Haidhuru

I finally got onto a boda-boda as I wanted to be one with the K’la experience. This would not be remarkable in and itself only I’d just spent the morning talking to the people from the Spinal Injury Association.

*sigh*
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So ridiculously glad to be back in “Africa”.
So ridiculously tired trying to come back to Africa.

For all those I owed a phone call/ dinner/drink before I left, mea maxima culpa. For the rest of you all who are straddling this part of the Equator, drinks are on… um.. KM.

And as I pack my bags, it strikes me how funny eight years can be seen in the contents of yet-to-labeled cartons, certificates summarizing where the thousands of dollars of grad school goodness went, hundreds of photos in shoe boxes and some in three albums. (And I still don’t know why I have those particular photos neatly stuck in those albums since there is no discernible theme, time period or reason to have grouped those photos together). There you see me outside Fort Jesus when I was six, there I am next to an Irish cow (literally- no insult intended for any of the lovely Irish lasses), three of us girls, in a typical diaspora bash in a what I now know, was but a faux-risque pose as I have seen that self same pose represented in the photo album of every woman, of a certain age and temperament.. (more…)

1: Country, Kenya
1: Vote per person. Every vote should count and every vote should be counted
500:850+ Five hundred Over Eight hundred Kenyans, fellow citizens, neighbors, brothers, siblings, mothers, fathers, people killed in the violence.
2,800: 4,760 Family members that (statistically) lost a sibling, father, mother in the violence
255,000: People displaced
60 billion 100+ Billion: shillings lost in the recent violence

The analysis has on the situation has been done by some more knowledgeable about the situation that I. See them here and here. Others more well spoken than I have given their take on what can be done.

What I DON’T know:
- Who won the presidential election
- What the hell Kibaki is thinking
- What the hell is wrong with Kenyans?!!!

What I DO know:
- No Kenyan, while in Kenya, should not walk or hide in fear in the country of their birth. That is unacceptable and we should not condone any acts of violence - heck, any threats of violence!! More to the point, all Kenyans know that it this is wrong. It is also a crime in Kenya last time I checked.
- You cannot and should not subvert democracy even if it seems expedient to do so.
- Wengi Wape: Even if it makes you sick to your stomach to see how moronic (in your view) voting patterns of your fellow Kenyan might be, you must abide with the decision of the majority
- We cannot and should not ever, ever be ruled by fiat
- Democratic, safe countries are wealthier, safer and more prosperous countries
- Democracy is not, like a sweater, something that you put on from time to time. It’s like breathing- you do it all the gaddamn time
- All criminals that participated in the killings of their fellows Kenyans should be brought to justice. They should be tried in a court of law and if found guilty, should have the book thrown at them so that, in the words of Chief Inspector Wariahe “Wawe funzo kwa wengine”
- That Kenyans, we who have been building a country in relative peace, we can rise above this madness, embrace our problems and deal with them rationally.

I don’t believe in the lowest common denominator approach to leadership for Kenya. I believe that Kenyans deserve and are entitled to better. We have known better. We were unbwogable remember?

I believe that the way out of this quagmire has to be approached with a sober, sincere and honest need to craft a lasting solution to this problem as this is not a trifling problem. The lives and sadly deaths of Kenyans affect me profoundly. Any Kenyan’s death diminishes me, because I am Kenyan.

36,913,721: Kenyans that can make a difference. Non violence can and will make a profound difference.

(edits 1/31)

You might be wondering what you can do to help those affected by the violence back home and one of the organizations I swear by is the KRCS. It has become a model of what a well functioning Red Cross Society should be and you can also read more about why they have been received a lot of praise here and by visiting their website . You can also get more on the work they are doing to assist victims of violence here and here and here too.

If you’re in the States, you can send a check to the International Federation of the Red Cross (ifrc.org) in New York and on the the memo line, make sure that you put “Kenya Red Cross: Kenya Crisis” so that the money goes to these efforts. They’ll pass the money on to the KRCS.

The address is
800 Second Avenue
Suite 355, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017

I’m also trying to see how to make an online donation and once I get that info, I’ll post an update.