[Stoves] FW: Moving towards El Fasher from Ken, forwarded by Ken's brother Warren (4)

[Warren Goyer]

Moving Toward El Fasher

Aug 14, 2006

 

 

Dear Friends,

     I left Istanbul yesterday headed toward Cairo. I can't stop thinking
about traveling by square rigged ships and how difficult traveling must have
been in the old days. Waiting in airports seems difficult enough. It seems
that I spend more time waiting than actually flying. I went early to the
Istanbul airport and hung out there. I had reached the end of my tourist
patience with Istanbul.  Otherwise, I would be hanging out at the Alibaba
Hotel, and they were anxious to rent the room to someone else. Finally, the
plane left. I had asked for a window seat. Usually I like to watch the
landscape go by. I was surprised at how much of Turkey we flew over before
reaching the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, we reached the coast of Egypt.
Passing many "villages" in the delta region we finally reached Cairo. The
Captain made a long downwind approach across Cairo and then a 180 degree
turn with a spectacular view of the Pyramids, and back across Cairo onto
final approach into the airport. The woman at the ticket counter must have
known which side of the plane to put me on.

     Since I am headed for Khartoum and I have an eight hour layover in
Cairo I have been taken to the transit area of the terminal. This place is
swarming with people. It tops the Dubai airport during Ramadan. I am asked
for my passport and ticket which will join a stack of about thirty other
passports and will become one of many stacks at six or seven desks. It seems
that their computers are down (but that's not the case). I'm afraid I will
never again see my passport with its very dear Sudanese visa. The chaos at
the airport has been created because war in Eritrea has closed Eritrea's
airport causing flights to Eritrea be canceled, and stranding all of the
passengers headed there. This must have been a mini version of the recent
chaos at Heathrow- London. Egyptian Airlines is very kind to us. If you have
more than a six hour layover you are provided with a room or a tour of the
pyramids and dinner. I am taken on the tour with three other men bound for
Khartoum. They are mechanics from Turkey working in Sudan on the
installation of an oil fired electrical generation station. There are six
generators of 8-9 megawatts each powered by 18 cylinder engines with a bore
of 32 cm. and stroke of 40 cm. They turn only 750 R.P.M. These guys have not
heard of Darfur or know of the situation there. I show them my pictures of
Lira. The pyramids at night, and in a hurry, are not very spectacular but
the trip across town and back, the reverse of the trip just made in the air,
gave me a synopsis of Cairo, and the dinner was very good.  Miraculously, my
passport was returned to me and I departed for Khartoum on schedule. 

     I arrive in Khartoum, check into the Acropole Hotel, have a quick nap,
and then a quick meeting with Relief International, our host. When I was a
child, my mother had a rule that that we could only discuss music, art, and
literature at the dinner table. This rule was usually invoked to prevent
certain gross discussions between boys from taking place. It has always been
difficult for me to stick to socially sanitized discussions. There are
things that are not "polite" that should be said. But now I am asked to keep
a low profile. RI would like it if I didn't take any photographs or write or
say anything. I understand their position. They are not a human rights
organization. They are here to provide humanitarian relief. And I am here to
teach Rocket Stove building, and their existence and their work here could
be jeopardized.  Much has already been said about Darfur. Four Khartoum
newspapers which I've found here at the Acropole Hotel, The Khartoum
Monitor, The Sudan Tribune, The Sudan Vision, and the Citizen tell the
story. The story is on the internet. Read Eric Reeves testimony before the
US-China Economic and Security Review Commission at
http://www.sudanreeves.org/.  Eric Reeves tells the story. Long life to Eric
Reeves! Let's keep telling the story. I have no reason to believe that the
story is not true. Better yet, let's do something about the story. 

     The Khartoum Monitor reports the following about Uganda.

".the Northern Uganda conflict (is) "one of the worst forgotten conflicts in
the world, and worse (in Magnitude) than that of Darfur or Iraq." ..3,500
people die every month in Uganda's Internally Displaced-Persons' camps. This
mortality rate is believed to be 3 times higher than those recorded in
Darfur in 2005...Everything that is Acholi is dying, wrote one commentator.
Hence, what was once a thriving community and vibrant economy in Northern
Uganda has been reduced to wasteland as human development indicators have
plunged: 95% of the population now live below poverty line, 70% of them in
absolute poverty, 1,000 children die in the region every week of preventable
causes..."

     My papers to El Fasher came through immediately but there are no
flights until Wednesday. So I will spend one more day at the Acropole Hotel.
I learn that we will be working first in Zam Zam camp, a safe place close to
El Fasher in North Darfur. I have finally reached VJ who has been there for
about a week now and has started to make friends and find materials to make
stoves. I am looking forward to a very excellent stove making adventure. 

Best regards, Ken Goyer