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| Enjoying the view. |
This time was a big one although I must say the walk was in fact 38.5 kilometres. It was the farthest I have been and as we approached the end, my feet could not carry me anymore. The route we took can be seen
here and the sights and scenes were delightful as always taking us through the
Vlietlanden
I delayed in posting this new endeavor, events in South Sudan had taken a turn from bad to worse and a humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Death is a common occurrence and massacres are taking place within United Nations compounds where civilians sought refuge. See:
BBC News on South Sudan and
Al Jazeera.
The excitement, hope and patriotism that I felt when I dipped my finger in the inkpot and placed it on the ''seperation'' option when voting for our independence seems so far away. This new Nation that was starting to grow with endless possibilities is now reduced to rubble, homes abandoned and livelihoods destroyed. So painful and yet more reason to push on and keep blogging my journey and sharing it all with you.
One thing I find very fascinating are Dutch cattle of which the Frisian cows seen here as well as a rather unusual breed called the
Highland Cattle were seen. The latter of which resemble a regular cow but with thick furry hides. Mostly brown in color. I asked my partner at the time if these Highland Cattle were part of the Dutch diet, they were not.
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| Dutch Wildlife |
There was a sign that warned visitors to stay at least 25 meters away, this little fellow practically strode past our bench. He seemed quite relaxed on his way to rendezvous with a fellow Highland cow, even the mooing sounded different to what I am accustomed to.
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| Cows at home |
Cattle in South Sudan are very different to their European cousins. This one to the right was taken in
Aweil in Northern Bahr El Ghazal. Cattle are very important to some ethnic groups in South Sudan. A source of pride, it also is a source of pain suffering and death when cattle raiding is underway. Personally I say commercialize cattle, it certainly would be a substantive source of income as well as an economic booster to the region.
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| Frisian cows |
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| Pulling the ferry back from the other bank. |
Further into the day we had to crossed a canal using a manned ferry. I
have to say I had never done this before and my excitement to turn the
wheel was dampened by an older man who would not let go of the wheel. It
is hard work though. Every time I encounter such technology I cannot
help but think of how my country could do with something like this. It
brought to mind the incident in Malakal where civilains in their panic
to get away from the conflict crowded into the boat ferry and upending
it resulting in handreds of deaths, some of which were my extended
family, you can read the story
here.
Towards the end of the walk, at that time when your mind is zoned out and your feet are on autopilot, we witnessed an accident less that 30 meters in front of us. Some pedestrian walkways also allow bicycles as well as scooters. A lady was jogging and was approached by a scooter from behind, it was one of those moments when a last minute swerve results in both parties heading the same direction. The scooter honked, they swerved and crashed. It was a bit surreal and unexpected so we rushed over and called the ambulance. I was amazed at how quickly the response was, around 15 minutes or so. The police arrived first, followed by a photographer and then the ambulance. I found the arrival of the photographer to be quite rude. I guess its normal for one to be at the scene here in the Netherlands but I just felt it wasn't right. The lady was lying on the ground covered in her own blood and it was a lot of blood and here' s this guy that walks over and starts snapping away. Perhaps it would have been better if he walked over and asked the lady if she doesn't mind him being there taking photos of her.
Unfortunately our Police response service in South Sudan is very different. We lack the technology and infrastructure. We also lack the expertise, that is understandable in a country as young as South Sudan. There is a lot to learn and change.
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| An interesting twisted bridge. |
