New developments

A week ago I thought things were settling down. Then I learned that most of the colleges in Nairobi had been shut down. Apparently there is a 6 o'clock curfew, and the police have been shooting potential trouble makers indiscriminately.

Anyway, I am in Nairobi now. The peace corps thought it would be wiser for me to come here and talk about my feelings during a two hour meeting instead of staying in Ulilinzi and teaching. It is pretty annoying. Well...the food is wonderful, and I am taking care of some other things that are actually important, but I Have some things to learn about teaching. My students are not as good as those that I had earlier at Chuluni girl's school. Their english is worse, and they are not as responsible with their homework. MOst of the other teachers their have simply lowered their expection of the students. In fact, they are pretty condescending at times and I really hope I will not have to stoop to that.

I'll keep you updated on that...

As for the violence, if you have not heard, I am one of the few people in my training group who has not been sent home. Most volunteers were stationed in the western provinces where the violence was and continues to be worse. Some might go to Tanzania, or the eastern province (where I am), but I think most will just stay home. So,I am pretty freaking lucky, and very grateful to still be here.

Will the violence subside? Some people say that all the rioters will eventually get tired and give up, and they might be right. Still, in the last couple weeks I have learned that the situation here is a little more complicated then I once thought.

I am staying with a tribe known as the Kambas. They are of Bantu origin, and so are the Kikuyu (Kenya's largest tribe & the tribe of President Kibaki). So, the two have a loose alliance in most politics. Nevertheless, Kambas are more neutral so they might have a clearer picture of the election violence. My principal, for instance, does not like Raila (a member of the Luo tribe and presidential nominee for the the opposition, ODM). However, he willingly admits that Raila probably won the election.

To understand why ODM, Raila, and most Luo might not just give up a little history is important. Kenya gained independence from the British in 1963. The kikuyus had been favored by the british since colonization. This made them more capable of ruling Kenya. So, after independence, Jomo Kenyatta (a kikuyu) was pretty much handed the presidency. Needless to say, this did not please the other large tribes (like the Luos).

Kenyatta visited Kisumu, a large western city in the first years of his presidency. During a speech he was booed and forced to leave. A large crowd was in the way of his convoy of vehicles when he was leaving. He just ran them over and I was told it was a massacre.

Since then, Kenya has been ruled by Moi, who although from a smaller tribe is loyal to Kikuyu, and Kibaki. There has been a history of political assasinations of political leaders who are Luo. Also, the government here is notoriously corrupt and without a doubt shows favoritism (with jobs) to the ruling Kikuyu party.

It seems the Luo have been disadvantaged for years. The election has just been stolen. Should they settle matters in courts that have kikuyu judges? not likely...
Should the parliament have a vote of no confidence to boot Kibaki out? Well, it turns out that if they manage to get enough votes for that, it will mean dissolving the entire government. Essentially, they would be firing themselves and have to run for reelection. So again, not likely.

Meanwhile, Kibaki is building his legitimacy by stomping on rallies and providing free secondary educuation.

And on a lighter note...Raila Odinga's son is named Fidel Castro Odinga.

I really have to go. Curfew is fast approaching.

Raila calls off rallies - time to go home

Well, Raila has called off the nationwide rallies so that means I can go home! I'm in Voi town today and should be heading back to Ulilinzi within a couple of hours. It was just in time too. The house I was staying at was slowly being overrun by ants (the kind that bite). Lines an inch thick were marching up to the house this morning. Swarms elsewhere were covering dishes, cracks in the walls, and other dark corners. The trip to the bathroom was a nightmare. And, by the way, having ants in your pants* is not nearly as funny as it sounds.

There is a lot more I could say about the elections, but I think it will have to wait for another day. Hopefully, things will continue to settle down and life will go on as normal.

*Kenyans speak British English. Pants are not trousers. They are underwear.

Kenya violence and its politics

Just wanted to let you know what's going on here.

First, I am still perfectly safe. I am completely secluded in the mountains (Taita Hills) surrounding Voi. Complete hell could break out in Kenya and I wouldn't notice a thing. If it does the peace corps has good evacuation plans, so don't worry.

As for the rest of Kenya, things have gotten worse... The death toll I think is over 200 with at least 74,000 displaced. "President" Kibaki has not given any indication that he will relinquish power and Raila (his opponent) is not letting up either. And why should they? It's obvious that both sides took part in rigging the vote, so it's hard to tell who won. None of the western powers recognize either leader.

I have colleagues in Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu and Nairobi. Some of them are stuck right now. They have heard gunfire and grenades outside of the hotels where they are staying.

On Thursday Raila has called for a march on Nairobi, and although both leaders are asking that all demonstrations be peaceful, there's a good chance that things will get even worse.

So, it's pretty tough to say what will happen from here. In the last election Kibaki won with almost no opposition. There was rioting for two weeks. I don't know when the current rioting will end. If things get too bad, of course, I will have to come home. Needless to say I'm pretty bummed out about that possibility. I mean, there are very few people that I've talked here (and I like to talk a lot about politics) that have any decent grasp on the politics. If Raila says he will give jobs to all the young people, they believe it. They are completely delusional and now they are ruining this country (and my job) because of it.