I haven’t had much of a chance to write anything since we arrived here in Chad. There has been so much to do, from always trying to get the best shot to trying to effectively convey what went on each day in a 2-minute video that won’t be too expensive to upload via satellite, since we don’t reliably have wireless internet.
I want to capture every moment, and I’m even trying to perfect shooting video with one hand while I shoot stills over my shoulder with the other. It’s not easy. Nothing about this expedition is easy.
Yet, at the same time – it is. Our journey is over half over, and before long we will be returning to the United States. To our families and friends. To our familiar way of life. The hardships we endure here are so short-lived in comparison to that of the people we’ve met.
I tend to deal with everything with a very dark sense of humor, cracking jokes to make light of some of the worst situations – yet on this trip I have found myself utterly speechless on many occasion. When Umbda or Abdulaziz or anyone with a story to tell begins to speak, a silence befalls the group and we listen, hypnotized, until the last word. There are no jokes here – neither are there answers, easy solutions, or in some cases much hope. Yet the human spirit fights on.
This week I have beared witness to some of the bravest people on earth looking into a camera and telling their stories. Stories that could get them killed. Stories we’d like to turn away from and not hear. Stories that show us humans can be cruel and evil to one another.
Sure, I miss the comforts of home.
I’m certain they do as well.
Jordan