknown. In any case it is an unfriendly reminder that this place is very unpredictable and we have to remember to be constantly aware of our surroundings, watch our backs, and keep our heads down. We are all happy that Charles is okay.

The dry season is taking its toll on the community here and us. We are running out of water to shower with. Some days there is none. The have allocated 4.5 litres of water for us to use as drinking water which is not enough. I have taken to boiling the water now before drinking it. I can not handle the colour though so now I throw in a tea bag after boiling it to give it some flavour. I have about 4 weeks left here at my post and have been pretty busy. Between little Bashir, the almost daily killings due to cattle raidings, and the planning and coordinating of a few final Long Range Patrols before I leave I do not have a lot of free time, which is a good thing. I will be heading out on my last Long Range Patrol next week for 3 days and then it is all downhill from there.

Cheers,

Rory

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) The Torit Prison, 2) Little Bashir, 3)Female prisoners with their children. Many give birth while in prison and are nursing their newborns, 3) Mother with newborn, 4) Kitchen/cooking area, 5) Washroom, 6 & 7) Male prisoners who are very ill and have been waiting a month for medical attention, 8) Cpt. Mark ERKULANO (Deputy Prison Commander), Brig. Zacharia KUOL (OIC of Production), Col. Brown WUAK (Prison Commander), and Cpt. Anthony OHURO (Prison Adminstrator), 9) Little Bashir and I)

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

I have been keeping busy here in Torit and I am looking forward to a Christmas break. As part of our mandate my goal has been to conduct as many patrols as possible to the 8 counties in our area of responsibility. Some of these places require that we stay for up to five days. I was recently able to send a team to Magwi County. I am planning on a 5 to 7 day patrol in January near the end of my mission. As the Team Site Leader, I do not get to go on patrols and have to ask for permission. My goal is to get on this 7 day patrol before I go home.

Currently we are on evacuation alert here in the south of Sudan. The ICC is set to issue a warrant for the arrest of President BASHIR in early to mid January which will create tension all over Sudan. Among regular duties, we are preparing for a potential evacuation in early to mid January. In addition, Southern Sudan, Ugandan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo military are engaging in a joint military offensive against the LRA. Joseph KONY has continued to stall the signing of a peace agreement and they have had enough of him, although they do say that the door is still open for KONY to come to the table and negotiate. Talk about bad timing. Also, the Government of Southern Sudan has advised it's the citizens to fight back if the rebels carry out revenge attacks in Equatoria region. So much for the Disarmament of Civilians program. What this means for us here in Torit is that we will be limiting any patrols near Uganda until further notice and monitor any reports of LRA movement on the Southern Sudan side of the border.

The locals are doing alot of burning right now clearing the land. About 2 weeks ago during burning in a place in our AOR called Ikotos, a UXO exploded killing one boy and injuring a pregnant woman. This area was not known to be a UXO zone. There are likely several more like this waiting to be found. This area was hit pretty hard during the war.

We recently had a stabbing incident in a small village called Imoruk about 20 kilometers away. The suspect was caught trying to leave Torit in his vehicle. The stabbed victim was left by the roadside. This is one of those examples where it is easier to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. The Dutch and Canadian UNMOS and I decided to go and pick up the injured to bring him to the hospital as it appeared that neither the local police nor local hospital emergency staff were going to do anything. We made the mistake of asking our BANBAT Force Protection to assist us with their ambulance. Long story short the word got out and we were ordered not to take any action. My next stop was the hospital. I advised the ambulance driver there that there was a stabbed victim on the side of the road in Imoruk. His first excuse was that it was a Sunday. I could smell the odour of liquor emanating from him. His next excuse was that the vehicle was not driveable. This was total bullshit as well. End result I left fuming and I may have held back from telling him to fuck off, but by the time I was done arguing with him. I didn't have to say it.

We are currently dealing with a 2 year old boy that is being detained in an adult prison. No it is not a typo. It is a 2 year old boy. Here when you are a woman and are put in prison, you take your young children with you. In this case the woman escaped leaving her child behind. I have my UN Corrections officer working on a solution and now have Human Rights on board as well to try and assist in dealing with this matter. The prison guards are usually drunk and people escape all of the time. There reason for keeping the 2 year old boy in prison is so that the mother comes back and turns herself in.

