Interference from Syria

E was very slow in updating the blog over the last few months and then hit everyone with 2 huge parcels of information explaining what was going on especially regarding Hurricane Matthew. An awful event and I was a little worried watching the weather maps as he seemed to be heading E’s way. Thankfully her hair remained unruffled by his ferocious winds but obviously the west of Haiti wasn’t so lucky…

As I write this E is sitting at Port au Prince airport on her way home. When I spoke to her this morning it was lovely to see a very happy, smiley face as she packed the last of her things and started to make her way to Italy. Haiti has been a difficult place to work (whatever she may have told you) but she has managed to accomplish much in difficult circumstances. Im very glad she is coming back to a closer timezone and am, as always, very proud of what she has achieved.

My last update saw me in Kirkuk, Iraq.. After 4 ½ years with HI I decided to move on and am now working for another NGO that specializes in Mine Action (clearance of minefields, weapons, IEDs etc…) but one of the reasons I chose to join the Mine Advisory Group (MAG) was the geographical position of the project they hired me for. So now, I find myself in Syria, where the challenges are similar to those I faced in Iraq but which are made more difficult due to the fighting still raging in the West of the country (quite a long way from me). Im living in a military compound and security is good but we have no place to go so evenings are spent reading and watching films whilst during the day we are in the areas that are highly contaminated from when Daesh (IS, ISIS, ISIL – choose your favourite term!) held them in their tight grip. The main problem are improvised minefields and we have two teams permanently working on clearing these. Im currently training a team in High Risk Search, which is where we have to gain access and clear a building of any weapons or booby traps that maybe inside. It can take a long time to do this so patience is key. As it happens Im a very patient person (this will make E laugh) so Im happy in my work. When we do recover all these weapons we get to destroy them, which is the fun bit J

 

Life in Syria isn’t too bad for us as expats. The locals are very thankful we are here to help and they are good people – very helpful, hard-working and friendly. Food treats are a little in short supply – my daily bar of chocolate is now a distant memory but that’s no hardship when we know what is happening to the people further west of us. You can even buy beer here which really shocked me. Fruit and vegetables can normally be found, not necessarily fresh but you take what you can get. Stable foods are available – flour, sugar rice etc so we wont starve and I needed to lose a few kilos anyway… [NdR: un paio di chiletti, eh?...]

One of the stranger things of my life in Syria is meeting the Foreign Fighters. These are Non-Syrian volunteers who have chosen to come and fight against Daesh. The particluar bunch who are living on our base, fight on the side of the YPJ - one of the Kurdish Political groups who happen to have a military arm. In Iraq I was working alongside the PKK and the PUK - Kurdish groups with different agendas and ideals. These groups have one thing in common, they are Kurdish people, but thats the only common ground. There are Kurds in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey (and many more further afield - London has a large community) and they are loosely allied, at the moment in the fight against Daesh. It is these Kurdish groups where the foreign fighters end up. It reminds me a little of the Spanish Civil War where internationals volunteered and formed the "International Brigades". These were quite large groups and quite well organised. The problem here is that the international volunteers are not very well organised and tend to be in very small groups which are attached to Kurdish fighting units. This, I found out, is because the Kurds are terrified of large scale international casualties which would not be good press. Understandable....

These guys come from all over the world. They use knicknames and never reveal too much about themselves as they are all in danger of being arrested when they return to their home nation. One of them is from Iran (who are fighting for Assad) and he can never go home as he will be arrested and executed. Some are from Britain and several from America and Canada. They get paid $50 a month, have old uniforms, sleep in a cow barn and have very little equipment. Many have no previous military experience and some of the chaps I met 3 weeks ago have been killed in action. I wish them well but cant help feeling that they havent thought through what they are doing completely. Some are young and looking for adventure - lusting for the thrill of battle - but they soon find out its not a great feeling being shot at...

So now Im on countdown for holidays whilst E has her well earnt rest. We had a wonderful holiday in Venice and Muggia in September where we ate lots and swam in the Ocean [NdR: Noneee!! Non è l'Oceano quello, è il mareee!!!] and drove around in the Funny Little Car. I loved being there even though I was attacked by a giant marine Squirrel (E didn’t believe me but its true…).

Soon be Christmas……….. J