Culture Trek

Posts Tagged ‘Africa’

David Kobia just went live with his new brainchild, I Have No Tribe. This site is dedicated to positive discourse on the Kenyan conflict from around the world and it has been met with great response in the form of debate, poetry, hope and support.

In early January, Kobia contributed to tech development of Ushahidi, a forum for civilian reporting on acts of violence through electronic means during the Kenyan government’s (recently lifted) ban on media. That project was the brainchild of bloggers Kenyan Pundit, White African, Afromusing, and Mentalacrobatics.

Kenya: Media Being Silenced As Political Crisis Intensifies

AllAfrica.com, Washington
A continuing ban on live broadcasts and new death threats to journalists in Kenya are silencing media reports on the country’s escalating political crisis

The organisations say the ban harms the ability of journalists to cover Kenya’s unfolding political crisis, and that “the situation is worse than the government wants the public and the world to believe.” According to the Media Institute, nearly 1,500 people have died and more than 250,000 have fled their homes.

Autosmiler has posted a series of text messages from her friend Emmanuel Leina Tasur, a Kenyan Village Volunteer host, with news regarding Kericho, Transmara, Nakuru, Naivasha, Kisumu, Nyeri, and Nyahururu. Although brief in their transmission, they somehow say so much.

Village Volunteers has officially suspended their volunteer program through February, and cannot guarantee volunteer placement in Kenya for future months.

While it is our hope that peace will be restored soon, we are committed to the safety of our volunteers and will not be able to resume our program in Kenya until we can be assured that all volunteers will be safe.

Safety seems a distant dream. AlJazeera’s video today illustrates a situation so far removed from safe that, from where I sit, only the escalation of crimes against humanity is plainly evident. I cannot fathom how, in interviews, angry mobs can speak of rights to land, land that has been stolen but cannot feel physical and emotional pain, and at the same time they steal the rights of human beings who have an enormous capacity for pain when limb is severed from body, father from mother, parents from children, life from death – forever. The land will remain, but it will be indelibly stained with the blood of the murdered and wounded.

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Today, rioters have followed the displaced to where they’ve fled. Morgues are filled with those who have been burned alive, hatcheted and clubbed. The original focus of the violent conflict overflowed into indiscriminate attacks upon two tourists and the military cannot contain the situation. If I were inclined to believe in Hell, this would be it – right here on Earth.

Rival factions clash again in Kenya
Monday, January 28, 2008
By Reuters

Riots erupted in the western Kenyan cities of Nakuru, Kisumu and Naivasha on Monday, as machete-wielding protesters torched buildings and erected barricades while police forces fired shots in the air.

What’s wrong with using the word “tribe” in Western media? A lot more than meets the cultural divide, it seems.

AfricaFocus.org posted a fabulous argument about the particulars. I include the introduction here along with a link to the full length piece. This position has recently been brought to the attention of the New York Times’ Executive Editor, Bill Keller, in response to journalist Jeffrey Gettleman’s Kenyan election coverage. While Gettleman, after receiving letters of criticism, seems to have adapted his writing style, Keller was less than obliging. You can read his bitter response as posted at allAfrica.com below too.

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Not only must Kenya’s women and child survivors mourn great losses, their very identity must be violated as well???

Sexual Abuse of Children Increasing in Kenya
Voice of America – 3 hours ago
By Lisa Schlein The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, reports sexual violence against women and children in Kenya is increasing. …

Sex attacks on the rise in Kenya: UNICEF
AFP – 4 hours ago
GENEVA (AFP) Sexual violence has soared in Kenya amid the country’s ethnic clashes and political turmoil, with young women in refugee camps particularly …

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Violence continued in Kenya, where on Sunday the police and residents tried to quell a fire set in the Mathare slum in Nairobi. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein for The New York Times

While the idea that the post-election violence had been pre-planned is not new, Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times recently presented an evidential account of governmental and civilian preparations in Signs in Kenya That Killings Were Planned (21 January 2008):

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Twice yesterday I heard it voiced that I will likely have to change my volunteer trip from Kenya to Ghana in July. While it might well be true, I continue to reject lost hope for the success of Kenya to soon arrive on the other side of chaos.

When I last spoke with Village Volunteers executive director, Shana Greene, we gracefully wove the rhetoric of possibility into a conversation filled with concern. On 14 Jan 2008, two volunteers decided to stay behind while the rest had been transported safely to the airport with the help of the village coordinators and hired police guards. Understandably, Village Volunteers cannot send people to the Rift Valley if the violence continues, but Shana reassured me that we still have time before making a solid decision and that continuing VV’s sustainable programs was of the utmost importance for the re-stabilization of the village. The decision to send more volunteers would likely hinge on either a re-election or the formation of unity government. Then, two days after we spoke, Kenyan protests began and more violence broke out for another three days.

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Last week, I visited Kiva.org in search of a Kenyan business to support. If you haven’t yet heard of this organization:

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Once on the site, I found no registered businesses – anywhere – left in need. There has been an amazing influx of funding thanks to publicity from Oprah, NBC and others. What incredible news! As of this week, Kiva has posted several additional people to help and they are searching for more.

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From the BBC:

Kenya ‘turned into killing field’
Thursday, 17 January 2008

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused the government and the police of turning the country into “killing fields of the innocent”.

Shots leave man dead
Be aware. This video clip shows police firing at and killing a protester.