US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI645

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000645 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, ECIN, SOCI, DJ 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR INAUGURATES SELF-HELP SEWING WORKSHOP 
PROJECT 
 
1.(U) Summary: The Ambassador, Pol/Econ and Self-Help 
Clerk traveled April 28, to the southern 
city of Dikhil to inaugurate a Self-Help project for 
the Dikhil Women's Union.  Hosted by the District 
Commissaire, the Ambassador toured Dikhil, including 
several farms and the town's computer center. 
Ambassador also met with the Commissaire and two of 
the twelve Dikhil district parliamentarians.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) In her first official visit to the outlying 
regions, Ambassador Ragsdale, accompanied by Pol/Econ 
and Self-Help Clerk, presided over the opening of a 
Sewing Workshop for the Women's Association in Dikhil. 
The Self-Help program gave a $5,000 grant to the 
Association Development de la Corne d'Afrique, a 
non-governmental organization led by a parliamentarian 
from the Dikhil district, to finance a sewing workshop 
for the Dikhil Women's Union.  This grant was the first 
in more than a decade given to benefit the Women's Union. 
The sewing workshop had previously received a donation 
of ten sewing machines from UNICEF.  At the initial site 
visit to the proposed project, most of these machines 
were worn-out or non-functioning.  The $5,000 grant 
provided the sewing workshop with new equipment and 
material.  The women use their sewing center to display 
and sell their products to visitors.  The workshop will 
also serve as a valuable teaching facility for the 
town's young women and provide many with the 
possibility of earning their own income. 
 
3. (U) The Ambassador was escorted from the border of 
the Dikhil district into town by the gendarmerie and 
was met with a very warm welcome from the residents. 
Ambassador met immediately with the District 
Commissaire and two parliamentarians from Dikhil. 
Following the meeting Ambassador opened and toured 
the sewing workshop.  They extended an official welcome 
and Ambassador expressed her pleasure in having the 
opportunity to meet the Commissaire and inaugurate the 
center, which was followed by a visit to the town's 
computer training center.  Funded by a local 
businessman, the center provides training in computer 
applications to high school level students and 
businessmen.  The center also provides a connection to 
the Internet, courtesy of Djibouti Telecom, though it 
is only available to students and not all residents. 
 
4. (U) The day also included a roundtable discussion 
with other non-governmental organizations from Dikhil. 
Comments from the many associations were appreciative 
of American help and interest, but also offered a 
local perspective on American activities.  One 
association representative commented that America 
should work for peace throughout the world and not 
practice favoritism.  The secretary of the Women's 
Union commented that it was good to finally see the 
female side of American assistance.  The secretary 
nicknamed the Ambassador "a new mother to the Women's 
Union."  The secretary's reference to previous American 
assistance was that of a well dug outside the city in 
September 2003 by the Civil Affairs team at Camp 
Lemonier.  Another association head entreated the 
Ambassador to not let this interest in Dikhil be the 
first and last.  Ambassador responded with brief remarks 
on development and the rededication of U.S. commitment 
to advancing rights and opportunities of women 
everywhere. 
 
5. (U) Following the roundtable discussion, the 
Ambassador toured the area around Dikhil, including 
two fruit farms and the well dug by the American 
military.  The well, the first half of a two part 
project, was not in use.  The parliamentarians and 
farmers explained that the American part of the 
project was to dig the 120 meter well and put in a pump, 
but the second half of the project was yet to be 
completed by the Office National des Eaux de Djibouti 
(ONED).  ONED's portion was to provide canalization from 
the well to the surrounding farms and to the town. 
There was no estimate on when this portion of the 
project would start.  The owners of the farms were part 
of the Agriculture Society of Dikhil and were pleased 
to welcome the Ambassador on a tour.  Two of the farmers 
who grew fruit gave the Ambassador bags of mangos, 
lemons and limes to take back to the Embassy.  A third 
farmer presented the Ambassador with a baby goat as a 
gift, presumably to eat,  although it has recently been 
adopted by an American officer at the Embassy. 
 
6. (U) Dikhil is known as the "District of Unity" 
throughout Djibouti.  With a population of 70,000 and a 
territory of 7,200 square meters, Dikhil's population 
is a conglomeration of all of Djibouti's ethnic groups - 
Somali, Afar and Arab.  The Commissaire said, in his 
meeting with the Ambassador before the inauguration, that 
the Dikhil District is one of the few places in Djibouti 
where the different groups live together as one community 
and not merely cohabitate.  The unique mixture of 
populations has led the governing authorities in Dikhil 
to create policies that all groups agree on.  The 
Commissaire also noted that because Dikhil has a large 
portion of nomads in its population, it has tailored its 
voting procedures to the nomadic heritage.  The district 
allows registration lists to be distributed to all 
polling centers in the Dikhil district so that a nomadic 
family is not tied to one single polling center, so long 
as it is within the Dikhil borders. 
RAGSDALE