Eyes on Kenya

And so you come and talk to me

About “Peace, Love and Unity”

Expecting me to agree

Parroting your parody

In my poetry:

Decorating your tyranny

With bouquets of perfumed words and imagery

To drive away the stench of your treachery

And hoodwink humanity.

I refuse!

I refuse to enter my brain

And ask it to entertain

Even the sound of the idea, that our loves should entwine.

Because what by “Love” you define

Doesn’t tally with mine:

I love my heroes you ignore, persecute and kill,

You love my enemies who rob and enslave me still;

How, then, can there be love between you and me

When the beats of our hearts’ music are not in harmony

When our hearts pump in and out different colours of blood:

No! I refuse!

I refuse to sing your song of submission and despair

I will, instead,

Forge my own words

Which will cry out for my martyred heroes –

Past and present –

Whose blood and tears and death and toil

Gave life to the tree of the freedom of my soil,

Those who always sought

For freedom of speech and thought

And refused to bend or be bought;

Those whose faith never waned to call

For freedom to each and all,

Whose courage was their shield

And with their spear of truth they fought and killed;

Those who, with their lives, they swore

That, come what may, onward they will go

Till their humanity they restore!

Every day, every minute, I hear

The bones and blood of my heroes declare:

“There is a debt to square!”

Them, we have not forgotten

Them, we will always honour and mention.

With their memories we shall rekindle the fire

Spreading its flames of wrath and ire

To burn the roots of our oppression

And uncover your every evil intention!

How, then, can there be “Peace” between us?

How can there be peace between us

When I’ll never accept to bury the people’s anger in the tomb of my verse!

How can I forget decades and decades of my people’s suffering and pain?

Of tears and blood pouring from their limbs, like rain?

How can I ask them to sing your songs in high volume

To stifle the tormented sounds of those you torture and maim?

How can I draw veils over their eyes

To conceal and eclipse the scenes of numerous massacres?

I can still hear the echo of those dead proclaiming:

“Our Country!

Our wounded, mutilated country

Where the dead are not dead

And the living are not living;

Our Country!

Sculptured in fire and blood

Where the north is barren

And the south is hard;

Our Country!

In death we still bleed for you

For we have decided to fear death less

And decided to love death more

Because, if by living we are dying

Why, then, not die a little more

So that we can live longer?”

Should I ignore these voices

Of these noble daughters and sons of my land?

No! I refuse!

For it is their Unity I crave for,

Shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm we go

Not with you, whom we happen to know

That you take from a lamb and give to a lion more;

You, who have torn our house in two:

Ignoring the majority and favouring the few

But, “When the sun is darkened

When the stars fall and disperse

When the mountains are made to move away,

When the camels, ten months pregnant, are left untended

When the wild beasts are brought together

When the seas are set alight

When the souls are paired (like with like)

When of the infant girl, buried alive, is asked: ‘For what crime was she slain?’

When the records are laid open

And the sky is stripped bare…”¹

And there is nowhere to hide,

You, who today judge, shall be the accused!

by Abdilatif Abdalla

London

October 1988

Abdilatif Abdalla, a Kenyan political activist and a Swahili language instructor at Leipzig University Germany, is the author of Sauti ya Dhiki, Utenzi wa Maisha ya Adamu na Hawaa, Kenya Twendapi? and other literary and political classics. He translated Vàclav Havels Die Vernissage (Uzinduzi).

1 The Holy Koran: Chapter 81, Verses 1-11.

As we previously reported, the 27^th of February is an international day of of public and online action in solidarity with the people of Kenya and to call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence.

Amnesty International is organizing streets demonstrations in the following locations on 27 February. Turn up and show your support...

Africa

Kampala, Uganda, 12:30 pm, Kololo Airstrip, corner of Wampewo Rd and Upper Kololo Terrace. A joint action with Amnesty International and the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.

Americas

Washington DC, USA, 4:30-6:30pm, 27 February, - outside the Kenyan Embassy, 2249 R. Street N.W in Dupont Circle

Denver, Colorado, USA, (the sister city of Nairobi, Kenya), 6pm, 27 February, West Steps of the Capitol - Candlelight Vigil for the People of Kenya: Support Human Rights and Peace Now! [Please Bring a Flashlight or Lighter]

Los Angeles, USA, 4:30 pm, 27 February, Vigil at the Kenyan Consulate, Park Mile Plaza, Mezzanine Floor, 4801 Wilshire Boulevard

