Feature Story:

Helping Put Dar Back on Track

lot has been said about the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in East Africa last Aug. 7. Most of the media coverage so far has, appropriately, focused on the traumatic loss of life, serious injuries and extensive property damage. Little, however, has been said about the remarkable rebuilding efforts that started within hours of the bombings.

Although I have never served in East Africa, I, like others, was shocked and saddened when I heard the news that Friday morning. Ten days later, with just 48 hours' notice (more than some employees received!), I was en route to Tanzania to help establish emergency personnel operations.

After the bombing in Dar es Salaam, emergency embassy operations were directed from the public affairs officer's house in a residential part of the city. The house, peacefully situated on the Indian Ocean and accented with tropical flora, was transformed into a command center for an army of State, U.S. Information Service and U.S. Agency for International Development employees and law enforcement agents--all on emergency temporary duty.

The living room became the administrative and consular sections, with two to three people sharing a desk, computer, telephone and sometimes the same chair! The kitchen became the cafeteria; the upstairs bedroom, the main conference room; and the walk-in closet, the chargé's office. Thanks to the hot and sunny climate, the backyard barbecue pit was transformed into the personnel section's main conference room. Initially, visa applicants were interviewed on the front patio--until that area, too, was secured as an office by another eager TDYer.

I don't know if anyone stopped to count all the Americans and Foreign Service Nationals who descended on this small post to provide temporary duty support, but they must have numbered in the hundreds. A steady stream of engineers and architects flowed from the Office of Foreign Buildings Operations in Washington, D.C. Consular officers were plucked out of retirement. Others came from Cairo and Washington. A retired 35-year veteran administrative officer serving in a "While Actually Employed" capacity and a first-tour facilities maintenance officer were rerouted to Dar es Salaam from their evacuation in Kinshasa. Another TDY administrative officer cut short his home leave from Antananarivo and volunteered to help sort through the complex property issues in Dar. Office managers from Washington, D.C., Belgrade and Pretoria established functional offices in hallways. Invaluable FSN support came from Paris, Port Louis and Pretoria.

There was, admittedly, a measure of chaos, but also a tenacious determination among everyone to resume normal embassy operations. Reestablishing communications was an immediate top priority. With the help of some top-notch technicians from Frankfurt, Amman, Bonn and Dar es Salaam, a closet in the makeshift command post was jerry-rigged into the new Information Program Center. Incoming and outgoing cable traffic resumed, and the embassy started getting back to business.

One FSN died in Dar es Salaam, and another is missing and presumed dead. In addition, five guards and a member of the maintenance staff were killed, for a total of eight Tanzanian staff members.

Many other staff members were injured or experienced property damage, including having the bicycles and cars they drove to work destroyed. Everyone was deeply affected by the experience.

Meeting with the family of the Foreign Service National driver killed in the explosion was one of my first priorities. As I spoke to the FSN's widow, a Muslim from a small village who was shrouded in grief and bewildered over the extent of her loss, I realized how painfully inadequate were my words of condolence.

This was just the start of actions needed on the personnel front. Since the administrative and consular sections were among the hardest hit from the blast, we were amazed to discover that most of the paper records appeared to be intact. Unfortunately, they were considered evidence in a criminal investigation and therefore could not be released immediately, so we relied substantially on the institutional memory of the FSNs during the first weeks after the bombing.

When the consular section finally gained access to the files and sifted through the boxes, the staff encountered bloodstains and pulverized glass--a disturbing and poignant reminder of the explosion.

As we reviewed the records, support from Washington, D.C., and the Financial Service Centers in Charleston, S.C., and Paris proved invaluable in filling in much of the missing information about payroll and personnel records.

No story about the rebuilding efforts in Dar would be complete without describing the FSNs' role. Anyone who has served overseas knows that FSNs are the linchpin of embassy operations. The Tanzanians have always had a reputation as gentle, hospitable and kind people. The Aug. 7 bombing revealed other honorable traits in our Tanzanian FSNs, such as resilience, courage and an unshakable sense of humor.

Through it all, employees managed to return to work and quickly resumed their integral role in the embassy operations. Individually, they coped with the traumatic experience in their own private ways. One of the most enduring and positive images I will retain of Dar es Salaam is the resilience and dignity the FSNs demonstrated when things were at their worst.

View from the interim embassy site in Dar es Salaam.

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