Posted in Africa, Mission Life on March 4, 2010| 29 Comments »
“Five kids were killed by a grenade in Kodok town today! Tomorrow morning UNICEF and I will be going to Kodok town to investigate the case, are you coming?” my friend, JV, who’s working as Humanitarian Affairs asked me.
I was shocked to hear about it and without any second thought I said, “Yes,” immediately!
On the next day we departed from Malakal at 9.45 a.m. with a small motor boat that only fits for seven people. Luckily we were seven including two UNICEF staff, one staff of UNMAO (United Nations Mine Action Office), two from UNMIS (JV & I), one from Mine Tech Demining Company, and the boat driver.
Here's our small motor boat
JV is ready for a boat ride!
Kodok is about 90 minutes up to the north from Malakal by boat. It lies on the Nile River bank. It’s a Shiluk tribe area, the population is approximately 6,000 people and most of them are fishermen and farmers.
Kodok town lies on the Nile River bank
Kodok is one of towns in Fashoda county, Upper Nile state. There are three towns within Fashoda county: Kodok, Lul, and Ditwok. Kodok is the county headquarters where the county commissioner governs from.
Fashoda county is one of the most historical places in Africa. This was the place where the territory dispute between France and United Kingdom happened back in 1898 and it is well-known as “Fashoda Incident.”
Kodok town is the capital of Fashoda county
The history begins…
If you study African history I bet you know the term of “Scramble for Africa.” It was the period where Africa was rapidly being occupied by European colonial powers during 19th century and this involved United Kingdom and France including Portugal, Germany, and Belgium.
France and its allies colonized the African interior from Senegal, Mali, Niger, to Chad. Their ultimate goal was to have an uninterrupted link between the Niger River and the Nile, to control all trade to and from the Sahel region through Sahara. The Sahel is the zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian savannas in the south. It stretches across the north of the African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.
The British wanted to link their possessions in Southern Africa with their territories in East Africa, and these two areas with the Nile basin. Sudan was the key to the fulfilment of these ambitions, especially since Egypt was already under British control.
Kodok town
British planned to draw a railway from Cape Town to Cairo and French had an ambition to control the trade from Dakar to Djibouti. These two lines intersect in eastern Sudan near the town of Fashoda or now it’s known by Kodok, explaining its strategic importance. The French east-west axis and the British north-south axis could not co-exist; the nation that could occupy and hold the crossing of the two axes would be the only one able to proceed with its plan.
In July 1898, a French Major, Jean-Baptiste Marchand, led 150 soldiers to enter the ruined Egyptian fort of Fashoda to establish French presence in Upper Nile. On September 18, 1,500 British troops in a powerful flotilla led by Sir Herbert Kitchener reached Fashoda in order to reclaim the whole of the Sudan for Egypt and Britain.
First both Britain and France were polite but insisted on their right on Fashoda. Marchand refused to surrender the fort although he was heavily outnumbered. The crisis continued until October and both nations were about to prepare themselves for a war. But then Britain and France were well aware that this battle would bring a wider consequence and at the same time people increasingly began to question the wisdom of war for the sake of such a remote part of Africa.
Fashoda along the Nile River
Finally the compromise was made. The French’s flag will remain above the fort; the Egyptian flag will fly from a nearby tree; and they will leave the wider issue to the politicians.
By the end of the year the French government decided to withdraw Marchand and his men from Fashoda because they were much distracted by the Dreyfus affair, it was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s.
In March 1899, the French and British agreed that the source of the Nile and the Congo rivers should mark the frontier between their spheres of influence. This was the last serious colonial dispute between Britain and France.
OMG…!!!
I never thought that I stepped my foot on one of the historical land in Africa continent!
Tukul, the traditional house of South Sudan
Back to the present day…
On the way to Kodok, for the first 25 minutes, I sat on the front seat of the boat right in front of the driver’s seat. The wind was very strong that morning so the current was fast, I felt like riding in a rollercoaster & sitting on the front row! The boat speed just perfectly added the thrill of the journey, I was so scared that I might be thrown out into the river because there was no seat belt available that can hold me tight on my seat.
Fortunately something was wrong with the machine so the driver must stop the boat and checked on the fuel tank whether the fuel was still available. I quickly asked my colleague from UNMAO, RI, to switch the seat therefore I could calm myself down and enjoy the boat ride.
We arrived in Kodok on 11.30 a.m. and for the next five hours we sat on the pick-up that was provided by the local authority to take us to see the families of the victims as well as to visit the areas where landmines and UXOs (unexploded ordinances) were still lying around on the ground waiting to be cleared up.
We were transported by a pick-up during the visit
This was used to be a war zone, now you may find landmines & UXOs here
We found two other old grenades that day and when I asked to the local authority why there are so many landmines and UXOs in this area, he said that Kodok was used to be the battle zone between Sudan Armed Force and Sudan People Liberation Army back in 1980s to early 2000s.
Is this American grenade?
What about this one?... Asian made?...
The weather was very hot that day, although I already wore my big blue hat but still it couldn’t prevent me in getting sun-burned. My skin is completely tanned now and my face is like a tomato.
Because of hot weather the land was cracking, I assume the rain has not come for months there. However, I can’t imagine if the rain is suddenly pouring because it would have been very muddy.
Land is cracking during dry season
Although we could hardly find infrastructure which is common condition in Southern Sudan, but some basic facilities such as schools, medical centre, and clean water point are available in Kodok. I also saw some electricity and telephone network’s towers to be built up there.