On December 19th at about 0600 hours I was awoken out of bed. The SSPS were at the main gate requesting UNPOL assistance to take photos of a murder crime scene. They don't have any cameras. I got my ass out of bed and went to the scene with them. It was mayhem. Literally hundreds of people on the property where the murder took place trampling all over the crime scene. People were yelling and crying. The body which had been discovered inside one of the tukuls (mud huts) where the victim lived had been dragged outside to the middle of the property and was surrounded by people. The female victim had been shot. Likely by an AK47. A blood trail and drag marks made a trail to where the body was. What a mess I did my best to take the necessary photos of the body, entry and exit wounds, and the rest of the crime scene, but it was near impossible to do a proper job. I advised the SSPS that they need to protect the crime scene to do a proper investigation and not lose any potential evidence. They just shrugged their shoulders. After I snapped a few quick photos, the body was quickly thrown into the back of a truck and taken away.

So this has been Torit. It is a good place and I am enjoying it, but the closer I get to my end of mission date the longer the days seem to take. I am heading to Amsterdam to spend Christmas and New Year. Hoping to maybe head somewhere warm as well. This will be my last trip out before coming home unless they do not let me get back into Sudan because shit has hit the fan.

Have a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year,

Rory

(Photos Top to Bottom: 1) Magwi police office, 2) Magwi exhibit room, 3) Magwi cell, 4) UNPOL Tesfaye DEFEGA (Ethiopia) with the Chief of Police in Magwi at the back of the Magwi cell...notice the large hole!, 5) UNPOL Fatai AMAKOEJA (Nigeria) teaching the Basic Police Course), 6)Local woman and child. The orange colouring in the childs hair is indicative of malnutrition, 7) Torit Bridge. Up front and to the right is a minefield/uxo zone, 8) Local children. Right behind them is UXO/Minefield territory. Apparently there is a painted rock indicating this somewhere, but I haven't found it yet, 9) After lecturing the JIU (Joint Integrated Unit - SAF/SPLA), 10) A video of Latuko tribal people performing dance the day President Salva Kiir arrived in Torit.

President Salva Kiir

We were paid an impromptu visit from the President of Southern Sudan (also the First Vice President of Sudan) Salva Kiir MAYARDIT. Salva Kiir was one of the founders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and was a key figure in the peace process that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War in January 2005.

I attended the Torit airstrip with one of the Civil Affairs staff and watched the helicopter carrying Salva Kiir land. It seemed as if the entire town of Torit was waiting at the airstrip for his arrival including a group of Latuko tribal people wearing traditional dress and engaging in traditional dance. I noticed a cow in the middle of the air strip laying on the ground being held by three men. It did not take long to figure out what was going to happen next.

Salva Kiir walked off the helicopter with his entourage in tow and as he approached the cow, one of the three men started cutting it’s throat almost taking it’s head right off. Then they sliced open the belly and started pulling the guts out. Salva Kiir said his hello to these men and proceeded to a greeting line of government officials shaking hands with each person. After a quick wave to the crowd and a short dance with the Latuko tribal people, he was whisked away in a vehicle to start a long day of governmental meetings.

We were invited to a dinner for the President Salva Kiir. I was asked if I had my traditional dress uniform to wear. I didn’t. Too bad. It would have been great for PR. Dinner was at eight, but of course it did not get started until 10:30 Sudanese time. Probably over a hundred people were in attendance eating and drinking. All free on the governments dime of course. The dinner was brief and then President Salva Kiir went behind closed doors again for more governmental talks.

Torit is going well for me. I am spending my time right now organizing and implementing new training initiatives and coordinating and planning long range patrols. Long range patrols are important to our mandate. These are places where police stations and posts exist, but there is no UN presence which is why it is necessary that we visit these places, unfortunately we have not been to any of them in over a year.

Torit is a little different than Yambio especially when going on patrols and there are several factors to take into consideration. Cattle raiding is prominent and usually includes a gun fight. Torit and it’s surrounding counties which are in our area of responsibility are also riddled with landmines and UXO‘s (Unexploded ordnance). I was able to obtain a detailed map of landmine and UXO sites in and surrounding Torit from a colleague in Juba that works for UNMAO (United Nations Mine Action Office). It should come in handy.

All in all things are good. I am planning my last and final leave to Amsterdam which is where I will be spending Christmas. Hopefully fly to somewhere warm from there. On the downhill slide now with only a couple of months to go.

Cheers,

Rory

(Photos from top to bottom: 1) Salva Kiir MAYARDIT, 2) South Sudanese men awaiting presence of Salva Kiir to sacrifice cow, 3) Just after the cow was sacrificed, 4) Latuko tribal dancers, 5) Salva Kiir again waving to the crowd.)