Once again I’m quite behind with this blog. I suppose it
will continue like this. Catch up. Get busy. Fall behind. Repeat.
In June I traveled to central Somalia to Galkacyo and then
further north to Garowe. The purpose was
to spend some time with the teams there since it had been I had been able to travel there given obligations in Mogadishu over the past few months. I also
needed to visit some activities to prepare some communications for donors. Meet
local officials. Attend a project launch. Etc.
Day 1 - Galkacyo
I left early on Sunday morning, the first day of the work
week. After a couple of flights I was settled in to our office in Galkacyo
(gal-kye-oh), which is located in central Somalia not too far from the border
with Ethiopia. I started off with a quick lunch and immediately began meeting
with local officials. This sort of thing is important for my work and I do
enjoy it. It’s always a challenge for me to prioritize such things given that I
much prefer visiting activities or meeting with staff. Fortunately, my team on
the ground wants these things to happen and they are good about sorting out who
I should meeting and fitting it in the itinerary.
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| pumped by energy from the sun |
After meeting with four officials, we were soon in a vehicle
and heading out to visit a borehole rehabilitation that our organization did.
It was a bit of a drive but doable in an afternoon. We were able to see the
solar panels that were installed along with the accompanying pump. It had only
been installed a couple weeks prior so the work was still fresh. The community
was super happy and, though they had loads of additional requests for me, being
able to access water without the need of a diesel engine to power a pump was
huge. It would make them far more resilient to future droughts. The borehole
would also be accessible to passing pastoralists and thus serve a much broader
population than just the community itself.
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| turning desert into farms |
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| pretty impressive |
The other thing that was impressive was the farming that was
being established in the area surrounding the borehole. The increased
accessibility of the water was enabling the community to plant crops, an added
benefit to the community. As of now, fruits and vegetables for communities like
this need to be brought in from the southern river valleys that supply most of
the country. It’s expensive and the distances are great. With the often intense
heat, transporting fruit and vegetables successfully is not an easy process.
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| the village supported by the borehole |
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| meeting the elders |
Soon the sun was getting low and it was time to get back to
the office. It’s a long day by the time I return to the office for dinner –
getting up at 4am to catch the flight, loads of activities, meetings, etc. I
was ready to eat, fire off some emails and go to bed early.
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| not an easy life |
Day 2 - Galkacyo
The next morning picked up where the previous day left off.
I would have more meetings with government officials, another borehole to visit
and a visit to some women’s empowerment activities. The meetings generally went
well. The borehole visit went much as it did the day prior. For the women’s
activities, we went to a place that I had been to last year. It was a place for
women to gather, learn job skills and participate in various
sensitization/educational activities. The visit went much as it did the last
time but this time I was armed with the knowledge of the previous visit. Always
helps in having more in depth conversations. One hard thing about what I do is
that you visit loads of different activities in different domains and it often
doesn’t allow you to get too deep in your knowledge. But the deeper you can go,
the more the people you speak with feel like you are interested. You don’t need
to be an expert – that’s why they are there. But you need to know enough to
engage with these experts on the ground and improve the way that you support
them at a higher level.
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| tailoring... |
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| ...tie dye... |
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| and henna tattoo job skills |
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| upper deck has air conditioning and a nice view |
By mid-afternoon we returned to the office for a rather
lengthy roundtable discussion with staff to finish off the day. The plan was to
wrap up by sunset given that I had a few staff that were doing the extended
Ramadan fast. We nearly made it but the active conversation went on longer than
expected.
Day 3 - Galkacyo to Garowe
On Tuesday, it was off to Garowe. This is the state of
Puntland in northern Somalia which has a considerable amount of independence. All
states in Somalia have a fair amount of independence as the federal system is
still getting off the ground, but Puntland is a bit further down the road. I
like going there and meeting with officials, most of whom seem to be on top of
things and really trying to not only solidify the gains they have made over the
past few years but build on them. The tricky situation they are in is balancing
their beloved independence with their engagement in the federal project. Most
people I talked to there say that they are on board with federalism but they
have a lot of reservations about how this might happen. People often talk about
corruption, ethnic partisanship and raise questions over the hot topic of
resource sharing, how resources will be shared between the federal government and
the states. I think one needs a long-term perspective in these things. Often
Western powers are more short-sighted. I get the feeling that people here are
not naïve about how quickly one moves from a failed state to a fully functional
democratic federal system. It’s going to take years and it will require more
cooperation from the inside as well as some help from the outside – help that
is open to a model that doesn’t fit other contexts.
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| the departure lounge in Galkacyo |
The flight from Galkacyo to Garowe is only a little over an
hour, depending on the plane. I was taken directly to the launch of a project
we are doing with the World Bank. It’s exciting to see it finally getting off
the ground given that it has been in the works for over three years. I arrived
late due to my travels but I was able to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony,
pose for some photos and have lunch with the Minister of Women’s Affairs as
well as our counterpart from the WB and some of my team. I was glad to have
made it in time for at least that much.
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| cutting the garland "ribbon" |
Afterwards we went to the office where I settled into my
room at the guesthouse. I would have a few meetings in the office before
retiring for the day.
Day 4 - Garowe
On Wednesday we headed out to visit a project in an area
that was new to me. I have had the opportunity to visit quite a bit of Somalia
but it’s a surprisingly big place. Roads are often bad making it seem even
bigger. Drivers aren't always paying attention on the long stretches of road making things more treacherous.
