A Visit to Kakuma

Background: In a previous blog I discussed a visit to Kakuma, the large UNHCR refugee camp located in northwest Kenya.  Here some new arrivals put up a temporary shelter. East Africa has long suffered from unstable governments, rebel insurgency, terrorism, warfare, droughts and flooding.  As a United Nations Peacekeeper, I spent several years working and…

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Avoiding A Ramadan Riot in Afghanistan

Avoiding A Ramadan Riot in Afghanistan by @RonRisdonAuthor #Ramadan #Eid #Afghanistan

In Islamic countries, it is customary to pay a Ramadan bonus, much like a Christmas bonus.  It is usually equal to one month’s salary and is handed out just before the Eid celebrations. The second year I was in Afghanistan, on the last working day before Eid we had issued the bonus to all the…

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This Is Why He Has War In His Heart

This Is Why He Has War In HIs Heart by @RonRisdonAuthor #War #Peacekeeping #UN

The soldier striding into my office didn’t smile; his worn fatigues bore the insignia of the South Sudanese Army. He introduced himself through his translator as Lt. Rashadd and offered me a limp but sweaty palm. I greeted him and motioned for him to take a seat. Instead, he eyed me with a feral glare…

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A Day In The Life Of A PeaceKeeper Part Two

A Day In The Life Of A PeaceKeeper Part Two by @RonRisdonAuthor #Life

The UN wasn’t created to take mankind into paradise, but rather to save humanity from hell ~ Dag Hammarskjold As I explained in my last blog entry, part one of a two-part series, I recently gave a presentation to the Lansing, Michigan chapter of the United Nations Association as part of a popular series called Java…

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A Day in the Life of a Peacekeeper

A Day in the Life of a Peacekeeper by @RonRisdonAuthor #Peacekeeper

  The UN wasn’t created to take mankind into paradise, but rather to save humanity from hell ~ Dag Hammarskjold Recently I gave a presentation to the Lansing, Michigan chapter of the United Nations Association as part of a popular series called Java Café: a presentation on a topic of interest followed by questions and lively…

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Why Refugees and Immigrants Can Be An Asset

Why Refugees and Immigrants Can Be An Asset by @RonRisdonAuthor #refugees

Standing Tall Man Behold a stern, sober-looking man who is engaged in unsolicited acts of humanitarianism. I met him in northwest Kenya while visiting the Kakuma refugee area recently. Among the incredible things UNHCR staff members showed us was a project between locals and refugees. Local residents, who have survived for centuries as traditional herders…

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