Presidential Visit to Kurmuk

So yesterday Salva Kiir made his first visit to Kurmuk and to the Blue Nile State. We were supposed to have a visit from him at the hospital we manage after he made his public address at the soccer field, the town meeting place. However, the weather deteriorated and his entourage felt that if they waited too long they'd be unable to fly out in the afternoon. So after the rally at the soccer field he headed to the airstrip and was whisked away to Damazine, the next stop on his Blue Nile itinerary. Anyway, here are some images of the festivities.

Salva, the President of the autonomously governed South Sudan (also the First Vice President of Sudan proper in the Coalition Government ) makes a loop around the field in his trademark black cowboy hat, waving to his supporters. Kurmuk's Governor Malek stands next to the Pres in a lighter brown suit.
Security was tight, with SPLA soldiers surrounding Kiir at all times.
These two fellas perform a traditional dance emulating battle, in honor of Salva Kiir and the SPLA's accomplishments in Sudan.
All of the different cultural groups in the Kurmuk area turned out to witness the President's first visit to town. This gentleman is from the Falatah tribe, a nomadic pastoral group.
An interesting character from the Dinka tribe, the majority tribe in South Sudan. Salva Kiir is also Dinka.
Here's an albino member of the Myack tribe. They're not all albino but it seems there are more albinos in Kurmuk than I ever saw in Yei.
Some wee little men made their way up a tree to catch a good view of the proceedings.
Some even more wee little men socialize from moms' backs.
And here's me, with my thick cotton Sudanese suit in the high 90's F heat. Goodness gracious it was hot yesterday!
But we feel privileged to witness President Salva Kiir's first visit to Kurmuk. It was a nice thing to see and it was well received by the community.