FWCC Kenya News

An update from John Muhanji

2008-06-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

After have a very successful mission to Uganda [for Friends United Meeting--FUM], I received a telephone call from the [Turbo] District Commissioner (DC) at mid-night on Sunday asking me to join them get the IDPs from the Eldoret show ground to their homes. The DC told me that he had been to the camp and the IDPs were hostile to him because he has not been with them at all. The IDPs told the DC the only people they know who have been very helpful in ensuring that they resettle to their homes are the District Officer (DO) and the Friends Church. He was given my number by the DO and the IDPs would like to meet me from the Friends church and the DO on Monday morning. I was very tired and I needed a rest after a long week full of activities. I tried to give excuses not to go or sent someone else, but the DC said, "You have done a lot for these people and I believe you are the only person who could make this day a success. I accepted reluctantly but at the same time I asked God to give me energy and wisdom on how to deal with the situation.

I left very early in the morning on Monday 16th for Eldoret show grounds. I met the DO and DC waiting for me. We went to the camp and met with the people and when I talked and prayed for them, they willingly went and started pulling down their tents ready to leave to their new station closer to their houses which had been destroyed. Lorries (trucks) were provided which carried them to the place. As they were pulling down their tents, we went to see the place where they were relocating. We found that there were no rest rooms and water nearby for the people as they move there. At this time the DC had left us with the DO. We called the DC and asked him to provide funds for the toilets and water, but he never came to us again. Time was moving and nothing was taking place, I felt frustrated and I called Eden [Eden Grace from FUM's Kisumu office] and asked her to send me Kshs.40,000 [$667] to use for the process. Eden responded very fast, and I started rolling things in action. The toilets were put in place, water was also connected after buying pipes that pulled water which was 200 meters from the location. I also provided food to those people who worked on it. I also enable the connection of electricity from a nearby hospital which provided light for security. I got a wire that was also 200 metres and its accessories. It was as if I had calculated the exact amount that was required for the work available. I left the camp at 8.45 PM when the camp was having water, rest rooms and lights in a very short time. The IDPs and the DO felt encouraged and supported and the people felt that indeed the Friends Church is a true peace church that cares for the people. They commented that we have been very helpful in the process and they have seen that we are the only church that has not taken the process for granted but as a duty. They saw integrity in us and wished this church could stay with them all the time. I also used the same money to buy fuel for a government vehicle the DO was using when it ran out of fuel and were using it to carry logs and other things. They could not get the money from the DC to do anything. I felt encouraged and energised to see that we could offer a new life of hope to people who have been feeling hopeless.

I slept in Eldoret unexpected because I came knowing that I will be going back to Kisumu. The following day we went to the show ground to see those IDPs from the same place who had remained. As I arrived in the camp and went round the makeshift tents, all those who had remained came out and started pulling down their tents in readiness to join their counterparts who had left the previous day. Since everything was already in place I blessed them and asked them to move in peace to the new place. At this time I was needed for another meeting in Kisumu at 2.00pm. I left Eldoret at 11.45am and I was in Kisumu for the other meeting.

The program which the Friends Church Peace team has been doing has caused a big impact to both the communities of the Kalenjin and Kikuyus. These communities had no clue before that the Friends Church had such values in peace and reconciliation. The DO continued to say, If it was not the Friends Church which I have hidden in their wings, I would not have penetrated or made any progress in resettlement of the IDPs."

Friends, your prayers and support has been seen and heard and we encourage that we continue with the same spirit of support. There is a lot of responsibilities remaining to ensure that we continue with bonding relationship activities between the communities. The resettlement continues this week and next week.

After a very successful resettlement of IDPs on Monday and Tuesday of 16th and 17th, there was a more than successful resettlement of IDPs at Jua Kali in an area which was very bad when we visited them. The District Commission (DC) and Joshua Lilande called me and told me how the plan they had put in place was unnecessary when the receiving community took them to their houses rather than camping in their neighborhood waiting to rebuild their burnt houses. There was reconciliation sprit in the air as their neighbors received them with joy.

When the Friends Church Peace Team (FCPT) visited the Jua Kali receiving community to listen to them, they were very hostile to them and never wanted to see the Kikuyus back in the area at all. But as they continued to listen to the team they soften although they remain adamant about not receiving them, but when we visited the area with the District Office (DO) they were willing to accept them back. Therefore, on Thursday when Lilande and the DO took the internally displaced people (IDPs) to their place, the community accepted them with jubilation. This was the opposite of what we experienced earlier when we were listening to them. The good news is that the gospel of peace and reconciliation is in the air propagated by the Friends Church.

But hell broke loose when they took the other IDPs to Sugoi from Eldoret Show Ground. Sugoi had been one of the most hostile communities when the FCPT held a listening session with them. The DO called me today and wished that I had been with him. They were almost killed by the community people who never wanted to see the returning community coming back. They asked me if I was available to accompany him but I was not available. He told me the community need the Friends Church Peace Team to be back in the area. The DO had to re-route the returnees to Turbo camp where other IDPs are. But on reaching there, the IDPs at Turbo did not want to accommodate their friends at all. The DO had to return them back to the Eldoret Show Ground for safety. The DO was very frustrated to the point that the DC ran away and never came closer to help the DO. He has organized a meeting with elders and opinion leaders in the area to talk with the them and hear what they need before the IDPs can return to their farms. The community is asking the government to release the youth who were arrested during the violence and especially those who were demonstrating against the rigged election. He is asking me and the Peace Team to be available with him to listen and encourage them to accept their brothers who are innocent return back. Please I am appealing for prayers, because the DO sounded scared because he said they petrol bombed them but nobody was hurt. The community is very hostile to the Kikuyus coming back. As we celebrate the successes, there are also challenges in the whole process.

I am encouraged by the following. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether. The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9). I believe God has a purpose for our ministry here in Kenya.

I am still thinking whether to join the DO tomorrow Saturday with the elders or to send others. Please pray with me.

God bless you friends.

John Muhanji, Director of African Ministries for Friends United Meeting (FUM)

A Report on the work of the Friends Church Peace Team

2008-03-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

When violence erupted in Kenya on 30^th December 2007 after the announcement of the presidential elections results it became the concern of everybody. The friends’ church in Kenya and world – over were touched on seeing sufferings by internally displaced people. This made Kenyan friends to hold a conference from 24^th to 27^th January 2008 to plan for possible measures of intervention into the crisis. The Kenyan National Quakers peace Conference appointed a co-ordinating committee of 13 members plus seven ex-officio members to implement immediate measures and to put steps in place towards the long-term actions

The conference came out with a plan of action as a guide to the committee. The committee embarked on business immediately convening meetings on the following dates:-

1^st February 2008

9^th February 2008

19^th February 2008

The following work has so far been accomplished as a result of the committee meetings.

POLITICAL CRISIS INTERVENTION

A pastoral letter from the conference was written on 27^th January 2008 to president Mwai Kibaki and Hon Odinga requesting them to speed up the process of reconciliation and peace building to avoid more blood- shed in Kenya.

An effort to ues the media to publicize massages of peace and reconciliation has been made, particularly when the media covered occasions of distribution of humanitarian items to IDPs at their centers.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS INTERVENTION

The committee put itself in groups and visited various IDO centers on specific dates, distributing humanitarian items to the displaced.

THURSDAY 7^th FEBRUARY 2008

GROUP I: Visited Machewa Chief Centre in trans-nzoia District, valley Province, which had 360
People.

GROUP II: Visited Kiminini Market where IDP had camped at Deliverance Church with 1,270 People and Toba Vunja Church with 80 families. This was also in Trans-nzoia District, Rift Valley Province.

GROUP III: Visited Sabata Shopping center in the same district as above where there were 1,858 People.

Most displaced people in all centers came from Mt Elgon. Items distributed at every centre were maize, beans, rice, cooking fats, salt, sugar, soap, blankets, water filters and clothes donated by Kenyan friends. The amount depended on the number of the people at the centers.

FRIDAY 15^th FEBRUARY 2008

The Committee decide to revist the above three centers on this date due to overwhelming needs at the centers. In addition to the above, Milembe Friends Church was visited where 3,200 people were staying on 3 farms, i.e Milembe farm, Rengecha farm, and Meso farm. Same items of varying quantities were supplied.

TUESDAY 26^th FEBRUARY 2008

Two Centres were visited on this date:-

ELDORET: Joshua Lilande, Seth Chayuga and Sammy Akifuma visited the place and found 50 families. Maize, beans, rice, cooking fats, salt, sugar, soap and blankets were given out. Eldoret is in Uasin Gishu District in Rift Valley Province.

CHEPTULU CHIEFS CENTRE: Had over 1,200 people driven away from Rift valley where they had bought land and settled. Their houses were burnt to ashes, cattle taken away and are now housed by relatives and friends. The centers are in Kakamega District, western province. Maize, beans, rice, cooking fats, salt, sugar, soap, and blankets were distributed by John Muhanji, Glady’s Kang’ahi, Dorothy Selebwa, Rose Imbega, Eric Lijoodi, Wesley H. Sasita, Joseph M. Makokha and Friends Theological College Principal, Lecturers and students plus Juddy of Kaimosi Friends Hospital. Clothes donated by Kenyan Friends were also given out.

NAIROBI: Ksh. 75,000 was sent to the clerk of Nairobi yearly meeting for the needs of the place. A report is yet to be given on what was bought and distributed.

WEDNESDAY 27^th FEBRUARY 2008

Giachere Friends Secondary school in Kisii District, Nyanza province was visted by John Muhanji, Gladys Kang’ahi, Dorothy Selebwa, Rose Imbega. Wesley Harun Sasita, Joseph Mamai Makokha and Juddy of Friends Hospital Kaimosi. 160 students, boys and girls had run away from Nakuru, Njoro, Eldoret, Burnt forest and other places and were admitted to this school without fees payment, exercise books, text books, personal effects. This heavily strained the school resources. Many of the students were traumatized. One of the girls students could not complete her story of experience of the violence she witnessed.

We delivered 20 bags of maize, 5 bags of beans, 3 bags of sugar, 2 packets of salt and 2 cartons of soap all of which were not enough for the needs of the displaced students. Other needs the school requested for were desks, text books, school uniforms, counseling for trauma healing distinctly seen in students.

The next and 4^th meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 11^th March 2008 when we shall identify other IDP centers for our visits.

Apart from what was given, all the centers visited requested fro the following:-

School fees for the displaced students.
More food up to next harvest.
Farm inputs incase they go back to their homes.
Material to reconstruct their houses.
More blankets
Tents as they await resettlement.
Sanitary towels for young and girls.
Medication
Counseling and trauma healing

Unfortunately, we are limited with funds to attend to these genuine needs.

COUNSELING SESSIONS

Spiritual Crisis and Listening Programme

Before distribution of humanitarian items, each group gave the IDPs time to speak out their experiences of the violence as we listened. Then words of encouragement and advice against hatred and retaliation were given by committee members.
The gospel of peace was preached from the Bible by pastors who had accompanied the groups. AVP and CAPP people had moments with individuals displaced person’s

PYSCOLOGICAL CRISIS

60 AVP and CAPP members had a workshop on 23^rd February 2008 and laid down strategies on when to visit IDP camps for counseling and trauma healing sessions. Right now they are in the field for “listening sessions” and counseling where people tell their stories in safe environment.

In three weeks time from 23^rd, they will assemble back to asses the progress.

FINANCES

To guarantee integrity and transparency in use of funds the FCPT committee put the money at it’s disposal into vote heads. We eceived US$ 22261 (KSh. 1,58,620)

No	Vote-head	% age	US$	KSHS
1	FCPT Committee expenses	4	928	64,960
2	Direct Humanitarian Aid	62	13,916	974,120
3	Peace making / Reconciliation activities	28	6,185	432,950
4	Contingencies	6	1237	86,590
TOTALS		100	22,266	1,558,620

We are adhering to the above “crisis management" budget allocation as much as possible. The Committee sits, identifies what to be bought, it does the budget for what to be bought and John Muhanji gives cash to members who would have been identified for purchasing and all items are brought to one central store from where they are carried to IDP centers. Virement, where necessary, can be done by the whole committee. So far there is total respect to the budget allocation.

IN PROCESS

Mediation in situations of acute and persistent conflict.

An attempt to talk to Sabaot Land Defense force has started and is still at very infant stage. This is an armed group with powerful weapons who may be responsible for deaths of many people in mt Elgon. It is our hope that our talks with them will convince them to demand for their rights peacefully as we convince the Government to listen to their grievances without harassment. This attempt may bring lasting solution to the violence in the area that has persisted for more than two years now.

It may also, if successful, reintegrate displaced people into the community and rebuild trust between neighbors.

CONCLUSION

On behalf of Friends Church peace Team, I highly appreciate the assistance our overseas friends have given us. It has enabled us reach where we are and we hope to cover more short-term work. But long term work has to start now that peace in Kenya has been reached. Displaced people required resettlement. Houses will be required, farm inputs, youths empowerment, economic development, advocacy, spiritual development of the pece testimony and organizational capacity are the activities we have earmarked to do as long-term activities. We kindly ask for more financial support locally and from overseas for the above to be accomplished. We are strongly committed to integrity, transparency and accountability in use of funds.

May God Almighty’s Hand be seen in this work.

Joseph Mamai Makokha

Chairman
Friends Church Peace Team
5^th March 2008

Kenya rivals reach peace agreement

2008-03-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

Kenya's rival leaders have agreed to share power in a deal that may end the violence that has engulfed this nation but could be the beginning of a long and difficult political relationship.

Mwai Kibaki, the president, and Raila Odinga, the top opposition leader, sat down at a desk in front of the president's office, with a bank of television cameras rolling, and signed an agreement that creates a powerful prime minister position for Odinga and splits cabinet posts between the government and the opposition.

The two sides, which have been bitterly at odds for the past two months, will now be fused together in a government of national unity.

But there are still many issues to resolve, starting with how the new government will function with essentially two leaders who have tried unsuccessfully to work together before. The government must also deal with the delicate business of reassigning the choice positions already given to Kibaki's allies.

There is also a deeply divided country to heal. More than 1,000 Kenyans have been killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes in an uncharacteristic burst of violence set off by a deeply flawed election in December. Much of the fighting, like the voting, has been along ethnic lines.

Kenya used to be considered one of the most prosperous and stable nations in Africa, known as an oasis of peace in a turbulent region.

The violence has cooled down in the past few weeks, but the tension and displacements have continued. Many Kenyans have said that the country will not return to peace until the dueling politicians agree to some sort of solution.

Annan took the lead in trying to bring the two sides together. For the past month, he has been meeting nearly every day with negotiators for Kibaki and Odinga, searching for a political compromise. More than anyone else, Annan has been the hope of this country. A baby rhino recently born in one of Kenya's fabled game parks was even named after him.

But earlier this week, Annan seemed to have run into a brick wall. Negotiators deadlocked over whether they would share responsibilities or share power, with the government refusing to give Odinga substantial authority or to amend the Constitution to create the position of prime minister. Annan then decided to bypass the negotiation teams and go directly to Odinga and Kibaki. He met with them behind closed doors for more than four hours on Thursday.

At 4:30 p.m. local time, Annan, Kibaki and Odinga emerged. The two leaders signed the agreement with Annan standing behind them, his hands clasped, as a crowd of diplomats, cabinet ministers and political supporters clapped.

Under the deal, the party that holds a majority in Parliament — currently Odinga's — will elect a prime minister to "coordinate and supervise" government affairs. The cabinet positions will be divided, based on parliamentary strength. Parliament will pass an act and a constitutional amendment guaranteeing all this.

Annan said the deal was Kenya's only way out of the crisis.

"Today we have reached an important staging post, but the journey is far from over," Annan said. "Let the spirit of healing begin today. Let it begin now."

ODM caling for "general strike" in the absence of a power-sharing agreement

2008-02-25T00:14:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka of AGLI reflects on the repercussions of the failure to announce a power-sharing agreement, and relates his latest experiences in the conflict areas.

The team lead by Kofi Annan was supposed to release the details of the power-sharing agreement between the two sides on Friday. That didn't happen. It seems like the Kibaki/PNU side is again procrastinating (they feel that time is on their side). So the Raila/ODM side has called for mass action on Wednesday (Feb. 27). Rather than just demonstrations, as in the past (which were broken up violently by the police), ODM is calling for what I would describe as a general strike. No one is to go to work; roads will be blocked, etc. Due to the recent history of violence this action will be extremely effective--everyone will be afraid to travel or to go to work. Everyone will stay home and the country will shut down. On Wednesday we were planning to go to Nairobi for our flight to the US on Thursday. If the action is not called off by Monday, we will travel to Nairobi on Tuesday. See how effective this threat is!

Yesterday Gladys and I went to Kakamega for a meeting with CAPP (essentially peace committee members) and AVP members from the various yearly meetings. During this meeting a woman from Chwele Yearly Meeting, which is right below the fighting on Mt. Elgon, told us that the previous night a member of one of the Quaker meetings was attacked by the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF) which is responsible for much of the destruction and death on the mountain. His head was cut off and has not yet been found. (Note: Is it more "civilized" to attack people, say in Iraq, with heavy weapons so the body parts are all over the place?) Most of the Sabaot, who live higher up on the slopes of the mountain, have been displaced, so the SLDF is now moving further down the hill to steal cattle and goods killing people in the process. This area is very heavily populated by Quakers; every mile or two is another Quaker school. As the violence increases--and the current political crisis has been a great "cover" for increased attacks and ethnic cleanings in the area--the Quakers there will be more and more affected. Will the larger Quaker community in Kenya and the world take note of this and respond?

Yesterday we also bought goods in Kakamega for the internally displaced Lumakanda people who are now at the police station in nearby Turbo. We picked up four members of the Church including the pastor, James Majeta. As usual we delivered the food. There has not been significant rain in this area for almost four months. The IDP camp is at the top of a hill on fields that grew corn last year. The place is totally dry. The soil is very loose. The wind blows much of the time, sometimes very hard, and the dust blows everywhere. In an hour my hair (like everyone else's there) was covered with dust. They told me that a cow dies almost every day because there is not sufficient grass to feed them. As I looked at the cows I could see that many were thin with ribs showing. Although some of the people have moved back to their houses (see the comments about Silas Njoroge below) and some have returned to Central Province (the Kikuyu "ancestral home"), those who remain do not have homes to return to and perhaps do not even know where their "ancestral home" is.)

Here I will tell a story. You have to figure out the moral of the story. Gladys has a distant relative who works in Nairobi; but his wife and children live near us. These people are therefore Luhya, the dominant group in Lugari District. They are the ones who supply us each morning and evening with milk for our tea (and other uses). There are two older sons, Anthony, 21, and Nivan, 20. Both have completed secondary school and, as even they themselves say, are part of the "idle youth" who have nothing to do. About two weeks ago Nivan brought the evening milk about 6:00 pm. He went to the road, saw his brother and another friend, and they decided to walk over to Anthony's girlfriend's house. As they walked near the hospital and police station, there was a group of three Kikuyu boys following them. One of them came up to Nivan and started to attack him. The attacker then pulled out a machete and tried to strike him on the head. Nivan put up his left arm to ward off the blow and the machete cut through one of his arm bones and half way through the second. They rushed Nivan to the nearby hospital. About 8:00 pm the hospital called and told us to come and see him. This we did. By the time we reached the hospital he had been stitched up, given an antibiotic, and was doing fairly well considering the circumstances. Gladys paid the hospital bill. (It cost a little over $5. What would this have cost in the US?). Neither Anthony nor Nivan knew the attacker, but they did know the boys he was with. At this point it looked like this was an ethnic attack with a Kikuyu attacking a Luhya.

