Horn of Africa: Winning the war on terror with water

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News  

Mention the international war on terrorism and few would come up with an image of an Ethiopian villager carrying a five-gallon jug of water from a freshly dug well. But Bacliff native Max Jones insists that on the many fronts in the battle against terrorism, water is just as effective as a rifle. The 27-year-old Jones is an ensign assigned to the Navy’s Mobile Construction Battalion. He’s currently stationed with a detail at the Horn of Africa.

And while many focus on Iraq and Afghanistan as the war zones of the fight against terrorism — albeit the war in Iraq is a matter for debate — few would bother to consider the Horn of Africa region as a potential incubator for terrorist forces. But the federally funded United States Institute of Peace reports terrorism experts have been keeping a close eye on the region. After all, it is the region that gave us the bloody images of Somalia.

“For (more than) a decade, the United States has considered the Horn of Africa — Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan — a major source of terrorism,” the institute reports. “Following the (Sept. 11) attacks against the United States, the Horn has come under increased scrutiny as a strategic focal point in the war against terrorism.”

And that’s where, for about two more months, we would find Jones. The Dickinson High School graduate’s job description is simple — dig wells and build school dormitories. And in the last six months, he has done a bunch of both. “Ethiopia is undergoing a massive drought, and the conditions are very poor,” Jones said during a phone interview Friday. “People will go five to 10 miles just to get five gallons of water.”

A few months back, Jones led a 20-person detachment across Ethiopia to a point just outside the village of Jijiga. The region around the village is home to about 10,000 people, Jones said. The nearest available water source was miles and miles away, and the residents do not possess, the skills or, frankly, have the tools needed to create a water source nearby.

For 18 hours, Jones and his crew trekked across 300 miles of dry Ethiopian landscape. They brought along about 15 pieces of equipment, stuff that could dig and dig deep. And pipes that could bring water to the dry surface. At first, the folks of Jijiga didn’t know what to make of Jones and his fellow members of the U.S. military.

“At first they would just stand around, curious as to what we were doing,” said Jones. “But once we got that first well dug, they couldn’t thank us enough.” Soon, word got around that Jijiga had water. People from all around came, most with those five-gallon jugs. “They were pulling up with their donkeys and anything they could carry water in or on,” said Jones.

The line got so long, military personnel had to be stationed at the well, kind of like Texaco men at the gas pumps. Jones and his company soon dug more wells to cut down on the lines and ensure water for the whole region.

It’s a simple concept full of big ideals.

“We’d much rather have these people get water thanks to our efforts than get hooked up with terrorists,” said Jones, noting that often terrorist recruiters prey on those mired in dismal conditions and convince them a way out is by killing or maiming others.

The townfolk of Jijiga have been thankful for the efforts, Jones said. But more importantly, Jones and the men and women he works with are also thankful. “They were pretty damn happy when we got our work done,” Jones said of the detachment. “The guys felt really good.”

And still do.

The water wells were just the start, though. Jones and company also built a pair of school dormitories. Unlike the school system here, where the nearest elementary is just a few blocks away, schools for many kids in Ethiopia are days away. So in addition to the schoolhouses, the U.S. military has built a number of dorms for the students to live in.

A number of those schoolhouses have globes and maps, items Jones freely admits that not too long ago at Dickinson High he would never been able to use to find Ethiopia. He has no problem these days, and is pretty thankful for it. “This experience has really opened my eyes to see the stuff we take for granted back home,” he said. “The water or just a paved road to travel on is something to be appreciated.”

T.J. Aulds is the mainland editor for The Daily News. Each week his column focuses on everyday people who make living in Galveston County and Galveston Bay area better. If you know of someone who should be profiled e-mail tjaulds(at)galvnews.com.