sudden change of plans...maybe (Liz)

My flight to Nigeria is on Thursday (June 18). Whether or not I get on the plane remains to be seen.

This past Thursday (June 11), I read the following in an email from the director of my host organization:

"Liz I have some concern regarding ur trip. I do not know if you have heard of the recent kiddnapping in the Niger Delta area in Nigeria? Well the situation has been extended to Imo State. Yesterday, I got a call from Professor Daniel Smith of Brown University cancelling his trip with his student to CYDI this year. They were meant to arrive on May 11. This will be the first time, since 2002, that CYDI will not have an intern from Brown University. Will we are disappointed, we recognise thier genuine concern.

Sincerely, I think you need to evaluate the situation and reconsider the trip. Things are not safe right now in Owerri. Will CYDI needs you this summer, we are also concerned about ur safety.

I also think you need to discuss the situation with Professor Kate Winskel."

Since reading this, I've been communicating with Kate, who has spoken to Deb McFarland and Roger Rochat. She also got in touch with Dan Smith, the Brown professor. After their conversation, she sent this to me:

"I just spoke with Dan Smith. His in-laws are in Abia State (adjacent to Imo) and that’s where he does his research. What’s going on there is a spate of ransom kidnappings by criminal gangs copycatting those that have become fairly commonplace in the coastal regions of the Delta in recent years. This phenomenon is not isolated to South-East Nigeria – it’s nationwide (I’ve even heard that these kidnappings are becoming more common in Kenya…). Dan relies heavily on advice from his in-laws and, on the basis of their advice, has gone to Nigeria repeatedly when the State Dept would have advised against it. This time, his in-laws are saying don’t come because of it’s not safe to do so in light of the kidnappings – and he’s taking their advice very seriously. It’s clear that Abia State is worse than Imo State (Benjamin apparently wasn’t aware of a problem until alerted to it by Dan). Dan had been taking a Brown student to work with Benjamin in Owerri, but didn’t comfortable about the student going when he had decided not to go to Abia State, an hour away, for security reasons."

Deb has friends at the Carter Center,which has an office in Owerri. We are waiting to hear back with their assessment of the situation. I am meeting with Kate on Monday to discuss. At this point, the decision may be out of my hands. Emory and GHI might step in and decide for me.

If the choice is left with me (which I doubt), I have two conflicting schools of thought. Having planned this trip for months, there is the inclination to go anyway. But, I have also been on the other side, telling someone not to go somewhere and really knowing what I was talking about. I generally depend on the advice of locals and do not take their warnings lightly. I have made it clear with the director of the organization that if this situation turns me into more of a burden as a liability than an asset, I would rather not go. Plus, there is the whole kidnapping thing... Kate was specific to point out that kidnappings don't always go as well as planned and sometimes end badly. Being a young, female American, I could be a clear target, especially considering that I will be one of the only white faces in Owerri.

So I'm currently preparing myself for any conclusion. I want to be ready to leave on Thursday, but am quickly putting together backup plans.

I've written an email to my contact in the States, who I worked with in Zimbabwe. This is part of the letter:

"If I do not go to Nigeria, then I am suddenly without plans for the next two months. But I like to see it as a potential opportunity. I called Delta Airlines yesterday and learned that my ticket is non-refundable. However, if I cancel my itinerary before the flight date, I will have a monetary credit with Delta (minus a $250 penalty). I could potentially use this to help fund a flight to Zimbabwe.

It has been well over a year since I've seen Zim. I have wanted to get back, and have even had moments of regret that I wouldn't be going this summer.

I may be able to convince Emory that this would be a logical alternative. My continuing relationship with Zimbabwe allows for a promising access point. Trying to build a program from scratch in any other location will be difficult in a short time period. But my history in Old Mutare provides a convenient template. I was intending to perform a program assessment for a community-based HIV organization in Nigeria. I could easily shift this into a formal evaluation of the VCT. I would conduct a series of confidential, voluntary interviews with both personnel and clientele. This could be very beneficial to the clinic, because I could provide documentation of strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for future development. As a funding source, this would be very helpful for me to also have."

When I suggested this option to Kate, she initially laughed and said "You've got to be joking?" (something about my knack for picking volatile environments...) But, after hearing me out, she started to come around. So we'll see.

As of now, I don't know what to expect. Nigeria, Zimbabwe, somewhere else altogether.

Either way, this summer just got a lot more interesting...

My Introduction to Emergency Management (Heidi)

As I mentioned in my last post, this past week I had the opportunity to watch as the newly founded NEMA (Israeli equivalent of FEMA) conducted it's largest national drill ever. Quite possibly the most intimidating and amazing experience I've had! Here are some of the more interesting events:

First, it was me and these guys. Yeah.

They had a school prepare for a missile attack - so they sounded the siren and had the kids go into missile/bomb shelters.

After that they pretended as if a missile had struck the building and children were trapped inside - so they sent rescue crews in (and up) to get them and had EMS triage. These kids were awesome.

Another day they showed us a resilience facility - so they showed us how they help displaced individuals and what they do for stress relief.

Then they took us to a collapsed building - they had demolished it before we got there and put dummy dolls in there to show us their search and rescue response.

The last day they pretended there was a car bomb and so they evacuated 6000 people from 9 buildings in downtown Tel Aviv - and we watched.

At the very beginning of the drill I met two FEMA guys who really took me under their wing. After the drill we took a trip to Caesaria to see the Roman ruins. I'm now in Beersheva. I'll be writing up findings from the drill and collaborating on research to work that our Center is working on. Should be fun!