So then we went to the police station to report the incident. As soon as we arrived, the policeman said this was a case of a love triangle. If this is correct, then this is not one ethnic group attacking another, but "ethnic love" as two boys are fighting over the same girl (who is a Luhya). The only problem with this interpretation is that the girl is Anthony's girlfriend, yet Nivan is the one who was attacked. Moreover, as Anthony said to me, "If I had a rival, I didn't know it." So you can decide, "Is this ethnic hatred or ethnic love?" As I have said before, if one investigated the details of many of these incidents, the results would not be too clear.

Last Monday Gladys called the Anthony and Nivan's Mom and asked her to send them up with the evening milk. We talked with them more about the incident--Nivan is recovered well enough. ("I don't want to be a cripple," he sometimes says. Then other times he talks about how lucky he was to put up his arm to ward off the blow since he probably would have been killed.) The attacker has fled Lumakanda area and no one knows where he is. One of the other Kikuyu boys had been put in jail but he was released since he hadn’t actually done anything that was a chargeable offence. We discussed with them the idea of doing AVP with the youth. Would they be able to assemble a group of 20 youth, male and female, of various ethnic backgrounds to have a workshop? They said they could so we arranged for five or six of them to come back on Friday to meet with us and Getry, the AVP coordinator; and they came. Five youth (2 female, 3 male; 4 Luhya and 1 Luo) came to discuss the situation with Getry. The result is that on March 3, Getry and two other facilitators will begin an AVP workshop with them which will include Luhya, Nandi (local Kalenjin group), Luo, and Kikuyu. They said they have known each other since they were kids in school.

But another interesting thought came out of the discussion. Getry had introduced the idea that the youth were being blamed for all the violence. Anthony responded that on Dec 30 (the evening the election results were announced and the violence started) many adults were telling the youth to attack the Kikuyu. In particular, the adults said to attack Silas Njoroge whose house was looted but not burned -- perhaps because it is close to the town and the police station. (He has now returned to his house.) If the youth killed someone, they were told they could come back for a reward. Anthony said, and the others agreed, that there was a lot of peer pressure to join in the attacks and the youth really faulted the older people for promoting this.

Ray Downing, a doctor at Webuye Hospital, (who formerly worked at the Quaker Lugulu Hospital up the mountain from Webuye) asked the question, "Why don't we study those areas (such as Webuye and Bungoma) where there was no violence?" In other words, rather than focusing only on the bad areas, why don't we try to understand the good areas? At one point I replied that I thought the Webuye/Bungoma area had not erupted into violence because the people there voted for Kibaki rather than Raila. (This voting was really anti-Raila, who they didn't like, rather than pro-Kibaki. Nonetheless, it got Kibaki the votes he needed. Ray Downing replied that the older people in the area voted for Kibaki, but that the younger people voted for Raila. Later I was in a meeting where two parents said they had voted for Kibaki while their children had voted for Raila and that this had brought great tension into the family.

This led me to realize that it is the elders (Bush, Cheney, et alter) who send the youth to war in Iraq. It is the Kalenjin elders who send their warriors to attack the Kikuyu and the church which was burned down in Eldoret. It was the elders here in Lumakanda who encouraged the youth to attack the local Kikuyu. Where the elders did not encourage the youth, or perhaps discouraged the youth from attacking, the youth were not violent. If this interpretation is correct, then it is the older people who are responsible for the violence, death, and chaos in Kenya and not the youth who physically did the damage.

A settlement still seems a long way off

2008-02-21T01:26:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka of AGLI reports that there is still a long way to go to a political settlement. In the mean time, there are problems with aid distribution.

Politically things are not looking good. The Government (PNU--Kibaki) side, after immense pressure from the US, Britain, the EU, and many others, has not compromised hardly at all.

They are continuing to say much of what they said right after the election--Kibaki is in power and the Constitution cannot be changed to accommodate any settlement. The Opposition side (ODM--Raila) is planning to start holding demonstrations again after a week if Parliament is not called into session to vote on the Constitutional changes needed for a settlement. The Government then says they (ODM) are bringing on violence and ODM responds by saying that it is the Government who is violent when they forbid peaceful demonstrations as allowed by the Kenya Constitution and international law. The tear gas, water cannons, and live bullets are what is making the demonstrations violent. For some reason, the authorities in Kapsabet had allowed demonstrations before and they were peaceful and the youth blew off their steam. The Kibaki side wishes to procrastinate as long as possible since with each passing day they remain in power.

Noah Weksa, a PNU Member of Parliament from Western Kenya, a Quaker, and Minister for Science and Technology, has called for a power sharing agreement--this is at some variance with the PNU hardliner stance. It will be interesting to see if some of the PNU, non-Kikuyu MP's start to break away to form that moderate middle that will be necessary for a resolution.

On Tuesday Gladys and I were at the Friends Church Peace Team (FCPT) meeting and I heard this interesting story. There are still about 1000 Kikuyu camped at the police station in Kakamega. On Sunday 350 Luhya who had been displaced from Naivasha, Nakuru, and Central Province and returned to their "ancestral land" as is the phrase here (i.e., ethnically cleansed) arrived in their truck at the police station, but the police turned them away--presumably because the Luhya would have problems staying with the Kikuyu. When the truck returned to town, not really knowing where to drop the people, the bicycle taxi drivers got aroused. In mass, as they do during the rioting, they returned with the truck to the police station and demanded that the Luhya be allowed to stay there (or they would begin attacking the Kikuyu). The police backed down and the Luhya stayed with the Kikuyu in the police station, both as internally displaced people.

In the reports on the FCPT distribution which I missed when we were in Uganda, a number of people commented that the internally displaced people would see the Red Cross vehicles pass them by, but never stop to help. FCPT is distributing to those who have not been serviced by the Red Cross. These people are ethnically mixed, but none are Kikuyu. It seems that the Red Cross is servicing only Kikuyu.

People I know in Lumakanda have stopped me in the streets here to complain about the Red Cross not helping the Luhya. This should be investigated and if true, the Red Cross should be taken to task for this discrimination.

Our 42 one-day listening workshops for the 496 staff at the Center for Disease Control in Kisumu have been completed. I talked to the Director and she was very pleased with them as she had heard many positive reports from the participants. We had brought Chris, one of the HROC facilitators from Rwanda, to help out. The HROC program in Rwanda is planning listening sessions for survivors of the recent earthquake in Cyangugu at the southern end of Lake Kivu so Chris will be able to bring the Kenya experience back to Rwanda.

Kenya needs justice and truth

2008-02-18T23:56:00.000-08:00

John Muhanji is Director of the Africa Ministries Office

Greetings in Jesus name. We are doing well here in Kenya despite the tension experienced in the air. We need prayers and not just prayers but true men and women of God whom God can hear are respond to their prayer. Kenya is now at the mercy of Koffi Annan Mediation outcome. If the mediation fails, we do not know what would happened to this country. The situation is very volatile at this moment.

Yesterday, Vihiga Yearly Meeting together with my office organised a prayer for peace day at Kidundu Friends church where the area member of parliament, district commissioner, district officer and several other administrators from the region attended this prayer meeting. I delivered the Key note speech and led the congregation in praying for the nation. I remembered when Amos was shown in a vision what God was planning to do to the land of Israel with the invasion of locust. Amos begged God to spare his people and God relented. Amos also sees another vision of the fire that will consume all the land, Once again, Amos stands in the gap and prays for his people. God hears the prayer of Amos and relents (Amos 7:1-5). I am convinced that God through the prayers of the righteous, will be mercifully change his mind, on the basis of the prayers of his servants and spare his wayward people in Kenya through the mediation process. Please stand with us, the Amos may be you or me. But we must intensify our prayers at this time.

I could tell from the tone of people that they are angered and they have not accepted we are okay. My prayer is that Justice and truth should come out to heal people from their anger. If he church is angered, how about the secular world? In 1Timothy 2:1-7; Paul recommends prayer that there may be peace, without which nothing good can be accomplished. I am a worried man now, please pray for us more than you have done before. Where you hear more international pressure from all over to Kenya, things are not good. But I am also optimistic that a solution will be found. That is Amos 7 encourages me that God listened to the prayers of the righteous ones and relents or repent his action.

As a result of the Sunday prayer meeting at Kidundu in Vihiga yearly meeting, I have argued Vokoli, Chavakali, Vihiga, Tuloi and Kaimosi yearly meetings to organise a joint prayer for peace meeting soon. They are planning for a day any time from now. The tentative dates subject to approval by the meetings are 2nd March at Vokoli, 9th March at Lugulu and 16th at Lirhanda.

Emergency Relief program is going on very well and we have managed to reach close to 3000 IDP in various camps. Last Friday we reached to the new places called Milembe in Sabot. These are people who have ran to John Kitui's farm for refuge and more than 300 families are on his farm. John Kitui is the presiding clerk of Elgon East Yearly Meeting. He was very happy when we reached there and shared with the displaced and later gave them food and other assorted items they were not expecting. We wanted to leave the food behind for them to distribute later, but the people refused. So we did the distribution and we left them happy and smiling. We left the place at 6.30 pm and I was arriving home at 10.00pm after ensuring that everybody who was in my track was reached home safely. The chairman of the team, Joseph Mamai the Clerk of Chwele yearly meeting could not reach his home because there is a curfew at his area from 6.00pm. I had to book for him a guest room at Webuye for his safety until the following day when he left for his home. He is safe and we are having a postmortem meeting tomorrow at kakamega friends church where he will be chairing.

There is more crisis in some of our school where the government has forced them to take more than the capacity they could hold. I have received reports from some of the principals and also witnessed myself the influx of children in schools. They need our support. We are having a meeting with all the education secretaries and later with all the principals of our secondary school and find out which is the best way to handle the crisis which the government is unable to handle. As you are aware the government is confused at the moment, emergency relief is the solution to them. Water is another major problem in some of the schools and the more the urgency the batter we shall solve the situation of an outbreak of typhoid.

Kenya is still reeling

2008-02-14T01:42:00.001-08:00

L. Muthoni Wanyeki is an activist, writer and human rights defender. She is the Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the former Executive Director of the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and a member of the Coordinating Group of the Feminist Dialogues.

We held our breath as the mediation process was launched. We are still holding it. A new form of violence has emerged. We whisper the question: were the murders of two Orange Democratic Movement parliamentarians political assassinations? The propaganda war intensifies.

Part of the propaganda war has to do with naming the violence. The term "genocide" is invoked — ignoring the fact that genocide includes elements of state complicity. The term "ethnic cleansing" is thrown around loosely. Both terms heighten the fear.

Yes, there are historical grievances that need to be addressed. Yes, there are contemporary experiences of exclusion and persistent inequalities that also need to be addressed. And, most importantly, yes, the victims — and survivors — of the current violence have experienced and understand that violence to be the result of their ethnicity. But the violence is politically instigated. And it finds ethnic expression or manifests itself ethnically because our politics are organised ethnically.

There are now four forms of violence in the country. First, the violence resulting from disorganised and spontaneous protests at the announcement of the disputed presidential result. This form of violence has largely died down (or been suppressed). Second, and most critically, violence resulting from organised militia activity — beginning most horrendously in the Rift Valley, but now spreading out from Nairobi and Central. Third, violence by the police force and the General Service Unit's extraordinary use of force, including extrajudicial killings, primarily in Nyanza.

And fourth, violence resulting from communal vigilantism — catalysed by the perceived need for self-defence and security, but also by the receipt of IDPs by families and communities in Nairobi and Central.

All forms of violence are completely, utterly unacceptable. All forms of violence must be condemned. And, importantly, accountability must be sought for all forms of violence. There can be no impunity.

But seeking accountability requires the painstaking work of investigation, documentation and evidence collection — particularly with respect to the organised militia activity. We all have initial findings and preliminary information. But that is not enough. Which is why the propaganda war must stop.

Surely we can see both the intent and the consequences now of the propaganda we all engaged in, abandoning all ethics, morals and principles, during the campaign period? It is not enough to say that elders and politicians incited violence. We all did. Not only from campaign podiums and vernacular radio stations, but also, damagingly, through our interpersonal communications — via SMS, e-mail and the Internet. Surely we can see now that this was exactly what we were all being led to?

Calling for peace is not enough. We will only slide into civil war if we cannot see through this. We must resist the fear, name the problem accurately and desist from the build up to the declaration of a state of emergency or the deployment of the military or, worse, the usurpation of civilian governance by military governance. We must demand that the organised militia activity stop. We must demand that the police and the General Service Unit focus on ensuring that it does as well as protecting the IDPs. The mediation process has too much at stake for us all to be compromised now. We have lost too much as it is.

An open letter to Kofi Annan from Friends Church in Kenya

2008-02-13T02:48:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2008

H.E. MR. KOFI ANNAN
Team Leader
Mediation of the Kenya Political Crisis

Dear Sir,

RE: MEDIATION OF THE KENYAN POLITICAL CRISIS

The Quaker Church, whose solemn creed, faith and practice is the promotion of peace among humankind and nations, joins fellow Kenyans and friends of good will in welcoming your Excellency and your team of eminent persons to our troubled country. We pray and are confident that you will succeed in executing the enormous task of unlocking the current political impasse which has brought our country to the state of socio-economic and political paralysis. Our faith in you is founded on the premise that you have unlocked more intricate impasses elsewhere in the past.

The social repercussions of the indecisive result of the presidential elections of 27^th December 2007 have been catastrophic resulting in heavy loss of life and property as well as national cohesiveness, trust and unity which the country has enjoyed for decades.

We congratulate you for having moved speedily to bring the protagonists to the negotiating table and thus creating the atmosphere for dialogue. It will, however, be appreciated that peace without justice can, at best, be only temporary. The cause of this nationwide conflict, discontent and rebellion cannot and should not be swept under the carpet. Justice, which comes with the unraveling of truth, has to be an essential part of the mediation. The majority in the nation wanted change and are convinced that they got it through the ballot box but were robbed of the victory. Many a cleric has been known to confer with State House since the crisis struck. However, press statements and even their Episcopal messages have almost exclusively focused on appeals for cessation of hostility to allow for peace to prevail. Little is said about the search for justice that was denied the aggrieved voters of the six out of eight provinces who continue to protest and lament the perceived injustice inflicted upon them. It should be noted that in the current constitution of Kenya, part of the winning formula for presidential elections is that the candidates must garner 25% of the votes cast in at least five of the provinces, which the two leading candidates more than fulfilled.

As a peace church for nearly 400 years, our PEACE TESTIMONY embraces refusal to fight with weapons of destruction affirming, instead, the righteousness of God and the sanctity of life, promotion of truth and justice, and, ultimately, peace. These same ideals form the bedrock of the United Nations mandate since its establishment on 20^th October 1945 calling for abolition of war followed by promotion of peaceful means of conflict resolution, human rights, economic justice and good governance.

This complementarity of our Peace Testimony with the ideals of the United Nations earned the Quaker Church the Nobel Peace Price(1948) and, through its umbrella body, the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), special consultative status in the United Nations Economic Social Council in 1948. This was enhanced in the year 2002 to the general consultative status allowing it liberty to work on a broad range of international concerns. In its quest for world peace therefore, the Quaker United Nations offices (QUNO) in New York and Geneva were established while the Quaker Council for European Affairs maintains a brief on the subject for the European Union in Brussels. The Africa Section of FWCC operates on the regional level while in Kenya there has been established the Friends Church in Kenya Service Committee and the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

It is, therefore, not an accident, Sir, that you, the immediate former Chief Executive of the United Nations system have been chosen as the Team Leader of the Eminent Persons for this crucial task. As Quakers we feel duty-bound spiritually and morally, to search for genuine, lasting and just peace. Although a window of opportunity for dialogue and mediation was seemingly opened when the two main protagonists shook hands and even shared a negotiating forum under your able chairmanship, they need to go an extra mile to win credibility of the skeptical masses who continue to agitate and bear the brunt of the conflict physically and emotionally.

Below are issues which are in tandem with the implementation of our Quaker Peace Testimony which we hope will be helpful. We wish to contribute to the negotiation process on issues on humanitarian aid, security, legal, political and constitutional spheres for a deep dialogue with a purpose of leading to a win-win outcome for wananchi of Kenya.

To this end we wish to propose the way forward as hereunder:-

(i) Efforts to care for the displaced, hungry, traumatized, bereaved and hospitalized should be set in accordance with the UN Standards and Procedures. These persons should not be put under pressure to return to their original homes before ensuring their safety and well being. Some casualties have tragically already occurred on being assured safe return.

(ii) The law enforcement agents who, in many cases have aggravated bitterness, destruction of property and loss of life by use of excessive force and live ammunitions should cease forthwith in order to guard the sanctity of life. The law enforcement agents should engage both sides in dialogue to encourage their supporters to keep peace.

(iii) The claimed existence of foreign troops in the country primarily from Uganda and deployed in Nyanza, Western and Northern Rift Valley should be thoroughly investigated and expunged from our country.

(iv) Credibility of leaders can only hold if confessions and assertions made are consistent with the admission of the Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya that he was pressured by PNU and ODM-Kenya to announce the results, as was witnessed nationwide on live media coverage. To do this requires a three-stage approach:

Since the truth of the tallying and re-tallying has been overtaken by events, then the right solution would be:

a) Dissolve the present government in favour of one based on proportional representation consistent with the weight of party representation in Parliament. This would be an interim government which would hold power for three months headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly while preparing for rerun of Presidential Election.

b) Rerun the Presidential Election with Hon. Kibaki and Hon Raila as the only candidates. The winner would form the government that would be recognized by the nation as legitimate.

c) Other presidential candidates who may feel aggrieved may also be included in the run-off should they want to participate in establishing the truth.

(v) Reconvene Parliament as a matter of urgency and in the interest of national harmony to put in place a new Constitution or an amendment which would allow for establishment of corresponding and stabilizing institutions.

(vii) Put in place short-term and long term mechanisms to tackle the problem of prevailing and historical economic marginalization along ethnic lines by facilitating equitable distribution of national resources including ownership and control of means of production, wealth and employment opportunities, as documented in the NEPAD Peer Review and the Final Report of The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.

(viii) Replace, with immediate effect, voting cards with National Identification card for the purpose of polling at any national election to eliminate the wide spread incident of buying and destroying the voting cards by hostile and rich opponents at the polls. This would eliminate tampering with voter registers where names of electorate go missing. Consider the Australian example of making voting compulsory in order to eliminate the using of registered voters who did not cast their ballot as a top up for unscrupulous candidates thus making a travesty of democracy.

(ix) The ODM-K has accepted appointments in Kibaki’s Cabinet which, in the course of the current political impasse, is considered part of the problem and not part of the solution. You will note that this will compound the problem in the mediation process and add to the frustration of the, their inclusion in the mediation process and add to the frustration of the aggrieved masses.

