Belated Royal Wedding Post

I’m sitting in a café in Nairobi doing some work. I once or twice a week I’ll step out of the office and sequester myself in a place that brings me good coffee and enables me to concentrate. Generally works pretty well.

At the table across from me a guy just walked in. Spitting image of Tin Tin (for those of you who are familiar with the character). He has the fair complexion, the hair, even the way he’s dressed, including the shoes. If I were doing the movie, he’s the guy I would cast. Maybe it’s really Tin Tin and he’s in Kenya on an adventure to capture another international bad guy…

There are a lot of foreigners in this town. They were quite a bit rarer when we were living in Bujumbura. Makes one wonder what they are all doing here? I know the government has been asking that question. There’s been a crackdown this past year on people who are working here illegally. I’ve heard they’ll even show up in a restaurant and ask people for documentation. Fair enough. I think the thrust behind it is to make sure that foreigners aren’t doing things that locals can do. It’s the same in any country. And in this country, you have a ton of high-end schools generating a lot of well-educated Kenyans (though I’ve heard there are far more crappy schools than good ones).

So this post is pointing back to May-June, non-work stuff. I’ll start with what I wrote back in May regarding the royal wedding:

---

(written in late May)

I have a break from travel and am looking to make the most of it. It’s Ramadan and though I’m not Muslim, it does offer me some respite from skipping from place to place in airplanes. The majority of the travel I will have between now and July will be to Somalia. But during this month, my travel to the country will be limited. The fasting, which includes no food or drink (including water) during daylight hours, is a blessed but sometimes challenging time for Muslims – particularly those from hot climates. I can’t imagine doing that for a full month. It’s impressive to say the least. As a result, our work hours are modified somewhat (start earlier and end earlier) and afternoons are a bit of a challenge to get things done. This not only impacts our internal workings but also external meetings. My visits to Somalia generally fill the day in order to justify the time and expense. As such it implicates security staff, drivers, cooks, administration, program staff, etc. On top of this there are generally concerns about enhanced security risk during Ramadan. Though in Somalia the past couple of years have demonstrated little to no difference in the number of recorded security incidents during this time, people are generally on heightened alert.

So unless something important comes up, I’ll hopefully sit tight for a few weeks and focus on some things that need my attention that don’t require travel. This will involve tasks like the annual revision of our strategic plan, mid-term employee reviews, lots of reading of reports/articles that have been piling up, etc. I’d like to think that this might mean less work during evenings and on weekends but that’s likely not going to be the case. There’ll possibly be a bit less panic though.

I did take time to watch the royal wedding at the big UK event in Nairobi. I was invited, not because my wife is English, but because I’m director of an international organization. Alas, because she wasn’t able to attend, I shouldered the burden of sipping a cocktail amidst the dapper multitude of royal watchers. I was told that there were something around 2,500 in attendance. It’s fair to say that it is the largest garden party that I have attended.

Ladies’ hats were out in full display. Dozens of various military representatives were in full uniform including medals and so forth. I did attend a queen’s birthday event in Bujumbura but it was nothing at all like this. Very impressive.

It was unfortunate that such an event fell during Ramadan. Though I saw a few Muslim friends in attendance, I’m quite sure many stayed away. Food and drink were everywhere you looked and I would think that the sights and smells would make such an event rather brutal.

The wedding itself seemed to have been a hit with most. There will always be the detractors but by and large most that I spoke to, particularly Brits, appeared to be happy with how it went and pleased to have a mixed-race, activist American actress to temper the stuffiness of the royal family. Granted, my sample size consisted of those who mobilized to attend the event and I suspect that it was not only for the free food and drink. Most of the “meh” crowd probably stayed home and/or didn’t spend a lot of time online to say they could care less one way or another.

I was particularly interested to see the footage of Windsor. I was there about three years ago for meetings. Our British CEO arranged for us to have a private tour of Windsor Castle that week which turned out to be quite fascinating. The queen was not in residence at the time though I’m told it’s where she spends most of her time. I do see the appeal. It’s an impressive place with centuries of rich history behind it. Probably quieter than Buckingham.

Lovely quote for the day:

“I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.”

-Edith Sitwell, poet (7 Sep 1887-1964)

A Couple of Quick Trips to Somalia

As is often the case, I have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll see what I can do.

So where was I. The month of May. After the national park trip I had a couple of trips to Somalia. Both were quick and targeted. It’s been a while since I’ve spent much time in the country outside of Mogadishu. Hopefully in the second half of this year I’ll be able to do so. Trying to get to each of our field office before the end of September.

On the second trip I was accompanied by a colleague from headquarters. He was pretty well traveled but he hadn’t seen anything like this. We went out to the camps where we are support people who have been displaced by drought/flooding/conflict. This are massive areas of ramshackle tents. The population is scraping by. It’s not pretty and there needs to be a substantial amount of investment to get these people out of these tents and into homes. The problem is, many have nothing to go back to – no livelihood or the situation is too insecure. Resolving these issues is complex and beyond what I’ll take time to describe here. For now, we do what we can.

After visiting the camp, we headed out across Mogadishu towards a hospital that we support. I intentionally chose a hospital clear on the other side of town to show my colleague what the city is like. It’s a fascinating place. We move quickly, obviously, because it’s safer. Generally speaking. We ended up in a bit of an accident as one of our armed escorts smashed into the back of our armored vehicle as we came to an abrupt stop. We carried on according to protocols. Found out that someone had hit them and pushed them into us. The poor person who hits a vehicle loaded with armed men. It was resolved quickly since they were able to catch up to us after about 10-15 minutes.

After the clinic, we made a quick stop at the lido area for a juice and some watermelon. Such a beautiful place. The beach is so different from what it was when I first visited in 2016. It was full of people, mostly young people, enjoying the water, playing football, etc. So good to see. I’m told that in the evenings, particularly on weekends, the place is packed. It’s a sign that things are headed in the right direction.

Back at the office, we met with staff and then hopped on our computers. The evening was calm. I used to hear gunfire almost every time I spent the night there. It’s been a few months since I’ve heard anything. I know there will be serious hiccups along the way but I do hope that the overall trend is as my Somali colleagues tell me – no moving backwards.