Nairobi National Park

Between mid-May and mid-June, I have spent the majority of my time in Somalia. As the drought worsens and we inch closer to famine, it’s critical that we step up our response. It’s also important for me to see what’s happening on the ground such that I can collect footage and share the information to donors, media and anyone who will listen. The situation is dire and those who are most vulnerable are suffering the most. Understanding that there are dire needs elsewhere in the world, the scale of the situation unfolding in the Horn of Africa is truly astounding.

In between trips to Somalia, I need to be husband, dad and all the other roles that I am entrusted with. Admittedly, it's hard to do them all justice with all that is going on with my work. But I have nothing to complain about.

For example, I was able to enjoy a half-day in Nairobi National Park with family. I have to say, it’s truly amazing that Kenya has been able to preserve such a wonderful place on the doorstep to the capital city.

My sister-in-law was in town and, though she’s been on safari several times before, she hadn’t been to NNP. In fact it’s a great thing to do any time someone is visiting. I’m told they also have deals for people traveling through Nairobi with a layover long enough to do it. Cool idea.

The plan was to get up before the sun and hit the park early. In fact, the sun never got up. While not ideal for photography, it’s not the end of the world. National parks are great anyway.

The other challenge we faced was that it poured rain the night before. Though most of the roads are well maintained, to the point that it limits the mud, it can make some of the lesser roads impassible and can make some stream crossings precarious. Fear of getting stuck.

We were out of the house early though not as early as anticipated. The main entrance to the park is about 20 minutes from our house. In spite of the overcast skies, I admit that I was excited to use one of my few non-work weekend days on a game drive. It always makes me wonder why we don’t do this more.

I know NNP fairly well but not as well as I should. Generally I cruise around by following my instincts. When we would spot a group of vehicles off in the distance, it was a sure sign that there was something interesting to see. Guides communicate with each other on VHF radio or phone but those of us who are self-guided need to find other means. I also resorted to using my phone a few times to help me navigate (good cell reception close to a major city).

At one point we decided to make our way to the hippo pools. Google is detailed enough to show most of the roads within the park though it’s not clear whether they are decent. I took the most direct route from where we were. However, very quickly the condition of the road deteriorated. There were stretches that were steep and rough making it unlikely that we would want to turn around, even if we could.

After descending a rather steep section we came upon a river crossing that provided little indication as to its depth. There did appear to be a set of fresh-ish tire tracks that led to the water (and no sign of a stranded vehicle) so it gave me a bit of confidence that we might be able to make it across. That, in addition to the nasty stretch that led to where we were, gave me more motivation to believe we could make it. So I put it into first gear and off we went.

Soon after entering the water, the nose of the vehicle dropped and a wave came up over the hood and onto the windshield. This is generally not advisable, particularly when you are in the middle of nowhere. I have faith in the Toyota Forerunner (Fortuna in Kenya) like no other vehicle but everything has its limit. We were in water that was over four feet deep and we were barely halfway across.

As we plowed forward, the nose of the vehicle soon popped up and we began to climb out of the stream. The nights rains presented a formidable challenge but we made it across. The was a sigh of relief but I was still wary of the fact that we had no idea what was still ahead of us.

Thankfully, there ended up being no more major crossings, but the road threw all sorts of challenges at us until we finally came out on one of the main roads. From there it was only a short distance to the hippo pools.

We’d been in this part of the park before but not to the actual pools which requires a guide. So we decided to take advantage of the occasion and go for a short walk to hopefully see some hippos.

In the end, we didn’t see a single hippo. We heard one off in the distance as we were walking but that was all the “hippo pools” had to offer us that day. We did see other things and it felt good to get out of the vehicle and go for a bit of a walk. Sort of like a mini “walking safari”.

After finishing our walk, it was time to make our way back to the main entrance which was more or less on the other side of the park. Our goal was to make our lunch reservation at a nearby restaurant. Other than seeing a few crocodiles, hippos (finally) and a nice moment with a giraffe and her calf, the trip back to the gate was uneventful.

Mission accomplished. Time for lunch.