(x) Once opened as a matter of national urgency, Parliament should put in the statutes provisions which would compel the judiciary to move with speed, in solving national problems such as the ones currently under discussion. The nation has lost faith in the judiciary as an institution for timely and impartial dispensation of justice in such a manner that it sounds insulting to be referred to as the courts of law for resolution of legal and political problems. With regard to electoral cases, the courts should give provision for the Chief Justice to constitute 3 to 4 specific courts to dispense with these cases within the first year of election.

(xi) Following the assassination of two Members of Parliament, the situation is volatile. It is imperative that the mediation process be speeded up. At this juncture the need for non-partisan international force under the guidance of the UN be brought to Kenya for peacekeeping.

(xii) We encourage you and your mediation team to give guidance on modalities of establishing mechanisms for reconciliation and peace-building, not only at the apex with the national leaders, but also down through to wananchi and the grassroots level.

(xiii) Examine the 2004 Bomas Draft of the Constitution with a view to finding answers to the present crisis. This draft contains the peoples views as collected and collated by CKRC and negotiated by the National Constitution Conference (NCC).

(xiv) From past experience we know the trajectory of where the events of the past months in Kenya are most likely leading to. They reflect the cases of Somalia and Rwanda. We also know that interventions in such situations have come when too much damage has already been done and innumerable lives lost. We propose that what Kenya needs badly today is a robust police force to restore law and order. The only weakness with Kenya’s police force in this crisis is that it is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the crisis. We propose that you institute an express process through the United Nations Security Council using your good offices as former Secretary General to bring in a United Nations police force in the shortest time possible. We suggest contributions from: Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, India and Australia.

We are committed to the foregoing views which we would like you to consider as viable options which would quell the current conflict and put in place a credible and acceptable government.

We wish your Excellencies every success in this challenging and noble task. Please Sir, accept the assurance of our highest consideration. GOD BLESS KENYA.

Midikira Churchill Kibisu
Presiding Clerk
Nairobi Yearly Meeting
For FRIENDS CHURCH IN KENYA

Better alternatives?

2008-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka of AGLI gives a general update on the situation in Kenya

While others think Kenya is calmiing down, I don't. I think that it has entered another stage where the dramatic headlines of burning buildings and multi-deaths is over and a more subdued, but perhaps a more destructive and deadly mopping up, has begun. I can call this "reaping the harvest of the prior violence."

Tuesday on our way to Kakamega we stopped by Florence and Alfred Machayo's house to deal with the maize (corn) that needed to be bagged for delivery in the North Rift. Alfred was not there because he was escorting a Luhya friend of his who was a magistrate in the Nandi (Kalenjin) area. The magistrate had been told that he had to leave Nanci in a week or his house would be burned down. So, he was looking at the plot he has in Lugari District and determining how he can live there with his family. In other words, one family quietly (as far as the media is concerned) displaced. I suspect he will be out of his job also.

In the last few days another home was burned near Kipkarren River. In this case the old Kikuyu had died, but his daughter lived in his house, which was burned down, and his nice cassava field was completely destroyed. In my report on the visit to north Rift Valley, I mentioned the considerable violence on Mt Elgon. The paper reports that over 1000 teachers have not reported for work in North Rift Valley and that many students have also not returned. When we visited the Lumakanda people in the camp at Turbo, they told us that their numbers have been increasing.

Two communities in Lugari District, which formerly had not been attacked, were attacked last week during the unrest and more people had fled to the camp.

In other words, houses will be burnt here and there. The violence of the past will compel people to flee as soon as they feel that they are being targeted. The targets are no longer only the Kikuyu in the western provinces, but anyone who happens not to live in his/her home area; i.e., who do not speak the local language.

I has occurred to me that the situation in Kenya is exactly the same as in the region of Rwanda, Burundi, and North and South Kivus. But in this case the issue is within one nation while the other is international. Let us compare the Rwandans with the Kikuyu. Rwanda is over-populated and so the Rwandans immigrate to North and South Kivu (and also Tanzania and Uganda) where they are considered "foreigners" by the local people and by the Governments of the region; and therefore, by the international community. Almost all the wars in the region since 1990 have been based on whether the Rwandans have the right to live as citizens, with benefits and privileges, in one of these countries. The answer is "No," but the Rwandans don't want to leave so fighting erupts.

In Kenya, the Kikuyu were originally confined to Central Province which is much smaller than Rwanda. The number of Rwandans in Rwanda is more or less equal to the number of Kikuyu in Kenya.

Since 1900 the Kikuyu have moved out of Central Province to other parts of Kenya under the assumption that they were Kenyan citizens moving within their own country. But others, particularly the Kalenjin and Maassi groups take the positioin that Kikuyu were given land that was stolen from them by the British and therefore they don't have "rights" of land ownership in these areas.

Since Kenya is itself a nation supported by the international community, the regionalists don't have the egal right to expell the Kikuyu as the Congolese, Tanzanians or Ugandans have with the Rwandans.

I read in the paper today that Tanzania is expelling 220,000 Burundians who have been in Tanzania since 1972; 36 years! Burundians do not seem to be very welcoming of these returnees because they really have no place to put them.

In effect our concepts of who belongs to what nation needs to be questioned/considered, while at the same time we have to address the issue of whether a group that historically occupies a certain territory has the right to exclude others. And then there has be fights over the boundaries of these "indigeneous territories"--this is essentially what is happening in the conflict on Mt Elgon. I am certain that almost everyone reading this report will come down on the side of the right of a person to live anywhere "in his/her own nation." But one must remember that the great "ethnic cleanizing" happened at the end of World War II when millions of people were relocated to their "home country" whose boundaries had changed substantially so that Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Latvia, etc. all became ethnically homogeneous and the multi-national countries of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia had to be broken up into ethnic enclaves. The American (and now European) efforts to keep out illegal immigrants is no more than this same issue--if Americans don't like Mexicans in their borders, while shouldn't people from North Kivu not like Rwandans, or Kalenjin's not like Kikuyu, Luo, Luyha, and others within "their borders?" There have been suggestions (not considered seriously) that Kenya ought to be divided into two new countries with the Rift, Western, and Nyanza Provinces becoming Kenya II.

These are all hard issues. I don't see anyone in the international community addressing them at any depth. Surely the United Nations and all its constitutent governments are committed to the current status quo. I would like to see some considerations of better alternatives.

Guarded hope for Kofi Annan's peace plan

2008-02-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka of AGLI writes

On Friday Kofi Annan announced that an agreement was being reached between the two sides and the details will be available early this week. People are guardedly hopeful that some accommodation will be reached. But, as they say, the devil is in the details. (One of my favorite explanations of the current crisis is from a woman who said, "On Dec 30 Satan came to Kenya.") I would not be surprised that the agreement when announced might lead to another round of violence as the "hardliners" on both sides will feel that they have been sold out by the compromises. Hopefully I am wrong.

The changes are supposed to be far-reaching. I have some qualms about the fact that 8 negotiators and their political parties are chartering the course of the country, meaning that women, youth, the religious community, NGO's, and the business community are all, as usual, left out. This was the case with the compromise in Burundi and the result has been a squabbling, ineffective government. When will the world develop a system where all parts of society negotiate the conditions for a country's existence and well-being? I am certain that both political parties will see that their interests are properly served before those of the other actors in the country. It is possible that the "compromise" made lead to a political storm (rather than a violent storm) by those who have not been consulted. Or perhaps everyone is so tired that they will accept anything handed to them.

Lumakanda town, this morning (Monday), has been more like a normal day than any other since Dec 30. Many people are in town going about their various businesses, the motorcycle taxi drivers are busy, and I can easily buy a newspaper!

What the Daily Nation (Kenya's largest newspaper with a circulation of over 1,000,000!) covered today was all those affected by the violence--children not in school, children in IDP camps, colleges and other institutions who have lost their staff, manufacturing businesses that are closed, hospitals and other government offices which are understaffed as the employees fled, roads that aren't being built, lost employment, and the other costs of 6 weeks of violence and stalemate. A Quaker in Nairobi whose wholesale establishment was looted says he will re-open, but not now. A large-scale farmer I know says he is cutting back on the acreage of maize (corn) he will plant next month because he does not know if he will get seeds and fertilizer, or what price he might have to pay. The cost of travel has almost doubled--for example, a matatu from Lumakanda to Kakamega has gone from 120/- to 200/- ; and the price increase does not seem like it is going to go down to where it was before. I have seen people wanting to get a ride in a matatu asking for the price and, seeing that it is more than they have, not making the ride. [Note: /- is the symbol for Kenyan Shilling.]

Okay, I need to report some good news. There is a place in Kenya called the Laikipia Nature Conservancy (www.gallmannkenya.org). It is a 100,000 acre preserve next to Lake Baringo in the drier parts of the Rift Valley. They have a 60 person education center and they have done peacemaking activities there in the past in addition to their normal purpose of conservation education. Right now they have 40 youth from the Nairobi slums, many of whom were involved in destruction, there for a week of "healing". They needed some help so the United States Institute of Peace [USIP], which has supported both AGLI and the Conservancy in the past, recommended us to them. As a result Getry Agizah, Peter Serete, and Martin Oloo, all young, experienced AVP facilitators, are leading these youth through the AVP course on esteem, communication, cooperation, and non-violent conflict resolution each morning. In the afternoon others lead sessions on art, drama, music, etc. The three facilitators had problems getting there because the bus broke down. I asked Getry if she was happy and she reported, "We are very happy and glad to have the Nairobi youth. Life is simple and peaceful. Just finished the sessions.
We are on the truck going around the forest (where there is much wildlife)." Likewise we are continuing the daily listening sessions with employees at the Center for Disease Control in Kisumu.

As the situation in Kisumu has calmed down these trainings seem to have become routine with the participants being energized at the end of each day with the training activity that is called "On the Way Forward."

Help for IDPs and work for reconciliation

2008-02-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

John Muhanji, Director, Africa Ministries Office, writes

Greetings in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe for sure Christ is real and is working in our midst all the time. I have witnessed His presence all through for the last one and a half months that looks like it has been a year. I have experienced the longest time of my life in Kenya, sometimes i have been thinking may be I am seeing movies acted in Africa, but i find myself facing the same things everyday and they stop being fiction actions but real. I found myself who need to help the traumatised people traumatised already. the situation in Kenya is beyond what anybody would imagine but here we are facing them.

On Thursday February 7th, the FCPT (Friends Church Peace team) went out for the first time to visit the IDPs and distribute some food items and other necessities to the IDPs in their camps near Mt. Elgon area in both Trans-Nzioa and Bungoma districts. Both centres we visited was as if angels had descended on them with a message of hope when some were calling it quit. Their hope was restored by our presence for we did not only give them food but listened and counselled them and shared the word of God as an encouragement. More than 300 families were reached that day. We managed to distribute Maize, Beans, Sugar, salt, Soap, Blankets, Rice and Fat. These areas where we visited are not being served by the Red Cross and therefore our presence was worthy. Thank you for the support we have continue to receive for this purpose.

Today we met as a committee to evaluate the Thursday's work and agreed to go back to the same camps after a week and therefore we shall be there on Friday 15th Feb. Last Thursday, we visited, Machewa Chief Camp, Sabata market centre, Deliverance church and Toba churches in Kiminini. We have agreed to visit the same places but with addition of Kililili and Milembe centres which are not being reached by the Red Cross people. We shall take the same items we took on Thursday 7th. But this time we shall take more time on counselling, Trauma Healing and reconciliation. Our main goal of visiting these IDPs is not only to give food but to create a room for counselling and enhance peace making processes. You cannot speak peace to a hungry person. And therefore, in order for us to be effective in the peacemaking process, we have scheduled a one day workshop where we need at least two CAPP trained people from each yearly meeting and two AVP trained people from each yearly meeting also.

Therefore, we are looking for at least seventy participants including the FCPT. This workshop will be developing and mapping how to reach and coordinate the peacemaking and reconciliation program using our members who have skills on mediation and healing. This workshop will be held on Saturday 23rd February at kakamega. This will form the climax of our peacemaking process by involving a bigger number to reach out to many communities for reconciliation and peace crusading. Please stand with us for this process to succeed so that the Quakers may at least contribute to the peace of this country. We believe together we can make a difference.

Thank you for your generous support you have extended to us here. The committee under the chairmanship of a very effective Clerk of Chwele Yearly meeting, Joseph Makokha, is truly committed to reaching beyond their limits in ensuring that Quakers contribute something on the peace process. The chairman himself comes from the areas that are a security risk. He has been threatened several times by the aggressors and he even had to vacate his home to another place. But he returned recently to his house. He is committed to ensuring that peace is gained in Kenya and especially around Mt. Elgon. Mt. Elgon has been having problems but the post election aggravated everything. We are ready to take the risk but God through us create peace in the area. Please pray with us and continue supporting this process. This process will take long even after the top politicians have finished or agreed on sharing of power. The common man on the ground will have it had to resettle back where he was driven away by his aggressors. Reconciliation and building trust will take time to restore.

God bless you

Feed the Hungry

2008-02-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka of AGLI writes.

(Photos)

Two weeks ago Friends in Kenya had a conference in Kakamega sponsored by the Friends Church in Kenya, Friends United Meeting Africa Ministries Office, and Friends World Committee for Consultation Africa Section. (See the reports at the top of this blog.) At that meeting, it was decided to form a committee which has been titled "Friends Church Peace Team" (FCPT). I was appointed to the committee. The committee has formed an "Emergency Relief and Reconciliation Programme." As its first major activity, yesterday about 30 Friends visited a number of internally displaced people in the Trans Nzoia District next to Mt Elgon in the Rift Valley. With funds donated from the United States, England, and elsewhere through FUM, a truck-full of food--maize (corn), beans, rice, sugar, salt, cooking oil, blankets, and soap were be to delivered.

Gladys and I were assigned to provide the 40 200-pound bags of maize because Lugari District because maize is cheaper here as this is the maize belt region of Kenya and has a surplus for export elsewhere. Gladys spent Monday and Tuesday with two youth bagging the 40 bags at Florence and Alfred Machayo's home. Then on Wednesday, she waited all day for the truck she had hired to take the maize to Kakamega. It never showed up so she arranged for another truck to come at 5:00 AM on Thursday morning. When it had not shown up by 8:00 AM, we called John Muhanji of FUM who was organizing the distribution. He decided to have the truck from Kakamega coming with the rest of the goods drop by the Machayo's to pick up the maize (and us as we traveled the five miles or so to her house). This worked out well and actually saved the transport costs.

The people who had gathered in Kakamega came up north in three vehicles and together with the truck we drove to a junction near where we were going to distribute the food. Henry Mukwanja who works for the National Council of Christians of Kenya in that region had identified about ten places where approximately 4000 people had not received any assistance from the Red Cross, the Government of Kenya, or the World Food Program. The people noted that the Red Cross trucks passed them by to deliver food and supplies to the Kikuyu who were in an IDP camp down the road--they as non-Kikuyu saw this as another example of the Government's favoritism to the Kikuyu over the other people in the country.

Gladys and I joined the third group which was going to a small shopping center (5 or 6 small shops) on the side of the road called Misemwa with a Seventh Day Adventist Church. Officially there were 1600 people in 259 families (for an average of about 6 people per family). The amount of food we unloaded seemed massive--14 two hundred pound bags of maize, for example. Yet each family was given about 10 pounds of maize, 2 pounds of beans, a blanket, a cup of sugar, a half cup of salt, a few ounces of cooking oil, and for the families with children, some rice. This would only be enough for a few days! Of course the place was packed with people waiting patiently for the distribution--many women (I estimated that 2/3 of the families were headed by women), many small children (the older ones, I hope, were in school), old men, youth, etc.

These people were not Kikuyu, the group usually targeted in the violence in western Kenya, but mostly Luhya and some Sabaot (Kalenjin group). There was no internally displaced persons camp as we are going to in Turbo since the people live in houses in the area. For example, in the small Seventh Day Adventist Church eight women were living with their children. Others had rented a room in the area and a few were staying with relatives. One woman told me that she had moved in with her husband and four children--and a fifth was well on its way--to live with her sister who also had four children and there was not enough food all of a sudden for this vastly expanded family. All the displace people had come with nothing more than what they could carry.

As usual when one delves into the details of conflict, the situation here is different from the usual simplistic explanation of Kibaki versus Raila, Kikuyu versus Luo. These people had fled from Mt Elgon where there has been an active conflict for the last year and a half. Human Rights groups in Bungoma had tallied 400 dead and 150,000 or more displaced before the election violence began on December 30. Note that this compares to the official count of 1000 dead and 300,000 displaced in the election violence. In other words, some conflicts are "more important" than others. But the fact that this conflict was not properly dealt with in that time indicates why so much of Kenya could erupt into similar violence.

The conflict was over land between two clans of the Sabaot group, the Soy and Ndorobo. The first group which thinks that they have not been dealt fairly in the land distribution by the Government have formed the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLBF). They have automatic rifles and retreat into the forests on Mt Elgon to hide. We had seen an area on Mt Elgon where every house on the hillside had been destroyed. The election results were used by the Sabaot Land Defense Force to attack anyone from another group in their area. This included the Kikuyu who fled to the camp nearby and then the Bugusu of the Luhya group. I had heard of a case where 11 Bugusu were executed by the SLBF and the bodies thrown into a latrine. While I have never heard any reference to this massacre in the media (compare this to the 17 who were burned to death in the church near Eldoret), this was confirmed by a doctor at the Webuye Hospital where the exhumed bodies were later taken. So it did not take much for the Bugusu to flee. Then the Ndorobo who were supplied by the Kikuyu in their trading across the border into Uganda attacked the Sabaot for attacking the Kikuyu. So Sabaot also had to flee to Misemwa.

I talked at length with Mildred, one of the 8 women living in the church. She has six children, the youngest on her shoulder as we talked. Her husband had left for the day when the SLDF in red uniforms (ie, this is an organized rebel group) came and told them to leave. So she did. She has no idea where her husband is and there is really little way of him finding out where they have fled to. She does not want to return to her farm on Mt Elgon where she had lived for 12 years, but has little idea of what the future will bring for her.

Andrew and his family of wife and four children (he was also holding his youngest child on his shoulder) were attacked in the middle of the night and fled down the mountain with nothing but what they had on. He lives in a room in a house nearby. He says that he survives by doing day labor when he can. He also told me he did not want to go back. When I asked people, they told me that the land on Mt Elgon is very fertile and well-watered and that is why they had bought plots there in the past.

While the media, both internationally and locally, reports (as the Government would like them to) that the situation in Kenya is calm and returning to normal, this is clearly not the case on Mt Elgon. The previous night there had been some killings (unconfirmed) and hundreds more had fled down the mountain. These newly displaced people were not on the list of 259 families to receive the aid we had brought.

After three hours at Misemwa distributing the relief supplies and talking with the people, after a short sermon and prayer, we left and joined the people at a small "hotel" where we all got a snack and discussed the pro's and con's of what we had done for the day. For example, in our case, since the site was not a "camp" and this was the first time that the group had received any assistance, there was no distribution system in place as occurs with the Lumakanda group in Turbo. On Saturday Gladys and I will go to Kakamega to meet with the Friends Church Peace Team to decide what we will do next.

