The Foreign Service Journal, July/August 2018

68 JULY-AUGUST 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Eyewitness to Terror: Nairobi’s Day of Infamy The rough outline of what happened is easy to relate, but how can one render the texture of the events? All those who lived through the bombing own their own piece of the hell that called on us that day—a compound of the spe- cific sights, sounds and smells each of us had seared into our memories, and of the emotions they stirred. With the first rescue operations set in place, I walked to the rear of the building where the bomb had gone off to assess the damage there. It was a scene Dante might have conjured for his Inferno. The whole back side of the chancery was rubble. In the back park- ing lot the wrecks of several vehicles were ablaze. Charred corpses, black and shriveled, their hands outstretched in what looked like a last, futile supplication to ward of their demise, were strewn about. Hundreds of survivors were struggling out of the towering Coop- erative Bank building behind the chancery. All that was left of a smaller building that flanked it was a heap of concrete slabs. One man staggered by silently, the left side of his face ripped away, strips of flesh hanging from his bones. … How does it appear tome today? Muted pain lingers on. You carry on, absorbed by the kaleidoscope of daily life, but part of you cannot forget. The memories force themselves upon you when they choose. It would be untrue, however, to claim that mymemory of August 7, 1998, is entirely a shade of black. Tinged with the sorrow is pride, as I recall the extraordinary spirit our missionmembers, Kenyans and Americans alike, few of whomhad any preparation for such a disaster, displayed in the face of danger and death.The examples are almost innumerable. Who can forget the teams of volunteers who went repeatedly back into the blasted building, by then a death trap, filled with blinding and, we feared, poisonous smoke, littered with live wires, with gaping holes where elevator shafts once were? Ignoring the danger that the wrecked chancerymight collapse, they worked tirelessly to remove the wounded and the dead. —Lucien Vandenbroucke, politcal counselor and acting DCM in Nairobi on Aug. 7, 1998, from his article by the same title in the “Focus on Embassy Security,” FSJ , June 2000. Memorial to East Africa Bombing Victims A headstone-sized memorial now stands at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the 221 Americans, Kenyans and Tan- zanians who were killed in the August 7, 1998, embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the chargés from the embassies of Kenya and Tanzania, and some 100 others, including rep- resentatives of all the federal agencies that lost employees or family members, participated in the May 19 dedication at Arlington. John Naland, AFSA State vice president, and Frank Miller, AFSA USAID vice president, also attended the ceremony. —From AFSA News, FSJ , September 2000. Horror and Heroism Lucien Vandenbroucke’s account of the Nairobi terrorist bomb- ing ( FSJ , June 2000) accurately described the horror and heroism of “Black Friday.” We, the survivors, are doomed to relive Aug. 7 every day of our lives. Let’s not let the bombings suffer from the same “old news” syndrome that prevented us from fully implementing the Inman proposals in the 1980s. I suggest that future discussions on security and openness include at least one survivor from a major bombing as a reality check. I am also proud to be a member of the Foreign Service commu- nity, which reflects the ideals of America overseas. On Aug. 7, 1998, Ambassador Prudence Bushnell offered immediate evacuation to any direct-hire American employee in Nairobi. No one departed. —W. Lee Reed, security engineering officer, Nairobi Search and Rescue Team leader, Embassy Pretoria, from his Letter to the Edi- tor, “Eyewitness to Terror,” FSJ , November 2000. Crisis Response, the Human Factor In the period since the Aug. 7, 1998, embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanza- nia, much has been written about security at U.S. embassies and consulates. There is one element, however, that seems to be underestimated inmany of the discus- sions of improvements in crisis manage- Tribute Names can fade over time for tomorrow brings new victims and villains. Yet we will never forget the impact made through your service. The tears of a shocked nation shed in honor to you— Our precious sacrifice to a cowardly aggressor. May God embrace you as you return home with the prayers of a grateful nation. —Daniel Fowler, AFSA associate member, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, from FSJ , October 1998.