. . . Sumoman out!
Every Friday morning for the past 21 months, whenever I’ve been in Liberia, I’ve done a radio check. Security is emphasized at US embassies around the world and Liberia is no different. One of the things we do is have a radio in each apartment that we’re supposed to leave on in case we need to communicate with the Embassy in the event of an emergency and the phones go down. It’s just one of several forms of communication we have for our protection.
Every Friday starting at 6:15 the airwaves light up with check-ins to the Embassy. If you don’t check in by 7, they start a roll-call of contacts to you. I always checked in early, except for the one Friday that was a holiday and the call out woke me up. The coffee was ready before they got to my name.
We of course don’t use our names . . . it’s a security risk. What folks forgot to tell me before my initial security briefing was that they were going to ask me to write down a call sign that I’d use for as long as I was here. With mere seconds to think about it, Sumoman popped into my mind and I wrote it down.
Fortunately it has a rhythm and vocal sounds that are easy to understand on the radio - something I learned to appreciate from my time in the army. Some of the folks here have horrible call signs that are hard to understand. Then again, some people seem clueless with a radio and think it’s a telephone. And some folks can’t remember the simple three line exchange we’re supposed to do. I guess I’ve had broader experiences than some.
I had my last radio check this past Friday, which is why I gave you my call sign. I’ve already thought of my next call sign if there is one. It’s simpler (a real word people will know), easy to understand on the radio, and will remind me of Liberia. And no, I’m not telling you what it is.
And this is my last blog post from Liberia.* I’ll be back in the states enjoying my time with Ann and others. And trying my best to find a job so I can continue my excellent adventure. For now . . .
“Homeland, Homeland** . . . Sumoman out!”
* I’d planned to post this the last night I was in Liberia, however the internet went out 3 days before I left and never came back up - so it’s being posted from the US on the last day of my contract with USAID/Liberia. Also, it’s a Friday, so instead of doing my radio check I did a blog post.
**For security reasons I made up Homeland . . . it seemed as good a call sign as any given where I’m going.