Although the food seemed to be little in relationship to the need, I still felt good knowing that we had helped as we are able. In this kind of work, one cannot get discouraged by the unmet needs, but must focus on what you have accomplished. If people only eat well for a few days, it is still better than having to scrounge around for a little food and going to sleep hungry. Moreover, as I have learned in the past, visiting people who have been the victims of violence is perhaps one of the most important peacemaking activities one can initially do. As the Burundians say, "A real Friend comes in the time of need" (I am the one who capitalized the "F" in friend).

AGLI plays a part in a great peacemaking activity

2008-02-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

While burning houses and deadly violence fills the news here in Kenya, AGLI has played a part in a great peacemaking activity!

The Kipsigis are a Kalenjin group around Kericho in the Rift Valley. The Kisii are their neighbors across the border in Nyanza Province. As soon as the election results were announced, the Kipsigis began targeting the Kisii; they were incorrrectly perceived as having supported Kibaki in the election. Last Thursday [1/21] when a Kipsigis Member of Parliament [David Kimutai Too] was killed by a Kisii policeman, extensive violence broke out on the border between the two groups. Between ten and twenty people were killed; many, many wounded; and tens of houses burned.

Jared is an AVP facilitator in Kisii and coordinator of the Uzima Foundation program there (Uzima works with youth empowerment). He is married to a Kipsigis woman who had to go into hiding in order keep from being attacked.

Malesi Kinaro wrote a proposal to AGLI to support negotiation/reconciliation meetings between the Kipsigis and Kisii elders. Naturally I agreed.

I just received the following text message from Malesi:

"Jared is walking in the air. He just finished chairing a meeting that brought together District Commissioners, Members of Parliament, and elders from Kispsigis and Kisii. He says it went so well he doesn't think fighting will continue. We have been working to see this day when we make the first step. AGLI, through FPCD (Friends for Peace and Community Development), AGLI's partner in western Kenyan, gave 108,000/- ($1550) for this and Uzima gave 40,000/- ($575). The journey is still long and much money needed. The Lord reigns!" [NOTE: /- is the symbol for Kenyan Shillings.]

If this has saved the life of even one person, our efforts have been rewarded. Thanks to Jared for this great effort!

David Zarembka

AVP workshops planned to reach Kenyan youth

2008-02-04T02:01:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka, of AGLI, writes:

Moses Musonga is the General Secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation Africa Section. He just buried his brother-in-law who was killed with six arrows in his body in the conflict around Kaimosi between the local Luhya and Kalenjin groups who both supported the opposition candidate.

One of our brother-in-laws, Wilson, is an over the road truck driver. He carried cement from Mombasa to the Rift Valley and returns with tea for export. In the Rift Valley, he was beaten up and all the cement stolen, but fortunately they did not burn his truck. Again both Wilson and the Kalenjin who attacked him were politically on the same side.

On Friday I attended a meeting of the Quaker Leaders and Saturday I clerked a meeting with the AVP facilitators from the western provinces. At this point no one thinks that the situation in Kenya is about politics - that is, about who won the election. The election was no more than a "trigger" that unleashed all the hidden, covered-up resentments that have built up over the years and decades. Although the media (including the international media) seem to report that things are calming down (ten people now being killed is reported on page 8 of the Daily Nation), there was no one in either of those two meetings who felt that this was true. Perhaps things are calmer in the cities (but not really in Kisumu) or perhaps the death of ten people is no longer "news". Or perhaps they are tired of saying the same thing over and over every day. Many doubt that a political agreement will calm the escalating violence.

It was heart-wrenching to hear person after person tell of the violence and destruction in their community. At least two people in the AVP meeting talked about how they had voted for Kibaki while their children had voted for Raila and this had brought a great deal of tension into the family. Rather than the usual "tribal explanation" for the voting, there is another one, that the older people wanted to stay with Kibaki while the younger people wanted change with Raila. But at least in the rural areas, it doesn't seem like the youth voted very much (while their elders did). I saw a statistic which said that 81% of the population in Kenya is below 31 years of age. Hard to believe, but with the rapid population increase of the 1970s and 1980s this is a possibility. Of course it is this younger population who feels left out of Kenya's future. There is no doubt, by the way, that the MPs elected on Dec 27 last year are much younger and better educated than those from the previous parliament. Many "old" politicians who have been elected decade after decade were defeated. In a breath of fresh air (compared to the US where a politician remains in office until he retires or moves on) only 80 out of 212 MPs were re-elected (this includes the leaders such as Kibaki and Raila).

There were seventeen facilitators (including Gladys and me) at the AVP meeting. After we finished the de-briefing mentioned above, we discussed how we could reach the youth.

We then talked about the kind of programs we would like to do. My goal for the next six months, pending raising sufficient funds, is to do 100 AVP workshops with 2000 youth in at least five sites. We learned from Rwanda that it is better to concentrate in a few areas with lots of workshops to impact a community rather than spread them out everywhere with little impact in any one community. We hope that in the next week or two the facilitators will go back to their communities and develop concrete plans for AVP workshops with the youth (or as one person suggested, with the police!).

I guess I need to end with a good story. Henry Mukwanja, a Quaker, works for the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) in the North Rift Valley. On Dec 30, when the violence began, he and two co-workers were in a remote place and they stayed inside for two whole days. On the third day they ventured out but ran into a menacing group of youth who were doing violence in the area. Henry called out, "God loves you." One of the youth responded, "No, he doesn't." And then what? Everyone started laughing and the tension was broken and all was well with Henry and his companions.

"My heart cries for Kenya"

2008-01-31T08:02:00.000-08:00

Malesi Kinaro reflects on the latest shocking news from Kenya. Yet still there are reasons to be positive.

May the peace of the Lord be with you to day. I have had to call on that wonderful resource of the peace of God which passes all understanding. The death of the second ODM MP has hit so hard that we found it impossible to continue with our scheduled workshop for the CDC staff in Kisumu. We had all started in good spirits and the day looked so peaceful. After the news and lunch I told the other facilitators in my group to continue while I completed what I was doing. In a short while Janet came to call me. Nobody was in a mood to learn anything. They wanted me to give them a way of coping with what they were feeling. I realized that I was a mother who needed to give security and assurance to these young adults. We merged the groups and began to talk about the incident and what the implications were. We found ourselves looking at ways in which each can interact with the vulnerable youths to give them nonviolent ways of responding. By the time it was 4pm some normalcy had come back. I thanked God for my counseling skills and for my constant interaction with young people.

Jared, the Uzima field officer from Nyanza and his deputy George had begun the week in high hopes. He had met elders and administrators from Borabu and Sotik districts. Meetings were planned for today and tomorrow. Then the Kipsigis warriors struck in the night killing many Kisiis. Jared ended up being involved in ferrying the injured and dying to hospital. I talked with the PC Nyanza because the Sotik DC was being very uncooperative. Today they have been doing some shuttle diplomacy. Six Kisii people died from the clashes and many are still in hospital. I am so impressed by the way my staff are insisting on dialogue for the two tribes in spite of extreme provocation. I really thank God for that.

The truth of the matter is that there is no government. The senior civil servants are divided, the police is divided and the army is divided. Many feel that the targeted killings of ODM members is to reduce their numbers. And also to scuttle the talks.

What makes me so sad is that we are killing each other because of many things. These many things have been brought by some people who have become rich because of corruption. As Kenyans of all tribes suffer these filthy rich Kenyans are comfortable. That is why they give inflammatory statements and force people out of IDPs that the situation is calm.

My heart cries for Kenya. I have been to IDPs and seen the despair among the displaced Kikuyus. I have moved among the other tribes and seen their anger, frustration. We are trying to help people to redirect their anger to non violent protests. And reminding them Kikuyus are our people. I feel so encouraged about their responses at the end of each session.

We have once again lost our home in the Rift Valley. I got a phone call while here in Kisumu that our house and store had once more been burnt.

This is why I say the peace of the lord passeth all understanding. To be able to make Kenyas use this crisis as a time of positive change. A time to reflect and built one nation. I know it will happen as people use all kinds of positive methods to make sure. How sad to have a country without a government.

Grace family evacuated from Kisumu

2008-01-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

Greetings to you all, and huge thanks for your messages of support and encouragement. You have truly been sustaining us through these troubling times.

Yesterday, our family left Kisumu on a chartered flight sent by the US Embassy to bring out families with children. The situation in Kisumu (and all of western Kenya) has taken a turn for the worse since the horrible events in Nakuru and Naivasha over the weekend, and it was no longer prudent to stay where we were. For the moment, we are staying at the Mennonite Guest House, and taking things day by day. Eden is continuing to work, and can actually get more done in Nairobi, where there is freedom of movement, than in Kisumu where she was confined to the house. James and the kids are planning to spend their mornings doing some informal homeschooling. We are all grateful to be in a calm and restful environment, and plan to do a lot of sleeping!

This comes, of course, as a shock and disappointment, since it seemed last week like things were starting to improve. Kofi Annan is still here, and there is still some hope for the political mediation process, but at this point, it will be very difficult to quell the violence, even if the politicians reach a settlement. Kenya is in desperate need of your intercessions!

We held a very successful National Kenyan Quaker Peace Conference last weekend in Kakamega -- truly the Lord wanted this conference to succeed, since a "window" of peace opened up just for those four days, and we were able to travel and meet together! The Conference emerged with some very strong ideas for immediate action that Friends can take. (See the links at the top of the page.)

Our work now is to implement the Plan of Action. Eden was appointed Treasurer of the Coordinating Committee, which means that she will be responsible for overseeing the right use of your contributions toward this work. We really hope that you will be able to partner with us, and encourage you to contribute at www.fum.org (or www.fwccworld.org for non-US currencies). The need is enormous!

Our thanks go out to Ginna, who felt a burden on our behalf to draw your attention to the fact that our family's livelihood is not covered by the outpouring of emergency relief funds from Friends. We have important work to do now, and we do ask for your contribution toward our ministry account, so that we can continue to play our part in God's work here. Thanks, Ginna, for helping "toot our horn"! We really do need you at this time.

Please, please continue praying for peace in Kenya. Things have reached a frightening "tipping point", where we can envision a truly horrible future. But at the same time, we know that God is a miracle-worker, and that He has not abandoned Kenya, so we remain hopeful. Please join us in pleading for His hand of calm to stay the angry hearts, His hand of comfort to bind up the wounded in body and spirit, and His hand of wisdom to guide all of us who seek to do His will today and every day.

Eden Grace

Calm is not returning

2008-01-29T03:17:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka sends another update.

I am feeling very discouraged.

Over the weekend (which now seems so far in the past) I was at the Quaker Leadership Peace Conference in Kakamega.

It was an excellent gathering. Almost every yearly meeting and Quaker organization sent their representative(s). There is no doubt that Quakers in Kenya will now give prominence to the Peace Testimony in this time of chaos, destruction, and death. The participants were very concerned about the situation and serious in their efforts to respond to Kenyans, to Christians, and to all Quakers. They affirmed that the Quakers needed to be neutral in the political situation. I was surprised to find that I was appointed to the Coordinating Committee for current and long-term actions since Gladys and I played a rather quiet role during the conference. But AVP is on everyone's lips.

Getry Agizah, the AVP coordinator, was also put on the committee, along with Hezron Masitsa (AVP coordinator in Nairobi). The committee is supposed to meet in Kakamega on Friday but who knows if we will be able to travel.

On the way to the conference those who took the bus through Nakuru saw the Total gas station on fire. This was the beginning of major fighting in Nakuru which later spread to Naivasha and then on Monday to western Kenya. This morning on the BBC news, I heard the spokesman for the Kenya Police say that everything is calm now, while the next report was the BBC reporter in Kisumu talking about all the tires burning, total lack of movement, roads cut, etc. Is the Kenyan Government in the same country that I am in?

I was going to report some news from last week when my laptop crashed. Kaimosi (the major Quaker center in western Kenya) has been quiet as I have reported before. It is along the boundary between the Tiriki (a Luhya group) and the Nandi (a Kalenjin group). But on Wednesday someone stole a cow; the other group retaliated by burning some houses, including the kiosks by the road leading into Kaimosi, and everything got out of control. Six people were killed and at least 70 houses were burnt. Kaimosi Hospital was receiving lots of people with cuts from machetes, arrows stuck in people's bodies, and other injuries from the violence. There is absolutely no political explanation for this violence since both of these groups voted overwhelming for ODM, the opposition party.

Yesterday Gladys told me that one of her relatives was going to Eldoret to take another relative who had a broken leg. When they reached Turbo he was forced to show his ID card (by name, people can tell he is not a Kikuyu). He put his relative on the side of the road while he was forced to dig up the road until he got tired. He was then required to return to Lumakanda with the relative with the broken leg rather than proceed on to Eldoret.

Only eight people out of 40 showed up at the listening session in Kisumu yesterday and they were distracted by the events going on around them. We have cancelled the workshops for today. Otherwise the Sunset Hotel where the workshops are taking place and the facilitators are staying is quite safe and they have not experienced any violence nearby.

We were supposed to go to Kaimosi tomorrow to talk to the Friends Theological College students about organizing AVP workshops in their home churches during the April vacation, but we have put this off until next week. We have been making a weekly delivery to the Lumakanda IDP's now living in Turbo, but I don't see how we can do it this week. Florence Machayo who lives only about 5 miles from us wants to have a meeting tomorrow of all the AVP coordinators and others involved in peace work in Lugari District, but I don't know if Gladys and I will be able to go even that short distance!

So you can see why I am so discouraged.

Chaos is overtaking normalcy

2008-01-28T23:52:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka's latest report

Things are getting really bad. At 8:00 AM this morning, Eden texted me, "I'm hearing that they are already burning and slashing near the stage [bus station] in Kisumu." Five minutes later she texted, "Hearing gun shots now." By 10:00 AM she wrote, "They have closed all the roads and the airport. We are hearing much gun fire." Florence Machayo came by early this morning because we were going to visit one of the more hard-hit villages in Lugari District. When she got here, she said that people were already congregating in Kipkarren River and she had been told that in Turbo the youth had dug a trench in the road stopping all traffic to and from Uganda, Rwanda, and beyond. Gladys called the leader at the IDP camp in Turbo and he said that the IDP's were fine, but that the road was closed. Later Florence called and told us that the youth in Kipkarren River had cut down a big tree and blocked the road. So we are not going anywhere!!! (Lumakanda is between Turbo and Kipkarren River.) We also heard that a Kikuyu house in Malava was being burned (this is on the way to Kakamega) and that Kakamega is "wild." Getry says that right next to where she had fled they burned a Kikuyu's house (but were able to rescue the three children in the house), a school in town, and many other buildings.

This is all in response to rising ethnic gang fighting over the weekend, first in Nakuru and then in Naivasha. The paper says 90 people have been killed. This is mostly Kikuyu "revenge," but also included Kikuyu on Kikuyu violence in Naivasha as one gang accuses the other of voting for the wrong political party. The police are reported to be just standing by as all this happens as they are unable to control the events. The army has been brought in to Nakuru to control the town. In Lugari I had heard that the army had been deployed in some areas and as soon as I was told this, I was told they were abusing people. They would accuse someone with a bag of maize (corn) of having looted it and then seize all of that person's maize. Nobody knows where the maize goes! The army is not supposed to be involved in internal policing, but clearly as the police have become overwhelmed, the army has been brought in.

Gladys has a good friend, Jacinta, who has started an orphanage and school in Campi ya Moto, a small village near Nakuru. This is in the area where the violence is most extensive. Gladys lived there for four years while working for Jacinta's brother. She therefore knows everyone in the community. Campi ya Moto and all the houses around the orphanage have been destroyed. All the neighbors Gladys knew (and I met on our two visits last year to the orphanage) are gone to "who knows where." The orphanage which normally had 40 children now has 200. It survives only because it is being guarded by the police. They have no water and little food.

There is a glue that holds a society together. It consists of many things--customs, culture, respect for others and their property, laws and their enforcement by the police and courts, etc. The glue in Kenyan society was always weak. There was much on-going violence before the voting--for example: the clashes on Mt. Elgon that AGLI had begun working on; others in Molo/Rondai; continued deadly conflicts in the pastoral areas; and many acts of violence including the common practice of lynching suspected thieves. The police are noted for being very corrupt--I watch them collect bribes from the matatu conductors every time I am in a matatu. The courts are also known as being corrupt. Within the culture there exists great jealousy of any one or any group which seems to be doing better than others.

I am afraid that the little glue that Kenyan society had is disintegrating and that chaos is overtaking normalcy.

Much was made of it last week when Kofi Annan got Raila and Kibaki to shake hands. While this was a good, positive first step, my feeling now is that the situation is "out-of-control" of everyone. As the Open Letter to Leaders and Citizens of Kenya from the Quaker Leadership Conference I just attended states (I will report more on this at another time):

"We invite you to join us in praying for deliverance from evil spirits which are at work in our country, and cointinue to intercede for Kenya."

News from Kaimosi

2008-01-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Jody and Ben Richmond wrote from the Friends Theological College in Kaimosi on 24 January.

FTC opened this week (as you will remember, we delayed opening for a week due in hope that the situation would normalize). Today, about half of our students are back on campus.

We last wrote that Kaimosi remained an island of peace. Shortly after sending out that newsletter, clashes began in our area. Houses have been burned just the other side of Cheptulu, our nearby market. Quite a few have been injured with arrow and panga (long, sword-like knives) wounds, and are being treated at the Kaimosi hospital just down our road. Some of the kiosks at the junction were burned the other night. (Those of you who know Alex, will be glad to know that his kiosk is okay.) Two people have been killed in the area: one, the uncle of a recent graduate. One of our groundsmen is “sleeping out” meaning that he and his wife are sleeping in the forest because homes near their home have been burned. Other staff members are caring for relatives who have had to leave their homes.

We should reassure you that the college and the mission compound in general have remained safe. Last night, according to reports, things were calm in our area. Perhaps, this is a good reaction to the Kofi Annan mediation efforts, and the response of the opposition leadership which called off plans for mass demonstrations today.

Tuesday was scheduled to be our first day of classes. Instead, the faculty decided to cancel classes and devote the day to sharing our stories and praying for one another and the general situation. Those students who had been able to travel to the college, together with faculty and staff, gathered in the Dining Hall, and for three hours recounted the impact of the clashes in personal stories. Some had experienced terrifying moments at roadblocks. Others told of neighbor’s houses burned, or people killed. Several pastors recounted how they had given refuge to members of targeted tribes. Others recounted how family members had had to flee from their homes in the face of threats. One mentioned that gunshots in his vicinity became so common that they almost began to seem normal. Others reported that calm prevailed in their areas, but all were affected by seeing “a Kenya they had never seen before in their lives.”

Jody led that session, with Pamela Igesa, the College chaplain. Ben preached from Luke 4 and Isaiah 61 about the healing power of the spirit and contrasted the heresy of a “gospel” that pretends God’s love is only for “our community” with Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom of God that embraces all communities. One member of our staff shared an incident of this lived out, when a vehicle carrying refugees from violence-torn areas came through his village in the first few days after troubles began. He was amazed and touched to witness a number of market vendors gave food to them freely, never asking for any money. We’ll remember the image of street vendors tossing avocados into a truck full of their hungry “enemies”!

