Simple joys in Saloum
It has been a week since my arrival in Saloum, Egypt, on the border of Libya, to assume my new UNHCR post in response to the emergency situation of refugees fleeing the Libyan situation. Saloum is a traditional Bedouin community where women are not allowed to walk on the streets unaccompanied by men. It is far from the tourist attractions in Egypt and the center of life in this small town is the military installation and the cross-border traffic that apparently goes on 24 hours a day. This is not an easy place to live in, and many of the conveniences that I am used to are simply not available. There are no restaurants or fast-food places–well, actually there may be one or two, but certainly not the type that a foreigner like myself can just casually stroll in and order food. There are stores, yes, but again, they are not 7-Eleven, and they do not have ice cream.
Our residences are also rather basic, but it’s the 10 pm curfew and security precautions imposed on all staff that make our life here rather difficult. We are all, of course, cognizant of the fact that we are working in an emergency situation, and these things are to be expected. Yet those who have been to Saloum can attest that the impositions upon the staff in this operation are particularly inconvenient.
We work ourselves pretty hard trying to meet the urgent requirements of status determination and resettlement of the thousands of refugees in the border, and after a week I decided to take a break this Saturday afternoon and treat myself to a relaxing meal.
My Saturday treat consisted of breadsticks (spelled as “Bread Steaks” in the packaging), the Egyptian version of Nescafe 3-in-1, and Othelo brand sardines from Morocco, which taste almost as good as my favorite Santa Maria brand of Portuguese sardines. I bought all these items from a small shop and was delighted to find them available in Saloum. For “dessert” I had the breadsticks left over dipped in Nutella, which is not available in Saloum, but was brought in by a colleague from Matrouh some 230 km away. It was an exquisite meal, at least for me.
I would love to have a double cheeseburger, fries and a Coke, supersized. But this will have to wait until next year. In the meantime, I praise God for the simple joys of my Saloum Saturday steaks and sardines.
