Nearly 19 years in East Africa and counting...

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Attack in Mogadishu



Over the past few weeks I’ve made a couple trips to Somalia. I admit that it’s a bit tense when I’m there but the more I go the more I feel like I have a better understanding of the dangers. But there is an unpredictability to the insecurity that not even locals can seem to get a handle on.
Mt. Kenya on the way to Somalia
Case in point is that last week there was a devastating attack in Mogadishu killing over 350 people. The number is still rising as many are still missing. A large truck, laden with explosives, was detonated in one of the busiest intersections of the city. The blast flattened buildings in the perimeter, including collapsing a hotel that left dozens buried in the rubble.
The sad news is that one of my staff was killed in the blast. I had seen him just a few weeks ago during a recent visit. He leaves behind a pregnant wife and two small children. The news was a serious blow to the team and one of hundreds of similar stories. Thousands of people have been impacted by losing family members, friends, colleagues, etc. 

I called the team in Mogadishu the day following the blast. I wasn’t able to fly there for various reasons but I do plan on going as soon as I can. As much as the staff there demonstrate a stiff upper lip when dealing with such things, I am quite sure that it’s been harder than they let on. 

I had been to Mogadishu just a few days prior to the attack. In our security briefing just before our convoy headed out, it was determined that the main tarmac road would be unsafe. It’s the same road that would have taken us through that particular junction and heading out to the camps on the outskirts of the city for those who have been displaced by drought and/or violence. The reasoning given was the increasing amount of IED attacks on the road in the days prior.
Since the attack there have been rumors that there were some who may have been aware that a large attack was imminent. I have no idea but I do know that security had been increased over the past few months and there hadn’t been a large attack since early 2017. This one slipped through the cracks for whatever reason. 

no way to live
But our work continues. My team is resilient and I’m grateful to work with them. They’ve shown tremendous dedication to get back to work as soon as they were able. Navigating the city in the days after the blast was complicated and involved people walking significant distances on foot to get to the office. It reminded me of challenges we faced in Bujumbura in 2015 as violence paralyzed much of the city. It’s at the same time humbling and inspiring. 
Mt. Kilimanjaro on the return from Somalia

Friday, October 13, 2017

Back to Kenya



After the summer break, we went happily back to our routines. The girls seem to be hitting their stride in school. Their teachers seem to be happy with them and their French is good. Kiran is starting to have homework so we enter a new phase in parenting. I’m okay for now but as they progress I have a feeling I’ll need to brush up on a few things to keep up.
BBQ - sort of like dutch oven pizza
Lake Naivasha
I’ve been traveling more than I was earlier in the year (though considerably less than I was in Burundi). In addition to trips to Somalia, we had regional meetings in Naivasha. Having been there recently with the family, I more or less knew what to expect. I also knew that I’d have very little time to get out and enjoy the place due to incessant meetings – morning, noon and night. That’s just how it goes.
impressive cappuccino art - Urban Coffee, Nairobi
A few of us took advantage of our early arrival for a Sunday afternoon boat trip, knowing that we’d have few opportunities thereafter. Unfortunately we didn’t get far before a thunderstorm caused us to turn back. I was bummed but on arrival at the little dock the group agreed to schedule a 7am trip the next day. I was surprised that most who agreed to it actually showed up ready to go. We ended up being slightly late to the first meeting (something I don’t like) but it was well worth it.
We followed the lakeside most of the way. The sky was mostly cloudy and the lighting wasn’t very good for photos. But it was good to be out.
just before the weather turned us around
The boat driver/guide seemed a bit shaky from the start. Fishermen were out early checking their lines and looking to bring in enough for the day to sell to feed their families. As we cruised by in our small boat with its tiny outboard motor, they stared. Part of the staring had to do with the simple fact that we were foreigners. Part of it had to do with the fact that the likely don’t get too much entertainment during their days catching fish. Part of it was likely due to a concern about how our passing among their nets might screw up their livelihood.
he and his friends were keeping an eye on us
Turns out the last concern was justified. One of the things the fishermen do is tie their nets to broken chunks of Styrofoam. As we put-putted along I could see that the boat was often cruising very close to them, sometimes even hitting them. I was thinking that we’re likely to get our propeller caught in their nets. As I often have done in these situations, I think oh well, he must have done this hundreds of times so he must know what he’s doing. Right?
early Monday morning boat ride
Sure enough, within minutes of leaving our little dock, the little motor began to sputter and then stop. Our driver/guide tips the motor up to raise the prop above the surface of the water only to find several meters of fishing net tangled in the blades.
no offense to the buffalo but it wasn't a great wildlife viewing day
I suppose it only happened twice in the space of an hour so I shouldn’t complain about losing valuable animal viewing time to stressful prop untangling time. But I have to say, if this is something you do for a living, almost every day, how is it that you can be so pathetic? To be honest I was more concerned about these helpless fisherman watching this guy rip up their livelihoods before their eyes. Made me wonder if he does this sort of thing on a regular basis. We didn’t hear them say anything but I would think that they were none too happy. I would think their jobs are hard enough as it is with the crappy fish prices and the need to avoid getting munched by hippos.
The rest of the time was more or less spent either in meetings or working in my hotel room, catching up on emails while I was away. Internet was terrible which is possibly fine for hotels catering to tourists who shouldn’t be wasting tons of time online. But for a hotel that sells itself as a go-to conference destination, I think they need to get their you-know-what together. Yes, I sound like a whiner.

