When sorrows come...
on It began in Africa (Kenya), 13/Sep/2011 06:14, 34 days ago
...they come not single spies, but inbattalions. It's been a bad week for Kenya.First theBritish couple on holidayNorth ofLamuattacked by Somali pirates, one killed, one kidnapped. Terrible for the individuals involved, of course, but also a potential blow to Kenya's vitaltourist industry, which has only just picked up after the post-election violence of 2007. Some are saying thatwith the border to Somalia so close it had been on the cards for a while, and certainly it seems that the only real solution is to "fix" Somalia - whatever that means. Until then refugees flood out of its borders to theDadaab refugee campwhich now comprises over 380,000 people making it Kenya's3rd largest cityand the world's largest refugee camp. These people are escaping civil war, famine and violent oppression, and it can hardly be a surprise that piracy has become a valid career option.Then thepipeline explosionin one of Nairobi's many overflowing slums - an area called Lunga Lunga that I have visited with work before now. For those who haven't read the news stories, local residents were collecting fuel from the leaking pipeline. It seems that the pipe leaks quite regularly and people were used to filling their jerry cans to save or earn a few shillings, but this time a much more flammable type of fuel leaked, resulting in a huge explosion. The equation is all too simple : poverty + careless corporate + self-interested government = disaster.And of course the ICC prosecutions at the Hague rumble on, trying to prosecute those suspected of involvement in the post-election violence for crimes against humanity. Last week it was the confirmation hearings (a pre-trial-trial?). To the estimated200,000internally displaced persons still living in what are basically internal refugee camps, it must all seem unbearably slow.Living in a developing country makes you feel powerless. However well I do my job, people in Kenya will continue to live in dangerous housing and risk their lives for a few extra bob, because they have to feed their kids. And fortunate people like Ed and I continue to plan holidays, get excited about Friday night beers and grumble about crumbling pavements and noisy matatus.We're lucky that Kenya has such a relentless (sometimes almost gruelling) optimism about it: "as God wills it", "next time we will improve", "we will rebuild". These are all phrases you hear, sometimes with incredulity. I am doing my best to adopt this optimism for Kenya and hoping next week will be better.