Scattered Seeds

Chapter Seven

Harry turned on his camera and brought it up to his face. The living picture in front of them captivated him in a morbid way.

The team was just inside the gates of Dadaab. On the other side was 'limbo.' The shacks all around them were nothing more than branches bent into domes and tied together; covered in plastic or shredded pieces of cloth.

"Break into pairs," As Sy told them. "Just like yesterday; one translator for each pair."

Luke moved around Louise to tug at Jess's t-shirt sleeve. "Please come with me today," he asked softly.

Jess glanced up at him and saw a chilling shadow over Luke's normally warm brown eyes. She sensed the need in his voice, and she nodded to him. "No problem, Little Buddy."

"Do not," As Sy continued. "And I mean do not separate from your pair. Stick together. The pairs should always remain within a house or two of each other." The commanding tone of the UNICEF Director was not lost on the team. "Stay within ear shot of each other at all times."

Tom and Louise wandered away in one direction with their translator, surveying the depressing scene surrounding them.

As Sy directed Harry to a few places he knew the photographer would find of visual interest.

Luke and Jess looked at each other, and then at their female translator.

"I'm Jess," she offered, extending her hand to the woman.

"It is very nice to meet you. I am Bina," the translator replied, and shook Jess's hand.

"Luke." He repeated the gesture, taking the lady's hand in his own.

Luke noticed it was not rough and calloused like the hands belonging to the local women helping with the medical examinations the day before. His curiosity overrode his good manners before he had a chance to bridle his tongue.

"How is it that a native woman came to speak English so fluently?" Luke asked, hoping he was not insulting her.

Bina gently smiled at him. "My mother is French," she told them. "She came here to assist with relief efforts when Dadaab first opened its gates. She fell in love with my father, who was Kenyan. They married, and I came along after."

Jess did the math in her head. That put Bina in her early twenties.

Bina went silent for a moment, reflecting. "My mother insisted I have a Western education, so when I was five she took me back to France. My father stayed here to continue working with refugees. When I was old enough, I returned to do the same."

"What happened to him?" Luke was surprised at his continued boldness, but he picked up on the way Bina spoke of her father in the past tense, and he honestly wanted to know the answer to his question.

"He was in Ifo camp," Bina said, looking directly at Luke. "Grenades were thrown into the square. He was in the square at the time."

The simple way Bina explained her father's death baffled both Jess and Luke.

"Al Shabaab is not the only threat here," Bina explained. "There are plenty of warlords, militant groups, and religious extremists who do not like Kenya aiding and abetting Somalis."

Jess reflected on what Bina told them. She was well aware that a large number of Kenya's citizens did not want the refugees in their country. Many saw them as a tax on their resources, a vexation on their society, and a force of destruction to their environment. For local residents to dedicate their lives to helping the Somalis scratch out even the most basic existence, at the risk of sacrificing their very own lives, put her in awe of such unsung heroes.