Ben preached again the next morning, at our regular daily worship, carrying forward the story in the Gospel of Luke to the sermon on the plain in chapter 6. He drew on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1957 sermon on loving your enemies, in which he said, “So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, ‘I love you. I would rather die than hate you.’” Later in the day, we held a convocation at which Mary Lord, a Friend from Baltimore Yearly Meeting with vast experience in peacemaking work, spoke. She rooted the Friends’ peace testimony in our experience of the power and love of God, and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. She then recounted stories to illustrate many ways in which Quakers have lived out the peace witness to demonstrate what a vast toolbox is available to peacemakers. In the question and answer period, one of the teachers asked Mary to talk about the biggest obstacles she has faced and overcome. Mary responded from her own experience the need to forgive violence she experienced as a child; and then told about how God had, unknown to her, used a conference she had organized in the 1980s about the effects of nuclear weapons, to impact Ronald Reagan and start the beginning of Reagan’s pulling back from nuclear brinksmanship. Today, Mary spoke to Jody’s class on Peace and Conflict Transformation about the cycle of violence. Students and faculty have been deeply engaged.

In Quaker Theology, we have modified the syllabus to begin from an experiential basis to ask what theological questions rise out of our experience. Ben and Jody have invited the students to think over the last weeks and ask what mental images come to mind, and then share why they are important. Some of the images: “people being slashed in nearby homestead; young kids, displaced from their homes in Eldoret walking by my place to find refuge; people burning down houses and looting; members of parliament on TV pouring out their anger, seeking power; a young child in the hospital with an arrow sticking in him; a member of the church, home from Mombasa, asking for prayer because he was being sacked from his work in a hotel, and facing an unknown future; women being fallen on by soldiers, and young men and even old men (“wazee”) and being raped.” One image was of “a man being slaughtered, the way one would slaughter a hen.”

Even if the Annan peace efforts succeed today, and peace returns to the land, and all the hundreds of thousands of displaced were able to go back to their homes (many of which are, of course, burned), there would still be a tremendous need for trauma healing. There is fear, distrust, and deep uncertainty because people who seemed to be friends so easily became enemies. What theological questions does all this raise?

This is a testing time for the church in Kenya. Will we be able to be bearers of Good News that is deep enough to bring healing and hope to those who have been traumatized, and reconciliation to those who have experienced the reality of enmity? Will you pray for a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

In the midst of these extraordinary circumstances, normal life also continues. We are making progress on the design of a new administration building, and wrapping up final details on the new Meetinghouse. To continue to pursue “normalcy” is a part of living the Kingdom of God in these times — proclaiming hope that God plans for a good future for Kenya.

Thank you for your prayers, and support.

OPEN LETTER To the Leaders and Citizens of Kenya

2008-01-27T01:28:00.000-08:00

The Quaker leadership of Kenya gathered together in Sheywe Guest House in Kakamega between 24^th and 27^th January 2008.

The Friends Church in Kenya and Friends around the world are concerned with what has befallen Kenya in the last one month. As a peace church, we are horrified by the continued wanton destruction of human life and property.

Kenyans need to learn that any violent action they take against their neighbours is an act against God’s way. Our actions and thoughts therefore must be rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In our last communiqué to the leaders, we implored upon them to uphold the principles of truth, justice peace, simplicity and humility (Psalms 85:10) and to forgive each other.

We cannot be blind to what is happening to this country and its citizens. During the deliberations and reflections, representatives of the Friends Church realized that the underlying causes of the current conflict have been present since long before the general elections of December 2007. We note in particular: economic injustices, youth disempowerment and frustration, and cleavages of religion, ethnicity, class, gender and age.

To our leaders:

We thank our leaders for starting a process of negotiation, and we believe and trust that they will follow up in earnest with a negotiated settlement. In this context therefore we say to our leaders:

We do understand your anguish at this time, and we ask you to approach the situation prayerfully. We urge you to relax your “hard line” political demands and dialog more deeply for the benefit of the country, that no segment of Kenyan society emerges as “losers” but we all may “win” in a peaceful society.
We urge you to reopen schools that have not opened, in order to allow students to continue with their education.
We urge the leaders and elders of various communities not to incite or manipulate their youths to perpetuate terror among the citizenry, but to encourage and guide them to act responsibly.
We denounce the instances of excessive force used by the police against the citizens.

To our fellow Kenyans:

We appreciate the courage and passion that you, our fellow Kenyans, have shown since the beginning of the post-election violence by contributing and supporting the victims of violence, and we urge you all to continue with the same spirit.
We appeal to you engage in reconciliation among and rehabilitation of displaced people, integrating them back into the places from which they were displaced, not sending them to other parts of the country.
We remind you that this country and its land belongs to all of us. Let us not destroy it for by doing so, we put our own future generations in jeopardy. We need a negotiated social contract to live together as Kenyans.
We urge you to resolve problems in a peaceful way, because we know that there is hope for peace in this country.
We warn you to desist from rumour-mongering which increases hostility and uncertainty, and urge you to use modern means of communication for positive ends.
We know that those most affected by this conflict and violence are women, children, disabled and the aged. We must address their suffering, and protect and care for them.
We encourage every Kenyan to look for “that of God” in every person and to treat life as sacred.
As Kenyans, we urge you to uphold our core national values, practice forgiveness and embrace reconciliation.

To our fellow Christians and other Religious groups:

As people of faith, we must not engage in violence and revenge because if we do so we betray our faith in God.
We invite you to join us in praying for deliverance from evil spirits which are at work in our country, and continue to intercede for Kenya.

As a peace church, we are involved in humanitarian, spiritual and social/economic empowerment of our people. We urge everyone to take time to assist his/her neighbour in order to bring normalcy to the affected people, affirming truth, justice, peace and reconciliation in our nation.

Signed,

Jacob Neyole, Presiding Clerk

Kenyan National Quaker Peace Conference - Plan of Action

2008-01-27T01:15:00.000-08:00

27 January 2008

Coordinating Committee

The Conference appointed the following Coordinating Committee to implement immediate measures and to put steps in place toward the longer-term actions:

Henry Mukwanja, Henry Apencha, Getry Agizah, Rose Imbega, David Zarembka, Seth Chayugah,Wesley Harun Sasita, Henry Mkutu, Joseph Mamai Makokha,

Lydia

Bakassa, Chrispinus Sifuna,Hezron Masitsa, Eric Lijodi

Ex-officio: John Muhanji, Eden Grace, Gladys Kangahi, Dorothy Selebwa, Jacob Neyole, Moses Musonga, Sammy Akifuma

Immediate crisis-intervention measures

Political crisis:

Issue a public statement from this Conference
Use the media to publicize messages of peace and reconciliation
Document and disseminate stories of people acting in courageous non-violent ways
Engage in non-violent direct action to stop violence and retaliation in our communities

Humanitarian crisis – internally displaced people:

Shelter, accommodation
Food, water, fuel
Clothing
Medication, first aid, health care
Security and safety
Sanitation
Trauma counseling
Bible distribution
Activities, games
Access to schooling

Inter-communal crisis:

Mediate in situations of acute conflict
Assist in reconciliation between displaced people and those who threatened them
Reintegrate displaced people into the community, rebuild trust between neighbors

Psychological and spiritual crisis:

Crisis-intervention counselling
Train primary school teachers on the effects of trauma on young children
Offer trauma counselling for IDPs
Reach the “disaffected” youth, e.g. boda boda drivers, touts, the unemployed
Scale up AVP to reach as many places as possible
Establish “listening programmes” for people to tell their stories in a safe environment
Preach the gospel of peace, educate our own people on the teachings of our church

Crisis of youth in this country:

Begin a pilot programme for civic and peace education in Quaker schools
Organize youth work camps to help with humanitarian work and rebuilding

Organizational capacity:

Establish a national coordination body for the short-term work
Address need for personnel, including placement of volunteers
Networking and communications
Guarantee integrity and transparency in use of funds, to maintain our good reputation

Possible cluster areas for longer-term work, and potential activities

Youth Empowerment

Create a fund for youth empowerment
Youth programmes, e.g. volunteer training and action, work camps, vocational training
Seriously examine the involvement of youth in the structures of the Friends Church
Re-engage with our Quaker schools
Peer-mediation and AVP in the schools

Economic Development

Income generating activities
Teach practical business skills, entrepreneurship

Humanitarian Relief

Relief Fund for future disasters
Peace, justice and non-violence – a movement for social transformation toward a culture of peace
Peace Research Institute (at the University)
Peace Radio, other publications
Workshops, mediation, trauma healing, AVP, listening
Restorative justice movement
Peace curriculum through the Ministry of Education
Training for non-violent direct action for social change

Advocacy

Establish an organization which can organize the Friends voice on Public Policy matters
Build the capacity of Friends to be involved in the civic agenda at all levels
Use the model of QUNO “quiet diplomacy”

Spiritual development of the Peace Testimony

Review and improve the content of the membership class curricula
Strengthen the peace and justice programmes at Friends Theological College

Organizational capacity

National Management Committee – develop institutional capacity
Network with other peace organization in Kenya and around the world

Resources

Friends United Meeting and Friends World Committee for Consultation are both active in raising overseas funds for relief and reconstruction. The Conference urges all Kenyans to raise local funds and to deposit them in the account of Friends United Meeting, Barclays Bank, Kisumu Branch #2007332. All money will be used efficiently and effectively, with transparency and integrity.

Seven themes for the Peace Conference

2008-01-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

By Eden Grace

Yesterday, the sixty delegates to the Kenyan National Quaker Peace Conference worked throughout the afternoon and evening in Sections, analyzing in depth and seeking ways in which Kenyan Friends can make an impact in their context. The seven themes that were explored encompass the many facets of Friends ministries in Kenya. As each group reported to the plenary today, Friends heard a powerful call to faithful witness in these days.

1. Peace and non-violence as central to the gospel – or as the group suggested “the Gospel as central to peace and non-violence”. This group looked at the biblical principles of peace, justice, truth and non-violence. They acknowledged that Kenyan Friends have been inadequate in their teaching and preaching, in their formation of their own members and in their public witness. The group articulated the biblical framework for our peace work, and proposed that it be circulated to all Friends pastors as a resource for preaching in the present crisis.

2. Trauma healing and post-conflict ministries. This group analyzed the meaning of trauma, its causes, symptoms, and consequences. The current crisis in Kenya will require both short-term and long-term interventions for trauma healing. Friends are fortunate that there are already “tools” in the Quaker “tool box”, namely the Alternatives to Violence Programme and its various activities. The Conference saw the need for a massive scaling-up of these programmes in order to impact on healing Kenyan society.

3. Humanitarian needs, Internally Displaced People and vulnerable populations. There is a tremendous humanitarian crisis unfolding in Kenya right now. This group collected informal data on numbers of displaced people, and discussed their various physical and psychological needs. It was clear to all Friends present that one of the calls upon the Friends Church is to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of their fellow Kenyans, regardless of political or ethnic affiliation. An essential aspect of resolving the current crisis is to mediate between those who are displaced and those who displaced them, so that people can be reintegrated into multi-ethnic cities and villages. In a longer-term perspective, Friends may want to develop pro-active capacities for addressing both natural and man-made disasters.

4. Ethnic conflict and reconciliation toward a harmonious society. This group discussed the ethnic aspects of the Kenyan political crisis, and acknowledged that it is a complex matter. Contributing factors include unjust land distribution practices, unequal development throughout the country, corruption of some leaders, excessive concentration of power, various cultural practices, and attitudes of prejudice. The group also noted that the Friends Church has traditionally had an ethnic identity, as a church for one community only. The Conference felt very strongly that our church must move beyond this exclusive identity, to see itself as a church for all people.

5. Preaching and evangelism in the present context. This group recognized that the work of preaching is essential in this time, to proclaim the message of Christ as the One who can bring change, who can bring healing, hope and peace. Where there are hopeless, hungry and angry people, the practical gospel of Christ can address their needs. Our church has not been active enough in this kind of holistic outreach.

6. The mission of our institutions of education and healthcare. The Friends Church is well known for its centers of excellence in education and healthcare, although the Conference recognized that in recent years, internal politics in the church have weakened our commitment to schools and hospitals. Considering that young people are particularly involved in the current violence, there is an urgent need to strengthen peace education in our schools.

7. Global partnership and the role of our international/ecumenical partners. This group discussed the linkages between Kenyan Friends and the global Quaker community, and also made proposals for how the many ideas from this conference could be organized and coordinated at a national level in Kenya.

Two important facets of the current Kenyan crisis were not specifically listed in the group topics, namely economic injustice/disparities of wealth and poverty, and youth disaffection/hopelessness, but they were raised by every group in their reports. Conference participants have recognized that these two factors are largely responsible for the incredible explosion of anger witnessed in Kenya since the election. In discerning long-term action toward a culture of peace in Kenya, these will inevitably form two crucial areas of focus for the work.

The Conference will spend the rest of its time together collating and organizing the recommendations of the Sections, in order to develop a coherent strategy and coordinated action plan for both the immediate and long-term witness of Kenyan Friends.

Mary Lord and Oliver Kisaka address Kenyan National Quaker Peace Conference

2008-01-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

By Eden Grace

Approximately sixty Friends from all Quaker organizations and Yearly Meetings in Kenya gathered in Kakamega yesterday for a three-day conference to focus on responses to the social and political crisis currently unfolding in Kenya.

The opening session was devoted to listening to personal stories of how the violence has touched conference participants, and to praying together. Recognizing that Kenyan society is on the brink of chaos, it was movingly stated by one participant -- “We are praying that this cup may pass us by, may pass Kenya by. Yet even Jesus bore the cup and went to the cross, but in a way that broke the cycle of violence and transformed all creation.” Another Friend reminded the conference of II Corinthians 4:8-10 -- “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”

The Conference heard inspiring and informative keynote messages from Mary Lord, recently-retired Assistant General Secretary for Peace and Conflict Resolution at American Friends Service Committee, and Oliver Kisaka, Deputy General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya.

Mary Lord spoke about the Biblical Basis and Practical Application of the Friends Peace Testimony. She emphasized that the Peace Testimony arises from the direct experience of God in each person’s life, as an expression of faith rather than as a rule to follow. Early Friends considered that Jesus meant what he said in the Sermon on the Mount. Mary reflected on her early years among Friends, when she felt that the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount was unrealistic and not likely to result in successful movements for social change. She eventually realized that she had been assuming that she herself understood human nature better than Jesus did, and was able to embrace the teachings of Jesus as a matter of faith. She decided that “Jesus wouldn’t have told us to live in a way that wasn’t possible.”

Implied in the affirmation of Peace as a matter of faith, is the realization that it is not by our own power or knowledge that we make peace. It is the power of the love of God, of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit. Mary stated that if we do not begin from faith, our peace work will not be effective. If we do begin from a life-changing faith, then we have no other option but to be peace-makers.

In living this Testimony over more than 300 years, Mary said that Friends have become “researchers” of peace, experimenting and finding effective ways to witness in various contexts. She then gave several examples of ways Friends have given expression to the Peace Testimony.

During the 20^th century wars in Europe, Friends provided humanitarian relief to victims on all sides of the conflicts – a move which was highly controversial at the time. Mary remarked on the fact that the Friends most directly involved in this work felt that their efforts were inadequate, and struggled with fatigue and despair, but that the world community recognized their work by awarding them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948. Their seemingly-inadequate effort became a beacon to others about the way to make peace.

Mary mentioned instances in which Friends have served as mediators and negotiators. She shared how Friends have established safe-havens for dialogue in the midst of violent contexts, and have offered leadership to various movements for social justice. Friends have increasingly been taking the role of supporting and training, and of lifting up voices and truths which need to be heard in the public discourse. Mary closed by remarking that, although we often despair that we are not making a difference, the reality is that the world is a more peaceful place because of the work of Friends.

In the discussion which followed, Friends used Mary’s historical examples as a way of approaching the current crisis in Kenya. Participants spoke of reaching out to the youth, offering meaningful activities to counteract the temptation to violence. They spoke of reintegration of displaced people, and of creating centers for dialogue without fear. They urged Friends to take action “on the ground” and to persist in prayer that the power of Jesus may overcome the “demons” of violence in Kenya right now.

In his message, Oliver Kisaka gave an analysis of the post-election disturbances and their root causes, and helped to put them in a Christian perspective. He started by recalling Romans 8:28 -- “We know that all things work together for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” -- and challenged us to believe that this is true, that now is an opportunity for God to do a powerful work for the good of Kenya.

Oliver spoke movingly about the breakdown in the electoral process and the seeming betrayal by the Electoral Commission of the trust placed in them by Kenyans. According to both domestic and international observer bodies, the voting itself, and the initial counting at the constituency level, were conducted according to the highest democratic ideals. However, the process then broke down such that the country is left in a situation in which there is no public confidence in the legitimacy of the government. After working for years on civic education, and seeing the positive results of such efforts, Oliver felt deeply disappointed by the performance of the Electoral Commission. He also reflected that many young people who engaged in the election with enthusiasm, now feel bitter and disillusioned.

Oliver remarked that, at a deeper level, Kenyans do not have a healthy relationship to their political institutions and personalities, and that this is reflected in a flawed Constitution and a “winner takes all” mentality toward governance. He felt that many Kenyans went to the polls looking for a “saviour” rather than a president. Kenyans put all their hopes and aspirations into one political figure, and began to believe that life would not be tolerable if that leader were deprived of victory. The rhetoric of the campaign period was so exaggerated, it would have been impossible for any government to fulfil the expectations of the people.

Oliver noted that the heightened aspirations of the people were further manipulated during the campaign period when candidates encouraged voters to believe that they are poor because someone else is rich, that they are disenfranchised because someone else has consolidated power in their own community. The reality is that the gap between wealth and poverty exists in every community, and the benefits of power always accrue to the powerful themselves, not to the average citizen. In this way, the political elites of Kenya have seriously abused and manipulated voters, and created the situation which is upon us now.

Oliver went on to address other causes of the current crisis, besides the specifics of the election itself. He noted particular historical injustices which have not been resolved and which contribute to the situation today. For instance, the distribution of settler-owned land at the time of independence created deep resentment on the part of some communities. The unequal investment of development resources throughout the country has led to a feeling that the home region of the president will receive preferential treatment. Oliver remarked most powerfully that class issues play a large role in the current anger in the country.

From a Christian perspective, Oliver stated that the spiritual life of Kenyans is too compartmentalized, too divorced from economic and civic engagement. He praised Friends for gathering in this conference to ask what is our responsibility, and encouraged us that “the Quaker light should shine!” He reflected that Friends have strengths to offer at this time. Our Testimonies are a strength to guide us. We have strong capacities in non-violence training, and we should broaden these to look also at training for business and entrepreneurial participation. Finally, he challenged Friends to engage in advocacy on behalf of those who are suffering and oppressed.

Oliver concluded his message by remarking on the deep cleavages in Kenyan society which underlie the current crisis – cleavages of religion, ethnicity, class, gender and age. These divisions threaten the unity and peace of Kenya, and directly contradict the Christian ethic of love of neighbor. He remarked that if you put your hope in anything less than God, you are going to differ with other human beings. “People will kill people over something like football teams, if that’s where they focus their attention. We will be divided as long as we focus our eyes on men rather than God. To stay in unity with other people, we must look to the God who created us all, rather than the differences between us.”

“None of our leaders and politicians are saviours. We have one Saviour, Jesus Christ. If this is true, we will forgive each other unconditionally. If Christ is Lord, then the things he taught are practical -- we can turn the other cheek, forgive, and love our enemies. These are not suggestions, they are requirements. In all things, God works together for good, even if we don’t see and understand it. If we have faith in God, there is no alternative.”