Montevideo, Uruguay, 27 February, 6.30 pm, Rambla Rep. Argentina

Mexico City, Mexico, 27 February, 18.00 - 21.00, outside Mexico City Cultural Centre [a vigil, 3 African bands and a slideshow of photos from Kenya]

Ottawa, Canada, 27 February, 4.00pm, High Commission of the Republic of Kenya, 415 Laurier Avenue East - intersection of King Edward and Laurier

Asia-Pacific

Melbourne, Australia, 6pm, Parliament House steps, East Melbourne, join us for a vigil with our message calling to: PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF KENYA

Canberra, Australia, 1pm, in front of the Kenyan Embassy, QBE Building, 33-35 Ainslie St, Civic Square. We will be writing letters to the Kenyan government in solidarity with the Kenyan people to bring an end to the violence.

Brisbane, Australia, 4pm, Reddacliffe Place, George St, Brisbane, join us for a vigil to reach out to Kenya, and have a look at our giant hand!

Europe

London, UK, 17:00 to 19:00 pm, outside the Kenyan Embassy, 45 Portland Place, W1B 1AS

Belfast, UK, 28 February, 6:30pm, Club Rooms 3 and 4, Queens University Belfast Student Union, University Road

Berlin, Germany, 27 February, 17.30 -19.30, Kenyan Embassy, MARKGRAFENSTR.63

Netherlands - events are planned in Haarlem, Rijswijk, Hoorn, Harmelen/Leidsche Rijn and Amsterdam, please contact Amnesty International's Netherlands section for more information.

Amnesty International urges Kenya’s leaders to ensure the human rights of Kenyan people are protected.

An international day of public and online action this month will demonstrate solidarity with the people of Kenya and call on the Kenyan government to protect people from politically-motivated and ethnic violence.

On 27 February, people can show their outrage at the continuing human rights abuses in Kenya in a series of events organised by Amnesty International; including an online Facebook action and a series of street demonstrations.

The disputed election of 27 December 2007 sparked an outbreak of fighting and a series of grave human rights violations. At least 1,000 people have been killed so far, while more than 300,000 have been displaced.

Amnesty International’s recent visit to Kenya found evidence of unlawful killings, the ethnically targeted forced relocation and burning of homes by armed militias, excessive use of force by security officials, sexual violence against women and girls, and violations of freedom of expression and assembly. Amnesty International has also documented death threats against human rights defenders and activists.

The death toll includes hundreds shot dead by police, who were deployed to quell the post-election violence and break up mass protests against the election called by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) opposition party.

Subsequent violence has seen increasingly organised attacks by ethnic militia and youth gangs against people of Kikuyu ethnicity, which has led to retaliatory attacks by Kikuyu militias and youth gangs.

There is particular concern at the ethnic dimension to the political violence and its possible long-term implications for Kenyan society.

Amnesty International calls on the Kenyan government to protect the people of Kenya, many of whom have endured unrelenting suffering in the last two months. Kenyan leaders must end the cycle of impunity that perpetuates the politically motivated violence in Kenya.

On Saturday Feb. 2nd 2008 a Charity Concert- One Kenya One Voice- in Boston, Ma, USA will take place at “The Roxy”. All proceeds will go to the Kenyan Red Cross. Headliner Artist Eric Wainaina and others will be performing. For more information see http://www.vumakenya.org/

On the same day a peace rally will be held in Hamburg, Germany, organized by a Kenyan culture organisation Chawema e.V.. Meeting point is the the Hamburg Main Station (Kirchenallee-Hachmannplatz) at 2 o’clock.

At 6 o’clock there will be an discussion round at the DGB building at Besenbinderhof 57a (close to ZOB Hamburg) with Emily Imunde about the present situation back home. M. J. Obeto from Chawema e.V. will moderate in both English and German.

We are lacking words for what is happening.

As an initiative of several concerned Kenyan bloggers ( KenyanPundit.com, WhiteAfrican.com, MentalAcrobatics.com, AfroMusing.com, Skunkworks), the website Ushahidi (swahili for witness) was launched. It gives witnesses of violence in Kenya, which started after the election, the possiblility to report them. Ushuahidi is in contact with several NGOs in Kenya in order to confirm those reports.

Witnesses can contact Ushahidi via internet or email (tips@ushahidi.com) or via mobil and sms (+447624802635).

Truth is the first step to reconciliation and peace. Please support Ushahidi by linking to their page (Buttons are available) and spreading the news via email and phone in Kenya.

Report Acts Of Violence In Kenya

Looking at the current outbreak of violence in Kenya, and thinking about who knows how to end the violence, one should consider that Kenya has two Nobel Peace Price winners.

