SOMALIA - Writers Program's Somali Outreach

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001428 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E, AF/PD AND ECA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PREF KPAO SO KE SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Writers Program's Somali Outreach NAIROBI 00001428 001.2 OF 002 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. Four American writers conducted an extremely successful outreach visit to Somali youth during an ECA- and University of Iowa's International Writers Program-sponsored June 9-18 trip to Kenya. While they also did Kenya-specific programming on the same trip, this message highlights the outreach to Somalis in Kenya. The group conducted a session in Eastleigh, Nairobi's majority-Somali neighborhood, and followed with a three-day excursion to the Dadaab refugee camps, home to over 270,000 Somalis. The Somali participants uniformly praised the program, citing it as an example of a donor nation's efforts to recognize their rich cultural background, and interact with a marginalized population who rarely enjoys an opportunity to engage in cultural exchange. End summary. -------------- Eastleigh, Dadaab Represent Nation of Poets -------------- ¶2. A group of four distinguished American writers - Chris Merrill, Eliot Weinberger, Tom Sleigh, and Terese Svoboda - visited Kenya from June 9-18 under the auspices of the University of Iowa Writing Program's reading tour program, a cultural exchange organized by ECA. The writers read from their works, and provided feedback on compositions written by Somalis. While the group did many Kenya-specific programs on the same trip, this message focuses on the tremendously successful and groundbreaking outreach to Somali youth. ¶3. On the group's first full day in Kenya, it conducted a session with approximately 15 Somalis in Eastleigh, Nairobi's Somali enclave. While more than one of the participants introduced themselves as "aspiring poets" or "junior writers," the visiting Americans were extremely impressed with these representatives of "a nation of poets." Several of the Somalis' works had to do with peace and reconciliation, illustrating the degree to which young Somalis are focused on seeing their homeland recover from nearly two decades of disorder. Others were heartbreaking personal recollections of hostilities seen or even personally experienced in Somalia. ¶4. The writers then spent three days in the Dadaab refugee camps, the overwhelmingly -Somali camps in northeast Kenya. The camps were built as a temporary installation for 90,000 people nearly two decades ago, but now host over 270,000 refugees. It is the largest refugee camp in the world and still growing. The writers conducted sessions in each of the three separate camps, reaching over 200 youth. One camp staff member described the area as "a fenceless prison" and noted the over 50 percent of the population is under 21 years of age. The writers geared the sessions toward allowing the refugees to offer their own works. They heard painful stories of violence in Somalia and of life in the refugee camps, but also some optimistic poems and narratives about the future of Somalia and even the roles the youth themselves planned to play in rebuilding their country. ¶5. The aid-dependent mentality of many was starkly illustrated by one of the refugees, who devoted much of the beginning of his session to questions about what the group had come to do for them. After a series of questions geared toward donations at the beginning of the cultural exchange, the young man finally asked, "So you're not from an aid agency?" and became vigorously engaged in the session. Even those who were able to appreciate the importance of four very distinguished writers visiting the camps in a remote part of Kenya spent a significant amount of time asking the writers for help in getting published. The writers emphasized the importance of writers being proactive and advocating for themselves in the quest to see their works published. Overall, this program was a shining example of the value of programs geared not toward donating goods or services, but toward engaging with disillusioned Somalis on a personal level, recognizing the caliber of their artistic ability, even in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances. ¶6. The writers also addressed several audiences of amateur and professional Kenyan writers at multiple venues in Nairobi. They addressed graduate students and professionals at two public universities and the National Library. They also met with professional writers associated with Kwani, the prestigious local NAIROBI 00001428 002.2 OF 002 literary journal and publishing company, as well as with IWP alumni. The workshops were informal, and allowed the writers to share their work and engage in lively discussion with participants about writing, literary inspiration, and publishing. ¶7. Post thanks the Department for this unique and tremendously beneficial opportunity. In the absence of an ability to travel to Somalia, such outreach programs allow the U.S. government to facilitate direct contact between accomplished Americans and their Somali counterparts. RANNEBERGER