11/19 10:10pm

Today was good. What would seem an insignificant event back home, becomes a monumental success in N’d.

We were able to send e-mail from our laptop, through the satellite modem, to Yuen-Lin in Palo Alto, CA. It was exciting! The champagne would have been flowing, if we had any.

Yuen-Lin, our tech guru and designer of our uploading process, came to us through my good friend Nini, whom I at Omidyar.net. One night, when I was working late at Rachel’s house, I received a call from the (650) area code, Palo Alto, CA, but the caller told me he was calling from Malaysia. It was Yuen-Lin. We spoke for a long time, me about my urgency to create meaningful action for Darfur, now, and he about wanting to do whatever it took to help. We connected.

We next spoke when he was back in Palo Alto. I described what the dream of i-ACT was, and he said that he would get to work on it. From the technical standpoint, I knew little about what the issues would be. I just told him what the final product should look like; he worked, together with some friends I am still to meet, tirelessly at it, while at the same time working his more than full time job, which was getting ready to launch a new product. Our phone conversations would mostly start after 1:30am. Yuen-Lin…thanks!

Send a photo of yourself to Michal Miller, so he can post it here on the blog.
Michael, our amazing web design Guru from San Diego (of whom I can talk later), you might as well put one up of yourself also. Or, thinking about it, you might want to put up a link from a blog entry to a picture page at our site, so that the blog does not take too long to load for those that do not have a high-speed connection. Sorry, I’m trying to direct things from Africa. You do what you think is best :)
This has definitely been a team effort. Chris and I are out here, but the whole team made it happen, and you’re with us.

Juan Carlos, my brother and web designer, the i-ACT calendar page is looking great! Thanks.

OK all…we’ll be in touch; that’s what this is all about. Let’s get as many people as possible “in touch” and then, all together, let’s yell at the top of our lungs that we will not accept standing by as an appropriate response to genocide.
We demand immediate protection of civilians.

We demand all the necessary aid, food, water, and health services for the people that have been displaced.

We demand meaningful and energetic support for a lasting peace.
We demand a safe return home for the people of Darfur and the necessary means to restart their lives.

Too much? Not barely enough…

Paz

11/19 5:30pm
The city has a strange feeling to it, but I think that a lot of that might come from my own filters, the way I interpret what I’m taking in.

Our friends here, the ones I have mentioned in earlier posts, are very friendly and warm, and they go out of their ways to help us. I’m not sure how welcome we, foreigners, are to the rest of the populations. I have not been able to interact with barely anyone, since we do not get the chance to go out and mingle because of security reasons, but the people I do cross paths with do not offer smiles or even a nod of the head. I asked a young aid worker that just came in from the field about it, and she said that it was very much a N’Djamena thing. The rest of the country, S says, is very warm and friendly.

S has been working in the camps but is returning home to the United States to finish her work, which needs to be done on the computer. Because of the lack of electricity out in the camps she was stationed in, she was not able to stay longer.
Back to the people in the streets, the sights are rich and complex. There are different types of dress, from the very traditional to the very western. Some wear the big bandanas on the head and the long robes. Our driver said that they were the ones that come from desert environments. There is also a wide variety of military attire. I’m not sure if everyone that is wearing it is part of the military. Some, it seems, just do it for the strong fashion statement. In one of our few brief and short ventures from either our car or the establishment we’re visiting, Chris wanted to record some scenes along N’D’s main street. There were some seed vendors, women and children, on the side of the road. Instead of them calling us over to buy some of their product, they started all yelling at us to get away with that camera, or at least that’s what we figure they were saying. Children got up to walk a few steps with us and continue yelling.

Please excuse my ignorance on the cultural side of the country I’m visiting. I should have taken the time to learn more before coming, but time was so hard to find recently.

11/19

It’s not easy typing on these French keyboard! It’s all moved around…or ours is :)

Today is Saturday, and we are hoping to get all the tech kinks out of our system.

We would like to see a little more around N’d, so we’ll see if we can get transportation for that. Right now, a neighbor gave us a lift to this internet place. It is a small city, but we are told that it is best not to walk around.

It has been so great to see all of your comments. Guess what…yesterday I found my first diet coke since getting here! It came from Egypt, and I got to enjoy it at a little restaurant where I also had a poule (chicken) sandwhich. How do you like my French?

Man…it’s difficult to type on this!

