CHAD DIARY:I WRITE THIS article as I complete what is presumably my last camp orderly officer duty. The camp feels different now that we have started preparing to hand over to the 99 Infantry Battalion, writes LIEUT SEÁN BYRNE.
It is four months since I got on a bus in the Curragh and watched people wave goodbye to their loved ones. Now we’re in the final stages of the mission. On my last patrol we went to Daguessa. It was a good patrol and passed without incident. We conducted our usual liaison with the local leaders of the bigger villages we passed through. Each officer has responsibility for the same villages on every patrol in order to build up a rapport with the village elders within our area.
We enter one such village, Le Boutike – I recognise the usual faces. One man gestures down the village in the direction of the chief’s house to indicate he’s at home.
As I walk through the village with my platoon towards his home, the local children sprint ahead to be the one to tell the leader, Bako Moustafa, of our arrival. I meet him along with our interpreter, getting as much information as possible on events in the area.
I ask him how he is since I last spoke to him. “Security is good because we’re here,” he says.
I let him know that this may be our last meeting as I’m due to return home soon, but I will try to come one more time to introduce my replacement to him. He wishes me well on my journey home and as he shakes my hand he places the other on my shoulder and says “shokran” (thank you).
He never did that before.
Tempting fate, I’ll say it’s likely I’ll never be in this village again. In the short time I’ve been here I have come to admire these people.
Although extremely poor, they carry themselves with pride. The men dress in their white robes and the women are dressed in the most colourful outfits. The women smile and then shyly raise their shawls to cover their faces as we walk past.
This is typical of the region and not just this village. In this area of the world where feeding their children is a daily challenge, they remain gracious and dignified.
I know we have made a difference here. It’s small elements that cross the border and cause suffering at a local level that we’re here to prevent. That’s exactly what we’ve done. All the leaders we speak to tell us that it’s safer because Eufor [the UN Security Council-mandated EU peacekeeping mission to Chad] are here.
People ask what I’m most looking forward to about getting home. Certainly, to see my family and have a few pints with friends are high on the list. But it’s the small, simple things, like not having to shave every day, especially at weekends, which I look forward to. Not having a pistol and a radio on my hip nearly every day. These might sound trivial, but it’s the hundred small things that make up our everyday lives.
Of course we know about the different Ireland we’re returning to as the recession bites deeper. Without doubt, people in this part of the world will struggle even more to feed their families this year as a result. With home looming on the horizon, thoughts turn to plans for the future. Book a holiday with friends and check the Army’s training directive to see what courses I’ll apply for this year.
- Lieut Seán Byrne remains on duty with the Defence Forces in Chad