Visitors from Canada

This post is all about some visitors from Canada. The visitors were on an official visit to inspect our Mission in South Sudan. They worked for the Canadian Government specifically the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which is Canada's Federal Police Service and responsible for International Police Programs (their website is http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/po-mp/index-eng.htm). The four people were Dave, an RCMP Officer who looks after us in Ottawa as our Desk Officer, Robert a Doctor who works for the international Policing Branch as a Physician, Deborah an Analyst specialising in African affairs working for the RCMP, and Lawrence a Diplomat for DFAIT (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade). Their visit was at the same time as our Canadian Contingent Day so we were able to meet and discuss any issues specific to our mission here. The rest of their visit I was tasked with showing them our mission and some locations. It was a lot of work as I still had my other job to do but I was able to combine the two tasks and it ended up being a lot of fun. so this Blog will be long with lots of pictures as we covered a lot of ground during their visit.

Dogs in Juba, just another dog picture, they always seem so relaxed and easy going. Hopefully he moves before the vehicle backs out of that spot.

 This seems to be a re-occurring problem with this ditch. I did not do this and of course the driver is no-where to be found.

 Our Contingent day meeting. There are 21 Canadians working for the UN in South Sudan. Most made it for the meeting. The meeting is only held every few months as contingent members have to fly in from around the country, here we discuss any concerns relative to our needs. With the IPOB members here it was very useful meeting. It also helped that Dave brought goodies from Canada.

Some road kill, not sure what it is, some type of Lizard, anyway the poor guy didn't make it across the road.



I took the inspection team to our UN hospital which is being run by the Cambodian Military. Robert (with the glasses) started talking French with the Cambodian OIC, I am looking at the door with longing. It was an important visit for our Doctor as this is our primary care centre, they spent a good deal of time going over the facility.

On our way to Yea, we came across this Russian tank (T-72 I think), anyway we stopped as we thought it was just sitting there abandoned. Then I realised it was active and on some type of duty so we left, before someone noticed us, as we had wanted to get some close photos. Taking pictures in South Sudan especially of any military property is not allowed.

Yea Police Station, yes the beast made it all the way there and back. I was really proud of him. as mention on a previous post the road to Yea is not paved and is in rough shape.

John (from left to right), Tess, Robert (the Doctor), Deborah (the Analyst), Dave (our Desk Officer), Steve and me posing at the Yea UN flag staff.

Steve and some fellows partying at "Blue" the Tukool that Jim Shaw built. Tess and Steve welcomed the team by hosting a party with UN and NGO staff coming in. It was a good time and possibly (sorry Jim) the last party at Blue.

Deborah handing out a soccer ball to a kid on our drive out to the town of Nimule. Nimule is on the southern border between South Sudan and Uganda and is an important trade entry point for South Sudan. The road to Nimule from Juba is paved. It is the only paved highway. Consequently the speed of vehicles is higher and you can get there fairly quickly. There are a lot of accidents on this road. There have been about 200 fatalities since February. The GOSS, UN and some NGO's have pooled together to develop a highway patrol to try and slow down traffic and enforce it. A lot of fatalities involve freight trucks bringing goods into Juba.

A view of the Nile Valley from Mount Gordon.

Deborah, Dave and Rob (Canadian UNPOL based in Nimule) standing on top of Mount Gordon.

This is John, a monkey that attached itself to us when we stayed in Nimule, he knew an easy mark when he saw one and basically ignored the locals and hung out with us.

Rob again in the Kitchen, once again on travels the UNPOL always look after each other. Here Rob and his crew at Nimule CSB, prepared an excellent diner for us. Nimule UNPOL were excellent and looked after the inspection team and showed them around the area.

We stayed at this Hotel, it was pretty good and cost 100 pounds a night (20 USD). I even had my own bathroom, this is a 5 star in south Sudan. I would stay here again, it was clean and safe.

Some of the UNPOL in Nimule here we have just eaten and are just hanging out.

A baby Crocodile caught in a fishing net, it was released. Our team inspected the Wildlife Officers and their job here in Nimule. Some of the UNPOL advise them so we took the opportunity to go out on patrol with them.

Me in a patrol boat, heading up the Nile. we were going out to find some wildlife specifically a herd of elephants. A nice break from Juba. The wildlife Officers patrol a large park reserve on the border between South Sudan and Uganda, their job is to stop poachers. There are elephants, rhino's, hippo's and antelope.

Two Hippopotamus's watching us float by. The wildlife officers were very good at locating game.

After a boat trip we headed out on foot into the bush. here we came across some large wart hogs.

Deep into the bush, we came across a herd of antelope, here the buck is looking at the wildlife officers, I sneaked around hoping to get close enough to take a good photo. Unfortunately we never came across any elephants just their dung. According to our wildlife officers they were about 1/2 a days walk away from us.

I thought this was a fairly funny shot as its an UN police vehicle, need I say more.

