Unprecedented Times

Unprecedented times. And becoming even more so. The killing of George Floyd is caught on video. Outrage spreads across the country and eventually around the world. Protests are unleashed in the midst of the current pandemic which lingers on, in some contexts now, as a backstory. Statues of Confederate generals and former slave traders are taken down. It’s an amazing time.

The movement has morphed from a focus on policing to a general focus on racism. Often countries around the world look at events in the US with curiosity, sometimes smugness, bewilderment or disdain. What has been interesting is how quickly this event became internalized in so many places around the world. It quickly went from, “Can you believe what’s going on in the US?” to “Come to think of it, this is not just a US thing. This connects with a massive issue in our country as well.”

I track a lot of news. I focus on Somalia. Kenya. The US. Even before the recent death of the Burundian president, I was periodically tracking events in the country that was our home for six years. I periodically consult local online news sites in Idaho where I have obvious connections. I have news feeds from sources that I consider “balanced” as well as others that tend to be biased against my leanings. I like to challenge what I think and believe, trying to understand why others think the way they do. It feel that one needs to be intentional so as not to foster an information bubble, a phenomenon that many seem to be content with.

Since the horrible arrest/killing of George Floyd there has been an enormous outpouring of opinions and editorials. I find a lot of it fascinating and enlightening. You also have a lot of people saying much of the same things – which is understandable since there are a lot of people having similar experiences. As with the MeToo movement, I was concerned that this issue might flare up and then fade without significant change. What’s encouraging is seeing that there is a concerted effort not to let that happen, as it has in the past.

Sheep-ish

Viewed from the outside, the US has for some time seemed to have experienced failed leadership on a lot of levels. The pandemic, a good example of this, has been managed in much the same way as the issues around climate change or MeToo. Childish insults. Ignoring data. Self-destructive polarization. Inability to focus, or even identify, the essential things that need to be done. Decisions are made not on the basis of what is the right thing to do but on political calculation.

Leaders are in charge of systems that are failing. The people in power who can change those systems don't seem motivated to do so. It’s not that they are all racist, nature-hating, misogynists (though some might be). But their primary objective is generally not to improve the well-being of their constituents. Their focus is political survival and, in some cases, their own financial well-being. They manipulate the population into continuing to support them as they pretend to care about the peoples’ interests. Events like this are leveraged to stoke populist agendas. 

“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” – Hermann Göring, Nazi military leader (1893-1946)

 

The American Dream

The institutionalized marginalization of minorities in the US is generally not discussed as racism. In fact many of these policies are cloaked in the myth of the “American dream”. If you work hard, the system will grant you prosperity. The reason I call it a myth is that the “system” only works for some and really shouldn’t be considered American if it doesn’t work for a large percentage of Americans. The sad part is that the social structure necessary to operationalize the American dream, making it truly work for everyone, doesn’t exist. Given the lack of incentive for politicians to do what is morally right, it’s left to political calculation. And so far it hasn’t been politically costly for leaders to ignore the marginalized and as a result nothing changes. Populism generally succeeds in getting people to back their leaders even if those same people are victimized by the system driven by these leaders.

One common tactic is to pretend that social services are the equivalent of socialism. You select some services (schools, police, firefighters, medicare, military, etc.) as acceptable, even laudable, and others as socialist (healthcare and social safety nets). Support which could veritably undergird the “American dream”, such as assisting the poor to escape their cycle of poverty, are considered expensive and superfluous. And if you propose policies to help the poor, people drop the S-word on you. You’re denounced as a socialist.

“Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.” – Earl Warren, jurist and former Chief Justice (1891-1974)

The next few months will be a watershed moment. If we assume that the average politician (not all of them), regardless of the idealistic motivations they may have had when they ran for office, once in power has zero moral fiber, how then can doing the right thing also become a savvy political decision? For me, this needs to be at the center of the focus. If we can change the system, and human nature, how can you make the flawed system still produce desired outcomes?

What might be exciting in what’s going on in the US is that there is a sense that much of the population is honestly and truly fed up. The question is whether, in the end, apathy win out over the anger welling up in much of the population. It’s been said that the opposite of love is not hatred. It’s indifference. I tend to agree. Prosperity and comfort can breed indifference. So can disillusionment. But as fewer and fewer people in the US are comfortable with what is going on, or have decided that they really can make a difference, it just might bring about change.

