Disturbing things…
Motot is quiet at night. Dead quiet – with the exception of the drums that some drummer out there seems to enjoy playing all night, and the occasional dog barking, or herd of cattle moving around. It is beautiful in it’s complete and utter silence. You can hear people talking across the village. The moon has been full and bright throughout my entire visit so that the night never gets fully dark and you can walk without a torch (inadviseable but possible). Thus, when the silence is broken at 4.39 in the morning by one woman, then another, then another screaming the high-pitched cry of celebration/warning that sounds like a swarm of banshees it is one of the most eerie and disturbing thing I have ever heard. Dogs began barking. The guards began running. Everyone begins shouting. I go out and stand authoritatively in my pajamas, in the middle of the compound, hands on hips realising that I haven’t a freakin’ clue what is going on. The guards are peering out through out through our reedy fence.
‘What? What? Murle?’ I keep saying – totally exhausting the depth of my Nuer language. The Murle are a nomadic tribe that come through from time to time stealing cattle, women and children.
‘Ma Murle,’ they say still peering out through the fence.
Comforting…it’s not the Murle but we’re still no closer to knowing what is going on. A woman – one of the banshee swarm, I assume – is on the other side of the fence now talking to the guards. It is at that point that I look up and realise that the moon is gone and the sky is filled – I mean crammed filled with stars. More stars than I imagine anyone else has seen in their lives. In the history of the world no one has seen so many stars as I did right then.
Our logistician comes over after speaking to the guards and informs that some local cattle rustlers had tried to steal some cattle but the local women had woken up and begun screaming – at which point they cattle rustlers tried beating them to keep them quiet (betraying not only an ineptitude at cattle rustling but a general lack of knowledge about women. I’ve never met one that is going to scream less the more they are beaten). When they realised that they were waking up the neighbours (read: our guards) the rustlers took off and some of the local army was now giving chase. There was nothing to be done. Either a gun battle was about to ensue or nothing was going to happen. I figured that there was just as much chance of bullet coming down through my tent as in the middle of the compound so sat there for awhile just looking at the millions and millions of stars and then I went back to bed.
About four hours later I awoke to another, less disconcerting, bru-ha-ha. Another snake to be killed (yawn). The men did this with the finesse of those who are currently killing 10 snakes a week.
‘Wait, wait!’ our new area coordinator said from the inside of his tukul. ‘Let me get my camera!’
‘Dude, forget your camera,’ I said. ‘Get yourself a nice long stick.’
After the snake had been appropriately ground into the dirt one staff picks it up with a stick and starts marching off with it.
‘Uh, hey,’ I said. ‘Just chuck it over the fence.’
‘No,’ said our logistician. ‘We put them down the latrine.’
I stood in shock giving time for all the immediate scenes of horror to sort themselves out in my mind. ‘You…WHAT!?!?!’
‘We put them down the latrine.’
‘No, no, no!’ I said. ‘No! Why? No! Seriously, that’s not ok.’
‘Why?’ our logistician said leaning on his snake-killing stick. ‘They’re dead.’
‘But what if they’re NOT dead!’
‘Then they’ll die down there.’
‘But what if THEY’RE NOT DEAD!’
‘They can’t come crawling out,’ he said calmly.
‘BUT WHAT IF THEY’RE NOT DEAD!! Why take the chance?!?’ my voice rising to a tone that I’m pretty sure only bats could hear.
At this point the staff standing around are divided about whether the whole latrine/snake disposal system is a good idea and I’m pretty much looking like an irrational wus. But, I’m a wus who would prefer to not position my exposed derriere several times a day over a pit of poisonous vipers – dead or alive. And, I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in this argument but am getting no back up. Our logistician turns continues his march toward the toilet. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and vow not to drink anything between now and when the flight arrives in the morning.
‘What? What? Murle?’ I keep saying – totally exhausting the depth of my Nuer language. The Murle are a nomadic tribe that come through from time to time stealing cattle, women and children.
‘Ma Murle,’ they say still peering out through the fence.
Comforting…it’s not the Murle but we’re still no closer to knowing what is going on. A woman – one of the banshee swarm, I assume – is on the other side of the fence now talking to the guards. It is at that point that I look up and realise that the moon is gone and the sky is filled – I mean crammed filled with stars. More stars than I imagine anyone else has seen in their lives. In the history of the world no one has seen so many stars as I did right then.
Our logistician comes over after speaking to the guards and informs that some local cattle rustlers had tried to steal some cattle but the local women had woken up and begun screaming – at which point they cattle rustlers tried beating them to keep them quiet (betraying not only an ineptitude at cattle rustling but a general lack of knowledge about women. I’ve never met one that is going to scream less the more they are beaten). When they realised that they were waking up the neighbours (read: our guards) the rustlers took off and some of the local army was now giving chase. There was nothing to be done. Either a gun battle was about to ensue or nothing was going to happen. I figured that there was just as much chance of bullet coming down through my tent as in the middle of the compound so sat there for awhile just looking at the millions and millions of stars and then I went back to bed.
About four hours later I awoke to another, less disconcerting, bru-ha-ha. Another snake to be killed (yawn). The men did this with the finesse of those who are currently killing 10 snakes a week.
‘Wait, wait!’ our new area coordinator said from the inside of his tukul. ‘Let me get my camera!’
‘Dude, forget your camera,’ I said. ‘Get yourself a nice long stick.’
After the snake had been appropriately ground into the dirt one staff picks it up with a stick and starts marching off with it.
‘Uh, hey,’ I said. ‘Just chuck it over the fence.’
‘No,’ said our logistician. ‘We put them down the latrine.’
I stood in shock giving time for all the immediate scenes of horror to sort themselves out in my mind. ‘You…WHAT!?!?!’
‘We put them down the latrine.’
‘No, no, no!’ I said. ‘No! Why? No! Seriously, that’s not ok.’
‘Why?’ our logistician said leaning on his snake-killing stick. ‘They’re dead.’
‘But what if they’re NOT dead!’
‘Then they’ll die down there.’
‘But what if THEY’RE NOT DEAD!’
‘They can’t come crawling out,’ he said calmly.
‘BUT WHAT IF THEY’RE NOT DEAD!! Why take the chance?!?’ my voice rising to a tone that I’m pretty sure only bats could hear.
At this point the staff standing around are divided about whether the whole latrine/snake disposal system is a good idea and I’m pretty much looking like an irrational wus. But, I’m a wus who would prefer to not position my exposed derriere several times a day over a pit of poisonous vipers – dead or alive. And, I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in this argument but am getting no back up. Our logistician turns continues his march toward the toilet. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and vow not to drink anything between now and when the flight arrives in the morning.
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