Water, Anything for Water!!!!

August 30, 2009 2nd Post

Water, it is so vital. Water is life itself in Djibouti. The nomads follow water for themselves and their animals. The government trucks in water by the liters to fill barrels and tanks left alongside the road by those living near the area.

In all of Souleiman and my meetings with government and non-governmental sectors, the problem to progress, health, education and more is WATER. We have had several good meetings with the water ministry and also UNICEF (who is providing almost all of the water drilling, rainwater collection tanks and trucking in of potable water in the Lac Assal region). They are also vitally involved in providing larger infrastructure water systems for the entire country. They told us about Dubai Cares a very active NGO in this part of the country. This link is from the Dubai Cares website: http://www.dubaicares.ae/Thirst%20for%20Education. I found it very interesting and we are going to try and set up a meeting with their representative in Djibouti, if we can.

Both UNICEF and Dubai Cares are working with the same program goal in mind: They call it WASH - Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, all three of which must be addressed.
Makes since to me. I want to follow their lead in our endeavors to help the Lac Assal region. We don't need to reinvent the wheel, just make it better and bring it to more people.

Domestic Violence is Alive & Well in Djibouti

August 30, 2009

Unfortunately, domestic violence is international. I know of nowhere on earth that it doesn't exist, even here in Djibouti. One of the women who works in our compound has been beaten and burned with cigarettes by her husband of two years. She is an Afar, just 23 years old. She is now living with her parents in Djibouti City on the weekends and feels safe there. The court has told her husband not to come near her. But, she is still fearful, cannot sleep at night and, even after repeated reasurrances that the guards at the Salt Investment compound at Lac Assal would never let him in, she is still terrified. She is seeking a divorce. But, I have yet to understand the process or the time frame.

Just a little cultural background:

In Djibouti there are mainly two cultures represented both of which are traditionally Muslim: the Afars and the Issas (Somalies who live and raise their families in Djibouti). In general, the Somalie Issas are taller and more slender in build. The Afars are shorter. The Afars tend to be more physical is their confrontations. I am told that in Somali culture, boys and men are taught never to hit or hurt their sisters or wives or women, in general. I don't know for sure that it is true. In the Afar culture, woman are not as precious.

The Somali elders encourage young people to look outside of their families to marry. In the Afar culture, you are encouraged to marry your cousin. This is what this young woman did. This makes it very difficult for an Afar woman to get out of an abusive marriage. Her marriage is enmeshed in the entire family. The reason this is traditionally done, I am told, is to keep the family name alive for generations.

In the Afar tribes (as well as the Somali tribes)individuals are named in a very precise way. Your mother chooses whatever first name she thinks you should have - that goes for boys or girls. Your second name is your father's first name and your third name is your grandfather's first name. People are addressed by their first name and referenced in conversation by their first name.

In the Afar culture, the names that are chosen have a religious connotation - out of the Koran. In the Somali culture, the names that are chosen come from their descendants.

John and I have been told that we can tell whether a person is Afar or Somali by their names. We are learning. And, I am sure that there is some assimilation going on.

We continue to learn about this rich culture. But, cannot we do something to stop the abuse of women around the world?

Daboita- A Djiboutian Housewarming Gift

August 25, 2009
Zenaub, the 23 year old Afar woman who watches over the Salt Investment Expat Compound where we live at Lac Assal, has become a good friend. She is trying to learn more English and I am trying to learn about the Afar customs. As a traditional Djiboutian housewarming gift, she presented me with a Daboita. This is a stylized version of the rounded huts used for housing among the lava rocks in this area. It has a slit up one side with a flap to cover the opening. It is now a prized posession of the Pyles household.

Indigenous Peoples Development Program

August 24, 2009

For Salt Investments, I am editing and working on documents for OPIC, the US governmental agency that may be guaranteeing funding for Salt Investment’s construction. We must fill develop an Indigenous Peoples Development Program (IPDP). They are very interested in how the project affects the indigenous peoples of tjos area. OPIC's representative mostly wanted to photograph and talk with nomads – those individuals who collect salt from Lac Assal in an artisanal way. But, here nomads are part of the overall community people, the Afar tribal people which are by tradition nomadic. These salt extractors have just developed another business line, collecting salt and taking in on camelback to Ethiopia and other regions of Djibouti. The OPIC representative could not get it into his head that they were all one in the same peoples. And the time and effort involved in developing this program has been enormous. It makes the US government seem so out of touch.

