Update for the Week

This is the first time since I started this blog that I’ve managed to do (near) weekly updates. As I mentioned before, when something rather significant is going on it’s worthwhile. It allows one to stop and think about things in a way you might not ordinarily. It’s also a nice record of what was happening. It’s just that normally when something big is going on, I don’t have time to write about it. Self-isolation (or family isolation) in my case has not offered me the ample personal time that I’ve been hearing about from others. But, particularly on weekends, I can squeeze in some reading and writing.

Slowly the weeks tick by. In Kenya the rates of both infection and death still remain fairly linear, upwards but linear. We had anticipated that there might be a spike by now but, at least in what is being reported, the growth of the pandemic in the country so far seems rather stable. It’s difficult to interpret but I’m going to say at this point that the Ministry of Health has been doing a commendable job – possibly not getting the kudos from the public as it deserves. I may backtrack on that statement at a later day but that is the view for now.

In Somalia it’s more of an uphill battle. I’ve been conducting weekly calls with a small group of staff chosen by my HR Coordinator. It’s sort of a random group of 6-7 men and women from various levels in the organization, different group each week, and we have an informal conversation about how things are going, how they view the unfolding of the pandemic personally as well as professionally. It’s fascinating stuff and it’s one of my favorite calls of the week. So far people seem to be fairly frank in their insights and I get a much better idea as to what is happening on the ground. We’ve discussed the stigma of the virus. Their ability to conduct their lives and still do their jobs. Inflation. Isolation. Resourcefulness. One staff in Mogadishu talked about how in some ways it’s been a positive to work from home. Commuting is generally fraught with risk in normal times. You need to navigate military and militia checkpoints as you cross the city to get to the office. Anything can happen at these tense intersections. You could also end up in the wrong place at the wrong time when a targeted attack happens. Traffic is mayhem and you could end up in an accident. Now, he said, he doesn’t need to worry about all that. Reducing his potential exposure to the virus has reduced his exposure to some of the dangers of life in Mogadishu.

Unfortunately staff in all our locations continue to tell me that the virus has likely penetrated the far corners of the country. And people still aren’t taking it seriously. Significant numbers are not being reported because people are not able to be tested and many are in denial about the dangers. One woman talked about a prominent man in her town that exhibited all the symptoms and subsequently died. Other members of his family are now sick as well. However they all refuse to accept that it’s Covid-19. They continue to run errands in the community as normal. Now that we're in Ramadan, many people are gathering to socialize as they normally would. With no ability to test, it allows people to refuse to accept that the virus is in their town or, for some, that it even exists at all. The few flights that connected the area where this woman lives have been cancelled. It’s now only accessible by four-wheel drive vehicle. The virus apparently made it into the community either by one of these overloaded Land Cruisers or by someone who came in by airplane before flights were cancelled.

Regarding the stigma some are attaching to the virus, it’s a topic that has come up in each of these informal meetings with staff. It was also discussed in another meeting where someone shared the results of a survey they conducted in which many people in the country believe that the virus is God’s judgment on those who have not be faithful. They also point to the fact that infidels were responsible for bringing the virus to the country in the first place. This obviously makes someone think twice about coming forward with their sickness and getting tested.

There was also a recent article in the Washington Post that talked about extremist groups using the virus to advance their causes. Though they don’t mention Somalia, it seems to be related to what is happening in the country. Various flavors of rhetoric from extremists all over the world manifest in the same absence of common sense and disrespect for basic pandemic mitigation measures. It’s dangerous in that there have been calls to disregard government messaging on how to prevent the spread of the virus. Many unfortunately are buying into this. It’s interesting to see the similarities in the playbooks of both Islamist groups and the Far Right in the US and Europe. In the survey I mentioned, as one might expect, it tended to be people from poorer and more remote areas that were the most susceptible to such messaging. The rhetoric is intended to fuel anti-foreigner sentiment. And it could work, at least in the short term. I suspect, however, that as the number of infected grows, and the fact that the virus demonstrates that it is impervious to religious, race or ideological boundaries, it may make such beliefs less credible.

Not long ago we ventured out, something we rarely do nowadays. We went back to the forest with some friends, this time to visit the waterfall. We find that such outings are easier for the kids with short attention spans when we target a particular destination as opposed to just going for a walk for the sake of going for a walk.

stylish

It was good to be out in the fresh air. We’ve been pretty disciplined when it comes to self-isolation so being out, smelling the eucalyptus trees, spotting a dik dik, seeing friends (at a safe distance) was welcomed. Though the parking area was packed with vehicles, the forest is large enough that people seem to be able to keep a safe distance from each other when out on the trails. Even that the waterfall, where I assumed it might be crowded, there were few people and we didn’t have any trouble avoiding uncomfortable closeness.

The restaurant near the parking area is open for take-out only. I’m a big fan of the place and it’s in such a beautiful setting. We had the presence of mind to order food in advance and pick it up at the end of our walk. Good to support these businesses given that they must be suffering.

We saw an article yesterday that talked about all of the businesses in the US that are not likely to weather the pandemic – many of them well known and have been around for many years. I tend not to have a great deal of allegiance to US businesses generally speaking, partially due to the fact that I’ve lived outside the US for a quarter of a century. Moreover I think there may be a healthy culling that needs to take place anyway. There’s been such a glut of shopping centers, restaurants, etc. in many parts of the country (and here in Nairobi to be honest). It was unsustainable. Sadly, there will be some that I enjoy that will not survive. 

spending more time on the roof these days...