My Blue Beret Days

 

MY BLUE BERET DAYS

Year - 2007

 

UN missions provide a unique opportunity to soldiers for travel to distant lands. One gets the chance to see new places, people and cultures. UN establishments are a melting pot of people from countries all across the world. Working in the cosmopolitan environment brings out the best out of staff. Lifelong friendships are made amongst people of different nationalities. All troops from myriad nationalities are bound by the UN ethos symbolized by the blue beret they wear.

Learning from success of “Sadbhavana” programmes at home, Indian  Army always carries a RVC detachment  with it. These dets have invariably played a unique role in generating goodwill for the Indian troops amongst the local population. Livestock holds a special place in life of people in rural places devastated by wars. They are not only the only wealth that people possess but also are a measure of the standing of owner in society. As such people are greatly attached to their animals and have high regards for a vet. RVC officers with their knowledge, philanthropic approach and dedication have touched so many lives in various missions especially in Africa.

After getting selected for UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS), I found myself in 2 Rajput Infantry Battalion group in Delhi in Jan 2007. We got the coveted blue beret and new dresses with UN and India accoutrements. After preparing for two months for deployment, I was on the chartered flight to El-Obeid in North Sudan along with 300 troops. We boarded flight from IGI airport in the night and after a brief stopover at Sharjah, were approaching El-Obeid at sunrise. As I looked out of window, I could see a great red plain with no habitation or vegetation for hundreds of miles. It  was totally different from the Africa I was expecting. In fact, it looked as if we were going to land on Mars! Anyway, we landed on an unimpressive airstrip and reached an equally unimpressive terminal where amongst the troops we were replacing (they had to return to India in our aircraft) I found Maj (now Lt Col) AS Rao whom I was replacing. Maj Rao had earned a lot of goodwill in Malakal, I was told by the infantry officers accompanying him. I was briefed about my work in Malakal by Maj Rao during one hour we were together.

We boarded a UN aircraft for our further  journey. After two hours of flying , we started descending towards Malakal. Out of the windows I had my first glimpse of the white nile. It was agreat river snaking its way through dry grasslands. A green strip of land accompanied the great river. Then there appeared human settlements which grew gradually to a small town along the bank. I could make out large number of huts (tukuls) and few pucca buildings. There was a jetty with many boats and a few large ferries, a road on which few cars were plying. Then came the airstrip in sight and we hit the runway. Along the runway I could see a couple of crashed aircrafts and helicopters, reminding me of the fierce civil war that was being fought in not so distant past.

Malakal airport was smaller than El-Obeid. We were received by our own people who had reached Malakal few days earlier to take charge from the previous battalion. Vehicles were waiting for us outside and I along with another officer quietly boarded the Mahindra jeep waiting for us in the parking. As we started towards our destination, on a dirt track, the heat hit us hard. My companion asked the driver if it would be hotter in days to come to which the driver replied “ Sahib aajkal yahan school mein winter vacation chal rahi hai”. We travelled in silence thereafter. Later we came to know that there were two seasons in that region – Dry and Wet. It rained during second half of the year when the plains became green. Then for six months there was no rain and the whole area bore a desert like look. Owing to the long spell of dry weather life was sustained only along the green patch of land along the Nile and its tributaries. Oats and fish/meat was the staple diet of people.

Sudan was a huge country. To my surprise I found that it had more area than India! However it was very scantily populated. It had a population of around 4 crore out of which almost twenty five percent people stayed in the capital Khartoum. The country derived its name from “Sudd” or the great swamp of White Nile in South. It consisted of north and south Sudan. The north was predominantly Arab whereas the south was inhabitated by black people who were predominantly Christians. At the time of independence in fifties, both north and south decided to stay together. However, later the southerners felt that they were being exploited by northerners. It led to a civil war which lasted for around thirtyfive years. Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) was the main organization opposing the rule of president  Al-Bashiri. Their military wing the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) was engaged in a fierce fight with Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) till 2006 when UN brokered a ceasefire. Now, there was an interim government in South Sudan. There was to be a plebiscite in 2012 and till then, UN was going to be there trying to maintain peace as both sides discussed the way forward. The rebels and the government forces were in barracks, for now. An SPLA barrack was facing the vet hospital and presented a fearsome picture with tanks and APC’s parked and shaggy soldiers loitering about with assault rifles loosely hanging on their shoulders. On Saturdays they used to go for a long run. What was peculiar about their run was that they used to sing in a chorus while running. Next day, I along with my JCO and two NCO’s, Ravi and Subhash,  drove to the vet hospital. The traffic drove on right side of road and the vehicles were all left hand driven. Using horns was taboo. Our CO had got all horns removed from the vehicles to avoid offending the locals. He had also put a speed limit of 10KMPH. So we crawled slowly, waiting patiently for any vehicle or person on road to move. After few days the drivers complained that even donkey carts were overtaking them. Then the CO raised the speed limit to 20KMPH.

We reached the hospital and were greeted by six vet nurses who were attached with us by local vet department. The nilotic women are tall and gracefull. A tall,dark and handsome man called Ongelli was a livestock assistant and soon became my man Friday. He acted as my interpreter  and was my local liaison man for next one year I spent in Malakal. Across the road was the river White Nile. It originated from lake Victoria in Uganda, and was joined by the Blue Nile in Khartoum to give rise to the Nile that was the lifeline for north Africa. There were boats and ferries going up and down the river. Soon I realized that it was the main means of transport as there was no all weather road to Khartoum which was approx 1000 km away.  There was a powerhouse running on diesel that gave power for a couple of hours to parts of the town.  Upper nile state was huge. Its area was more than Punjab, Haryana and HP combined. But the only metalled roads in the state were in town of Malakal which must be approx 5 km. Looking at the absolute lack of development it was not hard to understand the reason for civil war. Khartoum, in contrast was just like any other national capital, flaunting a brand new airport, expressways,  skyscrapers and bustling markets.