 

 

Drought Response - Part 3

 The road to Garowe from Galkacyo heads north parallel to the border with Ethiopia. I was told that it was built by the Chinese and is about 40 years old. In fact, there isn't much of it left. It's rough, to say the least. And some tarmac is usually worse than no tarmac. Thankfully, sections of it are slowly being re-done. But it will be a long time before Bosaso (on the Gulf of Aden) to Mogadishu is a fully paved highway (1,388km/863miles). I'm sure that those who need to use this road on a regular basis are anxiously awaiting that day to come.

Given that we have several projects along the road between the two towns, the plan was to spend the majority of the day visiting activities along the way in addition to meeting with another mayor. One thing that came up as we visited these villages was this constant them of, “thanks for your support; here are some more needs”. There is a temptation on our part to do everything we can to address these continued needs. But the reality is that there is a limited amount of resources. Those that have had some support need to understand that the support needs to be spread around. And aid dependency is a harmful drug. We need communities to increasingly wean themselves off international assistance.

life-giving water in the middle of the desert

The first stop was to visit a recently rehabilitated borehole. We met with community elders first and it was apparent that they were extremely grateful for the support. Had they not had this access to water, the community would be in a desperate situation. Pleasing to hear and to see the new installation, complete with solar-powered water pump. No need to rely on a diesel generator which needs maintenance and fuel. 

these camels looked good...

...others, not so good

While we were there, pastoralists were passing through. Camels were accessing the trough. They can go a couple weeks without water. When they do access water, they drink for a while and then walk around a bit. Then they return to the water to drink some more. It takes a long time for their bodies to absorb the massive amounts of water that they draw upon when back out wandering across the desert.

We continued on to the next town. Here we saw a few things. One of them was a center for women and girls. We met with the leaders who oversee the skills training as well as the other services the facility offers. I've seen dozens and dozens of these over the years in various countries. They play a critical role in communities throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It's a safe place where women and girls can gather, learn, seek protection and access other types of support. Very cool and glad we support this sort of thing.

We pushed on. My body was tiring of the bouncy roads. I felt like my internal organs were no longer in their original locations. I've spent years and years doing this sort of thing but I don't think I have the stamina for it that I used to.

It was obvious that we weren't going to arrive in Garowe before late afternoon/early evening so our convoy stopped in at a roadside restaurant. Over the past few weeks of traveling in Somalia, we've done this a few times. They've all been similar experiences. Given that we were foreigners, we ate in a separate room out view of others to avoid revealing our presence. Service was quick given that they have large vats of rice and boiled goat. Serving sizes are more than generous. It's cheap but, given the rampant inflation in the country, it's not as cheap as it used to be. 

choose your favorite part of the goat

Soon, we were back on the road again. I think my over 17 years in East Africa, eating in a variety of eating establishments, have blessed me with a sufficient number of parasites that prevented me from any intestinal drama on the way. Very important. I would not want to be dealing with that, especially in a convoy of vehicles traveling in remote locations.

That evening we met with staff in Garowe for a couple hours and then called it a day. So tired.

* * *

The next day, it was back on the road at 7am. We headed north to the town of Qardho. I've been to this town a couple times before and it's good to share that little fact with local leaders. You can never visit people enough. They always seem to say that they don't know you or that you never come to their towns. Sometimes people will tell my staff that they have never met me when they have. It's to make a point. They want deference and they want resources.

In this case, the town leadership was all new. In fact, they had been freely election by general suffrage. I was told that it's the first town in Somalia to do such a thing in over 50 years. The mayor and the city council were not only elected, they were relatively gender-balanced and included communities that were not originally from the area (a coded way of saying that they are from other clans). That alone is pretty impressive. Because of this, you could feel a sense of urgency in the way they talked about their plans. They seem to feel a sense of responsibility (and pressure) to deliver in ways that previous "appointed" leadership didn't. It was great to meet with them and I do hope they do well. Hopefully we'll find ways to partner with them.

On the way back, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for some boiled goat and rice. I was sort of hoping to just push through and get back to the office/guesthouse but it was probably wise to stop. Though we had some biscuits and dates in the vehicle to tide us over, I must admit that the home stretch was easier with a full belly.