A big hug to all. Zahara, Mimi, Gabito (y tu Irais tambien) los extrano mucho y pienso mucho en ustedes. Veo su foto a cada rato. Un beso.

Paz

11/18
Hello everyone!

We will have to enjoy life in N’djamena a little longer, at least through Monday. The satellite phone arrives Sunday night, and our press permit (we will be press!) will, we hope, be ready Monday morning. We went to the UNHCR today, and they are going to help us with the permit. Today we also had to go to immigration, and I’m not sure why. At the airport on arrival, they stamp your passport and tell you to present yourself at immigration within three days, and then they stamp your passport again. We would be lost without our contacts here in N’d. Even with them, we will not get to the camps before Tuesday.

We will still keep Nov 21 as the first day of video feeds, since we’ve been recording and have something that will help in setting up the rest of the trip. We have been learning a lot from people that have extensive experience in the camps on the border.

You will soon get to meet Martin, an aid worker from Kenya (with permission to use his name already). We interviewed him today, and his passion for helping the children in the camps can be easily seen. We’ll have video of him soon.

11/18

We got to drive around town today, making it through traffic, which in size is not anything close to LA, but it is a lot more of an adventure. There are no working traffic lights, so drivers have to be quite offensively minded, if they want to make it far. There are many motorcycles and bicycles on the streets, plus throw in some pedestrians that walk right on the side of the road. Our driver took us past the president’s house, with its many guards all around it. A strong military presence can be surely felt in town.

Our host, E, told us that just a few days ago there was an attack on the military base that is just down the street. Some people got killed. E says that things happen in one part of town that do not have an effect on other parts of the city; life goes on. We’ve heard gun shots each of the days we’ve been here, but people seem uninterested or used to it. We are staying safe and following the suggestions of people that know better. We cannot just hang around town. They tell me that it is actually more relaxing out at the camps.

E and Dr. F came to meet us at the hotel lobby bar. We had to check out and were enjoying a cold and expensive coke (there are no diet cokes around! Oh well. I will survive, while drinking more sugar than I have in ages.) The two Indian gentlemen, with a warm smile on their faces, came with our travel permit in hand. What could have taken a week, Dr. F made happen before we even got here! I guess it’s not all about waiting with this kind of help.

We rode into town to Dr. F’s office, in the middle of what we are told are the two, only two, paved roads in the capital. E and Dr. F had answers to all of our questions. They will put us in touch with the people we need to meet, and they will help us get under way to Abeche. Dr F even had his driver take us to the US Embassy, where we registered our visit. From there we were taken to the guest house, from where I’m writing right now. There are some wonderful people all around N’djamena, and Dr. F seems to know all of them.

Oh, about the satellite phone, someone that works with Dr. F is well connected with Air France, so Chris rode out with him to the airport, where the AF people sent a cable to Paris, asking for the phone. Man, what else could we aks for! Well, we did not ask for it, but Dr F lent us a cell phone for the day’s we’re here. E says that we “do not exist,” if we do not have a cell.

At the guest house, we met M. M has worked for a long time at the camps on the border, and he has worked even longer in other camps around Africa. He is from Kenya, and we talked about how Nairobi has become the center for people looking to do humanitarian work around the continent. Nairobi has the infrastructure for the NGOs to have their bases there, and it also has the university that produces some great aid workers. We will talk more with M tomorrow, and you will get to see him soon, since we plan on interviewing him on camera, so he can share some of his great expertise.

Again, thanks for all the comments, and thanks to all that are following us, even if not commenting.

We’ll be in touch!
Paz

It feels just a bit unreal to be sitting here in N’djamena, Chad. The hotel is next to a dark water lake, where you can see fishermen on their boats and, on the shores, farmers taking care of their tiny fields. On the other side of the lake, there are huts that seem to be made out of the same dirt on which they stand. It’s a beautifully calm scene, in a country we know is going through a less than calm period.

We are far from roughing it, here within the hotel fences. As I had been warned, there is a lot of waiting to be done in some parts of Africa, the same as in some places in my Mexico, which some call the land of “manana.”

We have many things we need to get done, so we get to the camps. Dr. F, an optometrist that doubles as a travel agency owner, will help us with our permit to travel into the interior of Chad. We are also waiting for E, from the same organization for which JC works. JC, who’s a graduate from UCLA and I met at a Darfur vigil we organized in July, has been instrumental in getting us information and connected. She’s currently working out of Abeche, at two of the camps in that area. I can’t wait to see her in person and thank her, and, when that happens, it will mean that I will be closer to the camps. E is going to help us with lodging at their guest house, so that we don’t have to pay the extremely expensive prices hotels charge here.

