Back from hell (part 1)

Finally, another bush trip.

A new team , a new kind of bush trip. An old gold and copper mine build in the sixties, Warraga , the place build out of asbestos.

First we had a learn and go course about asbestos. An international bush team, two Russians, a German, a Belgian and one Australian learning about the dangers and handling about this dangerous stuff. It s a strange thing when they tell you that it only damage your body after 50 years. Makes you wonder if i look do that young? 

Yes , a bush job, happy as i was , we were heading to the old mine site. But i did’t know where i was heading too. Once at site my smile wasn’t that big anymore. A small camp in the middle of a war zone. A world of destruction. Not a single building was intact. Not a single tree was a live. Not a single bird was decorating the endless blue sky. 

One immense large coffin was standing in the landscape. Our job.

3761 sheets of asbestos , waiting to be pulled down by our international team. A scissor lift was waiting , lonely, for his habitants for the next weeks. Two teams were made, German/Russian and Belgian/Russian. The scissor lift ready to be tested to her full capacity and beyond . The first sheet came down, the second one pulled down, the third one placed in the cage, the fourth one taken of the wall. Going down to deliver the sheets, and back up to number 32, 33, 34 ,35 ,36 . So the days went on. After a while you lose the count of numbers and happiness, Decontamination showers were taken every break. Nerves were tested.

Slowly the walls were getting stripped. The first wind after 50 years was howling trough the building. The dust gathered in those years was taken away and blown away to new places.  And slowly impatience grow, private spaces were invaded. And by the time the walls were stripped ,the teams were also torned apart . It became cold war 4 , Russians versus Europeans. New teams were made naturally before some war acts could take place. Living on the edge of fatigue and exhausting , survival instincts are taking over your mind and body. No mercy for the weak, no mercy for stupid jokes, no mercy for meaningless talk. Every little bit of energy that could be spared , was spared.

The asbestos roof was the only thing left over that needs to be brought down. The Russians were wisely send away to do other jobs on site. It was only me and the German on the 47 metre high roof pulling down sheet by sheet. I was reliving past memories. All suite up, masks and climbing gear walking up and down the endless roof. 45 degrees heat, the sound of your breathing, the sweat dropping in your mask, your mind numb, not feeling. not thinking, just moving. It was a memory of a day in the Swiss alps. 

But slowly, very slowly, Sheet number 3759 was pulled down, 3760 was taken away. Suddenly there was only one more sheet left over. Me and the German looked at the lonely sheet , is that it? Is this the last sheet? We smiled to each others as real conquerors. We did it.

But how could we know, it was just a warm up. The bitch wasn’t down yet.