a day in the life

The rains are here in full force now and the temperature has dropped a little more. All is cooler and wet, wet, wet.
So I thought I would explain how my average sort of day goes.
I get up at 6 and have a cool shower. Today, for the first time since I have been here I have put a belt on my trousers, tucked my shirt in and done the belt up. Up until now it has been too hot to have my shirt tucked in or my trousers tight and they have simply been hanging on my hips.

Before I leave I collect the pots from the guards. The system works like this, the maid cooks way too much food every day and leaves it for me in little pots on the dining room table. It is very much like an Indian restaurant with 3 or 4 small pots of side dishes, a pot of rice and a larger pot for the main course. I usually eat about a third of all this and then give the pots to the guards which they feast on overnight. It works well, the maid cooks too much, I eat some, the guards finish it and the maid thinks I have eaten it all, so everyone is happy. As I leave the house it is raining so one of the guards holds an umbrella above my head as I walk out to my Land Rover. The guards here are nothing like those in Kabul. No flak jackets or machine guns, just a couple of senior gentlemen in smart uniforms and no weapons (and no shoes).

We walk out to the LR and then I head off. I am getting to know the road and the people I pass every day. No need for different times or different routes, just a plain, simple drive to the office. So, many of the faces smile back and we wave at each other. The traffic is all pedestrians and bicycles, I never see another car at this time of day. The first junction is a checkpoint, so I slow down, smile at the soldiers and they wave me through. The next crossroads is the ICRC. Another 3 minutes and my commute is over. The roads are clear, the rain is pouring, the tree lined verges are deep in water as there is no drainage, except the fine soil itself which seems to recover very quickly. Everything is turning very green and lush and equatorial.

I arrive at the office and another guard will protect me from the downpour with his umbrella as I cross the sandy/muddy compound to the office.
The office is an old colonial style building at the edge of the compound, with the workshops and stores around 100yards away at the far end of the compound.
Today, I have to address the deminers and all 350 are assembled military style in the midst of the compound in rows awaiting my words.

Once I have finished they pack up their tools and equipment into the Land Rovers and trucks and head off out to the minefields.

Meanwhile I have a Finance meeting to discuss how the finances of the operation are handled. Later this morning I will be taking a trip to the Island of Kuyts to look at some minefields there. Kuyts is heavily restricted and requires a special pass to be able to traverse the causeway that takes us there. It is strange today as the sky is very overcast, there is a cool breeze blowing and the sea is dark grey, reflecting the mood of the weather. With light waves being whipped up by the wind and the dark skies I could be looking at the Kent coast, not the Indian Ocean just north of the equator.

The islands around Jaffna are particularly heavily patrolled by the Army and Navy and are even more badly damaged as they have been the scene of much fighting and used as routes to get to and from Jaffna. The population of Kuyts is less than a quarter of the pre-war population and it shows. However, interestingly although the houses are nearly all empty and derelict, they are big and were once very grand. This area apparently was the home of many of the top Sri Lankan businessmen. However, wealth brings the privilege of choice and they no longer choose to live in such a dangerous place.

After my visit to Kuyts, it is time to go mine collecting and today there is one to be collected from a minefield South of Jaffna. We head out again in the Land Rover for the minefield where we pick up the mine and bring it back for disposal.
So, back to the paperwork and then head home for an earlier night. I was woken by a lot of commotion this morning around 5am and a lot of mortars being fired. It turns out the port to the North of here was attacked by the Tigers and that was the retaliatory fire. Hopefully that won't be repeated.