Well, as you may have noticed, I have been somewhat silent on the topic of the violence happening in Kenya. Although I wouldn't say this has been deliberate, it has definately not been accidental. I think that since I've been here, I've felt like I understand so little of what is happening, that I can't possibly act as a spokesperson to my friends and family back home. Whatever I say, I'm sure to be ommiting some important detail, or neglecting some legitimate point of view.
That said, I am going to try to shed a bit of light on my perspective of the situation... not the CNN version! CNN actually made me so mad right before I left; they continually showed this one clip of this frazzled looking white lady running up the camera, amidst a haze of smoke and undicernable chaos in the background and saying "the word I keep hearing, is RWANDA". What an infuratingly vague clip! It doesn't give any detail about who this white lady is, or what she is doing in Kenya. If she is just some tourist, why are they letting her be the voice to the West? She has no special training or any real concept of what is happening. On the other hand, if she is some expert in some international or humanitarian field, she should be fired because she is clearly an idiot. Either way CNN should not be showing such a sensationalist clip that contains no real info and only serves to inflame the imaginations of ill-informed Westerners.
Okay, the rant is finished, I just had to get that out of my way, now I can speak freely. I suppose I should begin by giving a bit of background about what the conflict is actually about. On December 27, 2007 Kenya held a presidential election. The two main contenders were the incumbent Mwai Kibaki of the PNU party and the opposition, Raila Odinga of the ODM party. Most international observers were calling for this to be a very close race. Politics in Kenya tend to be very racially charged and most people openly admit that they vote along tribal lines. Given that Kenya has 42 tribes, each with distince languges and cultures, that can obviouly get fairly convoluted. Basically Kibaki is a Kikuyu, one of the largest tribes with an estimated 24% of the population. Odinga is a Lua, a smaller tribe that has managed the gain support from numerous smaller tribes around the country based on their unofficial platform of being not Kikuyu.
Back in December the election results were announced somewhat prematurly with the elector commission declaring Kibaki the winner, even though voting irregularities were being reported throughout the country. Kibaki was sworn in quickly and began to name his cabinet before resolving the voting issues, which inflammed people even more. The violence broke out only hours after the result were announced, primarily in very poor areas such as Kibera (a Nairobi slum, said to be the biggest slum in Africa), and Eldoret (a major town in Western Kenya, along the route to Uganda). The violence was being commited along ethnic lines, with primarily mobs of non-Kikuyus attacking their Kikuyu neighbours.
As the violence erupted the government responded by restricting civil liberties, such as placing a ban on live media coverage and restricting the right to peaceful assembly. Because the right to assembly was resricted, the police were called out in large numbers to disperse any gathering, which has lead to frequent clashes especially in the capital. To date the police have not only busted up political assemblies, but also assemblies of religious leaders calling on their followers to promote peace, as well as an assembly of hawkers in the capital who were calling attention to the devastating effect the violence has had on their livelihood.
Most recently, there have been two assassinations of members of the ODM party. The MPs were not particularily powerful players and in fact, the most recent assassination has been blamed on a love triangle rather than the election disputes. The assassinations have however fueled accusations of conspiracy from both main parties. For the last week or so, the PNU and the ODM have been lobbing accusations back and forth that each side actually planned the violence long before the election to aid their own political agendas.
Although the EU and AU have both stated that the election itself did not seem to be free and fair, the violence that is happening now seems to trace to much deeper roots than simply an election dispute. If fact, most international bodies have not begun calling it "racial violence" rather than "political violence" although the media here in Kenya still prefers the term "political violence".
My own perception of the tribal issues is where I become hesitant to say anything - I really have such a limited view point. Even so, I have noticed a few things in my interactions with people. The first is that tribe is so important and all consuming here. Although I can't identify one tribe from another, I have been assured that a Kenyan can - your tribe is written all over you in how you look, how you dress, how you speak, even your name. Most Kenyans don't even really think of themselves as Kenyans first, they associate with their tribe first.
