Mogadishu-Galkacyo with Reg. Director

Day 1

Last month I returned to Somalia. On average I would say that I am going every three or four weeks nowadays. I don’t always blog about the trips since some are rather short and consist exclusively of meetings. Meetings are a necessary part of what I do and though I’d much rather be involved in the work being done on the ground, we do have people for that. Our team needs someone doing what I do – work that enables them to do what they do.

I realize that I have lots of photos like this, but I just find the colors so beautiful

Fortunately the trip in March did entail visits of activities, including places I’d never been before. Though I don’t mind going back to places I’ve been, I do feel as though I learn less and it’s always good to meet new staff.

glad he's on my side

We began as usual in Mogadishu. We had the customary security briefing and then we were off. Given the insecurity in the city, and particularly on the main tarmac road, we opted on a back way to get to our first destination which was one of the camps for the internally displaced (IDPs - due to drought and/or conflict). I haven’t taken the main road in several months and that’s not likely to change until the security situation improves. For now it seems to be sliding in the wrong direction.

The back way means bouncing along dirt roads that weave through residential areas. The neighborhoods contain some small businesses here and there, goats, donkey carts, women carrying jerry cans of water, men sitting on stoops chewing khat, etc. It’s actually a fascinating drive and the exact route changes each time. Unpredictability contributes to security.

the unglamorous life of an IDP

We arrived at the camp. This particular one I know quite well having been several times. I know most of the staff by now, if not by name at least by face. I was traveling with our regional director on his second visit to the country. It’s always good to have a more important person traveling with you so that you can all him/her to be the focus. I feel like I see more during these trips and observe what’s going on better (and I can certainly take better photos).

African Union peacekeeping vehicle parked where the blast was in October

The trips need to be kept short for security reasons (15-20 min. max) and then we need to move on. On the way to our next stop we drove through the junction where the massive attack from last October took place. It was truly amazing to see how things had changed since the devastation brought by the truck bomb. The whole area had been flattened, including damaging our office about a kilometer away. Now, new construction is going up and in several places already completed and functioning. With the exception of the massive ruins brought about by the civil war, much of which is still in ruins, recent attacks, however big, seemed to be erased almost immediately. I’m told that this is partly for business reasons (obviously can’t have a lot of lag time between the stoppage of business and the restart) but also for psychological reasons.

Day 2

On day two we were off to Galkacyo. We took a commercial flight rather than the UN flights we normally do. In the end they’re cheaper and often the timing of the flight is more convenient. The commercial terminal in Mogadishu is often devoid of foreigners. A curious airline employee with a good handle of English couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask me if I’d been to Somalia before and why I would be going to Galkacyo. Fair enough. I’d be curious if I were him. I look forward to the day when that terminal (which is quite nice, relatively large and clean, by the way) has international visitors investing in and exploring what the country has to offer. It will be some time before that happens though.

children hauling water

Upon arrival in Galkacyo we went straight to another IDP area. IDPs are in fact refugees that don’t leave the international boundaries of their country. There are differences in the plights of these individuals in that refugees obtain an internationally recognized status. They often times garner more international support because of this international recognition. The international community, once this status is given, is bound to provide a certain level of support (even though this is generally not adhered to). IDPs on the other hand are a bit more nebulous in their status. Though there are efforts to rectify this, the reality is that they are highly vulnerable. In countries where the government is part of the reason they are displaced, they are often more open to attack than they would be if they were residing in an adjacent country. The international community is often slower to provide aid for IDPs, if they provide it at all.

The good news is that these people are tracked better than they ever have been. It’s a much bigger emphasis of the international community and it’s one of the main reasons for our existence in Somalia. They are far from being served adequately but progress is being made.

This particular area consisted of about six or seven encampments within a few kilometers of each other. Their existence here was likely due to the presence of a couple of a borehole (not sure if there is more than one). One of the things we do is renovate these boreholes and provide either a solar paneled-pump and/or a diesel generator. Most of the areas where we carried out this work managed to stave off the effects of the drought reasonably well. Going forward we’re hoping that the water table remains sufficiently replenished such that people will continue to draw water. It takes more to exist than water but it’s obviously an essential element.

mandatory camel photo

After looking at the borehole and talking to those responsible for operating it, we walked across the way to one of the camps to talk to some of the people living there. It’s always good to talk to the local population, particularly in Somalia. They don’t seem to hesitate to tell you what they think. In some other contexts people feel the need to say nice things about you and your organization, not wanting to bite the hand that feeds them. Here, I’ve noticed, people seem to be pretty frank about the good, the bad and the ugly. Depending on the context, they may be less candid about the politics, due to the obvious risks, but telling us that we suck at this or that is not a problem. Sort of refreshing, actually.

faces

That night we slept in Galkacyo, dining on camel and goat with staff. The staff did stock the fridge with some sort of sugary sweet soda, imported from UAE or something. The stuff is pure carbonated sugar water. I passed on it.

The next morning we visited the local hospital that we support, the same one I mentioned in the January blog. It’s a good facility and I like taking people there. It and receives multiple channels of support and has a lot more potential to do much more. Its catchment population stretches far and wide. Referrals often die on the way since the distances are so great, including from the IDP camp that we visited. The idea would be to create satellite facilities in the 70 km. radius around Galkacyo to reduce the referral mortality rate. So we’re talking to donors to see how we can pull that off.

From there it was off to the airstrip. Same drill as two months prior. Lots of waiting at the airstrip for our UN plane and then off on the long trip from Galkacyo, to Garowe (Puntland), to Mogadishu, to Wajir (Kenya), to Nairobi. I would not make it home until almost 9pm. At least I was home.