* * *

That evening I had a call with one of the key news outlets in Sweden. I've been in the news quite a bit lately as we're looking to draw attention to the severe drought and potential famine conditions. This interview took place in the vehicle as we were driving at night in Garowe. Always better to have these discussions while "on the ground". The interviewer likes to draw attention to that fact and, even for me, the stuff you've been witnessing is more vivid in your mind.

The last time I was in Garowe we went out for coffee/tea to a rooftop restaurant. Needless to say, it's a luxury to be able to go out like that in Somalia. Puntland generally offers an environment that is more secure - something that the rest of the country can aspire to. It was also a nice way to cap off a full and challenging trip. 

if you're ever in Garowe...

The place we went to was called "Fridays". I remember smiling the last time since it's taken from the US chain of the same name. In fact in another place the acronym was posted "TGIF". There's a slightly different nuance in the US given that its meant to celebrate the final day of the work week. In Somalia, the work week ends on Thursday so it really should be "Thursdays". No matter. The first day of the weekend also deserves to be celebrated.

Drought Response - Part 2

One thing I was not aware of, in traveling to the country hours after the election, was that the new president (to be clear, not president-elect) was staying next to our office/guesthouse while he was waiting a little over a week until the official residence is prepared for his arrival. This ended up complicating our access. Interestingly, we have gone through great pains over the past couple of years to move our office/guesthouse from our previous location which was adjacent to the property of a former president. Nothing against him personally, but it seemed that every month our office became more and more inaccessible due to increased barricades, boom gates, armed men, etc. Staff, particularly female staff, would get harassed trying to get to our gate. We moved, only to be confronted with a similar issue now. Thankfully this would be temporary.

The problem was that the road was blocked and teaming with armored personnel carriers, pick-up mounted machine guns and armed soldiers. No one was allowed to pass through. Thankfully, my security guy was able to get authorization for our armored vehicle to pass through on the condition that the armed escort remain out on the main road. That was more than acceptable to us. At about 9am, we loaded up and eased out of our compound and onto the dirt street heading towards the main road. 

Drivers of armored vehicles tend to drive fast. It’s part of their training to move quickly through the city, darting here and there to avoid lingering in any one location for very long. On this occasion, we crept slowly through the gauntlet of military might on both sides of us. Some of the men watched us attentively. Others showed no interest and/or stared at their phones. I was a little creeped out by it but in the end, it wasn’t a problem.

The next hurdle was entering the green zone compound, which is essentially a military base. It’s heavily fortified as you might guess. Once your ID is checked you proceed through a boom gate and into a secure area where passengers and drivers leave their vehicles leaving doors, hoods, trunks, etc. wide open and wait in a nearby shelter while the security check takes place, a couple of guard towers watching in the background. A sniffer dog and a guard inspect every corner of each vehicle. Once the check is completed, you can return to the vehicles, the next boom gate is opened and the cohort can move forward and enter into the base. This time it went smoothly but there are times when it can take almost an hour. The edginess of the military guards seems to ebb and flow according to the overarching security situation at the time and sometimes just the personalities of those manning the gates.

* * *

The meeting with the UN went well. I hadn’t met these two guys before but they were both easy going and the conversation flowed smoothly. At one point I mentioned that I had met the acting head of the USAID Africa Bureau from Washington DC the week before. I mentioned something I told her and the USAID team. The UN guy laughed and said that USAID told him the same thing – they were repeating the same message. Flattering that they took on board something I said (but the didn’t give me credit from what gather).

Afterwards, we headed back to the office. We had to go back through the military gauntlet leading up to our office. It was just as creepy as it was the first time but it was, again, uneventful.

* * *

The following day we were to fly to the interior of the country. We ended up being delayed by a couple hours so we made use of our time in the Mogadishu airport having a coffee, talking about work, Somali politics and people watching. One thing that became apparent is that I was the only white guy in the terminal. You occasionally see expats in he international section, but for domestic flights, it’s quite rare. Not a lot of expatriates have security arrangements that allow them to leave the “green zone” in Mogadishu. Of the few that can, they are generally restricted to using UN flights (which use a separate “terminal” (container). So domestic commercial travel is primarily Somali territory.

few international airports smaller than this one

Eventually, we were able to make our way to Galkacyo, a town that is roughly in the middle of the country from north to south. From east to west, it’s located towards the west near the Ethiopian border. The governor and mayor were waiting for us at the dirt airstrip. The small building (“terminal”) makes reference to it being an international airport. I’ll have to take their word for it. I assume that at some point, the place receives an international flight, though I don’t know where that might be from if it is indeed the case.

