It’s been a week in Kenya - hard to know where to start! Each day has seemed like an entire week in itself, but I am slowly getting accustomed to being back in Nairobi… the pace of life, the smells, the traffic, the smiles, the friendly taxi drivers, and the chaotic matatus (vans used as public transportation in the city, that drive like crazy!). Working at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi – the largest U.S. embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a regional hub for international NGOs and foreign governments – has already proven immensely interesting. I’m also able to catch a glimpse into the lives of foreign and civil service officers here, many of whom have bounced around all over the world in their careers. I am working directly with the Somalia Unit at the State Department – there is no United States Mission or diplomatic presence in Somalia, therefore all operations and policy is run from Nairobi. Even though my internship is officially with the State Department, I sit in the USAID building (United States Agency for International Development) next door because there was not enough time to get a full-blown security clearance (and the Somalia Affairs Unit is a top security area). While I was at first disappointed not to be sitting with the team, I’m finding it a great opportunity to get access to USAID as well and see how the two organizations collaborate and where they diverge (and they diverge greatly).
I’ve learned so much about Somalia in the past week, though I realize it is just the very tip tip tip of the iceberg. There are in fact very few “experts” out there, as the nearly 20 year conflict changes so often and is quite complicated. Even those who have worked or studied Somali issues for decades te
ll me that they are still learning. So I have a long way to go. The United States’ focus on Somalia has increased immensely in the past two years. Today, my colleagues tell me that it is the State Department’s number one focus in Sub-Saharan Africa. An interesting illustration – two years ago, in January, 2007, the Somalia Affairs Unit consisted of one person (!); today, the unit has increased 8 fold (5 Americans and 3 Kenyans, or Foreign Service Nationals (FSN) as they are called at the State Department). The State Department focuses on public affairs (information and cultural) and political/economic policy, while USAID is concerned with humanitarian assistance, peace and security, governance and democracy, and investing in people. USAID provided $274 million last year in food and humanitarian assistance to Somalia – the largest donor in the country.
While I am here this summer, I am also hoping to get the opportunity to travel to the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Northeastern Kenya, located about 80km (50 miles) from the Somali border. Dadaab is in fact three separate camps – Ifo, Dagahaley, and Hagadera. The camp was created in 1991, when former President Siad Barre was overthrown; there has been no effective government in the country since. Dadaab was built with a capacity for 90,000 refugees, yet today it hosts over 270,000 refugees with a constant influx of Somalis, due to constant and worsening conflict in the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is increasingly unable to meet basic standards for the care and maintenance of refugees, many of whom I suppose are women. It will be interesting to see how international refugee policy affects women, and how their needs are or are not being addressed. More to come on that front!
Outside of work, things are going well. I live in an apartment in Westlands – an area outside downtown Nairobi – with Courtney, a friend from HKS, and her friend Matt, who are starting an NGO in Kenya. I find myself constantly comparing my experience here to my semester abroad in Kenya, in the fall of 2002, when I lived with a host family in Nairobi (in a very modest area called Olympic, right outside Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa). Our apartment is great – safe, running water, electricity, four bedrooms. I can’t say that I mind the change, but part of me looks back to my time in Olympic with a fondness of direct immersion - remembering the bucket showers, the daily electricity cut-outs, and meals of Ugali (Kenyan staple starch, made out of maize flour and water) and goat stew. I will definitely be visiting my host family while I am here.
I’ve learned so much about Somalia in the past week, though I realize it is just the very tip tip tip of the iceberg. There are in fact very few “experts” out there, as the nearly 20 year conflict changes so often and is quite complicated. Even those who have worked or studied Somali issues for decades te
ll me that they are still learning. So I have a long way to go. The United States’ focus on Somalia has increased immensely in the past two years. Today, my colleagues tell me that it is the State Department’s number one focus in Sub-Saharan Africa. An interesting illustration – two years ago, in January, 2007, the Somalia Affairs Unit consisted of one person (!); today, the unit has increased 8 fold (5 Americans and 3 Kenyans, or Foreign Service Nationals (FSN) as they are called at the State Department). The State Department focuses on public affairs (information and cultural) and political/economic policy, while USAID is concerned with humanitarian assistance, peace and security, governance and democracy, and investing in people. USAID provided $274 million last year in food and humanitarian assistance to Somalia – the largest donor in the country.While I am here this summer, I am also hoping to get the opportunity to travel to the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Northeastern Kenya, located about 80km (50 miles) from the Somali border. Dadaab is in fact three separate camps – Ifo, Dagahaley, and Hagadera. The camp was created in 1991, when former President Siad Barre was overthrown; there has been no effective government in the country since. Dadaab was built with a capacity for 90,000 refugees, yet today it hosts over 270,000 refugees with a constant influx of Somalis, due to constant and worsening conflict in the country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is increasingly unable to meet basic standards for the care and maintenance of refugees, many of whom I suppose are women. It will be interesting to see how international refugee policy affects women, and how their needs are or are not being addressed. More to come on that front!
Outside of work, things are going well. I live in an apartment in Westlands – an area outside downtown Nairobi – with Courtney, a friend from HKS, and her friend Matt, who are starting an NGO in Kenya. I find myself constantly comparing my experience here to my semester abroad in Kenya, in the fall of 2002, when I lived with a host family in Nairobi (in a very modest area called Olympic, right outside Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa). Our apartment is great – safe, running water, electricity, four bedrooms. I can’t say that I mind the change, but part of me looks back to my time in Olympic with a fondness of direct immersion - remembering the bucket showers, the daily electricity cut-outs, and meals of Ugali (Kenyan staple starch, made out of maize flour and water) and goat stew. I will definitely be visiting my host family while I am here.
This weekend I went out Karen, a suburb of Nairobi, where I visited a baby elephant orphanage and giraffe park to breed a sub-species of giraffes that are endangered (only 600 left in the world!). I was nice to get out of the crazy city and see the beautiful trees, expansive landscapes, and wildlife. More to come soon!
Incredible, keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite memories from senior year of college is coming home to find the onetime seldom-meat-eating Rachel cooking up a steak to satisfy her newfound cravings for red meat inspired by Olympia goat stew. :)
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