The Foreign Service Journal, July/August 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2018 27 bombing. Seeing the names of some of the people who were killed would bring back the memory. Kenya had had security issues, such as crimes, carjackings and rapes—but not bombings. The entire country was shocked and did not have an emergency preparedness program prior to the bombings. Kenya has never been the same since. On a personal level, I do not watch media coverage of bomb- ings. I am still too traumatized to recall the events of Aug. 7, 1998. My family noticed increased levels of stress, fear and anger. I suffer from sleep deprivation at times. Holding together as one team—Americans and Kenyans— under the excellent leadership of the most caring and skilled Ambassador Prudence Bushnell is what created a new normal for me. Working with wonderful and appreciative supervisors like Lee Ann Rose and Meg Brown normalized my life. I have maintained close relationships with them, and I feel they are a part of me, for we shared a collective trauma. While many of the other jobs relating to the immediate after- math of the bombing were temporary, the work of the hotline team went on for several years; and in some cases, it still goes on today. The families of the bereaved looked to us Kenyan staff who manned the hotlines for moral assistance and support well after the bombing. I consider it one of the hardest and most gut- wrenching jobs any of us did. Building an organizational family culture is key for survivors and helpers. Living with Unanswered Questions Neal Kringel Security Cooperation Officer in the Kenya U.S Liaison Office My story is likely similar to those of my colleagues. Small, seem- ingly insignificant choices, statements and actions ultimately decided who lived and who died. As an Air Force officer, I was assigned to the Kenya U.S. Liaison Office led by Colonel Ron Roughead. At the instant the bomb detonated—10:39 a.m.—I was in the ambassador’s office for a core Country Team meeting. The ambassador’s office was located on the top floor, one floor up and on the opposite side of the building from the KUSLO office. All those in my office