The Foreign Service Journal, October 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2018 47 AFSA NEWS AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION USDC andAFSAJoin Forces for Remembrance of 1998 East Africa Embassy Bombings On Aug. 6 the U.S. Diplomacy Center hosted “Remem- brance, Reflection, Resilience: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the East Africa Bombings” in the Harry S Tru- man Building. AFSA’s Foreign Service Journal team—working with Ambassadors Pru Bushnell and John Lange, and with the U.S. Diplomacy Center—spent months collecting reflections from survivors for a special July-August edition of The Foreign Service Journal and planning the anniversary event. (Reflections were also shared with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training for a special oral his- tory collection.) Many survivors whose per- sonal stories were included in the Journal were among the more than 200 people who attended the event. Speakers included Susan Pompeo, the spouse of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; USAIDAdmin- istrator Mark Green; Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy; and USDC Director Mary Kane. The highlight was the two-part panel discussion, moderated by AFSA Presi- dent Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, during which survivors of the bombings spoke. First, Pru Bushnell, U.S. ambassador in Nairobi at the time of the bombings, and John Lange, chargé d’affaires in Dar es Salaam, gave power- ful remarks describing the situation on the ground and in the U.S. relationship with Kenya and Tanzania at the time. Panelists for the second part were: George Mimba, an FSN and 26-year employee of Panelists George Mimba, Mike Trott, Tina Mdobilu, Dudley Sims, Ambassador Pru Bushnell and Ambassador John Lange discuss their experiences during and after the bombing. AFSA/SHAWNDORMAN CALENDAR October 8 Columbus Day – AFSA Offices Closed October 9 Luncheon: 195th A-100 Class October 10 12-1 p.m. Job Search Program Brown Bag Lunch October 10 4-6 p.m. Annual AFSA Awards Ceremony October 17 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting October 17, 24 and 31 AFSA/Smithsonian Associates: “The Future of U.S.-Russia Relations” October 25 Retiree Webinar with AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson October 26 Job Search Program Graduation Reception October 28-November 1 AFSA Road Scholar Program Washington, D.C. November 12 Veterans Day – AFSA Offices Closed November 14 12-1:30 p.m. AFSA Governing Board Meeting November 22 and 23 Thanksgiving – AFSA Offices Closed Embassy Nairobi; Mike Trott, who had been the regional executive officer at the USAID mission in Kenya for just 10 days when the bombing occurred; Tina Mdobilu, an FSN interpreter for Embassy Dar es Salaam at the time of the bombing; and Dudley Sims, a public affairs officer who arrived in Dar es Salaam just eight days before the bombing. These survivors discussed in moving detail their experiences during the bombing and its aftermath. In her remarks, Amb. Ste- phenson said that the com- memoration was intended to be “about community, coming together to remember and to honor those we have lost and the survivors, those who kept going, and who rebuilt, kept our diplomacy and our communities going.”And Continued on p. 56