20 days in Khartoum: To repair, work and make the turn of the administrations

Repair Adrienne
"the engine should be removed. I do not work with a station to weld onto this car with the engine above, that can explode and all and all... ". The mechanic of the Etienne father is formal, and on this declaration, it makes us an estimate of minimum hundred dollars. Time for us to reflect, to imagine mechanics not knowing the car to dismount it then to go up it, and it is too late. The mechanic found another customer, it will not be able to travel by our car within a suitable time more.
Fortunately, the Etienne father at which we place is full with resources. In Khartoum, there is a technical training school held by Salésiens (Gift Bosco). Their reputation lowered last year a little, but the director has just changed. It is necessary to test! Full with hopes we ask the father to activate his contacts. Arrive then Reiko, the German with the gold hands. It does not want to dismount the engine (ouf!). To repair it, it hopes to be able to open the frame by lower part and to reinforce it interior. But after analysis, it sees that it is impossible. It then decides to weld two steel plates onto the sides with the site of the folding and two enormous rails under the members. That will weigh down considerably the car and the result is not guaranteed. But, we hardly have the choice and the prospect to have for the "Made by German" in Sudan amuses us much.
Once the completed work we understand that the choice was good. The team of Reiko, made up of Sudanese of the south (blacker than those of north and as catholic a Christians majority), did a fabulous work. They even repaired in an exceptional way our steering column by giving again a flexibility to him which the welding of the Egyptians had removed to him.

To work and meet associations
Khartoum is an agglomeration of 6 million inhabitants (finally approximately). Put aside the hotels of luxury (Hilton, Plaza and some others), the buildings of the administrations and the houses of the rich districts, the majority of the houses are full feet.
The city is made up of several districts having often for nerve centre an enormous souk where the stalls abound in imported products of China or Korea, fruits, meats or seeds. There is alas little diversity in the food which is mainly seasonal.
The large axes and the streets of the center are all out of tar. The secondary axes and the majority of the other streets are out of ground. A yellow ground and sometimes red brick as one can find it on the central course of Roland Garros. The least strong gale, the least passage of car causes a cloud of dust which will settle in all the houses with the large injury of the housewives and the owners of electronic material.
Capital of a country in civil war for 20 years, struck by several consecutive years of dryness and famine, points of convergence of the moved populations fleeing the zone of combat (south mainly), Khartoum has become the city with hundred ONG and associations in any kind. It is difficult there to take a step without crossing a large 4x4 struck registration "NGO". UNO is also very present via many institutions such as FAO, the UNICEF, the UNDP, etc...
It was thus easy for us to make contacts with of ONG to hear them on their achievements for water.
We started with Action Against the Hunger (ACF) and Cooperative Association For Health and Water of which we spoke in the notebook about the initiatives. Another interesting interview was that with the director of the Ministry for Water and the Irrigation which spoke to us about the agreements between Sudan and Egypt for the division of water of the Nile.
Always in background of our town life, we have our work for the Internet site, of which we have compliments more and more, friends, but also of people whom we do not know, which encourages us much.

To make the turn of the administrations
"To leave towards Chad! But you are insane? Did you intend to speak about Darfour? It is an area which is in full rising. There is on a side of the rebels and other of the highwaymen."
Indeed we want to leave towards the west Sudan, to cross Darfour and to pass the border with Chad to Geneina.
Other sources will say to us: "moreover, there are armed bands which cross the border of share and share and which attacks all that moves".
Cross English in 4x4 in Khartoum will affirm being passed to us without encumbers a few months earlier, but, pressed by time we could not question it more front on this point. We also know that two 2CV arrived by there a few months ago.
But which road is really dangerous?
Where can one have reliable information?
In all our alarmist sources, which already did lot of mileage?
It is smelled sometimes that certain people give councils for the pleasure of giving them without realizing that for us, it is essential to arrive at Chad then in Cameroun.
It is true the road is not sure, Darfour is in rising against the central capacity, but we need more than evasive information and the ideal would be also to find somebody who did lot of mileage and which would inform us on his feasibility.
With the embassy of France we end up having information a little clearer on the road to take and that to avoid. But, us are said, in Sudan the information are not easy to obtain, knowing that the president is a soldier, with all that that covers like information and misinformation.
In any case to leave we need a "Travel allowed", (only useful information that we had only very late). To have this paper it is necessary to pass by a whole series of offices of which the ministry for tourism, then that of the interior to finish finally at the Security Office. The latter refuse us the access to Geneina (border with Chad), we have the licence only until Nyala, three or four hundred kilometers before the border. Beyond they is too dangerous. We thus decide to return to us until there without really knowing if we will pass. In the event of refusal of the authorities to let to us pass, we will make half-turn.

The Departure
The day of the departure we greet the Etienne father who accomodated us so much well. True encyclopaedia on legs, it spent 38 years to Africa and in the Arab countries which it usually speaks. We had all the three of long discussions which informed us on the Islamic religion and Africa.
The day of the departure, while tightening me the hand it launches me "It is good, you have all. Your visa is in order at least?".
"Yes, yes well on! Finally euh now that you say it! What is marked in Arabic there?"
"Validity one month, and there it is marked that you returned to Sudan the 30 seven. Let us not be us not on October 29?"
"Shit, shit, shit! One is really too null, one was still made have by administrative problems."
It is not very serious, we were to already leave yesterday or before yesterday, I do not remember any more (makes some I believe that they was both, but there was always something which missed).
And Re-belote we leave for the ministry for immigration to fill a series of papers, to pass by 5 different counters, to intend themselves to ask for three photographs of identities (they have of them already four of us in another service, I believe that they collect them). To cross the city to make the photographs. To pay some official taxes and some stamps. To badger the poor civil servant so that it reconsiders his decision to return our passports to us the following day, which it does in a charming way (if our civils servant want to follow formations of kindness, they can go over there).
We will have passed there more than four hours and to the closing of the office with 14h we leave, proud like Artaban, with a prolongation of our one month old visa.
We turn over then in the father who offers a meal to us and money lends again us (the life is not very expensive in Sudan but the visas are exorbitant, the official administrative expenses of entry in Sudan for the car and for us amount to 300$ per two months).
It is 15h30 when we are on the road for Chad. All is well, we have all that it is necessary. Finally almost! We sought during a few times of the tire tubes to repair in the event of puncture, of the hose connections in the event of escapes, the gasoline filters which will have to be changed every week in Chad. And we will not find anything of what we seek. After a fashion, let us leave it is not serious, go to the adventure !

Newspaper from the 11 to October 29, 2003 by Loïc

< previous     next >     back <<