I just finished a book called Educated, about a woman from my home state of Idaho who escapes an abusive family situation (that I won’t go into here but it’s a good read). The primary theme in the book is the power of her education to help her to free herself from her toxic upbringing but in the process, sadly, alienate herself from her family. As I thought about this woman’s journey, it made me think about so many in the US who, like this woman’s parents, honestly believe they are doing the right thing – defending beliefs that they hold near and dear – but without being open to considering the potentially harmful impact some of those beliefs have. Not only that but these beliefs often come in a package and you defend the whole package because that’s what people on your “side” do. There’s limited critical thinking and very little opportunity, or openness, to question it. Social groups, including everything from the local pub, to church groups, to social media algorithms, foster a sort of “bubble” of influencers, propelling a person even deeper into this package of beliefs. To question anything seems absurd and/or will get you mocked by your peers.

No one is immune to this phenomenon. And I don’t believe education is the only answer. And I certainly don’t believe that formal education is the only answer. The world has always had highly educated people that were evil to the core. I think the author of the book would agree that it’s more about the mindset. Having the freedom to question things. Question your beliefs. Question leaders. Listening to someone you might disagree with. And then, having the integrity to accept that something you’ve always thought, or something you were taught, or something your friends believe, might be wrong and/or harmful. The older you get, the more humility this requires. It also requires a great deal of courage. People in these circles are not accepting of those among their ranks who fall outside their norms. Not toeing the party line can open you to mockery and/or alienation. This is not specific to any political persuasion. For example Pro-Lifers and Christians are frowned upon on the Left. Pro-Choicers and LGBTQs on the Right are demonized. It’s always dumbed down to good guys and bad guys. White hats and black hats. Right vs. wrong. People are generally not as tolerant that they portray themselves to be. Nuance is nowhere to be found. As a result, people of all parties, races and religions end up feeling like they have a justified reason to hate.

The system is broken. The people that are driving the system are not being held accountable. Citizens, the people that should be holding them accountable, are not doing their job. Part of the answer is in our schools, our churches, mosques and synagogues. Most of these institutions are failing our children. Children are being told what to think and not how to think. They grow up thinking and acting like people in their respective communities, regardless of whether these beliefs are harmful. Leaders of these institutions should be held accountable by their communities. If not, the citizens that come out the other side will continue to perpetuate the flawed governance that plagues the country and result in the dramas unfolding today.

The problems are deep and cannot be solved overnight. That’s why I mention kids. I was a school teacher for eight years. I’m aware of the amazingly positive things that can happen during those years. I’m also aware of the immense damage that can be done as well. But kids are generally more open to new ideas than adults. We need to teach children not to hate, to be open, to think critically and to seek truth. It should not make us afraid that our children might grow up to think differently than we do. We should not fear the truth.

End of an Era in Burundi

Things happen pretty fast. I started to write a few days ago and other obligations took over. When I picked it up to write again, the George Floyd thing had blossomed to become an international phenomenon. So I changed tack and was headed a bit more in that direction (which I'll probably do later). Then yesterday we were informed about the passing of the Burundian president. Admittedly, that last one is not likely to get much of a rise out of most people but for us it was significant.

I should explain. For many reading this, you are aware that we spent six years in Burundi. It’s the country where our daughters lived the first years of their lives. We developed many friends that we have in our lives today. And a lot happened while we were there and we have many fond memories.

We moved to Burundi in September 2010 as I began my new job in a country about the size of the US state of Connecticut. It’s the second most densely populated country in Africa and is one of the poorest places on earth. The capital, Bujumbura, is a city of about 3 million people beautifully nestled on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, with a fantastic view of the Itombwe Mountains in the Congo (reaching nearly 3,500m./11,500ft.) across the water. The country consists mostly of rolling, deforested hills and almost every square meter is cultivated as farming is how most people attempt to eke out a living.

 There is no question that when President Pierre Nkurunziza assumed power in 2005, he inherited a country with a troubled past. But the sports teacher turned militant turned politician was ill-prepared, or rather dangerously prepared, for the task that lay before him. In 1972 his father was killed in genocidal violence perpetrated by the minority Tutsi leadership that had governed the country since colonial times. The perpetual abuse by the Tutsis against the majority Hutu population is important in that the hatred that it infused laid the foundation for the unending tit-for-tat that has ensued to date.

 Ethnic civil war broke out in 1993, separate but related to the genocide just to the north in Rwanda that would unfold the following year. Nkurunziza came to be in charge of military and political wings of a rebel group that would evolve to become today’s ruling party. After the war, his party was allowed to join the government, setting the stage for his first governmental appointment (and possibly the greatest irony of all) as Minister for Good Governance.