Having heard these two inspiring speakers, the conference participants broke into seven working groups. The conference will conclude on Sunday 27th January.

Watch the FWCC Kenya Blog for further reports.

Being a Christian in Kenya

2008-01-22T00:32:00.002-08:00

The latest from David Zarembka of AGLI.

Shortly after the first Quaker missionaries came to Kenya in 1902 and had their first converts to Christianity, the requirements of being a Christian were at great odds with traditional society. I know (or rather knew since many of these have died) some of these original converts and they are not like your every-day Christian that we know. They had to make major life changes to become Christian, usually over the complete objection of most of their family members. These folks are/were stout Christians. As time went on many others converted and living separately was no longer necessary. By now almost everyone in Kenya considers him/herself a Christian (or a Moslem). But like the US, and many other places, many of the nominal Christians rarely go to church except for weddings and funerals and it plays only a little part in their lives.

On Sunday at Lumakanda Church the preacher was the wife of the pastor. She lives in Eldoret and is having to move because she rents a house owned by Kikuyu. Many of the houses around her have been burned down. She took as her text, Mathew 5:20 which reads, "I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires." She started out by saying that Christians don't smoke or drink alcohol (all Protestant religions in Kenya forbid smoking and alcohol consumption). But then she went on to the main part of her sermon, namely, that Christians do not take up weapons to use on their neighbors. She gave the example of a man who is a pastor and took a spear to join in on the violence in Eldoret. This man, she clearly indicated, was not a Christian.

Note that this was the sermon in a small church in an out-of-the-way place. But I think that this is a common feeling among those who go to Church. While this is a Friends Church, I think that this message could be heard in many Christian churches here. In other words, the God-fearing Christians are against the violence. But that division between the "God-fearing Christians" and the nominal Christians is huge. The church-going Christians shun those who do not attend church and make little outreach to them. This is particularly true of the youth. Consequently, when violence came, the God-fearing Christians had no points of contact with the looters. They were cowed down by fear, many expecting to be the next target of the wrathful crowds.

There is no political settlement in sight. One newspaper columnist stated today in the Daily Nation that the longer that things drag out the better it is for the Kibaki side: so, they have little incentive to genuinely engage in mediation. On the Raila side this means that time is against them so they might turn to drastic measures.

Although there were no demonstrations over the weekend, the violence did not subside. Once the genie of violence gets out of the bottle, it is very hard to put it back in. The papers report 10 or 15 deaths on Sunday. Eden Grace texted me that two people were killed in Cheptulu, the market right next to Kaimosi Hospital (which had formerly escaped the violence). Most of the deaths are in Rift Valley where the various Kalenjin groups feel that outsiders have taken away their land. This is not only Kikuyu, but also Kisii, Luo, Luhya, and other groups. This happened before in 1992 when 1000 people were killed and 100,000 or more displaced. Many people (like all those who said Kenya was such a stable country) seem to have forgotten this. As we have learned from Rwanda and Burundi, when these kind of clashes occur and nothing is done about them, a renewed, more vicious cycle of violence will occur. This, I think, is what is happening in the Rift Valley (and I live only 3 miles from the Rift Valley). As Job, my son-in-law, told me back in about 1992 when he was in fifth grade, the Kalenjin warriors came all the way past Lumakanda attacking the Luhya--this was in the days before Lugari was a district with a police station in Lumakanda.

To summarize, the election results were the spark for the violence. The tinder was all the alienated youth in Kenyan society. As time goes on the ethnic dimension will increase and attacks will lead to
counter-attacks. As attacks become successful in forcing people to leave the Rift Valley, the violence becomes self-reinforcing leading to more attacks. At this point we must be thankful that the attackers have only traditional weapons--clubs, bows and arrows, machettes, and spears. If they had guns (which, if the violence continues, they will soon acquire in one way or another) the the death toll would soar and soar. Even now I am not sure that a political settlement will end the violence in the countryside, although it would give the security forces a greater chance to deal with it.

Tomorrow Gladys, my wife, and I go to Kisumu (for the first time since the violence began) to help plan the series of 40 listening workshops for the 900 employees of the Center for Disease Control. We plan to begin conducting AVP workshops at various sites in Western, Rift, and Nyanza Provinces. We have hired two more AVP facilitators to help organize this work--Peter Serete from Kakamega and Bernard Onjalo from Bondo, Nyanza Province near Kisumu. They will work under our energetic AVP coordinator, Getry Agizah. Malesi Kinaro, Gladys and I will give direction and, of course, I must raise the necessary funds.

Update from Malesi Kinaro

2008-01-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

Malesi Kinaro is a former Executive Secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation Africa Section and is currently the Executive Director of UZIMA Foundation, a position she has held since its founding in 1996. This is an update to her previous letter.

Yesterday we met the Boda Boda taxi drivers (bicycle riders) and the touts and small business young men in town. They began by being sorry and sharing how the violence had made them suffer. They slowly moved to deeper things. One said, 'We are nothing in this nation. We are the ones to suffer. These rich people have fridges full of food. Even if the trouble goes on for a month they will not suffer. Let us just give up and continue with our poverty".

Another said, "Madam, these people here are being untruthful. The anger expressed by all of us Kenyans for one tribe out of 42 cannot be because of one incident. We have seen rigged elections before. The problem is the attitude of 'these' people. They come to our town, to our homes and then they decide we are fools. I work in their vehicles and the way they treat you. We are just an angry lot and we hoped for change. They stole even that from us. Let us not cheat you that peace will come back. We want them out of here".

Another said, "Our wound is real and deep. Then Martha Karua [the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs] speaks as though we are nothing. When she talks we just feel like laying down our lives for change."

We agreed with them that there can never be peace without justice.

The anger is still alive. But by the time we finished we had agreed that we would teach them non-violent direct action, what they call here "active non-violence", so that when they demonstrate they do not break things or burn.

Another way forward was that they bring all the proposals so that we have evidence when we go to tell the security people the root causes of the violent reactions all round the country. There is urgent need to strenghten the Uzima Revolving loan fund for the youths. On Tuesday we shall go talk with our Kalenjin counterparts in AVP at Eldoret prison. We hope they too can start something. The violence here is intense. Now they are just burning any non Kalenjin. We suffered in the 1991 clashes by losing everything we had. We went back after 12 years. We built a small house. Now we are told they stormed the house and carried everything. But this seems to be just thuggery. Pray for the Tuesday meeting especially for our Kalenjin friends. In Eldoret some family helped friends to escape and those who helped were killed.

We have just come from the IDP camp at the police station. Our Friends youths finished digging 5 latrines yesterday. Today we have been taking sanitary towels. The Red Cross is beginning to supply much food an other neccessities. But many are still sleeping in the open field. I was given a chance to talk to them as they gathered before getting their food. I offered our counselling services to any who may fell the need. They clapped for me.

Rallies begin on Wednesday. There is excitement in the air. Yet these people know the police are ready to kiil them. Police killed so may youths here. We are trying to see what we can do.

We are at a diificult place. The finance minister says the economy of the country has not been affected much. In fact he says it will grow by 8% in the next quarter. He says the tourism industry has not been affected. He is another one whose talk drives young people mad. I just wonder. Where do these rich people live? Are they in Kenya with us? Is economic growth more important than lives?

I could go on for ever

Peace

Malesi Kinaro

Quaker peacemaking work continues

2008-01-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

The following update was sent by David Zarembka of AGLI.

I did go for a walk with Gladys yesterday to her sister's house about two miles down the hill. We passed the house of Silas Njoroge who is the Kikuyu leader at the IDP camp. His house was looted, but not burned. Further down the road his brother's house was looted and burned including all the maize (corn) he had in storage. They are considered the "richest" Kikuyu in the area, but neither one had a particularly fancy house--much like many of the people around here.

Ray Downing is a Mennonite doctor working at the hospital in Webuye (the largest town to the west of us, towards Uganda). He asks this question: Why was there no destruction of Kikuyu shops and homes in Webuye? (This is also true of Bungoma and many other towns in the country.) He asks: "Why did these towns escape the violence? Who is studying the reasons why some places did not have violence?" I think these are really interesting questions--any students out there needing a research topic?

AGLI and FPCD (Friends for Peace and Community Development, our Kenyan partner) will be doing 40 one-day AVP-style listening workshops with the 900 employees of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from the US which has a major presence in Kisumu. The conflicts in the country have brought out latent ethnic feelings among the staff. We will be doing 2 workshops per day for twenty days. We are bringing one HROC facilitator and one AVP facilitator from Rwanda to be part of each 3 person facilitator team. It will be really interesting to see how this goes. Sessions begin on Wednesday of this coming week.

Friends United Meeting (FUM)--Africa Office has spearheaded the arrangement of a Consultation for Quaker leaders in Kenya next week to consider the Quaker response to the current violence and crisis. The consultation starts Thursday evening and will go through Sunday. Gladys and I will be there (so don't expect any reports during that time). This will be an opportunity for the Quaker leadership in Kenya to really assert themselves as a peace church. I hope they "grab it."

The ODM has not scheduled any more demonstrations but rather is now turning to an economic boycott of institutions controlled by Kibaki and associates. I don't know how that will go. The 3 days of attempted demonstrations resulted in 21 more deaths--all but one, I think, killed by police including some clearly innocent people (a mother sitting inside her house). While there are always ups and downs about some kind of dialogue, I don't see anything significant happening yet so the stand-off continues.

Eldoret Emergency Relief - Preliminary Report

2008-01-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

We want to take this opportunity to thank all friends both Quakers and non-Quakers, both local and international, for their handy support that came in during the post election violence in the country. Today so many lives are lost and also so many lives are saved. Eldoret one of the major towns in the country was the scene of violence thus causing a lot of destruction both emotional and material.

However, we received a lot of families fleeing their respective areas of residence either their houses burnt or their houses looted or they escaped death narrowly. So far by the end of 31^st December2007, we had 62 families camping at the Eldoret Friends church. Most of us who were in Eldoret brought our heads together in terms of how do we provide the security of the place and at the same time how to feed the group. We made several appeals where we found that the local Quakers responded urgently and later friends from Bristol also gave us some donations.

Total donations amounted to Kenyan Shillings 519,470.00.

The donation received from Bristol friends was used for relocation purposes for ten families.

Today, Eldoret is calm but not peaceful, however, some 8 families whom we have relocated to safer estates and their houses were burnt, needs to reconstruct some shelters for their families. After the relief committee assessing the areas of reconstruction, this has been approved. The budget for reconstructing 8 two roomed semi permanent houses each costing Kshs. 150,000.00 gives a total of Kshs. 1,200,000.00.

We appeal for assistance as we continue feeding the displaced and put up some shelters for the willing families. (Donations can be made through FWCC, AGLI or FUM.) This will go down to restore hope to some of the victims. After resettlement we shall have a rehabilitation process that will be followed by reconciliation. But the priority is reconstruction because the houses rented are temporary pending reconstruction and the local church may not be able to pay for the houses longer.

Your continued assistance will really help as we pray for long lasting solution.

Thank you.

Peace and Love.

Joshua Lilande
Chairman

Wilson Ngaira
Secretary

Bainito Wamalwa
Contact Person

Epiphany

2008-01-16T00:52:00.000-08:00

A personal reflection by Ray Downing.

Yesterday was Epiphany. Epiphany means appearance or manifestation; in the Church, the appearance of Jesus, his manifestation as Messiah, and the revealing that He is not for Israel only, but for all nations. The last week in Kenya seems to demonstrate the reverse, a sort of Devil’s Epiphany, the appearance of killing and burning and chaos, the manifestation of evil. It’s been bad.

I think there has been an epiphany here, but of a different sort. The question near the surface of so many commentators is, “We expect this sort of thing in Somalia or Liberia or Congo – but how could this happen in Kenya, a country with a stable democracy and such a strong economy?” In fact, the election itself was remarkably close, and orderly – until the tallying. What happened?

One Kenyan commentator said these events exposed Kenya’s “thin veneer of civilization”, and I think the comment points us in an interesting direction, depending on what we mean by “civilization”. If by civilization we mean a strong (Western-style) democracy, then Kenya had that: political parties, free press, campaigns, pre-election polls, elections, the works. All the things we in the rich West have said make up a strong democracy. Were all these just a “thin veneer” in Kenya? What happened?

There is a clue in Kenya’s other piece of civilization, the “strong economy”. I have been struck by news reports that speak of Kenya as “an east African economic powerhouse with an average growth rate of 5 percent” – and in the same sentence tell us the country still struggles with poverty, without noting the contradiction. Another news report explains: “Although the Kenyan economy grew at a rapid pace, so did economic inequality, resulting in a concentration of wealth in a small oligarchical elite, while most Kenyans earn less than $1 a day.” A strong economy that has not confronted and addressed poverty is in fact not a strong economy; it is a “thin veneer” of economic strength. The epiphany is that this has now been revealed.

So what about democracy? The real question is “what about Western-style democracy”, the sort we keep insisting on. And again, we sense a “thin veneer” – but we must be careful about concluding that democracy is only a thin veneer here, and that underneath people are fundamentally undemocratic. Quite the contrary. “Kenya,” a friend wrote, “has borrowed bits and pieces over the past century or so from the West, and has pasted these fragments together with a glue that does not withstand high political temperatures. It conforms, generally, to all modern sector fragility…” What is being revealed in this epiphany is the fragility of Western political and economic “solutions” for Africa.

So where does that leave us? Not with a grand “solution”, but only the logical working out of the above epiphany that Western-style political and economic civilization is a veneer here. The obvious question is: a veneer over what? I don’t think it’s a veneer over the violence we are seeing this week; that violence is simply a sign of the veneer cracking and breaking. Our question remains: what is under the veneer, under the violence? Has it ever occurred to us to look?

By “us” here I mean those Westerners who have worked here, and others who will undoubtedly flock into Kenya now to help: peace teams, negotiators, humanitarian feeding efforts, disease fighting specialists, and the like. There is a clear script for how to help: make sure the displaced people have food and shelter, help them return home when it’s safe, document the atrocities, bring those responsible to justice… Yes, that is all important. But I think we have a unique opportunity now to look under the veneer, now that is has cracked. And there are these startling starting-places:

In a community near here torn by ethnic violence, why would a Luhya woman shelter in her home a Kikuyu woman who had just delivered a baby – knowing that if some in the community found out, her house would likely be burnt?
When we sang Kenya’s National Anthem in church on New Year’s Day, my first response was that national politics don’t belong in church – until I realized that the Kenya’s National Anthem is a prayer set to a traditional African melody.
And this: why has there been no killing yet in Webuye, where we live? Why, in this Luhya town deep in the heart of western Kenya, are Kikuyu shops remaining open? Why, when some youths from another ethnic group came trying to incite violence, did the youth here refuse?

The answers to Kenya’s problems are in Kenya. In fact, God is in Kenya, though sometimes in disguise. One of the best things we can offer Kenya is to look for God here, to document not the atrocities but the epiphanies of God here. The heart of Africa is too rich and too beautiful to be covered by veneers. It’s time for us to admit that we have too often only tried to develop and repair these veneers of civilization. It’s time to look at what is working well underneath the veneer, and to ask why.

Kenyan Quakers plan for Peace Conference

2008-01-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

Kenyan Yearly Meetings and Quaker organizations will hold a conference 24-27th January at Sheywe Guest House, Kakamega, to analyze recent events in Kenya and discern God’s call for Friends’ ministries in this context.

The conference will bring together 60 participants, including the leaders of all fifteen Kenyan Yearly Meetings, the leaders of the Kenyan Quaker peace organizations, and others representing Friends programmes and ministries, including schools, hospitals, and evangelistic missions.

Participants will explore seven themes in small groups:

Peace and non-violence as central to the gospel
Trauma healing and post-conflict ministries
Humanitarian needs, Internally Displaced People and vulnerable populations
Ethnic conflict and reconciliation toward a harmonious society
Preaching and evangelism in the present context
The mission of our institutions of education and healthcare
Global partnership and the role of our international/ecumenical partners

Worship and Biblical reflections will be woven throughout the programme. The purpose of the conference is to pray together for unity and purpose as Friends, to offer the gift of our Testimonies to our nation of Kenya during this time of unrest, and through the long process of reconciliation and healing that lies ahead.

Friends World Committee for Consultation (www.fwccworld.org) and Friends United Meeting (www.fum.org) are both accepting contributions to support the cost of the Conference and the implementation of whatever actions will emerge.

For further information, contact:

Eden Grace, Friends United Meeting

PO Box 478 Kisumu 40100

+254 735 479174

peaceconference[at]edengrace.org

Peace Conference planned by Friends in Kenya

2008-01-15T01:49:00.001-08:00

An Ad Hoc meeting of Quaker leaders in Kenya has decided to hold a national Quaker Peace Conference (see above). The purpose of the conference will not be to listen to speeches on various topics, but to organize practical work in the various areas.

The meeting, held on 14 January, was attended by representatives of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, Friends Churches Kenya, Friends United Meeting, the Change Agents Peace Programme, the United Society of Friends Women (Kenya), Quaker Men (Kenya) and Kakamega Yearly Meeting.

The meeting stressed that the Friends Church is non-partisan, and does not endorse any candidate or party. “There have been a few instances in the press in which individuals have purported to speak for Friends in making partisan statements. No one has the authority to make such statements. The official position of Friends, as confirmed by us all today, is that Friends institutions do not endorse candidates or political parties.

“As Friends, we believe in dialogue as a method of resolving disputes. We hope that mediation can bring the two parties together. Riots and protests do not promote a spirit of listening. ‘The Truth will set this country free.’ Justice requires truth-telling.”

Some churches already have a Disaster Fund for immediate action in this kind of situation. Friends agreed that this kind of thing should be implemented widely among Friends to prepare for the future.

“We have all been affected by this in one way or another. We have all seen horrible things that we didn’t think could happen in this country. None of us are secure in Kenya as long as this ethnic violence is happening. Each one of us is in pain.

“We do not have accurate information on how Friends are affected. We need to gather data to know the situation of our own members. We do know that Friends in Eldoret are doing exceptional work in assisting those in need.

“The situation of Internally Displaced People is pathetic, with extremely urgent humanitarian needs. We must all do what we can to help, and do it in a coordinated way. We have seen our neighbours displaced. We cannot allow them to be chased away permanently, but must work on reconciliation of communities so that they can be reintegrated. We can’t allow this country to be divided along tribal lines.

“Our work as Friends at this time should be joint, not individual organizations acting in isolation. We must be together and coordinated. If we can’t be united, we will not have any impact on our country. Every YM has people who have been trained by CAPP. These people should be sent to counsel the Internally Displaced People. However, they are lacking transport.”

The meeting noted that youth disaffection and unemployment are a root cause of the trouble and that the actions of the police have been very troubling.

As well as agreeing to hold the peace conference, the Friends present agreed to focus on grass-roots work, organizing it through the proposed conference. They also agreed to implement their relief work together, so that no matter which organization receives a contribution, the resources will meet the most urgent needs in the most effective ways. The meeting decided not to try to approach the top politicians at this time.

“Friends are well known for their work in crisis situations. Even as we work on our action plan, let us keep praying, and allow our action to emerge from prayer.”

