[Stoves] FW: Settling into El Fasher from Ken Goyer, forwarded by Warren (4)

[Warren Goyer]

Settling into El Fasher   August 2006

 

     We have come to Darfur as consultants to build the SixBricks Rocket
Stove in refugee (IDP) Camps and we have arrived in El Fasher, the main town
of North Darfur. At first, there was some uncertainty over whether we would
start our work here or move to another area of North Darfur. But eventually
our plans gelled and we began working here. Everything moves very slowly.
Already a week has passed. Friday and Saturday is the "weekend" so nothing
happens, and Monday was a holiday. I was told it was Mohammed's birthday,
but actually it was Mohammed's Ascension Day; a holiday none the less. So
three days, so far, have been down time. Even so, we have managed to attend
a UN security briefing, visit Zam Zam, the biggest local IDP camp, and
locate a brick maker, do clay testing, and get green bricks for stoves
drying on the ground.

 

     On arriving from Khartoum I thought of the Sonoran desert in the
Southwest of the United States. Actually, El Fasher seems to be on the
southern edge of the serious desert here in Sudan. We have arrived during
the rainiest time of the year. It only rains about 8 inches per year in El
Fasher and half of that falls in August. Even so, according to the
statistics, it will only rain during eight days of August. People are saying
that this is a dry year, so far. No locusts are expected for this year.
Brick makers don't seem to be slowed down very much by the rain, but I
imagine that during the dry eight or nine months they will have to haul
water out to the hundreds of places where they are making bricks.

 

The biggest issue in El Fasher, and the biggest discussion is about safety
and security. We seem removed from conflict here in El Fasher. Except for
the very large presence of various armies, and having a curfew at night,
life seems to go on very much like any other place. But all of the talk
centers around what has happened, what will happen, where can you go, and
where is it dangerous or safe. Even going to Zam Zam Camp takes careful
consideration and notification to the authorities. Various militias and
"groups" operate at Zam Zam, and who knows what might be happening there.
Even in the marketplace in El Fasher, different factions commingle. Sixteen
vehicles have recently been stolen from NGO's, the Toyota Land Cruiser being
the vehicle of choice. One driver is still missing. These land cruisers will
presumably be used by the rebels to eventually mount an attack, somewhere on
something and somebody. Much information travels by rumor.

     The other place we considered working is called Kabkabia, a place of
110,000 people. We may still go there next. But the road is insecure so you
must go there by UN helicopter. Also, Kabkabia, being under siege, is
surrounded by a perimeter, and people and things (except for stolen NGO
vehicles) don't easily leave or enter.

 

     The food situation: The food is so bad in El Fasher that we have to eat
our own cooking. We are buying canned food from one of several
"supermarkets". There is only one restaurant, The Roast House. This isn't
Kenny Rogers. The only thing you can barely trust to eat at the Roast House
is the fried chicken and the bread. But they do have some good looking
baklava in the back and eventually we will get the courage to try some. And
eating out is very expensive. One half of a roast chicken costs 1,800
Sudanese Dinars or about eight dollars. No need in El Fasher for culinary
critics. But great business opportunities exist for a pizza parlor or ice
cream shop or anything else. And there is plenty of NGO money to support
this. The other eating options are street food, but two El Fasher people
have recently died from Cholera so there is not much enthusiasm for eating
street food. 

It is said that people in the camps get adequate nutrition and medical
attention. One medical problem is bloody diarrhea caused by poor sanitation.
But in Zam Zam there are three clinics to treat people so Doctors Without
Borders has recently left for more desperate places. The FAO says that
almost seven million in Sudan will be short of food (like starving! (my
comment)).

      If you read the fine print on the United Nations OCHA map you see that
65% of the population of Darfur is "accessible" (and this implies that 35%
of the population is inaccessible). Many are inaccessible due to insecurity
and sometimes bad roads.  Some are unidentified locations and nomadic
"damras" (or areas). So I wonder what happens to the 35% that is
inaccessible.  The OCHA map of Darfur has about 112 red dots on it, of
various sizes, representing the Affected Population in Darfur. Three of
these dots represent El Fasher and Zam Zam and these three dots are at the
top end of the map. So I wonder what's happening in all of the rest of these
red dots. All of this said, the relief community seems to be very organized
here, and the biggest problem is the insecurity.

 

     So for now it is a waiting game for us. We are waiting for bricks to be
made dried, and fired. Then we can proceed to make some stoves.

 

My brother, Warren, has been kind enough to forward my emails to many of
you. This is because the internet connections in Africa leave something to
be desired. I hope also that Cary, Sandra, Dick and Pete are continuing to
forward this to their respective groups, and please feel free to forward
this to anyone you wish. If any of you wish to write directly to me, you can
write to kennethgoyer at yahoo.com  and maybe I will get it.

Best wishes from Darfur, Ken Goyer