The other day I was talking to a group of women after a meal
and we got to talking politics which is sort of unusual. I think I broke the
ice because one of the women, about my age, is a nurse, and the nurses have
recently been on strike, so I asked her about it. It is so interesting to me
because not only the nurses, but the teachers and the doctors, all of whom are
government employees if they aren’t in a private facility, have been on strike
since we arrived and this news has been all over the papers (the government
recently negotiated a deal with the teachers and the nurse went back on a
“promise” she told me). In fact, the day
the nurses struck I happened to be walking home from town and I ran into this
huge mob of mostly women standing in a big circle outside the hospital doors
(Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital which is both a medical school , AMPATH’s
partner, and a public hospital) singing and chanting union songs….At first I
was a little nervous because I was literally stuck in the throng , unable to
move one way or another…so I just stood there watching and listening and hoping
that nothing weird would happen. Nothing
did. In fact, all the singing and smiling and chanting got me sort of fired up
and had I known the words, I would have sung along!
I find this a
tremendous step in the right direction although there has been a lot of debate
in the papers about these strikes. The fact that these people are able to
protest and assemble without worrying about arrest or violence on the part of
the government seems huge to us. Also, the press is free. The newspapers here
are incredibly forthright and frank. They criticize the government freely, they
report on individual politician’s issues and inanities, and they give lots of in depth local, regional and national news. It is sometimes
overwhelming to read partly because I am
still learning all the various regions
( they have districts, regions, counties, etc) which I have been
reassured by others who’ve been here much longer, are “impossible” to figure
out.
As I get a handle on the various regions I’ll be better able
to understand what is going on where but for now, it is helping me understand
their political system (and keeping me aware of where we are not going to
travel anytime soon). As you may know they are about to have another General
Election in early March 2013. In 2007 there was an election and it was “stolen”
by the current president’s (Kibaki)
party at the very end of the day. On the day of the election, according to
friends who have described that day to me,
it was pretty clear that his opponent (Odinga) was winning the election and then suddenly the lights went
out, the television and radio transmissions ended and when it all came back on
, Kibaki was announced the winner. He then went on to have himself sworn in in
the middle of the night! This was totally out of protocol so clearly something
fishy was going on.
So, the shit hit the fan…people went nuts and looting and
burning ensued, a lot of it in this area, because this is where Odinga is
from. Folks are still very tied to their “people” and vote
accordingly. It was a terrible time
because many people were killed and maimed and a lot of people fled their
homes. However, after Kofi Annan intervened and a new position was put in place
for Odinga (Prime Minister) the country has been bumping along pretty well. In
2010 they had a referendum vote on a new Constitution which ensures freedom of
religion, press, and assembly. There was
a little conflict in Nairobi during that vote but apparently not enough to
cause much concern.
So as the next election
approaches, there is a bit of mystery in the air. Non Kenyans whom we know and
who have lived here for quite awhile seem not to be too concerned about the possibility of
violence. They are fairly philosophical about it, even saying “so why should I
leave and get out of the situation if they have to deal with it?” Very
interesting take. Kenyans whom I have
spoken with usually say something like , “oh there will be a lot more security”, or ” we are very optimistic” meaning they
don’t really know either and are hoping for the best. This is not terribly
reassuring to me as someone who is pretty violence abhorrent.
Some people say that some of the politicians (MPs) were
responsible for inciting the violence which is disappointing to hear. Others say
it was the poor and disenfranchised who were so pissed off, taken by surprise
by the outcome, and got all riled up out
in the streets and then it just
snowballed (or fireballed). In any case, you can see it happening in a place
like this where democracy is a relatively new concept, and there is a lot of
poverty, tribal connections and some corruption among the police force. People
speak of it freely and are highly aware of it but they don’t seem to be sick of
it yet! In fact, the other day in my conversation with the women, I told them
that if our MPs (Representatives) behaved the way theirs were currently (they
just voted to take a large bonus at the
expense of the taxpayers when the coffers are empty and they have promised pay
raises to those recently have struck. Update: President Kibaki vetoed this
idea, hurray for him! ) that we would
“kick them out” and vote in all new people, which is what we seem to do every two years.
They seemed surprised and sort of sheepish about that comment and kind of
looked at each other like “would we ever do that? “ It was illuminating I thought.