After greeting the local dignitaries, we were whisked off to begin visiting projects. Our first stop was a center for women and girls. We support several of these facilities and they are particularly important in the Somalia context. They provide skills training, protection support as well as serving as a an important social resource. We saw tie-dye training, henna tattooing, tailoring as well as the making of various crafts. I do like these centers and I’m glad we support them. However it’s the kind of thing that often falls through the cracks in the donor funding, particularly in a context that experiencing severe drought, verging on famine.

We also visited a couple of camps for those who have been displaced by either the drought or conflict (internally displaced persons or IDPs). IDPs are basically like refugees that don’t cross international borders. The conversations with these people were sobering. The first group seemed to be dominated by people, mostly women and children, who were from a village raided by extremist militants. One woman told us they lost over 600 camels and many of their boys (to be transformed into child soldiers). The look in her eyes was haunting. The incident had only happened a few weeks prior and you could tell she was still coming to grips with the fact that she’d lost everything. Each conversation provided additional insight on the horrors that people experienced in losing their family members and/or their livelihoods (people from the southern part of the country tend to be farmers while people from the northern part tend to be pastoralists).

There was also the inspirational. Some of the villages where we worked had benefited from recently rehabilitated boreholes allowing them to not only be resilient to the ongoing severe drought, but also to serve as a resource for IDPs. In speaking to elders from these villages, they told us that they would have been forced to leave their homes in search of water had we not received our support. It was a tangible example of how lives were changed for the better and a nice balance for the many conversations we had, and things we witnessed, that revealed the desperate situation in the country.

After a long day on dusty, bumpy roads, we returned to the office. Would have been nice to retreat to the guesthouse, have a cup of tea, catch up on emails. Instead, a big spread was laid out for our late lunch/early dinner with staff. While I was certainly hungry, I have to say that I impacted by the conversations we’d had throughout the afternoon. I couldn’t get the images out of my head of people who had so little, who were battling each day to feed themselves. It felt selfish to be sitting in front of platters of goat, rice, camel, etc. knowing the situation people were in only a few kilometers away.

After the meal, we needed to shift buildings to have a meeting with local government officials, including the governor, mayor and their respective deputies. While I’ve met the governor before, this guy was new to the role. As such, it was good to have the opportunity to sit down with these officials, listen to their views on the current drought situation and have them present their requests. They seemed to have plenty of time for us. I don’t know if it was a reflection of how much they have to do or if it had
something to do with the level of expectation they had for potential increases in our support. Either way
, we ended up meeting them twice during the time that we were there, in addition to traveling with some of them to visit project locations.

After the government meeting, it was back to our meeting room for an evening meeting with the team. While it’s not ideal to have evening gatherings, the following day would be a Friday, the first day of the Somali weekend, so staff were keen to stay on to avoid having it the following day.

By around 9pm, we called it a day and I retreated to my room in the guesthouse. I was exhausted from the long day and it was wonderful to put up my feet and not have to talk to anyone until the next day. It wasn’t entirely peaceful given that there are two semi-indoor soccer fields across from our compound. Not only are they loud, they continue until midnight. Thankfully, I was too tired for it to bother me and I was able to fall asleep even with the noise.

The next day would be spent visiting projects and IDP areas. There were more heart-wrenching stories combined with examples of successful projects where we provided water resulting in them being more resilient to the drought. We again traveled long distances on bumpy, dusty roads. It makes me wonder how many thousands of kilometers I’ve traveled over the years in dusty Land Cruisers.

Our third day in Galkacyo, we headed north towards the town of Garowe.

Drought Response - Part 1

While not looking forward to further time away from family, I have been anxious to get back to Somalia. I have had two trips canceled due to my broken wrist. The first was when I broke it and the second was when I had to leave to the US for surgery. In addition to the need for regular contact with my team, I haven’t been able to visit the ongoing severe drought in the country. While I’ve been assisting in coordinating a rather significant humanitarian response, I haven’t been able to be on the ground since February.