Next day brought to me my first test. A calf that had stepped on a mine that blew his foreleg was brought to us by its owner. There was no other option but amputation of the severely damaged limb. As we proceeded after due preparation, I realized that I was doing such an operation after a long time. I became conscious of the growing crowd of people surrounding us. The nurses and Ongelli were also keenly watching our surgical skills. A vessel suddenly started spraying my face with blood. As I fumbled to catch it with a hemostat, another vessel erupted. Suddenely, I felt sweat breaking out on my forehead. I shuddered to think what will happen to us if the calf died. I gathered my wits and focused on the task at hand. Soon everything was under control. Finally, the leg was amputated at knee level and the stump nicely covered with skin flap. As we finished the operation, there was a murmur of approval from the crowd. The staff was looking at us with appreciation. Thereafter there was no looking back and we along with the local staff treated thousands of animals without any untoward incident. The  calf with amputated leg lived near the hospital and soon became adapted to moving with three legs and was the live testimony of our skills. Lot of interesting incidents occurred in the hospital. One day a distinguished looking old man came to my clinic and asked me if I could castrate pigs. In the next week I castrated as many as six young pigs for him. As all vets in Sudan were trained in North where Islamic law was in place, no one had studied about pigs. He was so glad that he found me for the job. Later Ongelli told me that he was Abraham, father of the general secretary of SPLM. He was a big man with hundreds of cows and many wives and daughters. He told me that he will ask Abraham to give his youngest daughter to me in marriage. As I declined the offer in horror, Ongelli was surprised and exclaimed “but why? She is so fresh”!

One day a policeman brought a cow to us with two guys who were both claiming the cow. He told us that the case was in court and we had to ascertain the age of cow as both of them had quoted a certain age. I looked at the teeth and concluded the cow to be 5-6 yrs old. One of the guys then told us that the cow had fallen sick 3 yrs ago and he had taken her to a voodoo doctor. The doctor had bled the cow. We immediately shaved the jugular furrow and sure enough there was a scar in that area. I reported my findings to court in writing. Later I came to know that the cow was restored to the owner who had told us about the bleeding.

We soon picked up bare essential Arabic and could converse with people. Many locals also spoke little English and our communication sometimes became very funny indeed. One day a young man brought to us a donkey which was having numerous fresh wounds on its body. He explained the case to me like this –“Yesterday my donkey was bored. He wanted to have some fun. So he went after a woman donkey. There were other man donkeys there. So there was a war between them. Other donkeys have bit my donkey in neck, jaws and back. Today in the morning he is very lazy and not eating food. So I brought him to you.

One day a young man called Michael came to us with a cow infested with lot of ticks. In Arabic, flies are called “Duban” and I used to call all insects by the same name for ease. However Michael  wanted me to identify the insect correctly and got hold of the ear which was having many ticks. Pointing to ticks he exclaimed “ look doctor he is not duban but brother of duban”! Later he told us that he was having six cattle and trying to own four more before he could go to father of the girl he loved and offer him ten cattle for marriage. Similarly one of the SPLA commanders once asked me if he could marry Aishwarya Rai if he offered her father three hundred cows. He was crestfallen when I told him that she had already tied the knot. Bollywood is very popular in Africa and dubbed DVD’s do a lot of business. Its because of our movies that Africans know so much about us and our country. And they have a lot of regard for India as they see her as one of the erstwhile colonies doing so well in economic, political and developmental spheres.

Having spent some time in this alien land, I slowly realized that one must respect local customs, traditions and way of life even if they seem to be strange. South Sudan was a melting pot of tribes like Shilluk, Dinka, Nuer with a fair number of arabs. All had their own way of life and  lived more or less peacefully.  When I questioned my local friends about the practice of polygamy prevalent in society they justified it. They said, during war, lot of young men died. There was a dearth of eligible bachelors. Moreover there were so many widows and orphans who had to be looked after. Once I was complaining about the children who drove the donkey carts in the town. I lamented that they beat the donkeys continuously and mercilessly. My friend Ali Umar, listened patiently to me and then remarked “These  are donkeys afterall. What about the men who pull rickshaws in Calcutta”. I was speechless. Similarly on occasions I felt ashamed when people asked me about the practice of dowry and female infanticide in India.

Finally the day of our departure came. The local staff organized a farewell party for us. They brought local Shilluk dresses for us and made us wear those. They had arranged a variety of snacks for the occasion. There was lot of singing and dancing. Abraham brought a knobkerrie (Wooden carved stick carried by village headman) for me. The nurses gifted me an intricately carved ostrich  egg and Shilluk necklaces made of beads. Ongelli had brought some fearsome looking spears for me. Emotions ran high as the moment of departure arrived.  I went to the bank of the mighty White Nile and watched the water flow. People like us come and go but the mighty river keeps flowing eternally, giving life to parched lands of North Africa.

 

 

 PS - South Sudan became an independent country soon after I left. But sadly it was not end of its woes. Soon factionalism plunged the country into a number of internal wars leading to even worse situation for the people.