...just kidding. :) wouldn't that be just terrible though?
i just thought i'd write a quick note to let everyone know i am safely out of kenya and back in the States. i'm staying at a hotel in new york overnight (i have an actual bed...and a TV? and no mosquito net to fall down on me in the middle of the night. whats up with that?!)
i'll be in cinci by 8:30 tomorrow morning and head straight from the airport to cbus for classes (how awful). but then i'm coming back to cincinnati for the weekend to catch up on sleep and OF COURSE more importantly catch up with the fam.
well, seeing as my wakeup call is in 3 hours i should probably get to bed! hopefully i can finally fill everyone in on everything in the next couple of days!
ps - i miss kenya terribly
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
election news!! (sorry it's long...and maybe even boring to you)
oh my goodness i can't even believe i made it to a computer. finally. as much as i am DYING to talk about all of the amazing things i've done the past week and a half, i feel like most of you may be more intersted (or concerned) about what is going on now. the fun stories will have to wait until next time.
i have no idea if it's made national news and if it has how much has been covered, but things are a bit crazy around here. way more than a bit. the presidential elections were held on the 27th and it was pretty intense. two of the main candidates (Raila and Kibaki) had the country really divided and even before the voting began there was a lot of tension. it was so interesting to be here to see all of that firsthand. even the family i am staying with (the directors of the orphanage) was divided, as the mom and three daughters strongly supported Kibaki and the father (who i actually still haven't met as he had been in Western Kenya campaigning for Raila and is now stuck there until things calm down) and the son were very passionate about Raila.
anyways, as predicted the race was very tight, but Raila had seemed to be holding a steady lead throughout as the results were coming in. all of the Kibaki supporters i talked to were very disappointed (some even terrified for their country) but no one was angry or violent or any of that. they had all kind of come to accept that they had lost and Raila would be the next President. however the third day or so, the results began to swing the other way in Kibaki's favor and trouble began. even though Raila was still leading, his supporters started to get very nervous and as a result began to cause a lot of trouble.
for those who don't know, there are 42 (i think?) tribes in Kenya. and all of them are very proud to be a part of the group that they are in. as a result, it is not uncommon for their to be some tension between tribes. and in this case, it really made thigns get dangerous. the Kikuyu tribe is the largest and is the tribe that Kibaki is a part of. as a result, most Kikuyos backed him. Raila however is part of the Luau tribe (sorry about these spellings...) and so of course the Luau people strongly backed him. unfortunately, the Luau people are known to be a little more violent than most. so not many were surprised when things quickly escalated as the votes began to turn in Kibakis favor.
there was a period of one or two days when people had to wait for the votes to be counted in the last couple provinces that would determine the election's outcome, so of course during this time as people waited anxiously, things only got worse. there were shootings and cars being set on fire in the streets, people throwing large rocks (or pretty much anything they could get their hands on) not really caring who they hit, and basically just total chaos. it was actually really frightening. many people have been killed and so many more severely injured. i still have a hard time believing it happened (and is still happening). even in the areas that werent quite as bad, there was still a lot of tension. so much so that even i, who (to my parents' worries especially in situations like this) generally never thinks that i am ever in any danger, was pretty nervous.
when the final results came out, things somehow managed to get worse, as Kibaki was declared the winner by a very small number of votes. people just went nuts. riots got so dangerous that the government forbid the news from airing any more live coverage, as they didnt want to add to the chaos with panic by everyone else. as frightening as it may have been to watch the coverage, it was almost more reassuring to me when i could see it and know where things were happening. before, the news was on 24/7 in the house, but since coverage was restricted, i haven't seen the news on more than once. it's just so weird to think that all of this is happening and people in their homes aren't really sure of exactly what might be going on.
not only is the fighting dangerous, but it really makes life difficult for everyone in the country. all stores and markets have been shut down (as any stores open during the riots were looted). without a way to get food or other items they might need, people are really struggling. yesterday, Jane (the director of the orphanage) travelled hours to the only market that was opened and she said the line was out of the door with people waiting to get in.
i've heard that today things have gotten a bit calmer, which is good. however, tomorrow Raila plans to hold a rally in downtown Nairobi, so things are bound to get bad again. fortunately (and unfortunately) my flight leaves tomorrow. i will get out before the rally begins, but i'm a little worried that things might be a little more difficult than they would be otherwise (don't worry mom and dad, i will be fine). because of that, i'm leaving for the airport by 5 AM tomorrow (5 hours before my flight) just to make sure i get there. i'm positive that's a little excessive, but i'm not going to take any chances seeing as if there's one place i'd hate to be stuck at MORE than the London airport right now, it would be in Nairobi.
it's weird to look back on all of the experiences i had before all of this craziness started. from the first day i was here, i was so overwhelmed by the people here. everyone i met was so friendly and welcoming and it was so apparent that they were very proud of their country and wanted me to see that and leave loving it just as much. now, with all this going on, it kind of seems unreal. after being welcomed with such kindness and developing such a great admiration for the genuiness of people here, it seems surreal to be leaving the country in the state that it's in. every Kenyan person i met had such a peaceful way about them. so the fact that there is such hatred and violence going on right now is really hard for me to believe. i really hope that the problems can be resolved quickly so that the division that has been created can be overcome and life can get back to normal for the people here.
