Mogadishu

Within a couple of days of arriving in Nairobi, I would need to return to Mogadishu. I had loads of meetings to attend and we were hosting a staff training and retreat. Morale has been a challenge given all the funding cuts and staff terminations, and it has been important to keep the remaining team motivated and aware of what is going on.

The first few days went well. I was bouncing from meeting to meeting and trying to catch up with all that had transpired while I was away on leave. The weather, normally extremely hot, was actually quite pleasant.

At the end of the first week that I was there, I began to feel sick. I had body aches and congestion. I had a small fever that came and went from time to time. No appetite – almost three days with only water. I wasn’t sure what it was, but as the days went by, I didn’t get better. The following Monday I had the driver take me to the UN medical facility in the “green zone”. For security reasons, I can’t just drop in at any health facility in Mogadishu and get checked out.

I met with a UN doctor who ran some tests and all ended up being negative. It was comforting to find out that I didn’t have any of the likely disease candidates, but also disconcerting to still not know what it was.

In the end, the doctor suggested that I had a viral flu. I don’t think he really knew what it was so viral flu was probably the default diagnosis. If it was indeed a flu, it was unlike any flu I’ve had. It more resembled the malaria I had in Côte d’Ivoire many years ago, though not as bad. And it has taken a few weeks to fully get past it.

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The second week I was there, I pushed through multiple meetings, many that required me to have prepared remarks. I would return to the guesthouse each evening thoroughly exhausted.

Security in Mogadishu has been better the past few months. There is the occasional gunfire and, less frequently, mortar attack in the direction of the airport or a government facility. I was informed that they are migrating to rockets rather than mortars so, allegedly, the last time I was there during an attack, the sound I heard was a series of five rocket blasts. Rockets tend to be more accurate, which is good news for most in the city given that it supposedly decreases the chance of being hit by a misguided mortar shell.

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While I was still feeling well. The beautiful waters of Mogadishu.

There was one day when I had booked a vehicle to go into the “green zone” to go for a walk and get some fresh air. With such strict security protocols, one ends up staying indoors most of the time. It’s a luxury to go to a place where I have sufficient security to simply walk outdoors. I felt a bit better that particular morning and it was so nice to be outside and getting a little exercise. I apparently overdid it, however, and felt much worse over the subsequent two days or so. There’s a part of me that feels that it was worth it.

nice view of Mt. Kilimanjaro on the flight home