On this trip I was accompanied by our regional humanitarian response director who has also been keen to get a firsthand perspective on what’s going on. It’s important that he’s well aware of our response efforts since he’s been assisting with media and fundraising efforts.

Security is always a concern during travels to the country but this time would be of particular, we would be arriving just a few hours after the election results were in and a new president would have taken his oath of office.

* * *

A bit of background about the election, it was supposed to take place over a year ago but delays have hampered the process. It has been tense at times but major conflict has been avoided. The incumbent has been doing everything in his power to keep his job, the one he was elected to back in 2017, and the fractured opposition has been doing everything in its power to boot him.

In Somalia, there is no general suffrage. Presidential elections take place through representational voting by the parliament. So the first step was to elect a new parliament. This was no easy feat given that there are several hundred of them and elections take place around the country in varying conditions of external influence (massive amounts of money changing hands given that these people will elect the president) and security (many were targeted by militia who are against the government or anyone participating in government). Contests were heated and stakes were high. By stacking the deck in parliament, you could improve your chances of winning the presidency.

After a few months, the parliamentary elections were more or less completed and a quorum was established. I say more or less since some seats were in dispute at the time the new parliamentarians were summoned to Mogadishu.

With all these potential security “targets” descending upon the capital, it became a significant security risk to my team to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have over a hundred staff just in Mogadishu (not counting dozens more seconded staff) and we’ve had staff either killed or injured in the past. Special attention was needed to stay out of harm’s way.

The parliament building was determined to be too much of a risk and the proceedings were moved to the heavily fortified, Africa Union forces protected, airport “green zone.” It’s essentially like a large military base with a commercial airport within its borders. Our office isn’t in the green zone and the only time I go there is when I’m flying in and out of the country or attending UN or other meetings. Even in this heavily guarded compound, about a half-dozen mortars were fired in the direction of the facility hosting the elections. Four landed inside the compound and two landed outside, but no casualties were reported.

* * *

The night before we traveled, the presidential vote began. It would be a long affair with multiple rounds of voting, breaks for prayers and food, etc. It was expected go well into the night. I was tracking the events up to the time I went to bed. I half thought that it might not even be completed until my early morning start the next day.

The trip begins, as always, with a 4:15am taxi to the airport. I woke up at 3:45 and I immediately checked my phone to get any election, security or travel updates. The election had completed and the winner was announced. The incumbent had been ousted and there would be a new president. All indication was that the outgoing president graciously congratulated the winner on his victory and thus appeared to set in motion a peaceful transition.

* * *

The taxi with my colleague arrived on schedule and we headed out onto the dark, quiet streets of Nairobi. There was supposed to be a rare “blood moon” around 6am but it was not going to be visible due to the overcast skies.

We arrived at the airport still well before sunrise. The queue to get into the small-ish Terminal 2 is usually long and chaotic. On this day, there suspiciously was no queue at all. I did assume that travel to Somalia would be limited, if happening at all, due to the elections taking place in the same base where the airport is located. However I had received no communication to notify me otherwise so we moved forward in the assumption that our travel would still be happening.

Once inside, everything was normal except for the quiet terminal. We checked in, received our boarding passes and confirmed that our travel would indeed be happening. There was a sense of relief at the same time there was some apprehension of entering a country with a long history of violence on the heels of a historic and hotly contested election.

* * *

Everything about the arrival was normal. There was nothing to indicate that there was a dramatic election just a few hours prior in spite of the fact that most of the country stayed up to watch the entire process.

The armored vehicle was waiting outside. We made our way outside the “green zone” and into the streets of Mogadishu. The weather was blazing hot and with a coastal breeze to take some of the edge off. Rather than head to the office, my team was ready and we headed directly towards one of the clinics to begin the visit.

This particular clinic is where our organization began its work in Mogadishu many years ago. It’s a primitive structure with corrugated metal roofing wedged in between houses made of the same material. It’s a tightly packed community with an access slightly wider than our vehicle. In fact our vehicle had to back in all the way up to the entrance (for security reasons, one never parks nose first).