City power towers are already in town
We ended our visit by meeting the only non-government organization (NGO) that is based in Kodok, Tear Fund. Tear Fund is a British NGO that supports in health area. They have several health projects in Fashoda county such as HIV, malaria, nutrition, and maternity. Tear Fund has expressed their cooperation to support UN in landmine awareness dissemination to the people of Fashoda county especially the children.
Five children were killed by a landmine and no more children will becoming victims anymore!
We returned to Malakal at 5.30 p.m. and had a boat ride for another 90 minutes but this time the wind was calmer so we could enjoy our sunset boat ride as if we were on the Nile sunset cruise… Beautiful!!!
Sunset view along River Nile on the way back to Malakal
Sites cited on “Fashoda Incident” : African History & Wikipedia.
This story was published at http://pralangga.org – Our Peacekeeping Journey under the same title.
Posted in Africa, Imeechan Photo Gallery, Stories that I wrote at work on February 24, 2010| 8 Comments »
My picture has been chosen as a front cover of the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) magazine, “In Sudan” February 2010 edition.
Here’s the original picture:
Election security anti-riot exercise Malakal
I took this picture during the election security anti-riot exercise in Malakal, Southern Sudan, in January 2009.
Besides the above picture, I also contributed part of the story which was written by JC titled “Safeguarding 2010 Elections” (page 4) and the picture of this article was also taken by me:
Election security anti-riot police officers
The copyright of this story solely belongs to UNMIS. If you are interested to republish it please contact unmis-insudan@un.org for permission.
Posted in Africa, Stories that I wrote at work on February 24, 2010| 1 Comment »
I wrote this story for “In Sudan” magazine October 2009 edition.
“In Sudan” is one of the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) publications. You can find this article on page 5 of the full magazine below.
A map of food security conditions across Southern Sudan identifies 16 counties where between 25 and 40 per cent of the local population currently face severe food shortages. Three of those counties are located in Upper Nile State. A combination of factors has created the need for an estimated 6,900 metric tons of food relief assistance for its residents in 2009. As with other drought-stricken parts of the region, scant rains have been a major cause of the present food deficit in Upper Nile State. It received 245.3 millimeters of rainfall between May and July of this year, a 40 per cent drop from precipitation levels for the same period in 2008.
But the state has also been one of the leading flashpoints of tribal clashes in Southern Sudan this year. Ongoing violence has sharply reduced farming activity in some areas and also hampered efforts to deliver emergency food supplies to needy communities. That was highlighted on 12 June when Jikany Nuer militiamen opened fire on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 27 barges loaded with food, which was earmarked for the town of Akobo in neighbouring Jonglei State. The convoy had left the Upper Nile State town of Nasir that morning and was heading up the Sobat River when the daylight attack occurred. At least 40 crew members and soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army were killed in the assault and much of the 735 metric tons of food supplies was looted.
Dr. Onwar Adeng, FAO Malakal Team Leader
Security conditions have improved significantly in the Sobat River corridor since then. The WFP succeeded in delivering 17 metric tons of food to residents in Nasir and Akobo in September. WFP officials plan to distribute 2,350 tons of food aid to Upper Nile State over a five-month period ending in December. But they warn that a resurgence of tribal fighting along that river and in other parts of Upper Nile State could sabotage future relief operations as happened last June.
“The increase in tribal fighting that we have seen in this region in recent months could derail recovery and rebuilding efforts that we are supporting,” said WFP Public Information Officer Amorcecille Almagro. The general scarcity of food throughout Upper Nile State is reflected in market price trends. A 90-kilogram sack of sorghum that was selling at 110 Sudanese pounds in the state capital of Malakal last March was fetching 140 Sudanese pounds by July, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
FAO Office in Malakal
But that 27 per cent rise in the price of sorghum pales alongside the going rate in the less accessible town of Nasir, where consumers have paid up to 280 Sudanese pounds for the same quantity of the cereal. FAO has worked with eight partner non-governmental organizations in the state this year to identify 10,000 farming households in need of assistance. Located in nine of the state’s counties, these farmers have received 128 metric tons of crop seeds, 164,000 kilograms of vegetable seeds and 32,000 agricultural hand tools. Dozens of ploughs and treadle pumps and 170,000 fishing hooks and spools have also been delivered as part of a campaign to give the targeted households a chance to cultivate different kinds of crops or try their hand at fishing.
“FAO’s concern has always been to diversify the livelihood options of disasterprone communities so they are able to cope with disasters and raise their own food,” said FAO Malakal team leader Onwar Adeng. For those communities who are more dependent on livestock for their survival, FAO has shipped over 135,000 doses of animal vaccines to Upper Nile State this year and provided funds for the training of 27 community animal health workers in the counties of Renk, Melut and Maban. “The livestock situation has started to improve,” said Mr. Adeng. “However, the threat of diseases is still a concern.”
“In Sudan” magazine October 2009 edition was also published on ReliefWeb.
The copyright of this story solely belongs to UNMIS. If you are interested to republish it please contact unmis-insudan@un.org for permission.
Posted in Africa, Imeechan Photo Gallery on February 19, 2010| 2 Comments »
These pictures were taken by me in between 2007 & 2008.
They were chosen as “UNV photo of the week” & being published at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sudan website.
Sudanese tea-seller
Joy of returnee schoolgirls in Juba, Kuku primary school, Southern Sudan
African child festivities in Malakal
The Window... 