The plight of the refugees

2008-01-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

David Zarembka, the Executive Director of the African Great Lakes Initiative, sends the following report.

When we went to church yesterday, we found about one hundred 200 pound bags of maize (corn) in the back. After church, I asked George, the owner, why they were there. He replied that he had a big farm on the other side of the road where the Kalenjin are the dominate ethnic group. He feels he is the next target. "When they finish with the Kikuyu, they will then come for me." He has moved out all his furniture and taken it to the homes of his relatives nearby. This is another small indication that the violence is not essentially political, but a chance to plunder and loot. Today I heard two reports of cows being stolen. In the past this rarely happened in Lumakanda.

This morning, Gladys (my wife), and I went to Turbo where the Lumakanda IDPs have been transferred. I had heard that Turbo had experienced a rough time during the violence; but it is another thing to actually see an entire block of shops burned out. Many other shops in the town were destroyed. Some were wooden and burned up completely. After viewing the destruction we climbed the hill to the police station and found our "refugees."

They were most happy to see us. "You have followed us here," was a common comment. The women, in particular, were very pleased and welcoming to Gladys who had been part of the contingent that had brought them the first allotment of food. The refugees have been placed in a just-harvested corn field so there isn't even any grass. For the first night(s) they were sleeping on the ground in the open. Now, men were building eucalyptus pole houses with plastic tops and sides. A few had found iron sheets (perhaps salvaged from their burnt shops or houses) which make a more substantial wall. The wind is blowing very hard, almost constantly, so the plastic tarps were flapping loudly. I would think this din would make it hard to sleep at night; I guess they will get used to it.

The people in the camp told us that they had not received anything since they arrived from Lumakanda two days before. Not surprisingly, blankets were their first request. They had clearly enjoyed the rice we delivered previously. Predictably it had run out since there were only two 50 kilo (110 pound) bags. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has sent us a small grant for the Lumakanda IDP's. We hope to go to Eldoret tomorrow to buy more relief supplies; but then one never knows.

Parliament begins sessions tomorrow and both sides plan on sitting on the Government side of the building so this might lead to a crisis there. There are three days of demostrations scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Desmond Tutu raised hopes which were dashed; John Kufour, the African Union president, raised hopes which were dashed. Now Kofi Annan is scheduled to arrive tomorrow along with a few other eminent Africans. People are not getting up their hopes again.

Human Rights Watch has issued a strong statement against the Kenyan Government for using excessive force ("shoot to kill" policy) during the crackdowns, restricting the media, and the illegal ban against demostrations.

Update from a Kenyan Friend

2008-01-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

Neccy Kikaya, a Kenyan Friend, sent the following update to the World Office. She sends news that Zablon Malenge, a former FWCC executive, has been burned out of his home in Nairobi.

I arrived from Kenya two days ago after a wonderful Christmas. Also, I was there at the time of the General Elections, which despite a historical large turnout by voters (especially youths) to elect their leaders in what would have been considered a free/fair democratic election process in Africa, ... the flawed results that declared the current - President Mwai Kibaki - (PNU - Party of National Unity) the winner instead of the people's popular - Mr Raila Odinga (ODM - Orange Democratic Movement), was marred with ethnic violence which has left more that 500 people dead, thousands of internally displaced people, fear and uncertainty on the streets of Kisumu, Nairobi, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kitale, Rift Valley, coast, etc. - Although the situation has calmed down since unlike the last two weeks, there is an angry atmosphere / environment - people are angry that they have been betrayed by the very people who should protect them. See down below, a copy of an "open letter to Mr Kivuitu". Simon Kivuitu is the Chairman of Election Commission of Kenyal (ECK) - a Law Society man mandated to deliver a free and fair election but choose the "stolen" path by intentionally delivering the "wrong" verdict - Mwai Kibaki. The people feel that the best solution is Mwai to step down so that there is a re-run of the presidential elections. Mwai does not want that to happen.

Zablon Malenge - a former FWCC executive and a member of the Friends International Centre (Church), Ngong Road is a victim of these clashes. His house in Olympic Estate that borders Kibera slums was torched and burned down by angry citizens venting their frustrations and unfortunately Zablon's house was in their path. Zablon and Margaret were not physically hurt (but are mentally tortured) and are now temporarily putting up with a family (Friends) until they sort their lives once more. Everything in their house was destroyed. None of my family were hurt. David and I were in Western Kenya (Kitale) - Rift Valley. Kitale had a fair share of destruction, violence and death. Seven people were killed - mostly Kikuyus. Houses and shops were burned down and looted. There are many displaced people in town mostly camping at a place called Kiminini. Transport system came to a ground halt and it was difficult for anyone to leave or enter Kitale because what was happening in Eldoret where Kalenjin burned people in a Church, was affecting Kitale. No fuel to run own private car or publc transport. We managed to get to Nairobi only by an armed escort as the roads and unsafe, even now one has to be careful. It was understood with fear that anyone transiting through Naivasha and Kijabo - these are two towns on the western outskirts of Nairobi, were beaten up and slaughtered by Mungiki (a terrorist Kikuyu gang) who took to revenge on people from Western Kenyan.

Sunday 6th January 2008 was a Special Prayer day at Friends International Centre, Ngong Road where I attended. We saw Nairobi victims (Quakers) that were either hurt or personally affected in the clashes. A special committee also sat and drafted a Statement regarding their concern for insecurities which was addressed to the authorities to quickly find way to curb the unrest and as to the way (the Friends Church in Kenya) felt about the insecurities in the country which was aired the next day.

There is a culture of violence. It came to light that every tribe in Kenya has its terrorist gang - to name but a few - thus: - Sungu Sungu, Mungiki, Chingororo, Musumbiji, Baghdad Boys, etc, who lie low but would surface in a situation like seen in the past fortnight . We just hope that these leaders will give dialogue a chance and agree the way forward to save the situation and prevent loss of more lives in that corner of the world.

Violence in Kenya and its effect on people living with HIV

2008-01-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

This is a news release from the Kenyan HIV Positive Women's Network.

HAVE WE STOPPED TO THINK OF WHAT COULD BE HAPPENING TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN LIVING WITH THE HIV VIRUS?

We speak on Behalf of the people who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Much has been said and generalized concerning the deteriorating situation in the country and we appreciate the calm which is slowly creeping in after 2 (two) weeks of violence, looting and merciless killings. As much as we would like to thank Kenyans who have heeded calls for peace by various religious, political, civil society organizations, Ambassadors of peace, individuals of good will, the international community etc, we still feel that so much more needs to be done.

We the people living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya are deeply concerned by the current political impasse resulting from the disputed general elections held on the 27^th of December 2007. We have witnessed violence and all sorts of unjust and inhumane behavior in most parts of this country for a number of days. The aftermath of these actions are just beginning to light up so far over 300,000 people are said to be homeless and about 487 people dead. How many of the homeless are HIV/AIDS positive and how many of the same group of persons would be dead by now is something we don’t want to imagine.

From information gotten from Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) they have not heard from over 1500 of its members who receive support from them and some few others have called to say that they are stranded to an extent that they have no access to their life saving drugs (ARV’S). Kenya Network of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (KENWA) is reporting over 2000 of its members while Kenya Network of Positive Teachers (KEPOTE) is reporting 12 persons who are stranded and in need of help. In Kenya we have several other organizations offering care, support and treatment to persons living with HIV/AIDS and we are sure if we went by figures the number would be quite alarming. Most of these women who are affected from this organizations also happen to be members of the International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), and that is why we are mostly concerned about the fate of the PLHIV especially women who most often than not are faced with the heavy burden of looking after their children, stigma and discrimination and the accusation of having brought the virus into the families/communities, sadly enough right now RAPE cases are on the rampage.

We know that a number of them have lost their life prolonging medicines (ARV’S) during the skirmishes in a hurry to run to safety, and to save the lives of their children. Ironically, their lives may still be in danger if they don’t get any interventions soon, as there are a lot of side effects likely to be experienced with defaulting medicines or failure to proper adherence. What about those who might have been bed-ridden at the time of the skirmishes, the support organizations can not continue with their activities for instance Home Based Care, DOT etc as most of these places were closed down due to insecurity, we wonder if such people were evacuated to safety, and as much as we appreciate the efforts the government is putting to assist its citizens we are concerned that as much as they may be put in these camps, they may not be accessing the due medical attention and nutrition required by them. We all know that HIV Positive women and children especially those on medication need to have a very good diet to be able to counter the risk of opportunistic infections. The rescue sites due to the magnitude number of people they are serving may not be able to give these people specialized treatment, and due to the great impact of stigma and discrimination for persons living with HIV/AIDS no one would openly want to admit the fact that they are HIV+ and hence need specialized treatment.

We know and acknowledge the efforts that has been made by our government, NGO’S, FBO’S, CSO’S etc in cubing down the spread and transmission of HIV/AIDS and where once was HOPE and EXPECTATIONS too high, now lies suspicion perhaps too deep for anyone to stomach. The air in the HIV/AIDS community is so thick with fear, anxiety and great worry of which exactly would be the most fatal, HIV/AIDS or the violence that has robed us the choice to adhere to treatment, care and support, Nutrition and positive living.

RECCOMMENDATIONS:

We urge our leaders to stop playing politics instead of dealing with the problems of Kenyan people, they should seek for reconciliation
We call for peace, Love and unity from all our brothers and sisters in the country; we used to co-exist before the elections, what went wrong?
The Government should create modalities in the rescue sites where PLHIV’S, especially women living with HIV/AIDS and their children can access medication a temporary intervention plan before they resume their hospital visits (a formation of tents at the red cross sites with qualified personnel)
We also ask the Government to speed up resettlement of displaced persons, by helping them rebuild their homes, offering 24hrs security and providing transport to ease the movement of people from one place to another.
Our humble appeal is to our sisters, brothers and children living with HIV/AIDS to try and avoid unnecessary stress, to adhere to treatment and try as much as possible to make use of what ever distribution of food that is available to them and to freely seek for help when it is made available to them without fear of being discriminated for we are bonded by only one thing, “ OUR HIV STATUS”
That the Government, NGO’S, FBO’S, CSO’S , etc offer Financial, Material and Human support be given to organizations working with PLHIV’S to assist in evacuation, creation of rescue centers and care, support and treatment needed by PLHIV’S especially Women and Children living with the virus.
That Post-Election education, Information and Communication including psycho-social support and counseling be offered to PLHIV’S, especially women.

HIV positive women's networks Kenya

For more information contact:

Elizabeth Akinyi Osewe

Parliamentarian's for Women's Health Project

Project Officer (ICW) Kenya

Hazina Towers 12th Floor

Monrovia/Utalii Street

TEL: +254-20-2301010

FAX: +254-20-218564

MOBILE: +254-733-887489

EMAIL: kenya[at]icw.org

elizakis[at]yahoo.com

Letter from Kenyan Friends to their political leaders

2008-01-14T00:55:00.000-08:00

“Righteousness exalts a Nation, but Sin is a disgrace to any People” (Proverbs 14: 34)

TO THE LEADERS OF THIS NATION

His Excellency the President Hon. Mwai Kibaki

Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga

Receive Greetings in the Name of Christ Jesus.

At this time, of pain, horror, sorrow, suffering, insecurity in our beloved country, We as Friends Church in Kenya, being a PEACE church, are deeply concerned for the safety of ALL Kenyans and friends visiting Kenya during this time of Political and Social Instability. May we start by referring to our Quaker values which have guided us over the past four centuries.

Quaker Peace Testimony

“We actively oppose all that leads to violence among people and nations, …. Refusal to fight with weapons is not surrender. We are not passive when threatened by the greedy, the cruel, the tyrant, and the unjust. We will struggle to remove the causes of impasse and confrontation by every means of non-violent resistance available. We must start with our own Hearts and Minds. Together, let us reject the clamor of fear and listen to the whisperings of hope.

Our Principle is, and our practices have always been: ”to follow after righteousness and the knowledge of God, seeking the Good and welfare of humanity and doing that which tends to the peace of all”

As Friends Church, our Goal is to have a Peaceful Society anchored in and as a consequence of the process Truth, Righteousness and Justice (Ps.89v14).

Our basic Principles and Values that under-gird our concerns compel us to make this call to you, our political leaders.

These include:-

· Truth:

o Truth is critical to the establishment of legitimacy for the political class, that is, presidency and the opposition, if they are to enjoy the loyalty and respect of all Kenyans. This can only be achieved if the objective truth is that the Elections were “Free, Fair and Transparent”. For us, “the Spirit of Christ, which leads us into all TRUTH, will never move us to Fight and War against any person with outward weapons, neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world”. (Luke 22:49-51), (2^nd Corinthians. 10:4)

· Peace and Justice:

o Kenyans are sad, angry and disillusioned today. We call on all parties to look back to 30^th December 2002, when all Kenyans collectively celebrated the “hope” of a united democratic and prosperous society.

o We call on all people “to object to everything which leads in the direction of war, preparation for it or supporting it! Our faith challenges us as to whether we are now ourselves to become a divided people, swept along by the streams of mistrust and fear, arrogance and hatred which produce tensions in the world; or whether by our own decision, confidence, and courage, we can become a bridge linking those elements which promote truth, justice and peace.”

o This battle is not about ethnicity per se, rather it is about economic injustice, and the youth across the board bear the brunt of it. There is an icy gap between them and the older age. There was hope and expectation that this nation would be steered towards a more democratic, united, just and prosperous society, where development would be experienced by ALL hardworking Kenyans. That hope was rekindled, with their participation in the just ended elections and the youth in particular saw the possibility of moving forward for the betterment of their lives. They feel “cheated. They are expressing anger that the rich are getting richer, while the majority are living on less than one dollar a day. “A hungry person is an angry person”. Justice is what they long for.

· Simplicity:

o Quakers believe in modesty, serving humanity in love and harmony. In Kenya, there are gross inequalities in terms of sharing the scarce opportunities and resources. The rich are “Very Rich”, while the Poor are “Very Poor” and the gap is widening. From the looting that has been witnessed across the board, it’s clear that the present up-rising is not per-se ethnic, but rather, to a greater extent, “a Class-Struggle”. “Money bags” “Rich-ness”. “Quick money-making” e.g. pyramid schemes, have been glorified. The affluent conspicuous consumption and obnoxious display of wealth of the upper class, in a sea of poverty, have not helped.

o The hopes and opportunities for the poor (have-nots) for upward mobility have been frustrated by continuing “joblessness” and false promises by politicians. The underlying perceived injustices of our economic disparities must be urgently addressed. A genuine honest and sustainable commitment to redressing the imbalances should be made. Otherwise we warn that the class “battles” will continue in one form or other. The youth are desperate, angry and impatient. The ordinary Kenyan does not feel or see the effect of the purported 6.5% annual growth of the economy or the benefits of the foreign investors.

o The unsatisfactory manner in which corruption cases (Anglo-leasing/Goldenberg scandals) have been handled are seen as unjust and discriminatory against the poor who get heavy sentences for petty theft, yet the greedy rich go scot-free. This impunity, lack of accountability and arrogance of the corrupt rich, has fostered a deep-rooted anger that has exploded and must be addressed meaningfully, openly and fairly.

· Life is Sacred. “Stop the Bloodshed”

o As Quakers we value every person. We believe that “there is that of God in every person”. “Our central faith requires that we should proclaim, in deed as well as in word that war,…. is contrary to the Spirit of God, whose name is Love. The same spirit must animate our business and social relations and make us eager to remove oppression and injustice in every form”.

o As such, we renounce these senseless killings and urge the government, to take responsibility and restrain the security forces from using violent means of handling the “demonstrators”. We urge all parties to give a listening ear to the people. Through their violence they are communicating a serious message. Please listen respectfully.

o Politicians should avoid using youths in their schemes to create mayhem in society.

o Supporters should stop being misused and abused by politicians

o Party leaders must restrain their supporters from engaging in unlawful acts but should engage in peace building.

o The older people should be encouraged to counsel and dissuade the youth from violence.

o Faith-based institutions should continue sending clear non-partisan, non-inflammatory messages that resonate the life affirming, faith-filled, truth and justice-guided, peace-building, comfort-giving, reconciliation-oriented, repentance-seeking, confession-based messages of their faith.

In view of the above, we make the following proposals:

1. An independent audit should be done.

a. Tallies from the polling stations for each of the 210 constituencies should be obtained and at least one agent for each candidate from each polling station be brought to Nairobi to verify the count and entries on Form 16A.

b. All Forms 16 should be verified with Forms 16A to establish accuracy of entries.

c. An independent group, possibly made of church leaders, local observers, international observers, representatives of the two parties and international leaders should be charged to verify the tallying and report their findings to the chairman of the reconstituted ECK and to the Kenyan people.

d. Whatever the outcome of the verification, the two parties should abide by the verdict under the guidance of the international arbitrators.

2. Re-run

Following the gazzettement of the MPs elect, parliament should convene and elect the Speaker so that business can be conducted to facilitate a mechanism for the urgent re-run of the Presidential elections.

3. Interim arrangements

· Hon. Mwai Kibaki should step down from the seat of the presidency to pave way for the interim arrangements suggested below.

· The ODM and the PNU affiliated parties must enter into meaningful dialogue for the sake of national interest.

· Establishment of an interim government comprising of all the parties proportionate to their Membership in parliament with the Speaker heading it for a period of three months.

· Electoral Commission

The interim government is advised to source expertise from recognized international institutions such as A.U, Commonwealth, European Union and others to assist in supervising the re-run. Due to the failure of ECK, the commissioners should immediately step aside to pave way for the re-constitution of the ECK, along the Principles of IPPG, to organize presidential re-run within the three months.

Commissioners of credibility with integrity should be sourced from LSK, ICJ, eminent persons from professionals, civil society and religious groups.

4. Activities during interim period and thereafter

Peaceful rallies must be allowed and organized to facilitate the healing process
Civil society and religious organizations should have forums to enhance reconciliation through dialogue, counseling and conflict resolution
Losers of Parliamentary elections on both sides and former ministers should desist from giving inflammatory statements motivated by their personal vested interests.
All God fearing people should acknowledge and repent their sins (such as bribery, false witness, murder, rape, pride, arrogance, dishonesty and others) of commission and omission. “If my people ,who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land”. (2^nd Chronicles 7:14)

5. New Constitution

All presidential candidates have affirmed the need for a new constitution. We Kenyans are in dire need of a new God-centred and people based constitution. All constitutional institutions have failed us: the presidency, parliament, ECK, Anti Corruption, Political Parties, Civil Society, Civil Service, Constitutional Commissions and especially the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. The only institution that is still functioning faithfully is the people: they voted peacefully and in earnest, now they are in disarray because the existing constitution does not address the people’s needs.

In conclusion, we as a Peace Church are committed to the process of national healing. Already we have institutions and programs in place such as: Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP); Trauma Healing; Change Agents for Peace International (CAPI); the Quaker Peace Network, all with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to help bring about healing and transform relationships.

We call upon the wider Body of Christ and other faith based institutions to share in the restoration of a healthy, peaceful and just Society.

God bless Kenya.

