Frank and his Dutch
colleague, who had come over from Khartoum for a few days, decided to enjoy the
fresh air and the rich bird life after a long working day. By now, Frank can find
his favourite place on the banks of the Nile with his eyes closed, so they
jumped in the car and drove straight to the beloved green spot. Once they had
arrived, the cameras and binoculars came straight out of the bag; there was
just too much to see! While admiring the different species and enjoying the
'cool' evening breeze they walked a bit further down the path than usual.
Without realizing where they were heading to exactly, they eagerly continued
taking photos. At some point they noticed something coming towards them through
the water. This was definitely not a bird! It was a green-uniformed man who
made his appearance in a very natural but unusual way; wading through the water, grass and
cane. While Frank and his colleague looked slightly flabbergasted, still
holding on to their cameras, the man climbed out of the water and stood in
front of them with his dripping clothes. The conversation that followed can't
really be called a conversation, since Frank doesn't speak Arabic and this man
clearly didn't understand English. Frank decided to call his 'help-line'
Mohamed; a very willing local colleague who is always there to offer some
language assistance. But, in the meantime, this green uniformed man thought it
was better if the two Dutch men came with him to a nearby post. So, eventually
they ended up sitting on a small 'suing bank' outside of the nearby post, while
Mohamed arrived and simply explained about the bird watching and photography
hobby of the two foreigners. Some other local colleagues had arrived (-news
travels fast in Kosti!) and they started smiling when they heard of the
misunderstanding. It apparently is common sense here that it is forbidden to
take photos of the nearby army base area near the banks of the river Nile. Once
the man in the green uniform realized that these two men were innocent and had
just been watching birds, he changed his mood. He even offered Frank a guided
tour to other beautiful nature reserves in the White Nile area. This unexpected
‘caught in the act’ has provided some new opportunities after all!Thursday, September 13, 2012
Caught in the act
Frank and his Dutch
colleague, who had come over from Khartoum for a few days, decided to enjoy the
fresh air and the rich bird life after a long working day. By now, Frank can find
his favourite place on the banks of the Nile with his eyes closed, so they
jumped in the car and drove straight to the beloved green spot. Once they had
arrived, the cameras and binoculars came straight out of the bag; there was
just too much to see! While admiring the different species and enjoying the
'cool' evening breeze they walked a bit further down the path than usual.
Without realizing where they were heading to exactly, they eagerly continued
taking photos. At some point they noticed something coming towards them through
the water. This was definitely not a bird! It was a green-uniformed man who
made his appearance in a very natural but unusual way; wading through the water, grass and
cane. While Frank and his colleague looked slightly flabbergasted, still
holding on to their cameras, the man climbed out of the water and stood in
front of them with his dripping clothes. The conversation that followed can't
really be called a conversation, since Frank doesn't speak Arabic and this man
clearly didn't understand English. Frank decided to call his 'help-line'
Mohamed; a very willing local colleague who is always there to offer some
language assistance. But, in the meantime, this green uniformed man thought it
was better if the two Dutch men came with him to a nearby post. So, eventually
they ended up sitting on a small 'suing bank' outside of the nearby post, while
Mohamed arrived and simply explained about the bird watching and photography
hobby of the two foreigners. Some other local colleagues had arrived (-news
travels fast in Kosti!) and they started smiling when they heard of the
misunderstanding. It apparently is common sense here that it is forbidden to
take photos of the nearby army base area near the banks of the river Nile. Once
the man in the green uniform realized that these two men were innocent and had
just been watching birds, he changed his mood. He even offered Frank a guided
tour to other beautiful nature reserves in the White Nile area. This unexpected
‘caught in the act’ has provided some new opportunities after all!