Sun, heat and presidents

My adrenaline is pumping while I scan the audience around me, just waiting for another woman to faint. I ignore the two presidents on the stage only ten meters away from me. My biggest priority now are the masses of women around me. It is at least 30 degrees, the sun is burning, and the water tanks have been empty for over an hour. There is no system here; people are pushing from all directions to get closer to the stage. Some of them have been here since 7 o’clock in the morning, and since most Sudanese eat their breakfast at 10 or 11, they are not exactly well prepared for hours of standing. The police men are hitting the girls and women in the front, pushing them back with long sticks; completely ignoring the fact that these people are being pushed by hundreds of others from behind. The school girls next to me are crying, they are not allowed to leave by their teacher, since she has the responsibility for them. In the end, one of them faints. Me and my Red Crescent colleagues pick her up and try to make our way through the crowd towards the ambulances. During the four hours we are working, around 70 people are transported to the hospital this way.

I understand that a presidential visit is a big event, but the organizers could have done a better job. When the water tanks are empty at 9.30 and the police are hitting and pushing crying women further away, this means that the event could have been better prepared. I am happy to do my job as a Red Crescent volunteer, but preventive work, like enough water, a shaded area to relax in and fences would have been helpful.


Volunteers preparing for the big day