10 March 2009

Sudan - it’s the world’s tenth largest country, and its many peoples are as diverse as the country is huge, writes New Zealand Army United Nations military observer Major Mark Walters, who is based in Torit, in the vast county’s south-east corner.

People living in the north are predominantly Muslim and those in semi autonomous South Sudan are mainly Christian. To the west of Sudan the ongoing conflict of Dafur casts an air of tension over the entire country.

The NZDF has been contributing two UNMOs (UN Military Observers) and a staff officer to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) since its inception in 2005. Because UNMOs do not directly replace each other on a team site, NZDF UNMOs have had the opportunity to serve in many differing locations in Sudan and Lt Andrew Sorensen (Navy) and I are in Sector One at Team Site Torit in the very south east of Sudan. Torit is known as the town where the war began and finished. Supporting us from Khartoum (1200 km to the north) as a one man National Support Element is Major Shane Atkinson who is also the UNMIS J5.

Our team site is comprised of 20 UNMOs from all over the world, a Bangladeshi Force Protection Company and Engineering element and civilian representatives of several UN agencies. The Area of Responsibility (AoR) that Team Site Torit covers is also huge. Bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia; It is about two thirds the size of the North Island of New Zealand.

Compounding the problem of reaching all of the locations and populations in the sector is the weather-the rainy season of April to October sees much of the south inundated with floods and the roads prove to be very challenging and significantly limit meaningful travel to the outlying areas of the sector. There are no sealed roads in South Sudan and even the clay roads that are the main arterial routes in the south can wash out in very short order causing severe food shortages as much of the food consumed in the south is imported from Kenya and Uganda.

It is therefore essential that during the dry season (matching the same months of a New Zealand summer) the Team Sites push out as far as they can and this is how Lt Sorensen and I recently found ourselves on a six day Long Range Patrol to the extreme south east corner of Sudan. It is unusual that two members of the same nation are included on a Joint Monitoring Team but as we were the only two trained to administer intravenous fluids and pain relief drugs we were both included due to the unavailability of prompt medical evacuation. Indeed, the pre-deployment medical training and the medical packs that we deploy with are the envy of all nations in UNMIS.

Our mission to the patrol area was to assess the roads (which turned out to be non-existent), the security situation in the area and at the Ethiopian Border and to determine population bases for the pending elections. The last patrol that had successfully ventured anywhere near this far was in mid 2006 which provided us with a few GPS way points and little else. In the end we used dry river beds, open plains and what we suspected were mountain goat tracks to travel the 1,000 km to the patrol area and back. Accommodation was by way of camping and again, our equipment and rations were eagerly inspected by the other UNMOs – many of who are not provided with camping equipment or ration packs.

All UNMOs are paid a Mission Subsistence Allowance and therefore are required to live on the local economy but given that Sudan is synonymous with famine, there are very few good dietary options. We have studiously avoided the meat of the open-air butchers in the market who seem to have an axe and nothing else to butcher the meat amid millions of eager flies in a 40 plus degree environment. The smell can be described as "quite something."

There are few vegetables and little fruit and much of the daily choice of meals comes down to the age old dilemma faced by generations of NZ UNMOS on missions in Africa – pasta or rice? What food there is in the market is generally trucked in from Uganda or Kenya and this is reflective of the local populace not yet having the confidence or security to recommence market gardening.

The further we travel east in our AoR the less western influence is evident and the Taposa peoples are either naked or wear loin cloths in acceptance of the searing mid-forties temperatures of the dry season. The only possessions the villagers own that we might recognise are plastic 20 litre water containers and, sadly, AK-47s - of which there are a lot. As in most of Sudan, the Taposa tribesmen store their wealth in cattle and arm themselves to protect their herd from the constant inter-tribal cattle raiding which is both widespread and deadly. More insidious is the child abductions that continue sector wide despite the current peace initiatives. In this abhorrent practice, young children (usually girls) are abducted from their villages by other tribes and on-sold into slavery.

The people of South Sudan are remarkably resilient and their ability to bounce back from quite devastating events that are commonplace in war and famine torn Sudan is amazing. Life expectancy in these areas is only just over fifty years and the child mortality rate is shocking and yet the children are always very cheerful and welcoming and continually fascinated by our pale complexions. For many, it is the first time they have seen a European and the resulting mix of curiosity and shyness is very endearing.

The children of South Sudan are exposed to more tropical illnesses and diseases than in any other country and there have been recent outbreaks of ebola, leishmaniasis and cholera and there is also continual exposure to all number of fatal and dreadful parasitic diseases that have been largely eradicated in other countries. Malaria remains endemic in Sudan and is the number one killer and especially prevalent in children under five.

One of our key tasks in UNMIS is to monitor and verify the joint SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) and SPLA (Sudan Peoples Liberation Army) units. In doing this we record nominal rolls of soldiers and take their photographs. We also count weapons and ammunition and this has led to some interesting observations. For instance, we now know that when counting hundreds of AK-47s in confined spaces, neat stacks of 75 weapons are optimal as any more weapons cause the stack to fall over. One of my lasting memories will be stepping over several recoilless rifle barrels in a darkened room only to find myself knee deep in dozens of fused and rusting RPG-7 rockets scattered on the floor. Both Lt Sorensen and I have found the interaction between the UN and the local soldiers during these tasks to be one of the more rewarding duties during our six month tours even if their attitude to the storage of ammunition is somewhat alarming!

As our mission draws to a close in late February we have both had time to reflect on what has been a demanding and difficult mission that has had both a number of frustrations and rewards. I would like to think that in some small way our participation in the UN presence has continued to strengthen the peace process and given some measure of confidence so that the children of Sudan can live a better life in the future than their parents do now.

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