Experience of a Lifetime

Abyei sits pretty much on the border between what has come to be considered North Sudan and South Sudan and there is oil here. So a lot of the tension here revolves around that. The two major groups in the area are the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya. The Dinka are a large part of Southern Sudan they inhabit all of the area around Abyei and identify in my opinion as African. The Misseriya are nomads and cattle herders. The seem to identify more with the Arab North and just before the rainy season they leave this area and take their cattle a hundred or more kilometres North of Abyei. At the end of the rainy season they return, on foot for the most part I am told with thousands of head of cattle to their grazing grounds amongst the Dinka. The Dinka are also cattle herders but are not nomadic, they also grow millet and other grains. This has been happening for a very long time, generations. The encrouchment of the cattle into the farming land of the Dinka is an obvious source of conflict.

In more recent times the conflict in Sudan has given birth to numerous rebel and guerrila forces. The SPLA, Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, has become the internationally recognised force in the South and is mostly made of the Dinkas in this area. They will more than likey be the army in a South Sudan if that proposal ever comes to fruition. The Misseriya continue to be nomadic as stated and are armed to the teeth, like the SPLA. The SPLA has armour, and by armour I mean battle tanks, old russian T55's I am told. I don't think the Misseriya are that "lucky".

The other player in this conflict is SAF, Sudanese Armed Forces, they have tanks also and are also very well armed. Last May Abyei was literally destroyed by fighting between SAF and SPLA and the UN base that I am staying at was caught right in the middle of the fighting, literally. SAF held a position North of the base in town and the SPLA advancing on their flanks from South of the base. In between the advances the two sides were launching mortars and everything else that they had at each other over the base. Needless to say there are pretty robust evacuation plans for the base should this sort of thing happen again. There are numerous changes in the camp, upgrades so to speak, to help those caught in such a situation weather the wait for the choppers.

There has also been a measured progress made on the Misseriya/Dinka front and that is part of our job here also. Joint policing and committee efforts with both sides to stave any small issues that could inevitably lead to huge battles as they have done in the past.

So given this atmosphere I must share with you an experience that will live with me for eternity. I hope I have the literal skills to relay it to you purely and accurately so you can see that it has had an incredible impact on me.

Myself and my fellow Canadian police officer were taken to a meeting in a village not far from Abyei and it was all by chance. There was no planning on going there the day before on our part we just sort of happened into it. We were asked by our sector commander after the morning briefing yesterday if we wanted to accompany him and a convoy of UN military and police personnel to this meeting. The meeting was with a SPLA commander on his turf regarding certain issues that needed to be brought to his attention regarding movement of his personnel. The content of the meeting wasn't as striking as the fact that here was this OPP constable sitting at a gathering of high ranking military officers from the international community and a former rebel commander in SUDAN discussing.... stuff! Everyone was very dilomatic especially the Zambian officer that seemed to be head of our little contingent. The SPLA commander was quite aminated, pointing at everyone and the table to emphasis his statement, to me he seemed tired and he was definitely put aback by certain procedures and steps the UN had taken regarding this particular situation.

The atmosphere for me at first was one of great apprehension. We arrived in the village and were greeted by SPLA soldiers in uniform with AK 47's and quitely and politely ushered under a straw and wood shelter in a compound surrounded by a straw wall. I use the word straw... that is what it looks like, but I am sure it is a lot thicker than straw you use on farms in North America. I saw atleast seven SPLA with assault rifles. The shelter had a dirt floor and its supports were trees and branches cut from the local bush. It had a large opening to one side and we all sat facing that opening towards the inside of the compound where all the AK's were hanging around.

Within a minute or two the commander entered the shelter accompanied by several other "official" looking types. He didn't wear a uniform. He wore typical Dinka clothing loose fitting, matching, pants and shirt. One of the men who accompanied him was the splitting image of said commander only much younger, his son I figured. I mentioned that they very tall people and the son was no exception to this, in fact he was almost 7 feet. The meeting lasted hours. After a while I started to relax, a little. Eventually there were more and more moments of laughter but the atmosphere remained generally serious. The soldiers with the guns maintained their presence, did I mention that none the attendees within the shelter were armed that I could see. I know I wasn't.

We left the meeting with points well made on all sides, at least it appeared that way to me. Drove back to Abyei in convoy running the previous two hours over and over in my head. It was one of those surreal moments but one of great impact. I don't think many people go through experiences like this it is somewhat intoxicating.