Reminder

Today I was reminded of the reasons why I do not want to drive in Juba.

1.  I don't want to learn to drive on the right-hand side in a place where road accidents are frequent and where some of the driving I see is a little hair-raising! I am fearful of making mistakes as I learn a new way of driving. No-one wants to end up in an accident- but especially in Juba!
Accidents don't just mean inconvenience, they can also mean aggression from other road users and maybe complications with lengthy court cases (and no guarantee of a fair or just outcome).
In addition, I have seen inside the hospital here;  I want to avoid putting myself in a situation where I might end up needing to go there...

2.  I am a foreigner in a country where we are not always welcome. This means we can be a target for locals to accuse us of traffic faults and then try to extort money from us. This is exactly what happened today!
And it was all rather unpleasant.

This morning, Andrew took me shopping. He was driving along a straight road in the vehicle below:

I sat on the right, in the passenger seat and Joel was between us on the third, small passenger seat.

Suddenly, a motorbike came careering out of a side street on my right and swerved into the traffic, narrowly missing us as he swung into our road. The driver's head and that of his passenger (helmet-less!) were suddenly very close to me! Thankfully, he missed us and we all continued along the road. My heart was pounding at the near-miss, but no harm was done.
Or so we thought.

As we continued along the road to the supermarket, it became apparent that the motorbike driver was following us and seemed rather upset with us. He made several gestures to Andrew to stop. It seemed he had something to say. Wisely, Andrew continued to the supermarket car-park, where we pulled in and parked. No point in stopping on the roadside and risking a large and possibly angry crowd being whipped up into a frenzy of accusation and possible aggression.

As we parked, the driver and his passenger jumped off their motorbike and came over to the window, wanting to discuss the fact that we had hit his motorbike... "what??!" I could not believe it. I was sitting right where he had swerved into his near-miss and there was no way there had been any impact! However, the annoyed motorcyclist called over the car-park security guard (with a rather large gun slung across his shoulder!) and seemed to be telling him an aggrieved tale against us. Since the discussion was in Juba-Arabic, I  was not sure what was said, but I can tell you that it did not look friendly!
Then he roped in anyone else in the car-park who would listen. We remained in the vehicle, with the doors locked (and air-con blasting- sweat levels were rising as stress levels rose!) trying to make light of it all for Joel's sake. Andrew sensibly called the MAF team leader. An arrangement was made that 2 local staff and our manager would come to the scene to try and diffuse what was a rather tense situation.

Eventually, Andrew calmly exited the car to talk with his accusers. I took Joel into the super-market, legs shaking, heart jumping and unable to concentrate on the shopping list! Somehow, I got the shopping into the trolley. After a few minutes, Andrew came inside and made several phone calls. We then waited in the supermarket for our rescuers, whilst the motorcyclists hung about at the door, still throwing out accusations to anyone who would listen.

We waited a long time. Lunch time came and went, Joel was fed a healthy (??) lunch of expensive crisps (£2 for a small packet!) and a chocolate biscuit. I sent up a prayer for a peaceful solution, despite the talk of hauling Andrew off to the police station!

Finally, our back-up arrived. I was so pleased to see them! Joel and I stayed in the shop, where the staff had kindly given us chairs to sit on. We watched through the window; there was some animated discussion, a little shoulder-shoving and some raised voices. The motorcyclists, Andrew, 3 MAF staff, the security guard and a few interested onlookers all joined in!

Thankfully, all was soon resolved. Various discussions diffused the tension and the men who had intimidated us had to leave with nothing. We were soon allowed to drive home. What a relief!

In situations like this, I realise again how vulnerable we can be here. I realise how much I value being part of a strong staff team and how vital it is to have local staff who understand the culture and language where we live. I so appreciate the kindness of colleagues who gave up Saturday lunch-time to help us and of our neighbours who took care of Esther and Ben back at the MAF compound and fed them lunch whilst we were otherwise engaged!

And it has firmed my resolve that for now, driving in Juba is not a priority for me!