If you listen to world news you will hear reports on Kenya.
Kenya used to be considered sort of the diamond among African nations. It has
of course, a lot of physical beauty, a strong tourism industry, a thriving tea
and coffee industry, resources, culturally intriguing people, and it is
relatively developed. In parts. Recently the news has likely been reporting on
the various tribal conflicts in various areas (far from here fortunately). It
has also been reporting on a large suit against the British government by a
group of former Mau Mau rebels who were victimized by the British (along with
thousands of others who were incarcerated , mistreated and murdered) and are
appealing for compensation.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DxrmxPT9cZ2QfTTZh9vTfGtiSE4b0ZHej71DVLhPadrbTG5raxVg3k_Z7G3O_K4HXd7UqZFQGQYhoLe254vWo2ncl29POdZO8096CKSJk0kF3Sp17dpqTRjCoxpj9muRQP25XBuQh1mq/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+002.jpg) |
Michael and Liam playing checkers on soapstone board with bottle caps |
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baby Natasha and me |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX52rbr9pt34k5rlLooWWVmDQSgm5_yuziYggY34o2gxclP_8IMDdcSnIESaTYt3ForoiSXfhiXtHsC6H0T9SvHWLz3SakZHLdjA7ulwoK8wTh6SacqnJRO2DKASR6aE7GnmgnrJpE2__9/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+008.jpg) |
richard's house in the country |
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country road |
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Michael and jacob |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbafNgbAYm7AlW6mgx_XEVheh2q_9TmJzn2WG7KXcR33awvYduSwzJZDB31Y_NaRxpwmipvzBhiuPTNx5gAOsfliJPpzLVGi0tFWpztBmGjJHM7Tp5C112AHRYxYzh4dJg7Ld0c9m7pzHw/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+010.jpg) |
Michael, Richard, and Jacob |
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dessert |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBrUcQvtOH6BNBpGO9PD4esDyplQEgffNP9E6Xp2_zqiM0Xg9-IqGuDeQ6TAzbN8d2hvJopB8A6_rtpjyoPvaHeCe4xcX_A-JfRq9Bb2IKVziPu8DgxtokJFKr4x7yOZAJvksF2DHFmL4/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+012.jpg) |
Mother of Natasha on left, and friend |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFRsOm5hUFxO_88QlkUPJSpyN_qAaRGwc_YJzb9Q9bHR-9EJnoOR6Kgs0X5qCYV0GzbTvVpHyZIgwZMkhGzlrW7WESjpXK3Kt0DF_ndHGy2d0-JKCF2NWgL5_jTolYl2JRn7E1aBR0O-5/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+025.jpg) |
new friends in Kapkeino |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCW9gEbkLv2R_eKV4yMqJH0W0Whu8KyIG073-U0ioX2EYkwOHfJDKqJrXX98OgJJyk7CSRRtqawWbdv92WzA5-h7Tow4Ug73M0nqOkYRWzRExFhCG_YljZAwInW_sGCiN6iQd2wOQAxbhJ/s200/jacobshouseoct2012+027.jpg) |
saying goodbye |
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cloth found in Eldoret shop/ only decoration hanging on our walls! |
Kenya is rife with issues and problems AND corruption, but
frankly, so is the US and we’ve been at this a lot longer. Our election process
is far from perfect and it is far from just, right? How many of us would not
like to see some sort of changes made to our political process (more parties
participating, less money talking, fewer “bought” politicians, less negative
advertising, less lobbying, direct popular vote, no voter suppression, etc. to
name a few!) yet we can’t really figure out how to make it happen? So, Kenya
will plug along, making mistakes, having conflicts, and hopefully growing and
changing in order to become a better stronger and more representative democracy
than it is right now. I would not expect that for a long time, though, as we
all know that it takes a very long time
for any sort of evolution to occur!
Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting -- the descriptions of the conflicts. In Kathmandu, Nepal they had politcal bands while I was there (Nov to Jan 2012). The ruling party calls for a band. If a business opens or a non tourist vehicle drives they are visited by the band members and made to close -- one motor cycle rider showed his bumps from being hit with a bat for driving. Even businesses (like my coffee shop) who did open were later found closed because the band made them.
Keep writing (I commented on the last but not sure if it made it). Will share these with my students.