As reported last week, I just visited the headquarters of the U.S. military's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) headquartered at Camp Lemonier in the tiny nation of Djibouti. The trip was part of the reporting effort for a public radio documentary, produced by the Stanley Foundation (full disclosure: my employer) and KQED San Francisco.
I was deeply impressed by the people and the mission of CJTF-HOA. Their mission is to fight terrorism with what most people would call basic human kindness. They want to promote stability in the region by providing humanitarian assistance and kick-starting economic development. The goal is to take away the fertile soil for terrorist recruiting by digging wells, building schools, and providing services (like medical and veterinary care).
The personnel at Camp Lemonier are enthusiastic about the results. In fact, the most repeated sentiment from our interviews is that they find this to be the most rewarding work they have ever done.
My reporting partner, Kristin McHugh, and I wrote several blog entries on the visit and have a number of photos to share:
- Background on the mission
- Impressions of Camp Lemonier
- The camp's English Discussion Group program
- Volunteering at the local orphanage
- Digging wells for peace
- Building schools and health clinics
- Around Djibouti
- Our photo gallery from CJTF-HOA, Camp Lemonier, and Djibouti
Other Links
- Official site of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa
- Djibouti, from the About Guide to Geography
- High in Hell, story about Djibouti and the drug khat, from Esquire magazine