Dirty Soap
on Colm in Kenya (Kenya), 12/Jan/2011 10:31, 34 days ago
Voiis a large enough town roughly 4 hours from Nairobi and 2 and half hours from Mombasa.Nestled smack bang in the middleTsavoEast and West, together Africa’s largest National Park, it is home to many a highway petrol station that has seen countless in-transit travellers stop to empty their brimming to point of bursting bowls at toilets here since April 3rd 1893 (fact!).Yours truly being one of saidintransitions’s- way back in March 2009, when fresh behind the earsvsovolunteer felt the need to unburden himself following hours of‘leap into the unknown’ gut churning.“Jesus! Oh Lord in Heaven save me” it was akin to being ambushed at a surprise party, the smell upon opening the door that unmercifully blitzed me.A powerful gas of piss that could be described as‘rich’ ‘noxious’ ‘attacking’.I could see fly’s hoovering nervously outside the vestibules, almost double daring each other to enter, even they reluctant to face the pooh packed potty’s with in. My journey length need, nay, desire to take a seat on the pensive porcelain stool vanished sooner than you could say ‘ possible long-term intestinal damage’.Bravely and somewhat provoked by being dangerously moisten, I nonetheless pressed through the urine soaked‘air’ toward the wall of bowel fluid woe, unzipped and limply spilled my contribution a top two laughably ill equipped urinal cakes below.Millions of horrid painful, feces birthed illnesses swarmed around me as I hurriedly turned toward the much abused looking wash basins.I carried the firm intention of scrubbing off a layer of flesh and save myself from a hideous death some days ahead, when I saw theunsettlinglydirty bar of soap loitering beside the tap like a hooded teenageasbohanging around some squalid urban estate.Smell married sight and produced an assessment of the hygienic quality of saidasbolooking soap– a piss laden honey trap for flesh eating bacteria.No thanks. I washed my hands with water and chased back into the car for cover, furiously rubbings hands against trouser leg front AND back.Now, it’s been nearly two years since that now learned ‘only breathing through his mouth during Nairobi rest stops’ volunteer bravely escaped like AndyDufranefrom that ill-fated toilet, but that bar of soap has left a lasting impression.For since that faithful day, your piss pot evading hero spent many a night lying awake tossing and turning (80/20 rule applies), mulling over in his absurd adjective selecting head:‘Dirty Soap! That double crossing swine, masquerading like butterwouldn’t melt, a rogue double (cleaning) agent defector faking to sell me healthy but actually intent of giving me danger – what aslimeball.’And this, my now sure to be confused reader, is what corrupt politicians are– Dirty Soap.The most hideous thing in the world.To solve every development issue, the corner stone for development is proper, effective and responsive government.Education, Gender Equality, Health, Trade, Effective use of Aid etc. etc. all require effective government to work.Here there is practically none. Just dirty corrupt politicians.Now before someone says, yeah but there’s corruption everywhere so why is it such a big deal in Kenya let me give you an example. The drug trade (Heroin) here is run by sitting Mombasa MP and second wife of the President of the country.i.e. The problems with Corruption here are at completely different level than those in Ireland, Britain, the US or Europe.AsBarakObama said:Corruption is not a new problem. It’s not just a Kenyan problem, or an African problem. It’s a human problem, and it has existed in some form in almost every society. …But while corruption is a problem we all share, here in Kenya it is a crisis– a crisis that’s robbing an honest people of the opportunities they have fought for – the opportunity they deserve.The worst offenders are those elected by the people to help solve their problems. They offer solution but provide pilfer.Where clean soap is so desperately required, the soap Kenya has is dirty and only serves to add to its woes rather than help it.The message is thus, painfully clear:We need clean soap!And with a the new constitution, pressure from the ICC and ever growing, frustrated educated middle class voting block– it might soon be coming.