how much is a life...??

As you might know we are 2 people from Austria working here…and from the beginning on I realized, that is it quite good to have someone else from your country and culture around. Its good because you can speak your mother tongue, because you can share the experiences, because you can talk about things you don’t understand, because you can swear about people if they still do not do what they are supposed to do even though you told them plenty times, because you can drink a cold beer in the evening to relax…and talk about totally different things! So there are plenty of reasons why it is good to have someone from you country around (even though in the very beginning I would not believe it!!).

So gunter had to leave the country now, because after 3 months you need to leave to extend your visa. His plan was to go to kampala, sleep there, from there on take a bus to the border of ruanda…to spend some days in ruanda, and then return here.

I was curious how it will be `alone`. Since the day he left was my free day, and I used it to learn riding a motorbike! Its one of the things I never really thought I would do, because I was just never really interested in it. But now here its quite necessary if you want to be able to move independently…so I learned it, it was quite easy and is (surprise, surprise) quite a lot of fun!

The next day I was in the field, visiting some schools when I got a call from Austria, that we have big problems. I was told that gunter was robbed in kampala in the evening, that he lost his conciouns, some teeth and that he is in a hospital. And I got a phone number.

So we rushed to kampala, called him, and went to see him in the hospital. We learned more about the story from a guy who helped to rescue him – because gunter himself can not remember anything. So this man found him in a dark corner (it was power cut by then) with 3 men over him, and thought there is something wrong. As he went there the people fled, and escaped. Gunter lost his conscious, got up, kept falling down – almost into the bypassing cars.

In hospital it turned out that his jaw is broken twice (I saw the x ray…quite amazing), he misses a number of teeth in front, he looks quite damaged. What the people could steel was an iphone and his phone (today I was in the hospital again to visit him and he said that the iphone must be really good if it is worth damaging him so much…and that I should get one as well…but I think its too dangerous!!). some people say he might have been killed if he was not rescued. I do not believe so, because they knocked him out with a single punch (seems they had some experience), so he could not refuse anymore, and they just wanted to rob him. It was not a personal matter, so I do not believe it – but who knows.

I also asked the man who helped him, and who chased the thieves, what would have happened to them if they caught them. he replied, that the police could not do much, they would be free soon…so only they (he and his friends) could have killed them right away if they caught them. And he was serious…

BUT now I am serious as well…this can happen to you everywhere in the world. At home its probably more likely that some one destroys your jaw with a beer bottle…but fore sure you can also get robbed at home…and every other part of the world.

Gunter is now still in hospital and will be brought back to Austria soon…but his insurance delays, so he has to stay another 2 days in hospital (4 in total…with a broken jaw, no possibility to chew,…). His insurance offered him also to be flown to Nairobi for the operation, but he refused. Today I talked to the doctor in his hospital, and he told me that he transferred someone (an emergency case) to Nairobi last night, the man got a heart attack in the plane, and the hospital refused to take that person out of the car, because they could not talk to his insurance before…it was 2 am (in the night). So this gentleman died in the parking lot of the hospital…

But fortunately gunter is in quite a good condition. He will go back, but today he mentioned already that he might come back in feb. because that was just not a good ending of all his work here…so he is in a good mood, experienced enough that he knows it can happen EVERYWHERE… and positive enough to lie in hospital with a broken jaw, some teeth missing, and already thinking of returning!!

So gunter, alles gute, erhol dich gut, und komm wieder! Bin gespannt wie es nun wird…`alleine`!! sicher a supr zacher…aber wird schon werden!! Lass mal was von dir hoeren…wennst wieder leichter sprechen kannst!

So people, since the internet it extremely bad I just send 1 photo…of gunter…

But besides this I am doing well, still I enjoy it a lot…thanks for mails…sorry, I do not have too much time to reply, but I will try to catch up!!

And one more interesting information…I experienced the longest lasting power cut in my life…it took 3 days!!!!! So after about 2 days most phones were off, no computers worked anymore…and at home you would read in the newspaper about a 2,5 hour power cut in a certain area…and every one would complain!!

Bye bye, and yes, I will take care of myself!!

See you, severin

so thats gunter the day after the attack

 since the internet is not THAT bad one more picture...

it looks like this if i come to a school in the villages...!!