MinnesotaMel

A busy week, full of pride

The past week has been uber-busy.

I am planning a retreat for the management section here. I wish we were going someplace fun and motivational, but alas, we are limited to "retreating" to one of the new embassy compound conference rooms. The topics of the retreat are right up my alley- strategic planning and process improvement methodology- but I have been frustrated by the fact that all of the electronic and hard copy records from my days in this field are not available to me. That is right, they are all in storage. Having only limited space for bringing things here- a weight limit of 250 pounds of air freight and a limit of 120 GB of hard drive on my laptop- made me make some choices. This choice was not even a tough one at the time. After all, what were the chances I would ever need to do a presentation about process improvement or strategic planning in a war zone? The gods are laughing at me :) Thus I have resorted to setting my pride aside and begging- sending consulting friends begging emails to ask if they can help me. So far I have received no help from those requests, and the retreat is this week Wednesday. Thankfully, my wonderful roommate has some powerpoint presentations that have been useful. And there is always the great resource the internet. But alas, all of that requires redoing work I have already done, and will mean a number of late nights this week if I am going to facilitate the quality of retreat I want to achieve.

This week I also made my first visit outside the International Zone. I traveled with our Social Worker to visit Camp Taji, just northwest of Baghdad. We flew there by helicopter and the flight was uneventful, but did give me a chance to see the countryside as we flew quickly by. I tried to take photos of the countryside, but have not yet taken the time to see if they turned out. Some of the images that remain in my mind...dust covered buildings and dust covered rubble, swimming pools choked with dirty water and old lounge chairs, laundry hanging to dry on the tops of buildings, cars stopped at check points, tall factories spewing flames into the sky, people in markets, crazy tall palm trees providing shade for fields of green, a florescent aquarmarine river winding across the landscape, the crossed swords monument and elevated freeways criss crossing over the tops of other roads and buildings.

Camp Taji is geographically huge, but like stepping back in time. A series of dusty brown and gray buildings house people, feed people and employ people. Part of the compound is Iraqi run and occupied and part is US run and occupied. The team I was visiting is living and working at the camp, but is working with local Iraqi officials in another section of Baghdad. The team has made great progress and has some fabulous team members. One team member has made and distributed, out of his own pocket and initiative, a bumper sticker that says "Proud to be an Iraqi." He hands this out to kids that he meets as he does his work. He told us that in Arabic it is tough to translate the word "proud" so when he is explaining it to kids he translates it as "happy." His work, and the work of others on the team, is helping the kids and their families and the local government officials find the meaning of the word "proud" in themselves and in all that they are working towards in their nation. These teams, made up of military and civilian volunteers, are the great heros of our day to day effort to win the hearts and minds of people here. I am so proud to support them and the great work they are doing.

The scariest part of being at the camp was the sign on the ladies room door. A huge snake, coiled into a dusty corner of a building just like the one I was staying in, was pictured there, along with a standard operating procedure for how to respond in a "snake encounter." The notice explained that several types of venomous snakes exist in the area, tending to sleep the day away coiled in areas where they might find some respite from the sun- like garbage piles, areas of rubble, etc. It also helpfully explained that the same snakes tended to come out in the evening. This sign was about 20 feet from my overnight accommodations. Snakes are one of my biggest fears. I did not sleep well, and luckily did not have to use the SOP I had read about on the door. But I am proud to have faced my fear without too much looking under my bed.

Last night I attended a farewell party for one of the social workers who is departing here after more than 2.5 years of saving the community here from going crazy. Though I have only known him for a month, I am really going to miss him. He gave a great farewell speech, in which he explained there are two kinds of people in Baghdad. There are people who will push others out of the way on their way to the duck and cover bunker, and there are people who will help others into the duck and cover bunker. He reminded us to always be in the letter group. I think his words are meaningful not only in Baghdad, but also in the way we all treat each other in every situation. His words brought tears to our eyes, and he talked more about remembering in all we do to bring hope and support to each other. What a remarkable speech from a remarkable man. He will be missed. I am proud to have served with him.

posted by MinnesotaMel @ 11:47 PM