Reminders of home

Although 7,200 miles separate Nairobi from Portland, Maine, on several occasions it has felt like a whole lot less.  The "small world" encounters and reminders of the Pine Tree State over the last 5 months (although not numerous) never cease to amaze me.  I've met two fellow Mainers in Nairobi - both of whom grew up about 15 minutes from my hometown.  In Dadaab, I work with a refugee interpreter whose entire extended family lives in Lewiston.  He was so excited to meet someone from Maine, and I was so thrilled that someone in Kenya (not from the US or Europe) actually knew about Maine! 

Some visual reminders of home:

While hiking Mt. Kenya a few months ago, I spotted a Sugarloaf  sticker at the peak!

And I even found a Nairobi matatu showing its loyalty to the great state of Maine.  Usually references to God or Bob Marley grace the outside of matatus, but not this one! I wonder who the Portland Pirates fan is?!?!

Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo - views from the field

Each morning at 7:45, the resettlement officers head to one of the three refugee camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo) to interview refugees and prepare their applications for resettlement.  The majority of those being assisted by UNHCR's resettlement group are refugees who arrived in 1991/1992.  The number of the 1991/1992 arrivals is high, so a lottery-type system is used to evenly distribute the interviews among the different camps and housing blocks within each camp.  Many children of the 1991/1992 arrivals were brought to the camps as babies or were born in the camps.  Could you imagine not knowing what life was like outside a refugee camp?

 

Waiting to be called for baby registration at the UNHCR Dagahaley Field Office.

















The entry gate for the UN vehicles.



The entry/waiting area for those awaiting resettlement interviews.

  



















My caseload generally focuses on those refugees with serious medical issues that can be treated in a resettlement country (and have a likely outcome of an improved way of life).  Many of the medical cases come from refugees living at Dagahaley Refugee Camp, so that is where I have spent a majority of my time.  I've gotten to know the interpreters and other staff working in Dagahaley, and they are a friendly bunch! 


One of my favorite Somali interpreters, Sulub, outside the field office in Dagahaley.

 

View of the resettlement offices at Dagahaley Field Office from the entry gate.

The largest camp, and the noisiest in terms of field offices, is Ifo Refugee Camp.  Because of the large number of refugees that come to the field office in Ifo, things can sometimes get a little heated.  For example, last week the women were protesting the shortage in staff for baby registration.  At first, they just threw stones at the metal gate that separates the waiting area from the field office grounds.  But then I heard the stones hitting the walls and windows of our offices!  Security was quick to settle the women down.  The following day, students were the ones to protest.  This time, it was a lack of teachers in the camp schools that caused the stone-throwing.  No one was hurt and the crowd was again settled down within a few minutes. 

Below are a few photos from the Ifo field office.

View from an interview room looking out at the waiting refugees.



Packed and ready to head back to the compound for lunch!



At 12:30, the vehicles make their way from the camps to the UN compound for lunch.  If you miss the convey, just text the kitchen staff to hold your lunch, surpress your hunger and relax/keep working until the 2:30 convey!

350,000+ refugees and counting...Dadaab, Kenya

Waiting to board the plane at Wilson Airport, Nairobi.

A few weeks ago, early on a Monday morning, I boarded a plane at Nairobi’s Wilson Airport bound for my new home for the next 2 ½ months.   An hour and a half later, we landed on a dusty airstrip 60 km from Somalia.  I stepped off the plane and headed for the row of UN vehicles that would drive us to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Sub-office in Dadaab, Kenya.

In early April, my supervisor in Nairobi asked me if I was interested in doing resettlement work at a refugee camp – and not just any refugee camp, but the largest in the world.  The idea immediately excited me.  But, I was also hesitant to leave Nairobi; I enjoyed the work, my friends and the comfort of knowing a place well.  I thought back to when I was planning my trip to Nairobi (about a year ago), and how I had hoped to have the opportunity to visit to a refugee camp while in Kenya.  However, I wasn’t expecting to spend several months there.  Now, four weeks into the experience, I can say that any less time than 2 ½ months would not be enough.   It has been an amazing experience so far.

UNHCR’s Dadaab office serves three refugee camps in the area – Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo.  The three camps were built to handle the influx of refugees in 1991-1992 who were fleeing the civil war in Somalia.  The camps were intended to house about 90,000 refugees in total.  Unfortunately, the situation in Somalia has not improved in the last 20 years, and the population of the camps is now over 350,000! Approximately 10,000 refugees are still arriving every month.

The camps are located a 10-20 drive from the UN compound.  There are no paved roads in sight – the closest pavement is in Garissa, about 100 km to the west.  With little rain in this part of the world, it's a dusty ride! 

 Driving down the road from the UN Compound to Dagahaley Refugee Camp

Each morning at 7:45, the UN vehicles leave the compound in a convey with a police escort.  There have not been any recent incidents, but the proximity to Somalia and the presence of bandits make the police escort a necessary precaution.   Although there is not much vehicular traffic on the roads, there are plenty of four-legged obstacles, such as cows, donkeys, goats, camels and warthogs.

My weekday mornings are spent interviewing refugees at one of the field offices in the three camps.  My caseload focuses on refugees with serious medical needs, regardless of their date of arrival in Kenya.  I see children brought into the office in wheelbarrows, refugees with missing limbs and albino Somalis.  Albinos are  particularly at risk in the camps because of the strong sun and those wanting to use albino organs for witchcraft.  

Afternoons are spent back at the office in the UN compound, writing up the cases I interviewed that morning.  There is a lot of work to be done, and I’m barely scratching the surface.  But each day is extremely rewarding. 

Driving past Ifo Refugee Camp, view of some of the homes in the camp.

The Dadaab UNHCR Sub-office is located in a compound with several other relief agencies.  It is the largest of the agencies in the compound, with its own gym, tennis court, residences, offices, bar and dining hall.  Below are a few pictures from inside the UNHCR compound. 

View from my office into the resettlement/protection section.

The gym - inside view.

The gym - outside view.

 
My home – the left half.

A "street” in the UN compound.  It’s recommended that you stay on the paths so that you don’t encounter camel spiders, scorpions or spitting cobras!

The mess/cafeteria.