well, that's all i have time for today. i'm hoping to get to a computer in new york (or maybe even in the Nairobi airport as i will hopefully have a ton of time to kill before my flight). i hope everyone had a great christmas! i can't wait to see/talk to you all soon.
i have no idea if it's made national news and if it has how much has been covered, but things are a bit crazy around here. way more than a bit. the presidential elections were held on the 27th and it was pretty intense. two of the main candidates (Raila and Kibaki) had the country really divided and even before the voting began there was a lot of tension. it was so interesting to be here to see all of that firsthand. even the family i am staying with (the directors of the orphanage) was divided, as the mom and three daughters strongly supported Kibaki and the father (who i actually still haven't met as he had been in Western Kenya campaigning for Raila and is now stuck there until things calm down) and the son were very passionate about Raila.
anyways, as predicted the race was very tight, but Raila had seemed to be holding a steady lead throughout as the results were coming in. all of the Kibaki supporters i talked to were very disappointed (some even terrified for their country) but no one was angry or violent or any of that. they had all kind of come to accept that they had lost and Raila would be the next President. however the third day or so, the results began to swing the other way in Kibaki's favor and trouble began. even though Raila was still leading, his supporters started to get very nervous and as a result began to cause a lot of trouble.
for those who don't know, there are 42 (i think?) tribes in Kenya. and all of them are very proud to be a part of the group that they are in. as a result, it is not uncommon for their to be some tension between tribes. and in this case, it really made thigns get dangerous. the Kikuyu tribe is the largest and is the tribe that Kibaki is a part of. as a result, most Kikuyos backed him. Raila however is part of the Luau tribe (sorry about these spellings...) and so of course the Luau people strongly backed him. unfortunately, the Luau people are known to be a little more violent than most. so not many were surprised when things quickly escalated as the votes began to turn in Kibakis favor.
there was a period of one or two days when people had to wait for the votes to be counted in the last couple provinces that would determine the election's outcome, so of course during this time as people waited anxiously, things only got worse. there were shootings and cars being set on fire in the streets, people throwing large rocks (or pretty much anything they could get their hands on) not really caring who they hit, and basically just total chaos. it was actually really frightening. many people have been killed and so many more severely injured. i still have a hard time believing it happened (and is still happening). even in the areas that werent quite as bad, there was still a lot of tension. so much so that even i, who (to my parents' worries especially in situations like this) generally never thinks that i am ever in any danger, was pretty nervous.
when the final results came out, things somehow managed to get worse, as Kibaki was declared the winner by a very small number of votes. people just went nuts. riots got so dangerous that the government forbid the news from airing any more live coverage, as they didnt want to add to the chaos with panic by everyone else. as frightening as it may have been to watch the coverage, it was almost more reassuring to me when i could see it and know where things were happening. before, the news was on 24/7 in the house, but since coverage was restricted, i haven't seen the news on more than once. it's just so weird to think that all of this is happening and people in their homes aren't really sure of exactly what might be going on.
not only is the fighting dangerous, but it really makes life difficult for everyone in the country. all stores and markets have been shut down (as any stores open during the riots were looted). without a way to get food or other items they might need, people are really struggling. yesterday, Jane (the director of the orphanage) travelled hours to the only market that was opened and she said the line was out of the door with people waiting to get in.
i've heard that today things have gotten a bit calmer, which is good. however, tomorrow Raila plans to hold a rally in downtown Nairobi, so things are bound to get bad again. fortunately (and unfortunately) my flight leaves tomorrow. i will get out before the rally begins, but i'm a little worried that things might be a little more difficult than they would be otherwise (don't worry mom and dad, i will be fine). because of that, i'm leaving for the airport by 5 AM tomorrow (5 hours before my flight) just to make sure i get there. i'm positive that's a little excessive, but i'm not going to take any chances seeing as if there's one place i'd hate to be stuck at MORE than the London airport right now, it would be in Nairobi.
it's weird to look back on all of the experiences i had before all of this craziness started. from the first day i was here, i was so overwhelmed by the people here. everyone i met was so friendly and welcoming and it was so apparent that they were very proud of their country and wanted me to see that and leave loving it just as much. now, with all this going on, it kind of seems unreal. after being welcomed with such kindness and developing such a great admiration for the genuiness of people here, it seems surreal to be leaving the country in the state that it's in. every Kenyan person i met had such a peaceful way about them. so the fact that there is such hatred and violence going on right now is really hard for me to believe. i really hope that the problems can be resolved quickly so that the division that has been created can be overcome and life can get back to normal for the people here.
well, that's all i have time for today. i'm hoping to get to a computer in new york (or maybe even in the Nairobi airport as i will hopefully have a ton of time to kill before my flight). i hope everyone had a great christmas! i can't wait to see/talk to you all soon.
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