Introduction to Teargas

It's getting hotter, the dust more abundant and the balaclavas are disappearing. The smell of the afternoon buses is getting more pungent.

Liam (another volunteer) and I went to see the Nubian wrestling; it is a famous slice of Sudanese culture. In the stadium we were directed to sit with the Khartoum wrestling team, foreigners are often given preferential treatment. This prime position was brilliant, the atmosphere was wonderful, our team was had just won their fourth match out of five. There was a lot of dancing and cheering and the mood was joyful. Liam has pretty good Arabic so I was enjoying the luxury of not having to talk or think.

For what happened next I can only give a limited perspective of a short lass surrounded by rather tall African wrestlers. It appeared that one or two men entered the wrestling circle, followed by the police who took to beating him with long sticks. I don't think the police have heard of Rodney King here, so perhaps thought it was a good idea for three police officers to beat one man with sticks in the middle of a stadium of hundreds of people. Some of those people got annoyed, more of the audience moved into the circle followed by more police. This was all happening over the opposite side of the stadium to me. We were all standing to get a better view, it appeared that things could turn very violent, but curiosity was stronger than self preservation.

The wrestlers were constantly keeping an eye on us, making sure we were safe and out of harms way. Action was quickly escalating the stadium, more people were joining the moving tangle of bodies in the centre, and I could see chairs and canes being swung in the air. Liam saw a riot van entering and chairs were thrown in its direction. The tension was escalating fast. It was only about 15 minutes from when the first person entered the circle.

Bang! Bang! Bang! I thought the police were firing gunshots into the air. The crowd surged towards the canvas barriers of the stadium Liam was in front of the crowd being squashed against the canvas until it collapsed or ripped. I was pushed over and fell face down in the dirt. A man behind me instantly sheltered me then grabbed my hand to assist me out of the stadium. Liam was waiting for me. The shots fired were teargas. There was no choice but to run, It actually started as a kind of civilised jog then the effects of the teargas set in: eyes welling up nose dribbling and lungs gasping for air. I have never experienced teargas before; I had not anticipated the pain in the throat and the restrictions on breathing. Last year Liam volunteered in Palestine, and has been caught in teargas before. Apparently if you break open an onion and inhale deeply it counteracts the effects of the teargas... but I wasn't carrying an onion on me that day.

Wheezing and spitting, we ran past a family standing at their front gate watching the commotion, they saw us and invited us into their home. We sat with these lovely people for an hour and a half while the sirens outside died down and we recovered from the teargas. They offered us water, sweets and shisha. Liam converted his easy banter into Arabic and may have sold me to the son... I'm not sure, but I think he negotiated a good price.

My experience of the riot was obviously not a negative experience. I thought the police were fast and effective, they acted decisively. The teargas was horrible to be caught up in, but it did its job: it cleared the crowd fast and it prevented what could have been a disaster. The Sudanese people I encountered showed a kindness to strangers that I have never experienced in any other country. Of course the man who was beaten by the police will have a completely different experience of the same event. I'm glad my side of the stadium was the calm side. This is not normal for a night at the wrestling.

I leave next month. I plan to go down to Uganda in whatever way is cheap, practical and safe. I prefer to travel overland and have been getting mixed information from "impossible, there are no roads" to "It's easy, my grandmother makes that trip." Where I intend to travel my travel guides don't cover, so I'm downloading UN maps and getting as much info as I can while I'm here and connected.

Before I even set a foot south I need all the paperwork: visas for Uganda, Exit visa for Sudan, travel permits for southern Sudan. I have (by chance) met the Ugandan ambassador and been to where they issue the travel permits, all my questions were answered positively. My main hold up is getting the right paperwork through the volunteer programme. I'm very anxious about that. The facilitator has already started making fuss about how impossible it is to get permits. so I'm going to avoid going though them wherever possible, I don't need the drama.