The pictures above are of the nomadic men on their way to Tadjoura(only males extract/transport/sell salt from Lac Assal). They dig it up by hand with pickaxes, load it into sleeves holding 25-30 kilos of salt and walk 2 days to Ethiopia and other regions of Djibouti in a caravan with one or two other men and their camels. In Ethiopia, they exchange the salt for maize or sell and use the money to buy family necessities.

Getting Things Done in Djibouti

Sunday, Aug 23, 2009
We are fine. Compared to the average poor nomadic Djiboutian. We are so lucky. Here is a picture of their stands which dot the road everywhere. It is also probably where they sleep also. We are just trying to settle in and get some work done. On Thurs eve we shopped in Djibouti for several small household items we needed at the compound. We had only a bed, 4 dining room chairs, 2 small desks and an amoire. No place to sit or read, etc. We ended up bringing home 2 somewhat soft chairs and a lamp/table from our room at the Villa (our office with rooms above for sleeping). We have 1 day off, Friday, which is the Muslim holy day. We come into Djibouti, generally Thursday afternoon and stay until 6 am on Saturday at the Villa. Someday we will have to order some furniture that comes from Dubai and takes about a month to get here.

Everything takes some much time here and it has to be done 3-4 times over. Like, our front door latch and lock at the compound never has worked. So, after 5 days they finally changed it and that one is faulty and must be done again. Most hardware and tools here are made in China of very, very inferior materials. We have already gone thru two water coolers. We have a small home office here at our little 675 sq. foot house and expect a filing cabinet to be brought in today. We will also establish our main offices up at the Administration Building in the future.

It is now Ramadan and the Muslim workers (the majority) only eat/drink(even water) 3x during the day at 6:30 pm, 8 pm and between 2-4 am every day. Needless to say they are tired and don't get much done during the day. This goes on for 1 month. In this hot weather (110 or so) it does not make much since, especially for the workers outside. I feel really sorry for the cooks (they are Muslim) who have to cook 6 separate meals a day and not taste or eat themselves. The non-Muslims eat at 6 am, 12 noon and 7 pm. Then they have to cook all 3 of the Muslim meals and serve them also. Crazy. The Muslims love Ramadan!!!

We find it interesting and the people fascinating. They have a good sense of humor and it is very safe to be here. It is rather an oasis in Africa. There really is no unrest or hostilities here. The early mornings and evenings are lovely (still very warm). This morning we had a rosy sunrise. While we were gone to Djibouti City it really rained at Lac Assal. When we returned home there were puddles of water everywhere. Strange.

Hi From Djibouti #2

August 19, 2009

My position with Salt Investments is to do Community Relations and Training. We are starting to work on the school and community medical clinic that Salt Investment is interested in helping to facilitate. Souleiman Rirach, my colleague, and I are going into Djibouti City tomorrow to talk briefly with the Minister of Education about their plans out at the Lac Assal area. Soueiman is my right hand man, the arranger of everything. He speaks 5 languages- Somalie, French, English, Dutch and Afar. Here is a picture of him in front of the OPS clinic onsite. Without him, I could not get very far on these projects.

We are also meeting with two guys from the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) about their plans out here. We are also ordering and picking up more meds for our OPS employee clinic onsite. It is so in need of supplies. Right now it has one elderly male nurse and a few drugs, 1 desk, a sink and two beds with an oxygen canister. Need to assess what else we really need. We are supposed to be getting another nurse. But, no doctor as of yet.

Hi From Djibouti

August 18, 2009

John and I are here at the compound near Lac Assal, Djibouti, Africa (the lowest point in Africa 550 feet below sea level)– 1st day and getting settled in. It is hella hot and very windy! They were out there pouring cement mixed with ice! Only in Djibouti.