Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I barely noticed a speedboat in the distant water of the Blue Nile slow down and then
speed up. After it had passed, Moez stopped his oration and whispered as we hurried back
along the path.
'It's security. They were watching us.'
'Moez, they barely glanced at us. They hardly slowed down at all . . .'
'They
saw
.'
'Who gives a damn if they did? What were we doing?'
'Lev, you don't understand. They are everywhere. They watch
everything
. They don't
like foreigners at all - especially English ones with cameras. Do you know how many
times I've been arrested, for no reason at all? I've been with tourists who've had their cam-
eras smashed in front of their faces. I had a security agent try to stab me with a bayonet in
the Nuba mountains . . .'
The Nuba mountains lay in the south, close to the border with South Sudan. 'That's dif-
ferent, surely? Moez, this is
Khartoum
, not some half-forgotten backwater . . .'
'You'd be a fool to think so. You'll find the people of Sudan welcoming and friendly
- but the government is another matter. I don't need any trouble, Lev. They'll close my
business and lock me up. They're already following me for my other activities . . .'
At last, we had reached the fairground. The rollercoaster tumbled by on my left, children
in the front seats screaming in hedonistic abandon.
'What do you mean . . . other activities?'
'I'll tell you later . . .'
We hustled across the fairground. Every time I thought Moez was mad, things twisted
in the corner of my vision - and everything looked suspicious. Every man in black shoes
became a spy. The slightest look in my direction made me imagine secret policemen. Side-
ways glances, women in burqas, even teenage boys - they all seemed out of the ordinary
now.
'Before we go for the camels, we should get
jellabiyas
,' Moez said. 'We'll look less like
tourists. With your beard, you'll pass for Sudanese - or at least an Arab . . .'
I stopped dead. 'Moez, is there something you're not telling me?'
At the edge of the fairground, Moez relented. When he looked me in the eyes, I saw a
man who was scared.
'I'm Vice President of the Nubian Front,' he said. 'And Secretary of the Anti-Dams Co-
alition. We . . .' At first, he did not have the words. 'We campaign against the dams they
build along the river. You have heard of the Aswan High Dam? In 1964, they submerged
the entire Nile valley south of Aswan in Egypt for 450km - it wiped out the Nubian heart-
land, even here in Sudan. It was the biggest forced migration in history - 50,000 of my
fellow Nubians had to leave their homes or else be drowned.' He paused. 'I can't tell you
how many times the security have tried to take me away - but I've always managed to talk
