This is Darlene. Last time I was here in Nairobi was in 2008, shortly after Kenya experienced a horrific spate of post-election violence that left hundreds of thousands displaced and killed hundreds. The crisis ended up finally being resolved through a "Government of National Unity"--with the two candidates who claimed electoral victory sharing power, one as president and one as prime minister.
Back in 2008, I didn't have much chance to talk with everyday Kenyans about what they had experienced, as I was primarily sequestered in the Embassy -- and as the post-election crisis waned, a food price crisis and drought were converging to create serious food shortages throughout the region, including in Kenya. This kept me busy looking at maize yields and nutrition indicators and left little time for conversations. I think, too, that I was a little wary of asking the taxi drivers and other people I saw during my day about what they thought since emotions were still pretty raw.
I was not surprised upon coming back this summer how largely the post-election violence events figure in the conversations of the people I interact with on a daily basis. It was Kenya's near-Rwanda experience. And everyone I talk to this time says "never again"--that Kenyans were so horrified by what they were doing and had done to one another that they would never return to that level of violence.
Kenya is facing elections again--they were supposed to be held this year, but it's looking quite likely that they won't be held until March 2013. All the taxi drivers I've met have said that the delay is a power and money grab by the politicians in power. With more than 10 contenders for the presidency (plus one recently killed in a helicopter crash that every Kenyan I've spoken with calls suspicious), only God knows what the next year will bring. Some analysts are expecting more pre-election violence instead of or in addition to post-election violence, despite what all the Kenyans have said about "never again." Honestly, the complexity of the issues and the ethnic and economic dimensions of Kenyan politics are beyond me. Although Kenya is in the broader region that I cover at work, I generally don't spend much time focusing directly on Kenya itself, but rather on several of the other countries that the regional office oversees. All I can say, as I continue to learn more, is that I will be praying for this country as they approach their election, even as I pray for ours. And, I think, with all the fraught issues in American politics, we have a lot to be thankful for.
Back in 2008, I didn't have much chance to talk with everyday Kenyans about what they had experienced, as I was primarily sequestered in the Embassy -- and as the post-election crisis waned, a food price crisis and drought were converging to create serious food shortages throughout the region, including in Kenya. This kept me busy looking at maize yields and nutrition indicators and left little time for conversations. I think, too, that I was a little wary of asking the taxi drivers and other people I saw during my day about what they thought since emotions were still pretty raw.
I was not surprised upon coming back this summer how largely the post-election violence events figure in the conversations of the people I interact with on a daily basis. It was Kenya's near-Rwanda experience. And everyone I talk to this time says "never again"--that Kenyans were so horrified by what they were doing and had done to one another that they would never return to that level of violence.
Kenya is facing elections again--they were supposed to be held this year, but it's looking quite likely that they won't be held until March 2013. All the taxi drivers I've met have said that the delay is a power and money grab by the politicians in power. With more than 10 contenders for the presidency (plus one recently killed in a helicopter crash that every Kenyan I've spoken with calls suspicious), only God knows what the next year will bring. Some analysts are expecting more pre-election violence instead of or in addition to post-election violence, despite what all the Kenyans have said about "never again." Honestly, the complexity of the issues and the ethnic and economic dimensions of Kenyan politics are beyond me. Although Kenya is in the broader region that I cover at work, I generally don't spend much time focusing directly on Kenya itself, but rather on several of the other countries that the regional office oversees. All I can say, as I continue to learn more, is that I will be praying for this country as they approach their election, even as I pray for ours. And, I think, with all the fraught issues in American politics, we have a lot to be thankful for.
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