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| erosion caused by flooding made the shoulder of the road disappear; no margin for error |
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| apparently this one ended as you might think |
We went north from Garowe up the tarmac road toward Qardho,
a place I’ve been to a couple of times. Before arriving in Qardho, we turned
off the main road heading east. This was one of those “roads” that I’ve been on
a few times that go from two defined wheel tracks to multiple tracks, to no
tracks at all. Somehow these guys know where they’re going. We had a convoy of four
vehicles including some of my staff, the security detail and some Puntland
officials who joined as well.
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| I would need a functioning GPS if I were driving |
After about an hour of driving across the
desolate Somali landscape we began to see some small buildings. It always amazes
me when driving across Somalia, in the middle of nowhere you come across people
walking with goats or camels. Nothing for miles in either direction. It astounds
me how they survive.
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| this is not Ceel Buh; some areas we passed through had received considerable rain creating a beautiful landscape |
The other thing is the existence of these remote villages. I
asked why this town of Ceel Buh (the c is silent) exists. Why (how?) do people
live in such a remote place? I was told that there was water, in fact that’s
one of the things that we support is a solar water pump for one of the wells.
But it’s not just the village itself that benefits. Loads of pastoralists pass
through with hundreds of livestock at different times during the year in search
of water. It’s also a place where the families of pastoralists reside given
that it’s generally the men that move around with the livestock.
Nonetheless, it’s a harsh lifestyle. The people are
resilient and have figured out ways to survive in this climate for hundreds of
years. But it’s getting harder and harder as the climate changes, compounded by
a growing population that increasingly is unable to survive by the livelihoods
of their ancestors.
The initial activity was the opening of an MCH clinic
(mother/child health). In fact in practice it seems to function as a general
health center for the village. It was clean and painted. The challenge is obviously
making sure that drugs are available and it’s limited in scope. But there’s
electricity and it’s meeting the basic needs of the people.
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| all the important people in Ceel Buh...and me |
As we walked out of the center with the local officials, we
were extended an invitation to share a meal with them. I, of course, looked at
my watch given that we were a long ways away from Garowe, I didn’t want to be
out and about after dark. There was a bit of a hesitation among our party but
we decided that we had time and the social cost of not accepting the invitation
was not something we wanted to bear. So we proceeded further into the village
to a small, wood-framed mud house. We took off our shoes as is customary and
sat on straw mats. Soon a woman with a pitcher and a large metal bowl entered
and we washed our hands. For soap, a young guy came up and sprinkled detergent
on my hands as the woman poured the water. Detergent powder is concentrated and
you only need a small amount to do the job. He dumped far more than I needed,
and more than I could rinse off, so the taste of detergent would be with me
throughout the meal.
I had time to ask a lot of questions about life in Ceel Buh
as we waited for the food to come. Across the room our four guards sat with
their AK-47s leaning up against the dried mud walls. The presence of weapons is
something you get used to in Somalia. It’s unfortunate that so many die each
year due to intentional or unintentional shootings but it’s just the state of
things for now.
Soon a large circular platter was brought in loaded with
rice and large chunks of goat. No plates or cutlery, of course and you need to
eat with your right hand (the left is considered unclean as it is supposedly the
one you clean yourself with). Though I’m left-handed, I’m adept at eating with
either hand. It’s a good thing since scooping the rice and not getting it all
over the place is not easy.
For some reason the food was particularly good. Simple but
yummy. But we needed to get on the “road” and make our way back to Garowe. In
the middle of the day there are almost no shadows in this part of the world but
as we were moving further into the afternoon they were beginning to lengthen –
a sign that we need to get moving.
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| yummy lunch |
We said our farewells. One of the elders with a warm,
wrinkly face told me how rare it is for them to receive Western visitors to the
village and how happy he was that I would take the time to come. He jokingly told
me that I should be an honorary Somali and offered up one of the daughters of
the village as an additional wife given that I only had one. I grinned, thanked
him for his generous offer and told him I’d check with my wife.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever have a chance to go back to such a
remote place. Likely not but it was wonderful that I had the chance to go this
time. Getting out and seeing the places we work and meeting the people is one
of the best parts of my job. For various reasons I don’t get to do it as often
as I’d like. Not only do I enjoy it, I think it makes me better at what I do.
Soon we were speeding out across the desert. A pastoralist
with his camel train was off in the distance. Would have been a nice photo with
the low sun but we didn’t have time to stop and it was far too bouncy to take
the picture from the Land Cruiser. So, like many things I’ve seen over the
years, it will just have be etched in my mind without the support of a photo.
We arrived in Garowe as the sun was setting. Tired and
dusty, I went up to the guesthouse to make myself some hot tea. Somalis like
spicy tea so the taste sort of embeds itself in hot water thermoses, regardless of
what one puts in it. So whether you’re making normal black tea, instant coffee or
whatever, it always has the spicy taste. I’m the only Westerner who works for
us and I’m the only one that seems to notice. So I just live with it.
Day 5 - Garowe to Nairobi
The next day was the long travel day home. The airport in
Garowe was recently redone. Previously we were using a dirt airstrip. The
renovated terminal is pretty impressive. They even have an automated paid
parking area, solar lighting and numerous other things that you might not
expect. I soon was on my UN flight to Mogadishu. After a couple hour stopover
we continued on to Wajir in Kenya. There’s a bit of a spate between Kenya and
Somalia (long story) but basically Kenya is not allowing direct flights from
Mogadishu to Nairobi. Allegedly for security reasons. Once passengers are “vetted”
in the remote airport of Wajir, the flights can continue on to Nairobi. Frankly
speaking, I don’t really see how it makes things any safer. It adds cost and
time and is annoying to both Kenyans and Somalis alike (and everybody else).
It was a full five days of travel. Rewarding but exhausting.
Always good to be home with family when it’s all said and done.
