The Foreign Service Journal, January 2012

34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2 flown to processing locations else- where en route to resettlement in third countries. She looked slightly askance at the request, since it did not involve a resettle- ment case, but said she would make an exception given the cir- cumstances. Keeping My Promise With all of the pieces coming together, I contacted Ibrahim at his UNHCR outpost in eastern Ethiopia and asked him to arrange for the flight. Coordinating with ICRC, he managed to get Aisha and her uncle to Addis, where the IOM arranged shelter and disbursed a small food allowance during their stay. ICRC fitted her with a prosthesis and provided therapy and training before she returned to the camp on a UNHCR flight. About a year later, I again traveled to the camp where I had first met Aisha. Ibrahim ac- companied me during my tour of the facility. Although conditions there remained Spartan, they had also improved slightly. Ibrahim was happy to report that Aisha had married another So- mali refugee, had enrolled in a mi- crocredit course, and was now running her own small sundries shop in the camp. The first year with the prosthesis had been tough, but Aisha had persisted in overcoming daily obstacles. Ibrahim asked if I wanted to meet her again, to see and hear how her life had changed. I thought it over for a while before declining. I was satisfied just knowing that with the weight of the U.S. government behind me, and with the help of my UNHCR, ICRC and IOM partners, I had been able to keep my promise to Aisha. F OCUS I was satisfied just knowing that, with a lot of help, I had been able to keep my promise.