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Nairobi Tragedy
This is sad....and seeing the video contained in this link, has evoked so much memory in me.
I could not count how many coffees I have drunk on the verandah of the restaurant that was attacked.
A government official has so far stated that there were 11 killed. The Red Cross has reported 30 killed.
BBC News - Nairobi Westgate shoot-out kills 11 in Kenya
Analysis: Somalia's Al Shabaab hits back with a vengeance - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
At least 39 dead as terrorists massacre shoppers in mall in Kenyan capital Nairobi - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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It's very sad when you can't take your family to a shopping mall and be safe :(
Telstra BigPond News and Weather
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That's very bad news.
We used to shop there once a week when we lived there, as it was the only half decent shopping centre in the whole of Nairobi (well, if you wanted 'western' stuff anyway).
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Sad to see this. Nairobi is not without its problems but does not need this. We used to do trip change overs there, and had safe hotels for the trucks.. I was always a lot happier in 'Nairobbery' as we used to call it than I was in Joberg.. We didn't stop there... for good reason. Africa is such a stunning place, if it could just put aside its internal differences etc it would be very civilised, and would rapidly become a thriving country! I'll never be able to shake the lure of Africa!
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It is not finished yet :(
An unknown number of hostages are being held by gunmen inside a shopping centre in Kenya's capital Nairobi, more than 17 hours after terrorists from the Somali group Al Shabaab launched a deadly attack on the complex.
Kenya police in mall stand-off with terrorists after 39 killed
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Just got this from the BBC newsfeed, Bob
Eyewitnesses saw armed men in black, their heads covered in scarves, entering the Westgate shopping centre on Saturday afternoon
Kenyan officials say gunmen and hostages remain inside a Nairobi shopping centre after an attack by Somali militants al-Shabab which killed 39 people.
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Moz Update.
Sorry for the absence on-line here. I am quite alright, over here in Maputo, Mozambique.
I had made a change of employment as of May-Jun, on the prospect of bringing a joint venture of two Aust owned companies into Mozambique.
For which, initially, I have been engaged as a consultant employed by one of the companies. This company is/was privately owned between two owners.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, there was a growing separation of the two owners.
And this has caused a significant delay in being able to start the process of incorporation and licensing here in Moz...there has been 6mths of legal proceedings based out of London and, as the situation has become resolved, there has been the need for a complete due diligence undertaken to enable the change of association....which all takes time...and does not involve me.
So.....wait, wait, wait...while looking for business opportunities...but being unable to go ahead with anything.
In the mean time, I have been dealing with the frustrating bureaucracy of Mozambique and have now gained citizenship of the place....currently awaiting the production of my National I'd Card...which will then enable me to gain my Mozambican passport. This might still take another month.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...14/01/1165.jpg
This has all been frustratingly slow and it has not allowed me to depart the country. Because, being a Mozambican citizen, legally, I cannot depart the country on my Aust passport. Besides the waiting though, being a citizen here, makes living here a whole lot easier!
During this time, my wife has gained full-time employment over in Melb. We both intend to be living over here in Mozambique but, with my current engagement being only a 'consultant', there has not yet been enough basis for her to give notice on her full-time job, and for me to then bring her over here. So, I am the OzinMoz, and she the MozinOz....in our bi-continental relationship
The one consolation of my being here, and patiently waiting, has been that her family is here. They have been very supportive.
Anyway, there is a lot of looming opportunity over here in Mozambique. I love the place, I want to make our future here, and I cannot imagine gaining anything like the prospective management roles over here.....back in Australia.
So, I am being patient, and during this time I have also been asked if I would take on a Country Management role for another Australian service company....IF....Bechtel subsequently win the LNG Plant construct over here.
And the other day, I was asked by the Business Dev Mngr of the US company, that employed me in Afghanistan 06-08 and Somalia 09-10, if I would consider becoming their African representative. They are a pre-select tenderer for the delivery of USAid via their AFRICOM Program.
All-in-all I'll prefer to remain loyal to this company I am currently engaged with and build my future here in Moz...but, we will see. Yes, it has been frustrating to a degree...but...it has also been the longest paid holiday I have ever had...just a pity my 'Love&Kisses' is one ocean and a continent away.
My wife, since Nov 13 has been in her first full-time nursing job in Australia. She will not leave that to come over here on the basis of my `consultancy agreement´…not enough forward view. But when I am under contract, we intend for her to leave that over there and to come over here….at the moment, I am supporting her studying for her Cert IV Trg and Assessment qualifications in Melb. With that, her Nursing qualifications, and her standing language and cultural knowledge, we will try and see if she could be of use to some of the International projects over here…in a First Aid Trainer role….or something similar.
There are some big projects looming over here, especially the LNG plant construct, up in Cabo Delgado Province..the very far north coast of Mozambique. I have been there several times, and it is simply a fishing village, that in the 1st half of next year, will soon have a workforce of up to 8000 foreign nationals descend up on it to construct what is to be the 2nd largest LNG plant in the world. Significant.
Thanks for the concern of the blokes that have contacted...and ´bumped´ me...on here. Your contacting me has made me express here, some of the frustration that I have been feeling...and now....I feel better for having written about it.
Thanks. There will be more to come.
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Ponto D´Ouro
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Friends
I like the photo of those two hands, a simple message that says a lot.
Thanks for your posting, as always it's a window into another world for me.
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