 When he became president in 2005, there was some hope that he might help in improving strained ethnic relations, usher in stability and lay the foundation for much needed economic growth. Though his father was Hutu and his mother was Tutsi, Nkurunziza self-identified as a Hutu. This tribal mixing, fairly common at the time, was rarely discussed when promoting the puzzling concept of ethnic/moral superiority of one side or the other. Being of mixed ethnicity could have served as a foundation for national reconciliation. Alas, that was not to be.

 The president carried with him into office a deep-seeded hatred that would drive his decision making until his death. There’s no question that the killing of his father, combined with years of hiding and fighting in the bush, fostered this hatred. There’s also no question that the mistreatment of Hutus, not only by the Tutsi but also Belgian rule before them, drove many of the decisions that his government would make over the years. Though he had become an evangelical Christian, the 28 bible verses that communicate that vengeance is God’s responsibility rather than man’s would strategically and emphatically be ignored.

 In Michela Wrong’s brilliant book, It’s Our Turn To Eat (about Kenya), she describes this phenomenon. When a people group gains power, and you haven’t had it and/or don’t know how long you will have it, you take full advantage of it. The others did when they were in power so now that it’s your turn, you enrich yourself and take care of your grudges. It happens in almost every country. In the case of Burundi, this unshakeable obsession, generally under the radar and not understood by the international community, prompted a long string of irrational policies and further impoverished the country.

 Over the time that we were in the country, we could see this unfold firsthand. I can’t claim to fully understand the ghosts that haunted the president and what led him to do what he did, but in the end it hurt not only his political opponents but also his own constituents. His government’s economic policy was reckless and ill-informed. He surrounded himself with the faithful rather than the talented. Meetings I had with ministers and other government officials reflected people that had a relatively shallow understanding of what was going on or what needed to be done. Many of them had no background or education in the sectors they were running. The government stumbled along with very little accountability.

 All this would worsen dramatically with the attempted coup in 2015. The damage his administration was inflicting on the country was apparent across ethnic boundaries but the fear of reprisal prevented any legitimate opposition. In the end, the coup plotters were primarily of his own ethnicity. When the coup attempt failed, paranoia at all levels began to run even deeper. We would hear the nightly battles between opposition and government forces. Almost every evening after dark you would hear gunfire, sometimes grenades and even mortars. This went on for months. Frequently they would leave the bodies of the slain, often bound with signs of torture, in a visible location for the population to discover the next morning. Early on the government had created an informal armed militia that was distributed throughout the country – generally young thugs that would threaten any opposition to the president and did so with impunity. They would complement the work of the police force which was also doing the bidding of the president.

 Over this period hundreds of thousands of Burundians would flee their country, most of whom are still in exile. Though many are Tutsi, many are not. Some fled in fear. Others fled in hunger. My wife and I worked with an earlier wave of Burundian (and Congolese) refugees in Tanzania from 2007 to 2010 before moving to Burundi where my team was supporting their return and reintegration. After the coup attempt, and the subsequent crackdown implemented across the country, a couple hundred thousand fled again, many of whom had already fled once or twice before. All in all I spent nine years working with Burundians.

 So here we are. The cause of the former president's death was announced to be heart attack. However his spin doctors announced his hospitalization on Friday for “an illness”. Then on the weekend they said he was doing well. On Monday he died. While it could have been a heart attack, it doesn’t really sound like it. It appears more likely that it was Covid-19. His wife, who many believe to be a dear woman, has been in hospital in Nairobi being treated for the coronavirus (and I think some other family members as well). But the president had consistently dismissed and ignored the pandemic saying it wasn’t a threat, that God would protect them, and that his country would not submit to the economy-inhibiting measures to stem its spread. A political career riddled with harmful policies ended with one that contributed to his own death.  

 I have mixed feelings about this whole thing. I’m sad for his family and friends that have lost a loved one. There is no question I would have preferred that he step down from power long ago for the good of the country, that someone would come to power that would reel in the systematic dishing out of vengeance and begin the process of healing. Unfortunately that remains unlikely. There are some signs that the president-elect might be slightly more moderate but the world is full of examples where things start that way and deteriorate thereafter. Time will tell. Our prayers are with the family of the former president and the new leadership. May they not repeat the sins of the past.

Pandemic Update & a Bit of Goodluck

Self-isolation rolls on. I’m sure there are many like me that wake up and think, “Seriously, is this really happening?” I can honestly say that I’ve thought that same thing many times throughout my life. Usually though, it’s stuff that’s more or less only happening to me. To have such a collective WTF is quite different. Rather than looking around me and thinking, “You have no idea what is going on in my head right now”, I suspect that millions and millions have been thinking similar things. You see it in the Twitter posts, Facebook (I’m not on FB but I assume), etc. People will be unpacking this pandemic for years to come. We’re in the middle of a historical event. Those that are better off may be annoyed by some of the inconveniences but are certainly embracing certain aspects of it. Others who have lost loved ones, been sick themselves and/or lost livelihoods, lost savings likely don’t have much energy to spend on existential thoughts. For some, their lives have been devastated.

