My first full day in Torit is also my first week in South Sudan. Life here has to be productive if we are to get a conflict early warning system off the ground before the referendum in January. Today I met inspiration in the form of the State Director who has instantly left an impression on me. Some people just have their heads screwed on and get things done. Why can't all heads of State be like this? From his State Capital office all the way down to Payam level (small groupings of villages), he has already established the necessary communication links (with the help of DDG I may add). He loved my whisky, map and football chat so I’ll be getting free rides and tour guides around Eastern Equatoria to turn qualitative incident reports into near-real time conflict mapping.
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| From left to right: my prefab room, nightmare toilets, DDG's office @ Merlin, the chicken shack |
That of course means I’ll be here for much longer than expected. I’ve got my own wee office at the Merlin compound and another at the South Sudanese Government office for Relief and Rehabilitation Council. When I do leave Eastern Equatoria, it seems that I’ll be heading now in the direction of Khartoum to talk to Team Geek at the UNCRMA. Until then, I’m enjoying the ridiculous heat, my portable fan and three square meals a day.
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| My space at DDG Torit |
I’m yet to get a day off and I can’t see in it on the horizon yet. When it does though, I’m pretty sure the acoustics of these prefab containers make excellent recording studios.
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