On Behalf of Friends Church in Kenya (FCK)

Midikira Churchill Kibisu

PRESIDING CLERK

Friends Church (Quakers)

Nairobi Yearly Meeting

Letter to Condoleezza Rice from Friends Committee on National Legislation

2008-01-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2008
Dr Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madame Secretary,

We appreciate your statement on January 2 calling for a cessation of violence in Kenya. Unfortunately the violence and underlying causes of the conflict have not been resolved, and we urgently request that you make lasting peace in Kenya a priority and use all available diplomatic resources to help Kenyans bring a definitive end to the violence.

Kenya has the largest population of members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the world and Friends in Kenya and the Great Lakes Region have actively worked to promote peaceful alternatives to violence and promote reconciliation.

As you know, Quakers abide by a peace testimony that renounces all forms of violence; and in this spirit of non-violence we ask that you personally make another strong public statement calling for the cessation of all violence in Kenya, call on political parties to reiterate their commitments to a peaceful resolution of the current crisis, and work with the African Union and other multilateral organizations to support efforts to resolve the crisis.

Additionally, a lasting commitment by the US to promote democracy and peace is needed in Kenya and throughout East Africa. We urge you to make a sustainable peace in Kenya and throughout Africa a priority and to commit sufficient resources to achieve this goal. As part of this effort we urge you to increase funding for conflict prevention programs and reconciliation programs that bring together people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds to resolve their differences peacefully. While we understand that much of the President’s budget request for FY 09 has already been finalized, we hope that you will consider increasing funding for reconciliation and peace promotion programs in the upcoming budget so as to address some of the underlying causes of violent conflict. In addition, robustly funding programs that support economic and social development are integral to a country’s successful-and peaceful- development and we ask that the FY 09 budget contains increased funding for the Development Assistance account over last year’s request so as to help mitigate the economic disparity that exists within Kenya and much of the developing world and which fuels deadly conflict and violence.

We hope that you will commit to taking a leadership role in supporting a peaceful resolution to the current crisis in Kenya and that you will continue to work to support efforts to promote lasting peace in Kenya.

Sincerely,

Joe Volk
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

"These mamas really want peace. We join you."

2008-01-10T01:58:00.000-08:00

Malesi Kinaro is a former Executive Secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation Africa Section and is currently the Executive Director of UZIMA Foundation, a position she has held since its founding in 1996. She writes of her sense of hope for the future of Kenya - and what she and others are doing to work for peace and reconciliation.

Today I have been able to access the internet. That is a point of joy. Petrol has come back to the petrol station and today it is costing 90 shillings per litre unlike 2 days ago when it was 150 shillings per litre. Public transport has resumed work. Those going to Nairobi have to go in a convoy with heavy police escort. People who booked to travel back to Nairobi on 27th began going yesterday. The old bookings go on till 16th January because there are no night buses. Those of us who had not booked can only hope that we can travel after 17th!!!

Today the ODM party called off rallies planned for the whole country. Negotiations are beginning. This is a point of hope.

In the midst of the chaos many of us became paralysed. Then we remembered that we are peace makers. So putting on my hat as a member of an organization called "Friends in Peace and Community Development" we called each other and began to look at ways we could use our experience in dealing with crisis situations (that is me helping the others to look at what we could do). We went to the IDP [internally displaced people] camp that had 3,000 people near us. We were asked to identify ourselves so we went and wrote letters of introduction. Then we printed T-shirts whose front reads "Friends” and the back reads "Peace". The first day we wore them we were scared because things were still tough here in Kakamega so we put on shirts to show only part. We went to the IDP camp and started talking to those displaced to see what they needed most.

We then wrote to the Red Cross giving them figures at the IDP. We wrote to a coalition of churches based in Nairobi that is helping displaced people. Then we wrote to as many churches around Kakamega as possible. On Sunday we distributed these letters. I was invited to preach at the Friends Church Amalemba and did I pour out my heart!

Anyway now we are wearing our T-shirts very openly. Some churches have contributed funds and AGLI gave us some funds so we were able to join the Red Cross in distributing food. They had only brought dry maize so we bought rice, cereals (Ndengu), milk and cooking oil specifically for the children. I was asked by the DC to address those in this place and I shortly shared my experience during the clashes in Burundi and Rwanda and to give them hope. This morning we have been there. The youths from the Friends Church Amalemba are digging toilets. We have just bought plastic sheets to cover the toilets and build some bathrooms.

I put on my Uzima hat yesterday and wrote to all boda boda (bicylces) taxi leaders as well as manamba (the touts). We want to meet them on Friday at 2pm. One of the things that caused such intense reaction is that people feel excluded in their own home towns as well as in the nation on the whole. The youth fund that was given by the government is not really reaching these highly frustrated young people. Anybody who says the youths were incited lives in a different Kenya. We who work and walk among Kenya youths encounter youths who are angry. Sometimes we receive this anger like if we say we are giving them loans and we delay. The youths voted in their thousands and they feel their dream was stolen. I have heard some talk as I pass in town. They say, "if Raila concedes defeat then we shall deal with him."

So I want you to pray for us as we talk to these youths who were the ringleaders of the violence here. We want to ask them what caused the anger and where they are at this time. We want to see if we can help them think through serious business plans so they too are part of the business people in town not just "touts and idlers".

We hope that we shall soon begin some healing workshops. But at this time we must earn the right to be heard. Today as we walked around in our peace T-shirts many people made commends like "We also want to wear those T-shirts. We want peace". We heard some young men say "These mamas really want peace. We join you." So just our T-shirts are making a loud statement. I wish we had money to print more so that the highly negative atmosphere is replaced with the peace message. When we just arrived at the IDP those waiting for food just read aloud … "Friends". That too made a powerful statement.

Back at the camp I attended a meeting between the Red Cross and the IDP Committee. The Red Cross wants to move them to the show ground some 2kms from town. They said interesting things. "We don't want to move. From here we are meeting those who burnt us. And we feel old relationships are rebuilding. Some of us have actually gone back home and we feel safe." One said, "The maize I was given by the Red Cross was taken by a friend who ground it and even put onions, tomatoes and vegetables for us."

My mood today reflects this hope. The fact that David Zarembka and the Lumakanda Friends Church have a committee that is reaching out to the IDPs there. That Florence Machayo is reaching out to those in Turbo and many people are reaching out. In Nairobi the Friends church has just been talking to the press about the Quaker Peace Testimony and how as a church we can be involved in seeking for peace.

And also that on the bigger scene the Law Society of Kenya has taken some serious steps. That the African Union chairman has at long last been allowed to come by Hon Kibaki and his team; That Hon Raila and Hon Kibaki are going to meet.

You know what I want? A repeat of the presidential elections. This would bring peace back fast if the repeat is better handled than the sham tallying that put us where we are in the first place.

We are in place, as Uzima Foundation and as FPCD. My Uzima team in Nyanza with who we have done so many workshops on Alternatives to Violence at the IDPs there. They are raring to move in the reconciliation field. It is wrong for one to say "let peace come then the youth will move". The youths are the ones to bring that peace. Youths are not moving from Nairobi to Kakamega. They are working in their communities.

What along letter. I better be going.

Malesi Kinaro

Reflections from a Friend visiting Kenya

2008-01-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Mary Lord is a Friend from Baltimore Yearly Meeting and a former staff member of the American Friends Service Committee. She is visiting Kenya in a private capacity, and sends the following personal reflections.

Dear Friends,

I want to offer some reflections on the situation in Kenya, partly as a way of shaping my own thinking. Please remember that I have been here a short time and do not claim expertise. Dave Zarembka has been writing some excellent daily reports from Western Kenya and background pieces which I highly recommend. E-mail dawn[at]aglionline and ask to receive Dave's updates.

I came to Kenya for two months starting in mid-December to visit an old college friend, see the country, and visit the Kenyan Quaker community. I played tourist in December, visited among Friends here in Nairobi and planned to visit Friends in Western Kenya in January. My old friend, Connie Freeman, is the regional director of the International Research Development Centre, a Canadian NGO based here in Nairobi. She has lived here a long time and has a wide circle of friends, so I have had a good window on the unfolding events around the elections.

In the conversations I heard leading up to the Kenyan national elections, it was clear this was a watershed event in the development of Kenyan political democracy. It was also clear the Presidential election would be very close, and charges of planned vote-rigging were credibly hurled by both of the two major contenders in the weeks leading to the voting. Great hope was placed in the ECK (Election Commission of Kenya) to see that the free and fair election promised would occur. There is no question that the ECK let the people of Kenya down. On election day there was a huge turnout of voters, standing peacefully in long lines. Counting was done at the local polling station and announced publicly in front of Kenyan and international observers. The polling station results were then sent to the next level for tabulation and it was here and at the ECK headquarters that the system broke down. Early results showed a big lead for the opposition and also that the voters were turning out the corrupt incumbent parliamentary leadership. At that point tabulation on the Presidential race suddenly slowed down. Tabulation officials in contentious districts disappeared with the results and couldn't be found. When the results began to reappear, the tabulation was strongly for the incumbent President Kibaki, in a way that was not credible. As the days passed and there were still no results, people grew restive and sporadic violence broke out. Then the ECK chairman announced and certified the election results, despite the discrepancies, and within ten minutes a stunned nation was watching the swearing in of the incumbent President Kibaki for another five years. Violence almost immediately erupted in the strongholds of the opposition ODM party, particularly the poorest slums of Nairobi and the western part of the country.

In the days that have followed, both leaders have resisted the negotiations and compromise that might have found a solution. Incumbent President Kibaki offered a coalition government but has named half of the cabinet with the strong departments (defense, internal security, justice, finance, foreign affairs, local government, and public works) in the hands of his party before negotiations start, presenting the opposition with another fait accompli. Opposition leader Odinga who has no reason to trust Kibaki was open to negotiation only if Kibaki first admitted he had really lost the election and stepped down. Also a non-starter. International mediation now seems the best hope. The president of the African Union is here today meeting together with both leaders. For the moment, the country seems calmer, but there is sporadic violence, many tens of thousands of displaced people, hundreds of dead. Unrest could return.

Some underlying factors:

Kenya is emerging from decades of colonialism and dictatorship and the institutions of democracy are still fragile. Some constitutional issues are unresolved.
Kenya's government structure is a weak Parliament with a strong President, rather than a Prime Minister. Thus, even though the opposition ODM has a near-majority in the new Parliament the President can be of a different party and has most of the power. The President appoints the cabinet without Parliamentary approval and also appoints the local provincial executives. There is little ODM can do despite its parliamentary victories without also gaining the Presidency. It takes 2/3rds vote of no confidence to bring new elections, which ODM could not muster.
For a long time, Kenya had one-party rule. Kenyans united to throw out the Moi regime in 1992, but the political alliances from that effort have fractured. There were literally more than 200 parties on the recent ballot, and the principal coalitions split and fractured and realigned during the current election period. It is therefore not entirely clear how stable Kibaki's PNU and Odinga's ODM coalitions will remain over time.
There is pressure from the western parts of the country and the Rift Valley for greater autonomy reflecting the different ethnicity or tribes, but a constitutional reform that would have moved in that direction was defeated in a 2002 referendum leaving the central government in control. Regional pressures therefore have no clear outlet.
Corruption is endemic in the government, and those in power seem to have an attitude of entitlement to rule. There is little trust across the divisions in this fairly evenly divided electorate.
Underlying the political divisions are the social and economic realities of a dynamically developing nation. Kenya's economy has been taking off, but the benefits of growth have often exacerbated the division between the poor and well-to-do. More Kenyans are benefiting from the growth but there is a huge number of landless, desperately poor people in the large slums of Nairobi and in the underdeveloped rural areas. Many youth are unemployed and have little hope.

Colonial rulers and the dictators that followed played ethnic and tribal groups against one another in a "divide and rule" strategy. Ownership of ancestral lands, especially in the Rift Valley, is one of the prime sources of displacement and of the current violence. The Kikuyu, the largest people or tribe in Kenya and the dominant group in government, is seen as benefiting at the expense of others. Thus when the violence broke out, it was Kikuyus who were targeted by those who believed the election was stolen, and their aspirations for a better future dashed. The Kikuyu who suffered most, of course, were those near to hand, who had little enough themselves.

The issues are formidable, but there are many signs of hope. Kenyans are a well-educated and basically optimistic people. Among younger people there is more of a sense of nationhood than of tribalism, although the current crisis may well have undermined that. Kenyans have seen themselves as different from the political chaos that has plagued other African countries and I encountered many people in Nairobi who were shocked by what they thought could not happen here, but did. There is hope that attention may be focused on the longer-term issues--but will the political leaders rise above themselves to do that?

I have been impressed by the local media, whose coverage has been quite good. The local media has been careful to avoid giving attention to hate media and hate speech, but unfortunately the international media has not been so careful. Control of hate media is a principle factor in controlling violence.

The government attempted to cut off independent broadcast news coverage and text messaging, but the companies involved soon refused to comply and resumed independent service. In an Internet world, control of media is simply too difficult to sustain over time.

There is a well developed NGO sector, and the faith based community has been very active in promoting peace and working to end violence. All of the churches sponsored a national day of prayer for peace last Sunday. Churches continue to provide sanctuary for refugees and families.

There is a great deal of international attention to the crisis in Kenya, offering mediation and urging the leaders to find a peaceful way out of the stalemate. Kenya is too important to the region to be left to slide into chaos.

Humanitarian aid is coming to the affected areas, although more is needed.

Business and economic leaders are pressing for a resolution of the crisis.

Is it enough? Time will tell. Personally, I am seeking out opportunities to connect with the local Quaker and peace communities and see if I can help. As I learn more about what Friends and others are doing for peace, I will share what I can.

Trust you are all safe. We can all at least, and at most, join our Kenyan brothers and sisters in prayers for peace in their beautiful country.

Mary Lord

Update email originally sent on Friday 4 January

2008-01-08T06:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

You may be aware of the deteriorating situation in Kenya following last month’s elections. At the FWCC World Office, we have been receiving emails from Friends in Kenya. This email is a summary of what we know so far.

First, some background from David Zarembka, Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative/ Friends Peace Teams who lives in Western Province, Kenya. He writes:

“Since independence the Kikuyu [the tribe to which President Mwai Kibaki belongs; Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, is a Luo] have directly or indirectly controlled the Government and Kenyan business. Through this time, they continued and promoted the centralized system of Government given to them by the British. The 2007 election campaign revolved around “devolvement” meaning decentralizing. Naturally Kibaki and the Kikuyu opposed this since this meant giving up their power to the periphery.

“So it is payback time. It is amazing how only Kikuyu shops and homes were burned and everyone else left intact. Those at the bottom are taking it out on those whom they feel are on top. They have no contact with the Kikuyu tycoons and politicians and so they are taking the pent-up rage of forty-four years of independence out on the average Kikuyu in their community. The Kikuyu are then retaliating by killing the other ethnic groups that happen to live in their communities.

“With the large population increase in the past, there are many youth. Many of these have been educated to the secondary level or even above and then they are left with nothing to do, alienated from Kenyan society. They see no future so they can easily be turned to violence. This is the tinder and the spark was the announcement that Kibaki won what everyone in western Kenya considers was a rigged election.”

David’s most recent email, sent on the morning of 3 January, anticipated a violent clash at a rally being planned by the opposition in Nairobi.

“Today looks like the decisive day, and things don't look good. Kibaki has told the head of the African Union not to come to mediate because this is an internal Kenyan problem. In the doublespeak of the day, this means that Kibaki is not going to negotiate and will enforce his presidency with the police and military. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) plans a massive inauguration of Raila Odinga today in downtown Nairobi at Uhuru Park. One million people are expected to attend. The Government has banned the gathering. BBC reports that riot police have encircled the park standing a meter apart. In other words, this looks like its going to be a major confrontation. Kikuyu from hard-hit Eldoret have been evacuated under police escort to Nakuru and Nairobi.”

Bainito Wamalwa, head of a young Friends organisation and employed by a Swedish NGO, described the current situation in Eldoret: “The Friends church in Eldoret has 62 families who are displaced by some of them having their houses burnt. They have no shelter, food and other basics. There is no way to enter or exit Eldoret now. The food prices have gone more than treble high. Things are not right here.”

In the face of the catastrophe befalling Kenya, John Muhanji, the Director of the Friends United Meeting Africa Ministries Office, tried to focus on the future. He wrote:

“Happy New Year!! At least I can manage to say to you happy new year. It is true that those who are alive can say such words but in reality I would have said 'sad and bloody new year for Kenya 2008’. What a bad ending and beginning of the year. Friends when you see yourselves enjoying the peace you have now wherever you are praise God for everything. Because that can be taken from you in a twinkling of an eye as it happened here in Kenya. Peace is something that needs to be guarded with a lot of care from everybody in the world.

“I am experiencing a situation where people we have lived with for many years are being chased a way and their houses being burned not by their neighbours but by people from nowhere in a mob.”

John continued, “Tension is all over the country and especially in towns. In my village, Kivagala, I have occupied the young people in football games during this sad period. Many idle young people have not been involved in any activity of any nature but busy participating in the games that will reach its climax on Saturday January 5th. I am very much encouraged with the response… Yesterday after visiting Kisumu in the evening and seeing how tense the place was and the tension along the road, I arrived at home and found a different atmosphere where the playground in the school was filled with young people playing. The older generation was playing against the younger generation. It was such an interesting game… This may be an example to other parts of the country… I have also introduced an open air film show to the community to intensify peace in the community.”

But for now, the violence continues, and in some areas it is escalating. Transportation is also severely disrupted, as the Matatus that are the primary form of transportation country-wide most use are mainly operated by Kikuyus, and they are too afraid to work. David Zarembka writes:

“The death toll since the election is supposed to be 284, but I suspect it is much higher… There is a report that 10,000 armed Kalejin youth from the Eldoret area (there were 2000 people who burned down the church) are marching on Burnt Forest, an area with many Kikuyu where there have been clashes in the past. If this kind of thing is true, then we may be in for a real bloodbath on the scale of the Rwandan genocide. It is possible that the violence has gotten out of control so that the political leaders, the police, and army may not be able to control it even if there is a political settlement.”

From what we know as of this writing, US Friends living and working in Kenya Eden and James Grace and their children are safe in Kisumu and Jody Richmond is also in a safe place. We have heard nothing about the safety of Friends in Nakuru, Nairobi or other parts of Kenya. People are about to run out of time on their mobile/cell phone cards and internet access, so communication may be more of a problem shortly. The same is true of food for many people.

John Muhanji asks for financial support for prizes for his sports participants and we are sure there are other needs as well. Donations can be made via the FUM website www.fum.org or via the FWCC World Office www.fwccworld.org earmarked for this purpose.

In terms of the more general financial and other material support that Friends can offer, discussions are taking place both at AFSC and amongst Friends in Britain to determine the best and safest way to ensure that help reaches those who need it. We should be in a position to tell you more about this early next week.

Most of all, Friends in Kenya need our prayers along with prayers for peace and justice to prevail in their country. This is the season of the Prince of Peace and we must seek God's assistance and guidance amidst this turmoil.

With hope and faith,

Nancy Irving, General Secretary

Friends World Committee for Consultation

Harry Albright, Communications Director

Friends World Committee for Consultation

Welcome

2008-01-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Friends World Committee for Consultation World Office has created this blog to help spread information about the current situation in Kenya, and the various initiatives that are springing up to provide both short-term and long-term support.

Harry Albright
Director of Communications
FWCC World Office
harrya[at]fwcc.quaker.org