64. Hiden Hazards

64. Hidden Hazards

Early this week one of the Comboni Sisters from Nzara was driving a carload of people to a gathering in another town, Maridi. Unfortunately she lost control of the vehicle and slid off the gravel road. The solid, four-wheel drive vehicle was badly damaged but no-one was seriously hurt. Here the red gravel is commonly called ‘marrom’, although I can’t find the word in a dictionary and am not sure how to spell it. It is easy to slide on such a road, especially if there are any corrugations or soft patches.

The day before this accident, I had driven from Juba to Riimenze, a trip of just over seven hours on unsealed roads. I always say a prayer of thanksgiving after a safe arrival. It is ironic that the really bad roads with massive ditches, too deep to be called potholes, are the safest sections because they force one to go very slowly! The better made sections invite faster driving – and more chance of misadventure! Here in Southern Sudan, I don’t have to worry about hitting an unexpected kangaroo but I have run over two snakes recently, I think. Maybe they took last second evasive action but I surmise I was a lethal hazard to them!

The check points on the road are also a hazard. Most of those people on duty at a check point just remove the barrier and wave cars through but occasionally one meets someone who is a bit officious. The recent trip back cost me two packets of cigarettes - which I had carried for the express purpose of bribery if required. Sounds awful but that is the practical reality. I would rather hand over a packet of smokes – which cost one Sudanese pound (about 35 cents) - than have to pull all the luggage out of the car and face a lengthy, pointless delay.

One of the most malicious hidden hazards is the smallest – the mosquito. Sister Betty, from Ireland, and I both take Lariam once a week and neither of us have had malaria. Most of our SSS members have, some several times. Apparently some people cannot take Lariam (or Mephaquin as it is called here) because of severe side effects. I am fortunate, as far as I am aware, not to have any but maybe the medication itself is a hidden hazard.

We have almost no effective refrigeration in this house. So left-over food needs to be eaten quickly or it may become a health hazard. Strange how life seems always to be a balance between too much and too little - or too soon and too late. Or maybe it just requires that we accept who we are, in the situation in which we are, and act to make the most of it.

Most of the people here walk long distances to where they want to go. Luckier ones now have push bikes. Some folk of ordinary means seem to be able to afford small motor bikes but only the ‘big men’, or whites like me, have cars or, more commonly, four-wheel drives. The clouds of dust caused by other vehicles are a hazard to me, obscuring clear vision when I am driving, but I guess I am a greater hazard to the pedestrians and cyclists as I career past them in a big four-wheel drive – albeit one in which the air conditioning is not working too well at present. I am sure the dust covered pedestrians feel sorry for me!

Hidden hazards? They may be hidden from others but we can’t hide them too easily from ourselves. Most of us are more aware of our problems and weaknesses than of our gifts and strengths. The biggest hazards come from within and the biggest danger is giving into self-pity or embracing an attitude of defeat.

Fetching reasonably clean water for the house here in Riimenze involves driving down a rough track, with ten to twelve ‘gerry cans’ in the back of the vehicle, to a 100 metre deep bore hole from which we hand pump water. I take one or two local workers with me – and sometimes the ‘odd hitch-hiker’ I may meet on the track carrying a gerry can on her head! I always take a turn pumping but I am grateful they take pity on ‘an old man’ and don’t leave me pumping too long! Unclean water is a real hazard. Access to clean water is a top priority here. Around the pump people share and help each other pumping. It is a happy place where kids gather. I find myself thinking that I wonder if they know water can be used for washing as well as drinking and cooking! The kids have great smiles. Even the hazard of harsh habitation can’t halt happiness! Maybe it helps to have less and learn to be without. Thanks be to God for simple joys.

- Br Bill