PicoBlog

Candace, as I said before, there is always goodness in the world, and often when we least expect it.

Two stories from the international airport in Khartoum, Sudan, where travelers were required to declare all electronic devices and foreign currency upon arrival and accounted for on departure. If a laptop was declared, the make and serial number was noted next to the entry stamp in one’s passport. The same process was used to record foreign currency a traveler arrived with. Upon departure, the traveler’s currency was inspected and official bank transaction receipts were required if a traveler exchanged foreign currency for local Sudanese pounds.

These requirements were enforced for both international travelers and Sudanese citizens. It was not taken lightly by the government. I remember the horror I felt once when I read about two Sudanese doctors who were hanged because they were found to have undeclared US dollars.

The inspection of currency declarations and imported electronic items took place in a small, curtained off booth as the final step before departure. Each time I entered the booth and was searched, I was always a little unsettled. What if I forgot to declare something? I often thought of the two doctors.

I was in Sudan when the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed and I left a few days later. As I entered the dreaded booth, the inspector asked for my passport. When he saw that I was American, his demeanor instantly changed. He looked at me with genuine empathy and said he was so sorry for what happened to my people. “Those criminals do those things in the name of Allah, but that is not Allah’s way,” he said and again expressed his sorrow for the victims of the bombings.

I left the booth with a renewed sense of our shared humanity and the goodness that comes so unexpectedly in the most unlikely places.

Another time, another departure, I was again heading to the dreaded booth. I handed my passport to the inspector, who thumbed through it until he found the entry stamp. Handwritten on the entry stamp was the name of the organization I worked for. As soon as he saw it, his demeanor also changed. He asked me how long I had worked for the organization and I told him. He smiled and said, “Thank you, sir, for the help your people gave to my mother. She received a loan from your credit program and started a small business after my father died. Your people have helped my country in a very good way.”

Once again I left the booth full of gratitude for unexpected human goodness and goodwill. I learned that when I least expect it, I should expect it.

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