The Office

Not as comical as the show. Actually quite sad. Our offices remind me of the Lebanese government buildings in the early 90's. That is right after the war. For those who haven't experienced them, picture this: a building with just about every thing in it that can catch fire has burned down, leaving black walls and the bare skeleton. Even parts of those have been blown up. So a bit of patchwork is done, a few splashes of paint here and there, install some used bathrooms, or holes on the floor called bathrooms, and voila! You've got yourself an office building.

Except that in Khartoum there never was a 15 year civil war. The building just never saw a rennovation since it was built in the early 70's. I foound out today though that the reason we set up there is because the building is owned by the company's local sponsor. I also learned that there is a move to better offices in the future. How far in the future? No clue. But in the couple of days I've spent here, I can tell you that things move quite slowly. Very slowly.

As I write this post, I get a call from my colleague (the one I'm replacing at the company). She informs me that there might be demonstrations tomorrow morning, so she may be late picking me up. It's dangerous to go out while there are demonstrations. It's best to let them do their thing first. No rush. Just wait. I think the demonstration may have something to do with the Darfur region - reflecting the governments point of view. In the Arab world it seems like demonstrations are only allowed when they agree with the government. Except Lebanon.