 Ziplining
On the morning we returned to Nairobi we stopped and did some "team building". My supervisor, Kurt, had the right idea. Time to make grown-ups act like children for a couple of hours. I'd never done any serious ziplining before. I think the longest one I'd ever been on was in the Netherlands and it was maybe 30 or 40 meters long. The place we went to, maybe an hour or so outside of Nairobi, was a bit more serious.
the main building at The Forest
The place is called The Forest. Not a great name in my opinion but it doesn't matter. It otherwise gets two thumbs up from me. It's located on the top of a hill with access to some surrounding hills. They have mountain biking trails, paintball, hiking, kids area, etc. and of course, ziplining.
the crew - representing 5 nationalities
Once we checked in then it was off to a small practice area. There were six of us altogether plus two guides. We put on our harnesses and they had us practice taking off, slowing ourselves down and so forth. It's all pretty basic stuff but I suppose it's good that they do it. You wouldn't want to have someone head out across a ravine and do something stupid. 

it's crazier than it looks
The place is set up sort of like a golf course. You go from the first launch station across a ravine to the next. From there you hike up a bit and then go across another ravine. When you've done all six you end up back where you started.
Kurt coming in
I opted to go first. It's a bit freaky the first time you do it since you get up some decent speed - the average length of line is about 367 meters (a little over 400 yards). Very quickly, though, you start focusing more on looking at the scenery, such as passing over waterfalls, and less on falling to a violent death.
the walk home
In the end we all survived and were very soon packed into our van for the ride home. Unfortunately we got off to a bit of a slow start. As you leave The Forest, you need to drive over a couple of hills. One in particular ended up being a bit daunting for our little van. The vehicle didn't have enough power and after a couple of vain attempts and we all ended up getting out and walking. It wasn't too far and we all had a good laugh. At least we didn't need to push. Once we were at the top we were good to go. Within two hours I was back in Nairobi attending some afternoon meetings. Not a bad way to spend the morning.

Trip to US Part 4 – The Netherlands



Okay, so I’m WAY behind. It’s been a challenge to find time to read, write and do a lot of things I enjoy. It’s typical of this time of year and it’s not likely to subside much until the holidays. Nonetheless, I need to keep pushing forward with record these life events. In addition to a blog, this is a bit of an archive that I (thankfully) began back in 2005. It seems sometimes that things come at me so hard and fast that many events would disappear into the ether were they not recorded here. As such, don’t expect anything too exciting – just a recounting of what happens. 


“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” 
-H.G. Wells, writer (1866-1946)

The last leg of our trip was a stopover for a few days in Holland. If you’ve been a follower of this blog for a while you will notice that it’s been a frequent destination for us. We have good friends there that we met while living in Burundi. I’ve grown quite attached to the place over the years since I first visited back in 1991. Since then I’ve returned well over a dozen times – sometimes visiting friends and other times just touring about the country. I love the food. Love the ubiquitous bicycles. Love the people (at least most of the ones I’ve met). It’s clean. It’s pretty idyllic, in fact. Or maybe that’s just the perception of someone who’s lived the last dozen years in East Africa.
We began by heading to Veenendaal, a city of about 63,000 near the center of the country. The town dates back to the 16th century and is, interestingly part of the Dutch “Bible belt”. Though the Netherlands is generally not much into religion (nearly 70% consider themselves “irreligious”), this particular area does maintain a relatively high percentage of more conservative Protestants.
Our friends, Marieke and Boudy settled there upon their return to the Netherlands from Burundi. It’s quite a change from their wonderful and large residence on the hillside overlooking the city of Bujumbura. Nonetheless, they found a very nice house in a quiet area near loads of green spaces. We only spent a night there but we ended up getting together with a total of three families that we knew from our time in Burundi. All have children so you can more or less guess how it went down: adults trying to have adult conversations with intermittent interruptions of kids being injured and/or fighting over toys. Good fun.
From there it was back to The Hague to see our friends Jan and Anne and their three boys. Most of the time when we have visited the Netherlands in recent years it has been to stay with them. It’s always a great time and Jan, in addition to being a great guy, is a fantastic cook. We’re always happen to allow him to indulge in his hobby on our behalf.
While there we did a bit of a park tour. It was basically a trek around the city from one play area to the next. It’s quite amazing how kid-friendly the place is – something that I care about at this stage in my life. And all the spaces are wonderfully safe and modern. I’m telling you, the Dutch are pretty spoiled. I confess that I do look forward to the day when my trek across the city will be from one cheese shop to the next rather than one playground to the next.
Time always feels short when we’re there. It’s wonderful to catch up and visit various parts of the relatively small country. But adding time there is inherently taking time away from family and it’s always a tough call. In any case,we're not complaining.

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." -James Baldwin, writer (1924-1987)