One is the well known founder of the Green Belt Movement- Prof. Wangari Maathai. She wrote a comment in the Guardian today titled “Time to show greatness”. After explaining the background of the previous election, the disappointment in the fight for a constitution, she calls upon the civil society of Kenya:

“Even as political leaders play their role, citizens should refrain from violence. All 42 communities in Kenya are bound by geography and history to live as neighbours. Killing, destroying property and displacing our brothers and sisters creates a legacy that will haunt our children and their children. Let us stand up for each other, irrespective of our ethnic backgrounds and political persuasions. Injustice to one is injustice to all of us. If we, individually and collectively, are not the conscience of our country, then who is?”

The other Kenyan nobel peace prize winner is the Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, winner of the 2007 Alternative Nobel Peace Price, a prize given out to honour those “working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today”. The Jury commended her “for showing in diverse ethnic and cultural situations how religious and other differences can be reconciled even after violent conflict, and knitted together through a cooperative process that leads to peace and development“. Dekha Abdi’s knowledge and work is most important for Kenya now, more than ever. She showed that it is possible to restore peace. It is a slow process and it takes a lot of patience, nevertheless it is possible. You only wished people would have listen to what is a true Kenyan heroines.

Another brave Kenyan woman is the human rights activist Gladwell Otieno. She read a manifest from several activists at the Grand Regency Hotel in Nairobi on Saturday. She stated 11 demands, among them preparation for a new election, asking foreign governments not to acknowledge Kibaki as a President and not to give out visas to members of the government or their families, in order to prevent them from running away with State money. Gladwell Otieno became famous by fighting corruption and naming names of those with big off-shore accounts. She was pushed to resign as the as executive director of Transparency International (Kenya) by leading members of TI Kenya, who had close bonds with the Kibaki administration (truly one of the darkest chapters of TI’s history.)

It would be easy to continue with this list of Kenyan women having the courage and knowledge to improve the situation in Kenya and it sure is not the lack of trying that prevents their ideas from succeeding.

In almost every violent conflict, women suffer most. It was no surprise that most people killed in the church in Eldoret were women and children. Violation of women’s rights has been a huge problem even in times of peace in Kenya. Within this current conflict situation, rape is being used as weapon, one that destroys women’s lives and their families.

It is of importance that these atrocities towards women are not only attributed to the times of conflict, but to be mapped as they occur and not forgotten and charges brought against those that committed them. There, for instance, has been little coverage of the pre-election violence against women.

The number of women running for Parliament was as big as never, but only a little bit more than a dozen women were elected, less than in the last election. Even two weeks before the election the TV Station Al-Jazeera reported at least 255 cases of assaults against women in connection with the election campaign, leading to exactly 0 charges. (This fact alone is reason enough not to call this election fair.)

Al-Jazeera about violence against Female Candidates during the election campaign aired on the 14th of December 2007

One of the reasons for this violence against female politicians is the persistence of an extremely patriarchal political system since the independence. The system of men (old) taking over power from even older men who are not ready for change (Kenyatta was succeeded by his Vice president Moi, Moi by his Vice president Kibaki, e.t.c) Odinga, who wants to break this monotony and promises change is a serious threat to the seemingly established system. With truly democratic elections the leadership of old men has a lot to lose with more than 50% of the potential voters being women.

It would be encouraging to know that the voices already raised by these women of distinction, voices of credibility, voices that have been appreciated and rewarded by the rest of the world, are not ignored by the people they are now addressing.

@ the Gedächtniskirche Berlin, Germany

For 4 days now, we have been looking for any groups politically or otherwise organized Kenyans in Berlin. We have made many calls, written to many organizations, but it seems that they are a rare breed. I have just come from a demonstration of Kenyans in Berlin seeking a way forward for the country. In total about 13 Kenyans turned up.

It got me thinking. Whenever we called/ wrote in our many inquiries, what we turned up were many politically and otherwise organized Nigerians and Camerounians but never once Kenya. Why is it so? I hypothesize that Kenyans have been much too peaceful to “warrant” organizing to raise their voices about issues. This has made them lose that important life-line of an organised voice taking on the face of tragedy/ political upheaval, or any other social or economic problems that could be addressed by that voice. Another hypothesis that scares me could be that they have adopted an ostrich attitude- head in the sand.

An analysis of the situation back in Kenya should ask of any concerned Kenyan to deliberate with others within such organizations on ways of addressing it from whichever countries they are in. Any effort that can yield albeit a little bit of fruit is worth attempting.