In Darfur: A Travel Diary (Day 3)

In Darfur: A Travel Diary (Day 3)

Editor's Note: In March, Kurt Pelda, Africa Bureau Chief of the Swiss daily the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), traveled to eastern Chad on the border with the Sudanese crisis region of Darfur: a trip that was documented in a diary published in English on World Politics Review and that would see him eventually turning back from the border due to inadequate security conditions. In late October, Pelda returned to the region and crossed the border into Darfur, where he accompanied a Darfur rebel group. The diary of his trip was published on the NZZ Online in German, and World Politics Review here presents it in English.

Day 3: Of White Aircraft and Other Aircraft

The rebels in the wadi get up early. The younger members of the group collect wood, in order to boil water for the day's first tea. We hear noise from motors that appear to be coming closer. It sounds like a helicopter. For security purposes, I put the solar panel that I use to recharge the battery of my satellite phone under the cover of the trees. The panel could be seen from a considerable distance. Then I notice that my mosquito netting is still in the bright sun. I had intentionally set it up yesterday under the outstretched branches of an acacia tree, but it had not occurred to me that in the morning the spot would not be in the shade. But there is not any danger.

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