My host family is Kikuyu and I am living in a town with mostly Kikuyus, although at the hospital I work with people from all tribes (they of course feel a need to point out their tribe to me, even though it really means nothing to me, and most of the times I promptly forget it anyway). The Kikuyu people have been described to me (by both Kikuyus themselves and otherwise) as the most enterprising and entrepenurial tribe. A Kikuyu is financially keen and always has an eye out for a money making opportunity. Kikuyus, more than other tribes are willing to relocate to follow the opportunities, which is why you find them not as geographically centralized as the other tribes - there are Kikuyus in every part of the country. For these reasons, the Kikuyus are seen as being more affluent, but also possibly a bit less trustworthy. The deepseated resentment that seems to be among non-Kikuyus here, is that Kikuyus have been unfairly favoured by the government in power. People have stated that roads are built and maintained to Kikuyu towns, but not to Lua towns or Kisii towns. They say the Kikuyus have better water systems and are given land at better rates by goverment sellers. Obviously I have no way to verify these sentiments, but the injustice, real or imagined, seems to be felt by a large part of the population. And the ODM has played on this perception of injustice.
The violence is still isolated to specific pockets around the country. It is almost exculsively carried out by young men (this has been observed by the media, the police and even the new mediation committee that is working on the peace talks). Most Kenyans are frightened themselves and many have expressed to me that they are embarassed by the crisis. As the African dignitaries began entering the country for the mediation process, many people remarked that Kenya is accustomed to sending diplomats to such processes in other countries, not having them come here.
The effects of the violence have already had far reaching consequences. The shilling is slipping on the international market (which doesn't have a huge effect on mosy Kenyans, but has been nice for me I guess as I get a lovely exchange rate). Essential goods have becoming scarece in the interior of the country as most shipping companies have refused to move goods along the highways because trucks have been mobbed and burnt. This shortage is leading to huge inflation in the interior and everyday people cannot afford basic supplies. The railway from the coast to Uganda was partially destroyed in sections in Kibera and the Rift Valley so Uganda is feeling the effects as well on their prices and availablility of goods. Fishing on Lake Victoria has been almost stopped due to instability in the area and fish is now in short supply around the country. A large flower factory in the Rift Valley was evacuated and that industry is suffering as well. Hawkers on the street are suffering as people don't want to come out and spend money, everyone is saving in case of an emergency. But the biggest industry that is suffering is tourism. Kenya was previously one of the premier tourist destinations in East Africa and a huge portion of the economy depended on tourism - which has now almost flattened. Already 30,000 people have lost their jobs in the tourist industry. Hotels along the coast have closed, even street vendors are feeling the effects of the missing muzungus. On the news last night they were talking about how one single tourist, produces eight Kenyan jobs, and now the tourists are almost completely gone.
Kofi Annan arrived last week. Along with Graca Machel and others from the AU panel of Eminent African persons, they will lead the mediation between the two parties. Mr. Annan has announced that the first and foremost goal will be to end the violence, then other issues can be addressed. Already both parties have called on their supporters to end the violence and allow the mediation process time to begin addressing the issues. Although the call to stop the violence was not headed immediately, things seem to have calmed down by the end of this week, and hopefully the weekend will be uneventful (the talks will resume on Monday). Kofi Annan is a brilliant speaker; he speaks so softly and yet his air is one of such confidence and power that his audience is captive from start to finish. I am completely in awe of him. Not everyone seems to share this sentiment though, there have been clips on the news of angry people stating that Kofi Annan should go home, that Kenya needs a Kenyan solution. But many people I speak to personally seem to think that Kofi will get the job done, that his presence is what Kenya needs right now. I hope they are right.
Overally, I am safe, no need to worry about me. But thoughts and prayers for the Kenyan people and the peace process are, I'm sure, very welcome.
Kelsey Aaron
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