What Future Awaits the Children of Kenya?
Echoes of Rwanda filled our minds as Kenya became engulfed in the flames of ethnic violence following the December 27, 2007 presidential election in which President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner. Supporters of Kibaki’s opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, were inflamed by allegations of electoral manipulation, which was widely confirmed by international election observers. The post-election violence, soon turned into what some are now calling genocide and tensions have taken much of the spotlight off Sudan who still lingers in the grey shadows. Some claim the violence is not ethnically inspired, but economically fulled. Regardless ethnic tensions are not unknown in Kenya and have been used as fodder in many cases since independence in 1963, especially in regards to land ownership, and with this displacement is neither a new fate for many Kenyans.
The past three months have left us with mounting fears and little hope for the future of Kenya. Stories of children caught in the cross fire, youths violently patrolling the streets flood the news and our minds. Women and children have been the hardest hit by the clashes, which have left mounting instances of rape and have also hindered aid efforts. The conflict has left some 301,000 plus IDP’s (one third of which are under 5), half of which are children, many of who have left their homes in search of their ‘ancestral’ homes, while others have also fled to bordering Uganda.
Many Kenyan children who have been caught up in the violence live in utter poverty, with their futures looking bleak even before the eruption of violence. One such breeding ground for the violence, due to fears and hate of corruption, lies right out side the capital city of Nirobi, in the slums of Kibera. The worlds largest slum with over one million people, the children of Kibera and their families have no running or clean water; the same streets where children play overflow with human waste, breading disease to those who have no access to healthcare. These same streets have now grown even more desperate as access to food and healthcare is even farther out of reach, as they have been the hardest hit by the violence. It is the many children like the children of the Kibera Slums who find themselves more and more drawn to violence as a means of hope for a better future. Sadly violence only breeds more violence and discontent, leaving those in poverty and social turmoil to fall farther and farther away from hope and continue to linger in the shadows of a failing state.
As January wound down some began to see a small glimmer of light as mediation talks began, due in large thanks to the help of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As violence spread in the Rift Valley and Nairobi, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, most saw little signs of an end to the crisis, causing concerns that the end to the violence was no where in sight to only grow.
On February 28th the National Accord and Reconciliation Act was signed by both Kibaki and Odinga, establishes the office of prime minister, and creates a coalition government. This new power-sharing deal, only serves to overhaul the way the country is governed. The terms of the agreement, which the AP outlines, establishes Odinga, as Kenya’s new prime minister. Some praise the deal and says a power-sharing agreement “held the only key to a peaceful and agreeable settlement of the post-election impasse” (The Standard). Others claim that the deal only signifies Kenya pulling “back from the brink” (Economist). While former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who mediated the agreement, do deserve much credit in brokering the deal, it unfortunately leave many worried as it “remains to be seen how the sharing of power will work in practice.” How long will the deal last is also a question of great concern, as many wonder if new presidential elections will soon be sought.
What fate awaits the children of Kenya? The sad reality of Kenya is that regardless of peace today or tomorrow, the scars of violence never disappear, and will now forever mare the lives of all of Kenya’s children. One can only hope that the wounds heal of a nation heal enough to leave only a faded scar that all can learn from, one which serves as a reminder for what must never occur again.
Please see my esteemed colleague Dan Graeber’s post’s Kenya descends and Kenya witnessing “genocide on a grand scale” for more incite.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Now the world thinks that Kenya is at peace again. Newspapers across the globe are running with news that Kenyans are the winners after last week’s agreement between presidential contenders Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki. With a pen and paper and some applauding, everything comes back to normal.
I find this absolutely laughable. It’s bitterly amusing because many Kenyans do not need some black ink on bleached paper to live as brothers.To understand the satire, let me retrace the steps Kenya has taken in the past six months.
Kenya’s future was looking up. The economy was rising at incredible rate, almost phenomenal. At a growth rate of more than 6%, compared with a negative growth rate a few years ago, things were promising. Kenyans were filled with the need to use the new opportunities provided by an expanding economy. From the beautiful coastal towns to the highlands and the shores of Africa’s biggest lake, Lake Victoria, no one thought Kenya was headed for the worst.
Then came the election, the infamous December 29 deadlock. Suddenly Kenyans were made to understand that their neighbour was responsible for them not winning the elections. Politicians who had all long waited for “their time to rule” knew they needed the masses — especially young men, my peer group. Machetes were quickly provided as well as bows and arrows. Traditionally, these were hunting gear but now they were used on neighbours.
