Copenhagen-Cairo-Juba-Yei: the journey

Copenhagen-

On February 13^th, I left Copenhagen for Juba where I landed the next day, since my St Valentine’s date was with South Sudan this year.

The first challenge of my trip was: how to get from my place to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport without a valid ticket? I was in fact stupid enough to spend the last money of my bank account buying a ticket to the airport the day before my departure, without knowing that the validity of the ticket starts the same minute you buy it…

To get a 750 kr fine is not exactly the best way to say goodbye to a lovely city as Copenhagen is, but fortunately it didn’t happen, because the patrol on the metro was busy giving a fine to someone else, so I made it to the airport without losing my dignity.

I checked in (I was allowed to bring with me 48 kg and the weight of my one-year Copenhagen life, that I was carrying in my luggage, was 44) with Egypt-airlines and before going to the gate, I killed my time using my really last 20 kr coins to buy a delicious double-cheese burger.

-Cairo-

I discovered that Egypt airline is great. We took off at 14:45 and we arrived in Cairo at 20:30, where we were supposed to wait for 12 hours but Egypt airlines provided us with a hotel not far from the airport which was included in the price of the ticket! Once we arrived at the hotel, another pleasant surprise was waiting for us: free dinner and free breakfast! I definitively consider Egypt airlines my favourite airway company.

On the way to the hotel, I befriended with my first travel companion R., a Lebanese guy, who was also going to Juba. I found out that Italians and Lebanese have a lot of things in common like hand gestures and disrespect for rules. Whereas the others were lining up to get their rooms’ keys, R. sneaked out of the line with non-chalance and invited me to do the same. I couldn’t disappoint my brand-new friend, so I was in my room at the third floor of Le Passage (that’s the name of the hotel) without waiting one minute.

After a quick shower, I went with R. to the restaurant where buffet dinner was already served. R. couldn’t really speak English but during our meal, he managed to tell me that: 

-I shouldn’t drink water while I eat; 

-Lebanese bread is better than the one we will have in Juba; 

-He has a company together with his cousin which sells electric generators in South Sudan.

In order to digest the insane amount of food we ate, we took a walk around the hotel, where in one of the conference room a wedding party was held. We weren’t exactly invited but R. didn’t really care and after a while we were amongst the guests, looking at them dancing and asking the waiter if he could bring us a “whisky-no-money”. If R. makes business as he sneaks into wedding parties, he will definitively make a fortune in South Sudan.

The morning after, we were at the airport at 6:30 waiting for our passports that were temporarily confiscated by Egypt airlines while we were enjoying food and drinks. Another guy was waiting for his passport with us, his name was D. and his destination was Juba too. Although South Sudanese himself, this extremely tall guy was going to South Sudan for the first time in his life after having lived in Cairo, Kenya, holding a British passport and a letter which said he was authorized to see his family in South Sudan. He hasn’t seen his father for more than 20 years.

Juba-

And here we are, me, R. and D. on the same plane to the same place. Egypt looks quite arid from above, the only thing you can see is the serpentine track of the rivers that were once running wild, whose waters have been sucked by the desert nowadays. But, as soon as we approach South Sudan, the landscape changes, everything is “green-dotted” as D. notices with a certain pride. But it’s the vivid brightness of the iron-sheets of Juba’s roofs that welcomes us and marks our arrival.

After having wished the best of luck to my friends, I am ready to set foot in hot Juba, whose temperature is around 40 degrees today, quite a difference from what I left in wondercool Copenhagen.

Peter McCanny, the programme coordinator of IBIS-South Sudan and my supervisor for my 6 months internship, is waiting for me at the entrance of Juba airport, right after the immigration desk where I am trying to get my passport stamped. I wave at him several times but he doesn’t recognize me while holding stubbornly in his hand a sign which says “IBIS”.

But when I am finally done with bureaucracy, I go to him to shake my hand and introduce myself. I am very happy to see him: it’s always very nice to have someone who picks you up at the airport, especially in a foreign country.

In the twinkling of an eye, we are at IBIS office. Here I meet the Juba staff and Abdu, who is instead part of the staff in Yei, my duty station, where I will go with him tomorrow.

I fight with my tiredness while listening carefully to Peter, who after having lived in South Sudan for eight years and worked for IBIS for four years, is surely the right person to talk about this country and what IBIS does here.

It’s time for dinner and I go with Abdu to the nearby guesthouse where we will also spend the night. We sit in the courtyard where other guests are enjoying their meal, and we share our table with N. and W., who are both from Kenya and who work in Juba for the World Bank. The air is fresh, the food is good, the company is enjoyable. They talk about the South Sudan Development Plan, the possible relocation of  the capital from Juba to Ramciel, but they also make fun of the difference between Kikuyu and Masai, the ethnic groups that N. and W. respectively belong to, and of the tradition of donating cattle that the groom has to respect in order to marry his bride.

They are surprised to hear that it’s my first time in Africa:

“Did you take with you a little pharmacy as every foreigner who come to Africa do?”.

I nod embarrassed. They laugh to tears.

Yei

On February 15, at 10 a.m, I am ready to reach my final destination. The distance between Juba to Yei is of only 132 km, however, on a bumpy road, this easily becomes a 6 hour car drive. Fortunately, me, Abdu, Dominique the driver, Abdu’s friend who asked for a lift to Yei and two children who are the sons of a colleague, have a lot to chat on the way. I get to know that Abdu grew up in Uganda as a refugee, came back to Sudan after the war, went to attend a Master in Education and Development in Oslo, and has been working for IBIS since a couple of years.

But Abdu is not the only one to have such an interesting story behind. Once arrived in Yei, I met Daniel, a former child-soldier who greets me with a bright smile saying: “Welcome to Yei, welcome to South Sudan!”. He is Yei’s project manager and will be my mentor during my internship here.

It’s late afternoon and I am taken to my room inside the lovely compound that IBIS share with the Danish Refugee Council. I am tired but I am also excited of all the things that happened in the last two days. Tomorrow it will be my first day at work. And I can’t wait.