The visit went smoothly. I know the place well and have been there many times. I hadn’t been since Covid and there was some evidence of mask wearing, hygiene protocols and signage. Otherwise, it was its same, quaint little self. Though it sits in a densely populated neighborhood, it has been frequented by many who have been displaced by the severe drought. Though most of the displaced are camped on the outskirts of the city, many have family or friends throughout the urban areas and come to the clinics with severe dehydration and/or malnutrition.

* * *

After the visit, we zigzagged among tuk-tuks and a few camels on our way to the other side of the city to hospital that we support. Though it’s a long and somewhat precarious drive rife with army checkpoints, I always enjoy the passage through the old city on the way. The old buildings (many bombed out and in ruins), smelly fish market and narrow streets situated along the water are a future tourist destination, unfortunately maybe not in my lifetime. My staff find my fascination with the place rather curious and a bit funny. It’s been such a notorious war zone over the years that it’s hard for them to see it any other way.

This hospital is likely the facility I have visited most in the country since I joined the program. It’s clean, efficient and usually brimming with color as hijabed ladies bring their babies for their post-natal care. It also gives me an excuse to pass through the old city so I like to have it on the itinerary. Moreover, it’s near the lido where I often get a chance to have lobster in a restaurant on the beach. Few international workers get such a chance. For security reasons, however, seafood and sand didn’t happen this time.

The drive back took longer than expected. A few of the roads we wanted to take were blocked forcing us to take multiple detours. We ended up going completely around our neighborhood to the south side in order to access the last checkpoint option we had. Unfortunately, our passage was not allowed and a bit of chaos ensued.

* * *

I’m no stranger to this sort of thing. It happens from time to time, more in Somalia than in other countries. Interactions with armed actors is an unfortunate but inevitable part of what I do. On this occasion, it began as it always does with lots of yelling and pointing. But usually it stops there. Sometimes it stops because one side, usually the guys at the checkpoint, want to be seen as showing their authority. Once they feel satisfied that their power was respected, they open the boom gate and allow passage. This time, that didn’t happen. The yelling continued between the armed guys from our escort vehicle and the armed guys at the checkpoint and eventually moved to shoving. Even our driver was grabbed at one point.

Now shoving is another level altogether. Guys initiating physical contact while having AK-47s dangling from their shoulders can make things precarious in a hurry. It’s not uncommon around here for people to reach for their weapons.

So here we sit in the backseat of our vehicle. My colleague on the left watching nervously through the bullet-proof window. My head of office in the middle coming down with a severe migraine (may or may not be related to what is unfolding) and me on the right side texting with my security guy to track what is going on.

Another thing that generally diffuses these confrontations is when both sides retreat to their phones to call in their person in power. Whoever’s contact outranks the other’s usually wins the day.

This is what I found interesting, amidst the rather dangerous situation we were in. Here we were, less than twelve hours from the election of a new president, and power structures are in a confused state. In Somalia, as it was explained to me by my security guy, once those votes were tallied at 2:30am or whatever it was, the winner becomes president immediately. You basically walk over, get sworn in and how you hold all the cards. The ramifications of this are massive, which is why so much money was exchanging hands over the past few weeks.

It's crazy when you think about it. The president’s toothbrush and all his belongings are still in the official residence. His team all need to vacate their offices. The new government is yet to be formed. Etc. Political whiplash and some confusion.

The question in my mind is how this political backdrop is influencing our standoff. Who is calling in favors from what power structure? If your go-to contact is an outgoing minister, does he still hold sway as he did a half-day ago? If your contact is connected to the new president (who hasn’t appointed any ministers yet), what kind of legitimacy can you get in such a short time?

I’m sure there are protocols in place that make this all a bit less precarious than it seems from the outside. And I wonder if it’s better than the several-week transition in the US when an outgoing president can do all sorts of damage as he/she’s walking out the door. There’s no easy way to do this but I do find this transition in Somalia fascinating, particularly since it’s going smoothly so far.

And, in the end, our situation was diffused as our guys eventually backed down. We turned around and looked to find another way to access our office, winding through narrow backstreets. In fact, there is no other way to fully get there by vehicle without stopping short and walking the remainder of the way, passing through road barricades. But it turned out to be a short walk and probably something we should have opted on sooner. We were all relieved to reach the office and have a much-delayed lunch of camel, rice and veggies. 

On to the next adventure.