Day after day, hundreds died, thousands were maimed or raped and a similar number were displaced, losing everything they had. All along, politicians stood like old generals, urging them to fight on to “ensure justice is done”.
I had a chance to drive through the “death Rift Valley” where most of the tribal killings took place. I met a 32-year-old man, John Wachira, who had managed to run to a camp (for the homeless) in the town of Nakuru, the provincial headquarters of Rift Valley province, which is just 150km north of our capital, Nairobi, and which is better known for soda-packed lakes crammed with pink flamingos.
Wachira was happy to be alive. But he wondered why people thought his Kikuyu tribe, the biggest ethnic group in the country, was favoured by the government. He had bought his piece of land 10 years ago, during the dying days of former ruler Daniel arap Moi. Having saved enough money from his bicycle taxi, Wachira upgraded and bought an old cab, which he sold to buy the land.
Years later, he was the major supplier of agricultural products to hotels in the town of Eldoret, further north, home to Kenya’s second public university, named after Moi.
Wachira feels he is a target now. The reason: his tribe has been favoured. I remember him saying that neither he nor his relatives have ever received a penny from the government. To him an agreement or no agreement means nothing. He lost years of hard work.
Taking a cue from Wachira, it was ordinary Kenyans who bore the brunt of it all. Even the rioters came second best. They lost many hours fighting with the police that they could have been investing in their own future. The same goes for those who hacked or raped their own countrymen and -women: they will live for many years with the guilt.
In areas where there were clashes, residents are experiencing high levels of inflation. These are people who can not afford to get food at cheaper prices and who are at the mercy of speculators. But the politicians who incited them can travel to wherever food is cheapest. We give those politicians the money and power to do so.
The February 28 peace deal in Kenya is welcome. It is one of the few times that we have seen the leaders think for the “welfare of the country”. But I see this coming a little bit too late. The mediation has worked, but people are still in camps.
For President Mwai Kibaki, accused of cheating in the election, sharing power does not hurt. After all, he has considerable power left within his reach.
What happens to the people who were displaced due to their perceived alignment to him? Will the pen and the paper he signed bring back those killed because they were of his ethnic background? To some, this is a betrayal. Some argue that Kibaki agreeing to share power means he admits he never won the disputed election; he just rigged it so he could not be caught.
Even if there is a clause in the Odinga-Kibaki agreement that says displaced persons should be assisted to rebuild their lives, the politicians can never afford to compensate ordinary people for the valuable time they lost. But they should try. Perhaps we need a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission. Perhaps we should have the politicians washing the feet of those harmed in the violence, as an apartheid-era police minister did to the man he tried to kill through poison.
Certainly we need a more active civil society to make these politicians aware that they serve us, not the other way around.
As much we needed the peace, I think it was the displaced Kenyans who lost. The winners of the peace deal were the politicians. They will be part of the government, and that is what they want. Serving voters like John Wachira is far, far down the list of their aspirations
March 19th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Joe,
Thank you for your response, your views are most welcome. I agree with you the situation in Kenya is far from over, and the displaced are the ones to suffer the most. Work to return the IDP’s home, if home is where they want to go, is a long road and much needs to be done to ensure the process is safe and voluntary. However what is most needed is stability and reconciliation amongst all parties to see that return is possible. You are right, there is no amount of of assistance or repatriation can bring back the loss of lives or amend the suffering the people have faced. Let us hope that true peace comes to the displaced soon.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences and incite in to the situation in Kenya.
Cassandra
July 14th, 2008 at 2:59 am
[…] Sadly the increase of sexual exploitation of women and children Kenya is not an isolated case, as high instances of sexual exploitation, trafficking and rape are seen in many post conflict countries. One such case can be seen in my recent post on Sierra Leone, Despite Peace Sexual Violence Rages On in Sierra Leone. Please see some of my earlier posts, such as: Children of the Kibera Slums, Can Kenya’s Children be Healed? and What Future Awaits the Children of Kenya? For more on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in Kenya please see the following links: Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery - Kenya US State Department - Trafficking in Persons Report 2008 ECPAT: Child Sex Tourism in Kenya IRIN: In-Depth: Youth in crisis: Coming of age in the 21st century […]