Thread: Employment Opportunities

BBC, a book I tell ya!! even an E book... I'll proof read?

For me, being away from my family on ANZAC Day, is always very poignant time. The night before, I was listening to the Melbourne Dawn Service via the ABC over the internet, and I knew my wife and kids were there attending, and wishing I was.

It was my 2nd ANZAC Day in Mogadishu and, being the only Aussie/Kiwi in town, the same as the year before, I made sure I was up before dawn and out at the shore to watch the sun rise, thinking of how many ANZAC Days I have not been able to spend with my family and, remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

In the case of Somalia, we lost Lance Corporal Shannon McAliney of
D Company 1 RAR when he died on active service, at Baidoa, Somalia, on
2nd April 1993. LCPL McAliney's death was well known to me. He died in a M113 APC and one of my best mates was the crew commander at the time. His death really affected him.

My sunrise:

Yeah, the remembrance days always give me a lump in the throat.

Here's to all those who died in Angola and South West, 1975-1990.

Eeeesh...the transport of Mogadishu speaks volumes for how the rest of the place runs...on a wing and a prayer...tied up with some wire, if you can get some.

It is presently busy, with the winds having changed they have been favouring the movement of the wooden hulled dhows out of the middle east...so, piracy is good, as is the movement of commerce through Mogadishu.

These trucks were all full of rice:




Most of these trucks are Fiats, yet they have 'Nissan' painted across the rear...don't know why.



Have a look at the bus on the far side of the ute..packed:



My pity is with the owner/driver of this rig:






The drainage grate broke under his wheel...but, being a Somali, I am sure he will find a way, recover it, repair it, and get it moving again. Carrying more kit than any of us could believe possible. This is Africa.

There is a company over here that has been a lot of business under contract to UNSOA, supporting AMISOM. They are a shipping company based out of Mombasa and working globally...they picked a challenging part of the world to do their business in.

I've had a lot of dealing with them from my previous job and now too, with the UN. Their owner is a Kenyan based Italian and their Country Manager is a Somali who has lived in and out of Mogadishu and previously, was the Mogadishu Harbour Master. He is what I would call, well connected, in a part of the world where you won't survive, if you aren't.

The company is doing all the shipping supporting this mission, up and down the coast escorted by the EU Naval Forces. Unfortunately, they've recently experienced this bit of a shipping mishap:







It is a coastal barge and the company were using it in the port as accommodation, and it was also the platform that they were using to do harbour dredging off. Anyway, it was about midnight in the middle of last month when, and the port crew were sleeping on-board when someone noticed it listing..they checked, and the hull was leaking some...and I mean big.

Given the problem, they had to get it out of the harbour post-haste..if it'd gone to the bottom in the port it would have seriously affected the port operations. So, they hooked their tug up to it aand skull dragged it out of the harbour and...in the dark, brought it down into the bay across from the Airport. It is stuck on the hard coral sea-floor. The hope is, that it can be recovered....I wouldn't bet on it...this is Africa.

[QUOTE=BBC;1462394]No mate, a PK.



QUOTE]
Splitting hairs but PKM i think, looking at the ejector cover and i think the lack of fluting ( but a bit hard to see) means nothing if your on the other end

There is a young bloke here who arrived on Monday, a Canuckistani (Canadian), who has come on board here after 3 yrs in Afghanistan.

We took to each other quickly, because of our background and relative experiences. He asked me if I knew so, and so…I did, he’d been in the Army with me; bloody small world.

Today he offered up a shed load of photos. They are professionally taken photos that he’d managed to get out of the historical records of one of the Embassies in Kabul. I grabbed them off him and I have not been able to stop looking at them. They show the northern part of Afghanistan and show the terrain and people that have barely changed in centuries…amazing place, amazing people. Looking at the scenery and people on the photos it is as if they were taken yesterday but…it was a while ago….1965. Watch out for the cars of the time…and the Landies.

Check out the Afghani Tourist Map of the time:



The opening shots are of a military parade with the ANA and their friends at the time, the Russians. At the time Afghanistan was under the monarchy. Things were to change by 1975.






The Afghans highly revere their horses:












The British Embassy, before it was moved in amongst the other embassies in Kabul:
















Kabul, as it was. The skyline and some of the buildings are still very familiar for me:














Customs House:




Street life, as it was…and, still is in Kabul:






Naan bread being made:







Beautiful carpets:





Interesting……





Ka..bloody…boom:








A zoo….in Kabul? Certainly though, they are animals that were known in Afghanistan:






More of the Afghani horse culture:






















Heading up towards Bamiyan…..a place I have enjoyed myself:






A Ford Anglia?












I have walked down this street, it is a market street in the town of Bamiyan:






The same rig is probably still working there today:































No poppies…in sight.





















And…nothing much has changed in how they decorated their trucks:



Or, the way they make their naan, nothing has changed:











This one is in Pakistan. It is the entrance to the famed Khyber Pass, and these are the unit crests of all those who have fought here:













































Bamiyan:







Before the Talibaan blew them away…



















I have seen the Hazara people…still living like this..







Noooo…it is not him:





















The famous Salang Tunnel, north of Kabul, built by the Russians:











I’ve seen a few of these…Afghan sunsets:



What a privilege it has been, to have been able to access these images. Afghanistan, at a time when you could safely travel and meet with the people. ……and, I might be back there soon.

Amazing photos, BBC. Thankyou so much for sharing these pics.