Return To Darfur: The Lost Suitcase Of Hope

The plane drops about 50 feet in a few seconds, and my stomach goes with it, then steadies. I peer out the window only to see a fine layer of sand, rather than a cloud line as you would in the States. It’s a bright sunny day, but the air is fogged with fine granules, I hope it doesn’t impede our landing. We bounce to the familiar runway secured by white hard top vehicles with large radio antennas attached to the passenger side.

Relief enters my mind and settles into my body. Even though we have not seen Bouba, Youssouf or one of our many UNHCR friends, I know that we are one step closer to holding the hands of those we came here to see. And I am confident that Bouba and Youssouf will make happen what needs to happen to get us to a camp by tomorrow, if not today. After spending some hours with permits and speaking to friends at UNHCR, Youssouf confirms this, “Tomorrow at this time, be in refugee camp!”

Youssouf has a surprise for us, although I am certain that he has no idea how much of a hero he really is: the lost suitcase of panels that were painted on one side by elementary students in Petaluma, CA and on the other by women and children of Camp Farchana! I can hardly believe my eyes when I see the suitcase, in all of the chaos that we experienced on our way out, our stable and trustworthy friends have come through for us once again.

One by one, we pull out the panels, looking first at the US side, then at the pictures that tell the stories of our Darfur friends.