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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With Randolph Kent

Aired December 02, 2001 - 15:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: America is leading the way in a humanitarian effort in Afghanistan providing food, medicine and other supplies to the people there. Joining me to talk about the challenges of helping those in other countries is Randolph Kent. He is the humanitarian coordinator for Somalia. Mr. Kent, nice to have you join us. Thank you.

RANDOLPH KENT, HUMANITARIAN AID COORDINATOR FOR SOMALIA: Thank you very much. Delighted.

KELLEY: I know you've worked in Somalia a long time and tried to make that work and yet, even at this point, there are still troubles there. How do you apply the lessons that you've learned in Afghanistan?

KENT: I think first of all that there is a lot that has worked. I'd like to emphasize that point. You know, we have seen a pattern of peace over the last two or three years that I think shows that Somalia and the people of Somalia slowly but painfully emerging out of this horrific period of anarchy that they have suffered since 1991.

I also think that what one is seeing over the last few years is a slow growth in economic potential, which perhaps may surprise many. But I think it's worth bearing in mind. One of the lessons that I think one should learn about the Somalia experience is that one has to engage the society, not impose solutions. This is a fundamental lesson that we learned ..

KELLEY: And how do you do that? How do you - how do you get those folks involved within their own livelihood like that?

KENT: Thank you. I think that some of the key issues is to be sure that the kinds of solutions that one is suggesting supporting is consistent with the culture and the traditions of the society. And I think that is very important, to avoid imposing one's own solutions and seeing how one can bridge modern governments with the traditions and norms of the society. That is a very key point.

The second point that I think we will all have to bear in mind is that these are not short-term interventions. Trying to help a society go through the struggles, the stability, is a long-term commitment and one can just not assume that a quick action and then leaving is the way to go. If one takes this on, one is in there for the long term. If I may just say, the other things that one has to be very careful about is to protect the economic growth that one sees in these emerging societies. And here in Somalia, we are on the precipice of a very dangerous situation where the drought that is happening, the issue of hyper-inflation, the closure of the access of the Somali people to outside resources and the ban on their sale of livestock all could lead to a horrific economic collapse in the country.

And if we really care about insuring stability in Somalia, we will address all four issues as quickly as we can.

KELLEY: That's right. And I've seen a wire report today too that there was even some fighting in Somalia. So you have these little flare-ups that can happen even when you're trying to keep stability and security and get the economic development going.

Tell us how it is when you get into a situation in Somalia or Afghanistan, you have all these records, you have all these people who are in urgent need of help. It must be fairly overwhelming. What do you concentrate on first and what do you need to do?

KENT: I think the first thing you do is to deal with the most immediate problems which are concerns about nutrition, are concerns about the highly vulnerable, which can normally be children, lactating mothers, and the elderly. And that is critical.

One has to move in as quickly as possible to deal with that kind of situation. But one has to remember that in all these situations, and all the kind of relief situations that one finds himself that we can also at the same time begin recovery. So it is not just a question of doing the relief first.

We can move both on relief and recovery at the same time. We can get job creation going while we feed children in need. One can get education systems going, while you deal with the housing needs of refugees. And this is a very fundamental lesson.

KELLEY: Yeah. If we're doing something, something is better than nothing. Randolph Kent, who is U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. We appreciate your time with us very much.

KENT: Thank you very much indeed.

KELLEY: Thank you.

KENT: Thank you.

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