Chris and I are also very interested in learning about the effect that this mass refugee crisis has had on the people of Chad and how they have dealt with it. We’ll explore this here in N’djamena and in Abeche.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Our satellite phone stayed in Paris. By luck, someone from Air France had already sent an e-mail to Chris, saying that they found the phone at the AF Salon. Chris’ wife, Dana, in what we now see as an incredibly wise move for which we will thank her for time to come, wrote Chris’ name and e-mail on hte little bag that holds the phone. Now we need more luck in getting AF to put the phone on the next flight not N’djamena.

Paz

As I am writing this, Chris and I are onboard an Air France plane to Chad. We are over Northern Africa, about two hours away from landing.

We have a busy next couple of days in N’djamena coming up. We have to connect with the different agencies and organizations that will make it possible for us to get to where we want to get, the camps on the border with Darfur. We made some initial contacts through email, but some of it will have to be done in person. Three of the main contacts we have to make are the UNHCR, WFP, and the government of Chad. Some of the major NGOs working in the camps also have offices in N’djamena, so we’ll go visit.

They have not stopped feeding me in these flights. I guess I can use the extra stored fat to take me through the leaner days ahead.

Paz

Chris and I have been talking about he 21 days and the stories we want to capture and share. This is what our expectations are, and we fully know that our plans could be completely changed by the reality on the ground.

The story of the 21 days will be divided into three stories, which will all be connected. Taking the first three days as an example, it would go something like this:

Day 1: Our Travel Log. Here we take you along with us and show you what we go through to get iACT on the web, covering the result of the crisis in Darfur.

Day 2: The Victims’ Story. Here we interview the people of Darfur and have them tell us where they’ve been, where they are, and where they hope to go.

Day 3: Life in the Camps. Here we bring you the experience of living and working in the camps. We follow refugees in their daily lives, and we show you the efforts of the many aid workers that provide life saving services every day.

Then we would repeat that sequence through the 21 days. These are our own expectations for ourselves, but we will be ready to adapt to the actual circumstances we encounter.

Paz

I still have more posts to enter, that I’ve written along the way, but I just wanted to thank all of you for your comments. It is so great to have you here with us!

Pam B. thanks for getting so many young people involved! I’m telling you, there’s something about that name, Pam, because it brings some passion with it (O)! Thanks to all the students and to mi familia. I miss you all.

OK, back to the posts.

We crossed the Atlantic, and Chris and I are now sitting in Air France’s salon, one of the benefits of having a sister (Teresa) that’s in the travel business. I know that it is not exactly good preparation for the camp environment we’re headed to, but relaxing here in the first class lounge, drinking a diet soda, is not bad at all.

I slept another five hours in the flight from Atlanta, so I’m catching up on rest, and I’m excited about reaching Africa later today.

I received quite a few e-mail’s today, most of them from students at Palisades High, in Pacific Palisades, CA. Thank you for all the support. Pali High is a force in youth activism, and I know that we’ll be making some serious NOISE together.

While you’re here online, do a quick google of Darfur and read the current news about the crisis. Then, tell friends, family, and the person in front of what is happening. First awareness, then action.

See you from Africa!

Paz

Hello everyone,

Chris and I are on our way to the Chad/Darfur border. We have not left the US, though. We’re in the beautiful city of Atlanta, GA, hanging out at the airport (actually, I have not hooked up with Chris, but he should be around here). One of these days, I have to come to stay for a few days in Atlanta, so I can learn from my good friend and amazing activist Cynthia Gentry. We met through O.net, and she inspired me to not accept obstacles but to see them as opportunities to be creative.

From GA, our next stop is Paris, France. My brother Javier joked at the Thanks Giving gathering my family held this past Friday (so I could be a part of it) that I might get to Paris and say, “forget Darfur, I’m staying in Paris!” :) Not this time, but maybe in the future, with my family (Zahara, Mimi, Gabo, and Irais), I’ll see more than the Paris airport.

Please stay tuned and be ready to become actively involved. The situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate, and the lives of millions are in more than grave danger. When we make NOISE together, we will be heard.

Thanks to all that have been so supportive. I’ll be in touch, and I hope you will be also.

Paz