Feature: Chinese blue helmets in Darfur safeguard regional peace despite harsh conditions

No cakes, candles or feast of any kind, but 19-year-old Ding Zhaoke had the most special and unforgettable birthday in his life -- at a UN peacekeeping camp in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.

The Chinese blue helmet's birthday fell on Jan. 13, only two weeks after he and 224 fellow soldiers traveled nearly 10,000 kilometers from east China's Jinan City to Nyala town in Darfur, to serve as part of the 12th batch of Chinese peacekeepers deployed here by the UN.

The only "special treatment" for the UN blue helmet on his birthday was a large bowl of noodles, a symbol of longevity in the Chinese tradition. Ding was still moved to tears, because he knew that the birthday dish, made of three packs of already-expired instant noodles and two eggs, was a real luxury given the scarce food stock conditions of the camp canteen.

For over a decade, continuous and bloody armed conflicts have devastated the Darfur region in west Sudan, leaving local residents in dire poverty and desperation. Some 1 million people have lost their homes, and nearly half of them ended up in refugee camps.

A formidable ecological environment has added to the chronic distress. The scorching sun, high temperatures and a dry weather have made it impossible for most crops to grow here.

As the Chinese blue helmets were assigned to a 12-month mission here, they were told beforehand that they should not count on supplies from home. It usually takes months for the supplies to arrive here by sea, while shipping was constantly disrupted due to political reasons.

Therefore, the soldiers have to treasure the limited amount of extra food they have brought to the camp themselves, saving it for special occasions like birthdays and the upcoming Chinese lunar new year.

But the shortage of supplies was not the biggest challenge for the young peacekeepers. As most of them, including Ding, are on a peacekeeping mission for the first time, what they need most is security training and psychological guidance.

Liu Kaiyong was the right person for this job. A peacekeeping veteran who has served on three UN missions, Liu has gained rich experience to make himself a qualified teacher for his fellow soldiers.

Stay alert and keep yourself safe. Take antimalarial drugs on time. Keep yourself busy to overcome homesickness... Liu was always coaching newbies on the camp like a father or elder brother tirelessly, sometimes even being called a "nagger" in a joking way.

"The lessons I'm passing on came at the cost of blood and even lives of other peacekeepers," Liu said. "It is my duty to share them with my brothers in arms so that they can carry out their missions here safely and smoothly."

UN Resolution 1769 authorizing the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur was adopted on July 31, 2007, the last day of China's rotating presidency in the UN Security Council, in a bid to help end the region's humanitarian crisis.

Since 2008, over 3,000 Chinese soldiers have been deployed here and carried out numerous non-combat missions, which included road maintenance, infrastructure construction, fortification building and medical assistance.

Here are a few of the major projects they have accomplished over the past few years -- digging more than 10 wells in the water-scarce region to give over 160,000 local people access to drinking water; building and maintaining the Nyala airport, currently the region's only pathway to the outside world after a main railway was destroyed in the war; and constructing a newly-founded China-Sudan friendship school dedicated to the promotion of local fundamental education.

And all these jobs were done amid a harsh natural and climatic environment, as well as constant outbreaks of armed conflicts. Luckily, over the past eight years, all the 11 previous batches of Chinese peacekeepers in Darfur have returned home safely, and every member was awarded an honorary medal of peace by the UN.

Looking forward, the number of Chinese peacekeepers in the region is expected to grow, as Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the UN headquarters last September that China will set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad and build a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

The country is also considering sending more engineering, transportation and medical personnel to join UN peacekeeping missions, and will train 2,000 foreign peacekeepers.

The young blue helmets in the newly-arrived 12th batch also look forward to earning the same glory as their predecessors did. But more importantly, they have developed a strong sense of responsibility since they set foot on this devastated land.

"We were all shocked by what we saw on our way from the airport to the camp site: numerous checkpoints, refugee camps with thatched roofs, and children drinking from roadside ditches..." recalled the 19-year-old Ding.

The soldiers, mostly born and growing up in an era when China has turned increasingly prosperous and affluent, found it hard to believe that such miseries still exist in the world today.

"We know it's all because of the war," said Ding. "So we must try our best to guard peace here. This is a sacred mission that transcends the boundaries of countries." Endi