Saturday, January 16, 2010

Old work mate returns from the dead..survives the earthquake in Haiti..

Just to cut a long story short.. Ooorumiyaa was feeling bit nervous and upset (with minor diarrhoea at times..) over some ex work mates who were working in Haiti,and following the massive earthquake there and with no comms and then with the story of big HQ coming down to pile of rubble.. there was the (still is..) fear that i may have lost these mates... and hey presto.. one m.f Suddha sent me a mail today.. its reads;

 " Hello everyone,
 
Just a quick note .  I just reported in to the ** compound near the airport and got access to a computer.  Cell phones are still down, and if they were not I would be out of luck as mine is in my former office in the Hotel Christopher.  
 
I walked out of there with my boss at 4:05 in the afternoon, about 30 minutes or so before the quake hit.  I was in my apartment at the time and really thought the place was going to come down.  The ** told everyone up in the hills to to remain where they were if they had food, water and electricity, so I did, until today when I came down to report in.  I plan on remaining here and helping out, as the airport is jammed.  The extent of the damage is horrendous.  It actually seems worse than Sarajevo in some sections.
 " 

OK, I'm happy that the bastard is safe and doing well. but i have some questions too..

Why the f. did he leave office at 04.05pm..? with his Boss.. where were they going? and when the quake hit, according to the guy he was in his apartment.. people in the knowing of things say the quake hit Port Au Prince at 05.10pm , so my dear mate, the bastard actually left work early and was at home even before end of business.. damn shame! 

And then he wants to stay back and help out..just because the Airport is jammed? so much for bleeding heart..

Mind you , this guy is an old timer.. he stared as a soldier.. with a pretty dodgy work history.. and then left the Army as a Maj.Gen., (no ,not Sri Lankan..or else he would have got into politics..) and entered working with the current job..went to few 'troubled' spots and 'conflcit zones' and cut a name for himself.. and once ended up being sent home on a 48hr notice when the local media exposed him as a 'CIA' guy..thus being a security liability to the big employer as the local 'groups' wanted his head on a plate..

So this guy was sent to his hotel room under heavy guard, made him pack and spend the rest of the day inside the office, was told to do hand overs,papers etc and was put on a plane and sent home..goes home and the first thing his wife asked him was .. "what did you do with your CIA salary all this time" ??? women hah.. 

Anyways, I'm happy the old bastard made it.. he is a top guy to work with and a pretty solid friend ..who would lend me money at a e-mails notice.. and i kinda thought it would have been good if the sod died..so that i don't have to repay the substantial amount of money that i owe him..but thought of him dying under 3 tons of concrete also gives me slight diarrhoea.. so.. all in all.. I'm thankful for man upstairs and mom nature for the sparing his amidst the fury unleashed on a population of poor people.

I really hope Haiti emerge from the rubble as a new nation with a promise of a better living for all..least they can do for the thousands  (or may be hundreds of thousands..oh pls no..) that never made it out of the rubble.

[Pix-JUAN BARRETO/AFP/Getty Image]

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