I'm finding that the moments I have internet are scarce and short lived. The wireless does not transmit throughout the entire compound, but only within 20 meters of the hub – so to connect to the web on my pc I have to go to a particular location which is slightly out of the way. However, I intend to connect every other day, if not daily. My laptop must run on battery power during that time, so I only have approximately 40 minutes of internet connection. I am now going to begin writing my emails/blog updates in word and then copy them to my email for maximum efficiency.
The refugee camps are not sprawling fields of helplessness and poverty as I had imagined. Poverty and extremely limited opportunities for self advancement are the greatest problems here – which is really to be considered as two sides of the same coin and are not separate problems. The Somali people are determined and steadfast. They are always searching to improve their situation, which gives them a negative image among other ethnicities – they are considered cunning and sly. Yet when get involved, you realize that they are instead attempting to mobilize their lives within dire circumstances, therefore they will utilize any information or opportunity available.
On my first day here I went to Ifo II, of a new camp which is presently being constructed. I had gone with the project manager from the NRC, Joanna, a heavily motivated architect from Portugal. She had a great deal of work to do, so she left me with the project engineer, Sayla. One would think that being the only white person would be awkward in a refugee camp, yet the people are very hospitable and such issues are quickly resolved. The contractor, a very tall Somali man invited Sayla and I into his Turkel, an igloo-like house made of sticks, reed, and collected materials such as plastic or paper. Within the Turkel I drank a glass of tea (made of camel milk) in a glass of questionable cleanliness and ate from a plate of camel meet with the other men (while sitting on the dirt floor of course). That evening I was having dinner with the NGO workers, and discovered – much to my surprise – that not a single worker had ever ate camel or visited the home of a refugee within the camp. As many of the NGO workers have been here for nearly a year, I found this to be of great surprise.
On the same day, the UN branches which sponsored the development within IFO II, such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, etc. visited the camp to see the progress of the project. Everything was a big performance. They would tap on the mud bricks, take photos of the refugees, and all smile at the great work being done. At the same time, masses of children, women, and young men were swarming toward the UN people (I was standing there with them, alongside the workers from the NRC). Yet the whole time, not a single white person (from the UN) spoke to any of the refugees. In fact, they were generally afraid of the people within the camp. I had been hanging about in the same area for nearly 2 hours without a single feeling of apprehension, intimidation, or uncertainty – yet the upper level policy makers maintained a high level of isolation, which ultimately only builds tension.
The concept of a refugee camp is somewhat absurd. I fully believe that within a location of better environmental conditions, there would be no need for international intervention. It is because of the harsh environment that these people are aid dependent. There is no space here to detail the political circumstances in which these camps were founded, but in terms of the daily lives of people who live here, I advocate for a change in terminology.
This place should not be called a refugee camp, it should be referred to as a refugee community.
I could go on with crazy stories and descriptions of this place, but instead, I will conclude with this. Since my arrival, I have already sparked an interest among refugees and some of the administrative staff, as my approach to be little more than a facilitator to refugee empowerment through the provision of an education which is strictly relevant to the limited opportunities available within the camp. I do not know why this such a novel idea, yet it certainly makes me feel empowered as well. Within 2 weeks, my project will only require 2 days per week, and as long as I can maintain this high speed momentum, I hope to dedicate the other 3 days toward another task. I'm trying to get work from the UN, so I have a meeting tomorrow at 230, wish me luck!
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