For now I’m more in the former category, though my job deals mostly with people in the latter category. It’s never been this bad in the nearly four years that I’ve worked in Somalia. Many don’t have time or energy to deal with a coronavirus. You pester them about respecting Covid-19 mitigation protocols and they just lost their home and belongings to the recent flooding. Or they have been inundated with the locusts. Or militant groups have arrested and beheaded their father. Or they lost their only child to malaria. There are many ways to die in Somalia. This is just a new one.

On a call earlier today with my leadership team they were talking about how many people sort of look at such things as fate. If Allah decides it's your time to go, so be it. You can't control it. They used the word "fate" several times. While I understand where that's coming from, what's not clear is where you draw the line. The same people that say these things also take medicine, visit doctors and do a lot of things that demonstrate that they are proactive in protecting human life. Seems to be an arbitrary line between accepting your lot and influencing it. I suppose we all do that to some degree.

 I regularly get messages from local government officials from various parts of the country, even places where we don’t have a presence. They are appealing for assistance and it’s quite heart-breaking. I really would like for us to be able to do something but there simply aren’t enough resources to respond to everything. For now, international aid is hanging on but we’re all a bit concerned about the future. As governments increasingly focus on supporting needs in their own countries due to the pandemic, there is likely to be less of an appetite to maintain the same levels of support for other countries. We hope not and it might even be misguided to think that way. As has been said, the coronavirus anywhere is the coronavirus everywhere. Leaving poorer countries to fend for themselves may end up coming back to haunt the rich countries. So it might even be in their own self-interest. And a million dollars spent in a poor country (if spent wisely), has a far greater impact than a million dollars spent in a rich country. Just sayin’.

 On a slightly different subject, though still work-related, the other day I received a LinkedIn (for those that don’t know, a social network platform generally focused on careers) request from a former staff. That, in and of itself, is not unusual. I receive lots of those, some of whom are former staff. What was unusual about it was that this particular staff was a guy who pulled off a fairly bold heist as he abruptly left the organization.

Goodluck

It was 2007 and I was Field Coordinator working in refugee camps in NW Tanzania. Our office was located in the small town of Kibondo. We carried out a variety of activities in the four camps located near the border with Burundi. We had a rather large fleet of Land Cruisers and a few trucks. To supply these vehicles with fuel, we used a tanker truck to periodically go up the road to UNHCR, fill up and return to fill the fuel tank in our compound. One Saturday our supply chain guy by the name of Goodluck (kid you not) went to UNHCR to fuel up. It wasn’t that unusual to fuel up on a weekend though we normally did it during the week. The procedure was such that the truck pulled up to UNHCR, the guards would write down the vehicle plate number in the gate logbook and then the truck would pull forward to the fuel tanks. At the tanks there was another logbook where the attendant would measure the existing level of fuel in the truck to approximate the volume. Both the UNHCR staff and our staff would sign in the logbook. After fueling, they would measure again and write in the new number to confirm the amount of fuel taken. As the truck would exit the compound, the UNHCR guard would note the time of departure. Upon arrival at our compound, it was basically the same process in reverse.

 On this occasion, however, upon arrival at the UNHC compound, the guard failed to recognize that the truck wasn’t in fact registered with our organization (or he was in on the deal). It wasn’t registered with UNHCR either. Goodluck had teamed up with some guy who owned a private tanker truck and proceeded to fill it up. As you can guess, he and his buddy exited the compound and drove off into the sunset with about 14 thousand liters of diesel fuel never to be seen again.

 In most of the world, it would be hard to hide a large tanker truck. In Tanzania, you didn’t need to. Several days later we found out that he was in Mwanza, a town 370 kilometers away on the south end of Lake Victoria. We had notified the police when the incident happened and we notified them again when we received the tip as to where he was. The police informed us that they didn’t have the resources to pursue the criminals – that they would certainly follow up if we could cover all their costs. They were even kind enough to do the calculations for us. It was a rather large figure for something that was their job. Were it not for corruption, the affair could have been handled with a couple phone calls and very little effort by colleagues on the ground in Mwanza. But that’s not how it works in Tanzania unfortunately.

 So Goodluck wants to be connected on LinkedIn? I’ll pass. Maybe when Lake Victoria freezes over.