Richard Feidler

I thought it was probably a fair question given how inexperienced and young I was.

I didn't have a lot to sell.

But no, I said, you know, the issue really paradoxically was getting any time off the training program in Australia.

Like it was actually quite hard to get over there.

Well, yes.

Occasionally there would be gunfights, and this was something I'd find in various contexts, Sudan as well, there'd be gunfights just because there's still rival clans, you know, rival issues.

And so the risk usually for us everywhere I've been has not been targeted as much as just being caught in crossfire, people having it out near you.

So occasionally you just hear gunfights or someone would yell or something and then you just have to make a beeline for the safe room.

Yeah.

Tell me about the day that the gunfire caught you while you were in the shower, Damien.

Yeah.

Well, you have a little grab bag in your hut or your bedroom ready to go and that's your passport and just essentials that if she really hits the fan, you're just going to grab this little thing.

get to the safe room and then if need be evacuate you know be that down the river in the car down this back road so you kind of have a plan i was in the shower one night which is really was just a pipe of cold water into a little brick room and um all of a sudden the gunfight started and i'd walked to the shower stupidly in my towel so i had no clothes to put on

And I heard the others yell that they were all running for the safe room.

And I had this kind of brain freeze moment of like, underwear or safe room?

And I thought, I don't, you know, I don't know if you're going to get, because sometimes you can get stuck there overnight or for a couple of days, there's a food supply there.

So I thought, oh no, I definitely need underwear.

So I shot across the yard and I could hear the cracks of the bullets and it was a full moon.

And

I'm quite bald.