Stories from the field - Sudan (1)
02.08.2009
Transporting mine clearance equipment across Southern Sudan - from Mafao to Laniya
A lot is being said and written about mine affected countries and the measures taken to deal with the landmine threat. Little is reported about the people behind the visible achievements and the effects their efforts have on local communities. MineWolf Systems will cover these efforts over a period of four weeks providing details of the hazardous and dangerous challenges encountered during "normal" day-to-day tasks.
On Friday 24th of July 2009, the UN MineWolf is collected and bought in from the task site at Mafao, 18Km north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The task has been completed and while the UN are on stand down, the MineWolf is to join the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) task in Laniya, 63Km south of Juba, on the Juba - Yei road.
“A huge amount of preparation is needed to transport the MineWolf” Josey explains. Josey, from Croatia, is a MineWolf Team Leader and is ultimately responsible for the machine on the ground. “Even for a small journey like this, the preparation is vital. We have to collect the machine from the last site, bring it back to the camp, and then a day is needed to clean the MineWolf and carry out maintenance before we can begin to transport it to the next task site.”
With the help of the two Indian Operators, Roy and Hareesh, the MineWolf is completely cleaned and greased inside and out. The completed task at Mafao has caused much mud and grease to build up inside the machine.
On a high-risk, high precision job like this, the little details can make all the difference between success and failure.
South Sudan is in the middle of the rainy season at this time, and the three men have worked through the rain to get the job done for a 7 am departure the following morning.
“Everything needs to be ready tonight to leave on time tomorrow morning,” Roy says “although the journey is not that far, only 81Km, it will take us all day as the roads are very bad and we will have to drive slowly with this convoy of heavy machinery” he explained.
Before sundown, and with a now gleaming MineWolf proudly secured on the trailer behind them, the three men sit down to a meal they have prepared themselves. “Its important to keep busy in the field,” Josey explains “all our families are far away at home so if you’re not busy you think of them…that’s hard…so we keep busy, the time passes and we don’t think too much.”
At 6 am on Sunday morning, Josey, Roy and Hareesh wake up and prepare for the day. With no time for breakfast and the last personal items to pack up, including the tents, it’s a busy one-hour, before the convoy leaves the Mafao camp - at exactly 7 am.
With Josey driving the truck trailing the MineWolf, Hareesh driving the truck trailing the kitchen, water and fuel, and Roy driving the Land Cruiser, the convoy sets off.
The night before had seen heavy rain, so the streets are flooded and muddy. The convoy makes it safely over the Nile River at Juba Bridge and through the narrow market streets.
After a few kilometers, Josey stops the convoy and changes the filter on his truck. He pulls over on the side of the street with vehicles driving past, and the site becomes a temporary workshop.
“While we are here, we’ll check all the wheels” Josey says, “the major problem with trucks of this size and weight is that the tyres burst or the wheels become loose,” he explains. With 28 wheels between the two trucks, this takes some time.
After two hours the convoy makes it to the main road that connects Juba to Laniya, 63Km south. The road is in a terrible condition, with more potholes than good areas. The maximum average speed the convoy is able to reach is between 15-20Kmph.
The sluggish speed of the convoy, stopping every hour to check the tyres and the security of the MineWolf, combined with the scorching Sudanese sun, makes the trip a long, slow and hot journey.
Just after a narrow bridge crossing a small stream, Josey’s truck bursts a tyre. The tyre is completely shredded and has to be changed. “On a convoy like this, we were bound to get a flat sooner or later” says Josey. Unloading a new wheel and fitting it to the truck makes it a whole hour before the convoy can proceed again.
At 4:30 pm, eight and a half hours and 81Kms later, the convoy arrives at the NPA camp in Laniya. The team is exhausted after the long journey, but the day’s work isn’t over. “First a cup of coffee and then we erect our tents” Josey says. “Tomorrow morning at 7 am we will start making a camp and a workshop - got to keep busy in this job!” he laughs. After a well-earned rest, the team wakes up at 7 am and begins preparations to make a permanent camp in Laniya. “First we need to make an area for the workshop,” says Josey.
The trucks are taken down to the site. A clear patch under a mango tree is chosen as the site for the workshop. There are no fruits in the tree at this time of the year, but it provides a shady workspace. The spare tiller for the MineWolf is taken off the truck by a crane and they begin to prepare the machines.
“We will start using the MineWolf in the field tomorrow,” Josey says “so we have to get everything ready today.” The MineWolf is removed from the trailer and Roy begins some minor work on it.
After lunch with deminers from the NPA team, the preparations for the campsite are made. The kitchen sits on the trailer and the water tanker is placed on top by the crane. “We will be here for probably the next 4 months,” Josey says “so we need to make the camp comfortable and well planned.” Josey has made a shower cubicle on the side of the kitchen “this is very important,” he says “working with these machines all day is a dirty job; I have to have a good shower in the evening.”
As night falls on the camp, dinner is being prepared. Tonight its beans and rice. Roy and Hareesh get on their phones and speak to their families back in India and tell them about the day’s events. “It’s very hard to be away from my family for so long,” Hareesh explains “but we get a very good salary here, and my children can then go to a good school.” Roy and Hareesh will go back to India for one month, every five months. “This is a good job and opportunity for us,” Roy explains “but in life we have to sacrifice some things. Everything is ok here and the people are nice - but we both miss our Indian food” say Roy and Hareesh with a laugh.
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