(Pictured above: inside a Red Cross vehicle on the road where 6 months ago 4 expats were kidnapped by Al Shabaab)
Yesterday two Kenya Red Cross workers were shot at while driving a KRCS ambulance after bringing a woman from one of the camps to the maternity ward. The driver and paramedic both received bullet wounds as they made their way back to the Red Cross compound.
In my past visits to Dadaab, I have always been a guest of the KRCS and travelled under their wing. They are regarded as the safest organization working there, which was always attributed to the fact that they don’t travel through the camps with armed security (such as the UN) which is known to be antagonistic, and that almost the entire team there is Kenya-Somali, some even coming from Dadaab. This was the first time any member of KRCS has been attacked while working in Dadaab.
During my visits with KRCS to the camps, I took the same roads, and visited the same maternity clinic (pictured here). I am so saddened by this news. However I hope that instead of driving supporters away, it serves as a call to action. Dadaab is being ignored by the international community, and it is turning into a breeding ground of extremism, which when combined with destitution, illiteracy, poor education, and boredom, is explosive.
We are more determined now than ever to get a library to Dadaab. Bit by bit, everyone can do their part to rebuild the lives of those living this every day.