Haalboom stands for salvation. Salvation of orders that no one else would want to accept because they are deemed unmanageable, too complicated or even too dangerous. That’s nothing new to us.
But the fact that we now stand for the salvation of gods, respectively their 3,000-year-old temples, makes us very happy because good relations – especially at the very top – are a very good reference.
Wait a second, Yeha?
Correct. Yeha, a small village in the rocky, yet quite impressive northern region of Ethiopia near the border with Eritrea, is surrounded by wild deserts and break-neck roads. The special site there is a pre-Christian temple that the German Archeological Institute, a branch of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, wants to rescue from complete cultural dilapidation. Meaning, special supporting construction material needs to be shipped in two containers from Berlin via Hamburg, Djibouti, Addis Abeba, and finally to the small village of Yeha. And why is it that no one wants to touch this job?
Even if the job weren’t that dangerous, many shipping companies would fail to solve the additional problem of locating a crane in the region. It doesn’t sound like a big deal. But if there is only one single crane rental company within 1,000 kilometers, one should have excellent relations even here, to get access to it.
But the first problem is to even get there in one piece! The dangerous trip takes four weeks just from Berlin to Djibouti. From there a good fi ve days by truck covering the 1,000 kilometers to Addis Abeba, the Ethiopian capital. Then, another 1,000 kilometers to Yeha, via cargo ship right through the Indian Ocean. It’s not easy because pirates are extremely active in that very region. And it won’t get any safer on land: feuding warlords, organized crime, as well as endless “roads” covered in potholes are just a few examples of the many adrenaline rushes that our drivers can expect. We won’t lose contact of our drivers and the trucks with the construction materials.
We’ll regularly report from this journey. And, of course, we’ll get there! Just as we have always done – no matter how dangerous or full of problems it is. We’ll report back.
