It was a relatively quiet day in Nairobi. After much thought, we decided to go ahead with our plans to visit the Edonyio Sidai school. Mostly, we wanted to get out and see for ourselves what was happening in the city and elsewhere and not depend entirely on the TV for news. One monkey wrench in the plan was that Guy decided this morning that he didn't want us to take his car out and risk damage, which meant we had to find other transport. Joseph and James, our friends, found a car to rent at a good price...probably because it was a wreck with bald tires, one of which blew out on our way to Edonyio Sidai. And the tire that blew wasn't the worst one!
On the way out of Nairobi, we passed Uhuru Park, where the opposition party planned to swear in their alternate government at 2 pm. this afternoon. The park was ringed by the General Service Unit (GSU) officers in their red berets, standing about a foot apart, to prevent anyone from entering the park. These are the "tough" guys, the ones that handle the most difficult situations.Aside from them, there is a massive police force evident everywhere in the city, and security is strong. The president had declared today a public holiday, and the streets were almost empty of vehicles and pedestrians. As we drove past Kibera, the slum where much of the violence has occurred, we could see smoke rising from the homes that had been set on fire there, but it wasn't dramatic in any way...it looked like small isolated fires, maybe about 6 plumes in all. Other than that, we saw nothing to indicate that there was anything unusual going on.The proposed gathering at Uhuru Park never took place today, so the GSU's intimidation factor must have been significant.
We really saw nothing else all day ...including on the way back into Nairobi this afternoon, related to the current situation...until we got back to the hotel and turned on the TV. There were more reports of violence, but they are all still in the same places. So our experience, even in the city is that the violence is isolated to pockets of Raila Odinga supporters (the unsuccessful candidate) in the Nairobi slums which are in his constituency, in Kisumu, his home in Western Kenya, and in other Western Kenya areas which are the home of his Luo tribemembers.
We never did make it to Edonyio Sidai. We drove probably 30 k. from Nairobi, had the flat, and decided that the car would not make it another 35 k on the terrible roads, and if we had another flat tire, we'd be out of luck because there were no more spares. As it was, James had to hitch a ride on a matatu into Kiserian, the next town, to take the spare and fill it up with air before he could put it on the car. While he was gone, we hung out with the small group of children that gathered to watch "another roadside attraction." They were shy, but we finally learned that their names were John, Don, Don, Catherine and Irene. Catherine had a broken red flip flop on one foot, and nothing on the other. Don and Don each had a pair of shoes on, but none of the shoes matched. One of the Dons wore a t-shirt with the words ""pooptop.com" across the front. And all of them had great smiles.
With the spare tire in place, we drove just a kilometer and stopped in Kiserian, had a coke, bananas and warm arrowroot in a small restaurant, and left the car at the police station, where the owner, also a policeman, would come pick it up later. We didn't have to pay a shilling because the "contract" that he gave us wasn't fulfilled. I think he was the loser on that one and I felt bad...he had hoped to earn 4000 shillings on the deal, and instead, he ended up with his car stranded miles from home with a blown out tire. One of Joseph's friends found us a ride back to Nairobi, so all ended well. We agreed to try again to get to the school next Saturday in one of Guy's Land Cruisers.
We leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 for the two schools in the north. There has been no violence in this area, nor at Baringo. Samuel reports a bit of trouble in Molo, but hopes that by the time we are ready to go there, it will have calmed down. And if it hasn't, we won't go there.
At this point, all we can do is take each day as it comes, hoping for the best. We're encouraged by the Kenyan leaders, including the 3rd runner in the presidential race, the police commissioner, the clergy and people called Peace Ambassadors, and in instructors from the universities, appealing to Kenyans on TV for peace and an end to the conflict. I am so impressed with the strong, articulate leadership for peace. And right now, on TV, a young man is talking about other countries that have been through similar situations and how in America, during the Al Gore/Bush election, Gore didn't go out and ask people to march and burn houses and kill their neighbors, but rather the process went to the courts, and that's what Kenya must do.
Happy New Year, and Peace to all.
Gwen
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