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Mozambique Diary
April 13 - 19, 2002
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On operations:
At the moment our team is still working in Montepuez district, and the task name is Nairoto, that is a province in the north of Mozambique where the TBS teams are situated, there no particularly events from the time of my last report. The team is still using combined demining method (detector and excavation), this method is very slow but safe. We using this method because the earth is heavily contaminated from various items of metal, (rusted cans, pans, nails, etc) it is extremely hard to use this method it involves excavating the earth down 20cm and removing and removing all sort of metal. Detectors are very much better we all prefer to use them but in cases like this we must combined method.
The life in general
My name is Horacio Nicueia, 40 years old, married and a father of 5 children, I’m a Moslem I’m not a member of any political Party, meanwhile I like the party in power it is called FRELIMO.
I joined HALO Trust in March 2001, when I applied I wanted to be a deminer, I participated in three deminers courses but unfortunately I was not chosen for the post. Meanwhile there was a cook post and they asked me if I wanted the post, I had no choice, I agreed.
But my dream still is to be a deminer because being a cook is very hard, I have to wake up very early to prepare breakfast for the deminers, after they take their breakfast I have to do washing up. After that I start preparing the lunch, it is not very ease to cook for 15 to 20 people. When the deminers come from the field serve their lunch one by one, after they finished I have to do the washing up again, then I start cooking the dinner. I feel like I am having problems in my eyes due the bonfire.
One of the reasons I want to be a deminer is that deminers salary is higher than a cooks salary and I think that they have more time for strolling around the village.
One thing I was forgetting is that in each team there is a man who helps the cook we call him “mini-cook”, even so the work is still a lot, I will not get tired waiting for my chance to a deminer, sorry I have to some washing up.
Horacio Nicueia
(Cook)
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