Stories from South Sudan: Part One

Ok so I know I haven’t updated this blog in ages, the reason being that I have been looking for new areas to expand in and new stories to share. With that in mind I am excited to tell you that I will be doing a few blogs here and there entitled ‘Stories from South Sudan’.  A close friend of mine works out there at the moment and so we decided to put our heads together to bring you this. So enjoy!

 A Survivors Guide to South Sudan

A well-known joke among the expat community in East Africa is that you cry twice when you go to Sudan: once when you arrive and once when you leave.... whether you are a budding Aid worker rushing out to make the world a better place or a cowboy capitalist looking for the next big thing. However, if you are thinking about visiting, working or are being sent to this part of East Africa, then there are a few things which you need to take into consideration and a couple of things you should definitely pack in your bag for that trip over the border.

·         Medication for Everything:  all those exotic diseases with unpronounceable names found only in the deepest darkest pages of some obscure medical journal – yep they’re real and chances are you could catch it here!  South Sudan has the highest Hepatitis B infection rate  in the world (!!!) other fun diseases are kala azar also known as black fever , typhoid , malaria and guinea worm: though not deadly, one medic  described it as an alien worm  traveling through your guts – so I’m thinking thanks but no thanks on that one – ugh!

·         Sun Screen! Factor 50! And Deodorant! End of!

·         If possible have your money in small change (Sundanese pounds). Chances are when you arrive in Juba (South Sudan’s Capital) and are foolish enough to drive yourself it’s pretty likely that you will be welcomed to the country by police official wearing aviators and a grin from one ear to the other. Note: Do not be offended or start having a panic attack if your documents are confiscated and the officer in question asks for a receipt – I’m afraid this is you standard bribery situation. Now for those of you who pride themselves on good morals – leave those the other side of the border. If you pay then you are on your way, if you don’t you will spend hours in a police station trying to get your documents back: trust me – go for the latter! It's a way of life over here and you just have to accept it.

·         Now this one may seem a bit odd but trust me it’s essential: a decent pillow! Unless you are a wealthy business man, UN/NGO aid worker then you won’t get a decent night’s sleep in any of the hotels (the old timers (pre-independence) talk of times where they would part with the world to sleep in a tent of a shipping container) but hey – your call!

·         A knife. Not for protection – who brings a penknife to a gunfight? Nah – you are highly underequipped anywhere if Africa if you are without a trusty Leatherman.  

·         Something to cool you down.  South Sudan is hellishly hot during the dry season (think about all those annoying band aid songs to jog your memory of what Africa “must” be like). Some of you will have the privilege of sitting in a nice air conditioned office and the not fortunate amongst you will have to endure the 40 degree heat where you break a sweat  just getting out of bed .....

·         It’s a good idea to take a board game or some other form of entertainment preferably alcohol related as you can imagine there is not huge amounts of entertainment in The World’s Youngest Nation, the lucky NGO types amongst you will have a 9 pm curfew until the political situation is resolved so you will spending copious amounts of time confined to your compound.

·         A spare Liver ... if you don’t want to play a board game you might well spend your time at a hotel bar sharing a cheeky bottle of whiskey; booze seems to be the one uniting factor bringing the diverse groups of mad people together sometimes with not so happy endings ....one can meet some truly insane and interesting people at hotel bars (more to come on this later…)

·         And the most important thing to bring to South Sudan: A sense of humour!!...Most of you will not end up in Juba by some accident, most of you will be aware the situation is less than ideal therefore you should expect things to go wrong you see many an expat being whittled down by the many frustrating problems. Those who make it through tend to make a joke about bad situations - no one likes nagging (especially when it is unlikely to get you anywhere). Having said that, not everything in South Sudan is bad – you just have to focus on the humour of situations and you'll quite enjoy your time there.

So there you go – South Sudan in a nutshell. Until next time....