The two Wildlife Officers that took us out, both named Michael. They knew the bush really well, and it was the highlight of our trip to Nimule to go out and see this part of South Sudan. The reserve is a wonderful resource for the country and I hope the UN and some NGO's can help the government manage this and other parks. It is a sustainable resource that eventually should open up some tourism money.

Part of Nimule, our wildlife Officers live and work out of this Village.

A member of the newly formed Highway Patrol, which will hopefully reduce traffic fatalities along the road between Juba and Nimule.

Nimule from the top of Mount Gordon.

The Nile Valley with Uganda in the background.

Some Mountains, Nimule is a very picturesque part of South Sudan.

The UNHCR compound where our UNPOL live and work.

John again, this time he was trying to take something from my back pack, he unzipped it and started looking inside. John is pretty street wise.

Dave, Robert and John, about to order drinks at the Horizon Hotel.

Photo of the mountains in the morning, they are covered in mists. This is the view from the front of the hotel.

Rob and John at the Nimule Police Station, having a meeting with the Station Commander.

Nimule Police Station, holding cell. The people sitting down are prisoners for a variety of crimes. Part of UNPOL's job is to assist the SSPS in making sure that due process is applied to people charged or arrested. Here we discuss cases with the SSPS and advise them on providing a fair and quick hearing.

This bus struck and killed a pedestrian vehicle driving through a town on the highway. The towns people then attacked the bus, dragging out the driver and killing him. the safety of both the pedestrians and drivers along the highway is a priority for South Sudan and the UN. The highway goes through a lot of villages, and the pedestrians use the road to move about, mainly as there are landmines all over the place and a paved road is easy to walk on. At night people are struck by vehicles, as there is a lot of vigilantism by the locals, the vehicles do not stop.

The bus was attacked by rocks and bullets.

From Juba to Nimule the sides of the highway are marked with mines and unexploded ordinance signs. This area is the heaviest mined part of South Sudan, and anyone travelling along this road should not leave it.

The Inspection Team saw a lot in just over a week that they were here, and were able to take a lot of useful information back with them. From the feedback our contingent gave them, to actually seeing the conditions in South Sudan that we work under was of great benefit to future missions here. I want to point out that I keep this Blog fairly neutral and light with its content. South Sudan is a dangerous place and needs the UN to make it secure and safe for its people.

Torit Mission May 9, 2012

John Scot and myself were going on a mission to Torit. I was going to assess advising and check up on my room mate Kevin who was working in Torit temporally teaching English to some SSPS. John was going with some aid groups and a SSPS general to to an inspection on a new police station.

with some trepidation we headed out with the Beast, yes it was a road trip. Torit is about 140 KM east of Juba. Not a big deal on Canadian pavement, but in South Sudan dirt roads its a kidney killer.



The Torit Central police HQ. I am with Kelvin an UNPOL adviser who works in Torit. But lets get to the trip first!

crossing the Nile bridge and heading East to Torit.

On the other side of the Nile from Juba we waited for our convoy to form up. we would be riding with a Major General and his four body guards, and four NGO aid workers all in 3 vehicles

The road to Torit was in better shape then other dirt roads, but was still bumpy in places. The rain season had produce beautiful green views along the way.

Kids always wave and say Hi, so of course we had to stop.

And give them a soccer ball. we had a Scottish X-cop riding with us from UKaid and he thought this was fantastic. George (the x-cop), who has been in Africa years thought this village might produce shop top notch players in a few years.

John and I by the Beast, we were worried it was going to let us down, but it true spirit it got us there and back. The Beast just makes more noise now.

A bridge blown up during the civil war. we had to drive around into the river bed to cross over.

Teaching in Torit. On the first day I helped my buddy Kevin teach an English class to the SSPS

main street in Torit. That is a Mosque in the background. The South Sudanese respect all religions, which considering the history with Sudan is very refreshing.

John and Kevin in the Torit market. Torit is a very nice town and has a great market. The people are very friendly and the town is clean.

A view of a mountain range from Torit.

what the old Central Police station looked like before UNDP and UK Aid assisted in building new offices.

The new station.

Public front counter for complaints. The SSPS in Torit seem very positive and well trained, I spent the afternoon with Kelvin UNPOL team site leader) at the Central Police station and observed them at work. The UNPOL advisers for Torit had done a fantastic job in developing the officers policing skills and the SSPS themselves were motivated and hard working. One officer, a private, conducted an investigation on a two year old girl who had been raped. The officer used investigative skills and community contacts to track the suspect down. The suspect was in custody when I was there, and was waiting for justice to be served. Although a very traumatic and sad case it is good to see the SSPS and the UNPOL officers that work with them deal with crime and make the community safe.

On the way back to Torit we stopped by this destroyed tank. The SPLA had taken this tank out during the civil war. The Major General we were with told us that a convoy had been ambushed here and this tank had been destroyed. A majority of the SSPS were in the civil war as soldiers on the South Sudanese side.

me on the tank. I think it is a Russian T-55 tank.

Our convoy heading back to Juba.

Typical village in South Sudan. The shade tree is where you will find people during the day, and is the focal point in all villages.

Torit is a nice place and if you were in south Sudan would be worth a visit.