So much has happened since my first post here. First there were the elections in Kenya. The State Department had warned about going to Kenya during the election season, but we had gone in September--and there were no problems. Kenyans spoke about the impending elections but calmly and confidently, and we offered no opinions.
Unfortunately, a quick inauguration of Kibaki for a second term caused an eruption of what must have been long seething tribal resentments. It happened here as it had happened in Rwanda and Nigeria. The imperialists favored the Ibo in Nigeria, the Tutsi in Rwanda and the Kikuyu in Kenya.
Just three months passed and one of Africa's most promising democracies seems to have fallen apart. But this time something happened where we have friends--people we had just worked with and broken bread with. In some cases we know their tribe because of where they are from or perhaps they proudly had told us their tribal connection.
On our Earthwatch expeditions we met Kikuyu and Luhya, and many, many from the region of Barack Obama's father who are Luo. From our viewpoint no animosity was visible. But oh my, how things have changed. Today I received an email from our Principal Investigator on the black rhino project. I don't know his tribe, but I do know that he fled his home in Eldoret where he is a professor at Moi University. He said that the two homes beside his own were burned. He and his family spent the night "in the cathedral" which obviously was not the one that was burned and where up to 50 people died. He and his family left on a chartered flight to Nairobi.
Our PI from Wamba teaches at Kenyata University near Nairobi. He said that he actually went into town without incident. His "Mum" is fine in Embu. He said the trouble in Nairobi seemed to be confined to the two large slums--Kibera and Mathare. He is Kikuyu and does not expect difficulties. I certainly hope that is the case. Another friend is Luyha from Eldoret but she is visiting in the US. No word on how her family may be getting along.
Another disturbing fact is that recently I read a dispatch from Kenya--long before the election--that contains a sense of outrage that touched on our conservation efforts. It was in the sense that so many of the conservancies are converted farms that were previously owned by Brits who came to Africa to make their fortunes. Many of them failed, some enterprises waned and were then turned into conservancies to capitalize on the huge tourism that is attracted to Kenya.
Perhaps I will update this as things develop in Kenya. But for the moment the more pressing issue is the horrible situation that may get a lot worse. Of course the other amazing event is the fact that Barack Obama, the first African American with a chance to become president of the United States has swamped all competitors in the Iowa caucuses. What an astounding development.
Bobama's father was from the west of Kenya in the Great Lakes Region. But it is south of Eldoret where the worse abuses have happened.
As yet I have not heard from friends in the Lake District. As was true in the Illinois primary for senator of Illinois, Bobama polling was huge. Democratic voters in Iowa were double that of Republicans so it is possible that he out-polled the entire Republican party. In Illinois' primary he received more votes that all the other candidates, Democratic and Republican combined; then he won the senate in a landslide that was probably the biggest margin ever in an Illinois federal election.
So here we are at what I had hoped would be my light hearted journal about this trip to Kenya on an Earthwatch expedition working to help scientists in an effort to save black rhinos and I start out with the outrageous story of Bush torture, and now this about Kenyan elections. There is just a little good news in that maybe now we can elect a woman or an African American. What an accomplishment that would be. Chances are better now that Bush is no longer governor of Florida and Diebold seems to have been drummed out of Ohio.
I will forge ahead anyway.
Excelsior!!
