I was in Kenya at the beginning of November. That is before the elections that have caused such trouble for that nation. I was there to set up operations between the Koinonia Foundation and a small clinic in the Masai Mara, run by a fellow American, Dr. Marty Graber. We had an excellent time, lovely people, good work, animals; the whole thing. No signs of unrest at all. Of course, I was only hanging out with one tribe, the Masai.
We did encounter a group of young people who were campaigning, and it was a little scary. We stopped to fuel up at a gas station and right behind us came two small busses and a bunch of cars. They were all campaigning for one candidate and they were rowdy. They were waving around posters and yelling. They were also drinking. All of them were. It was like a tailgate party. We were uncomfortable, but did not fear for our wellbeing. I think it could have gotten real scary if any of the opposing candidate’s people had showed up.
In hindsight, I guess we should have seen the violence coming.
Did we see this coming? No, but we didn’t see Rwanda coming in ‘94 either. How can you predict this kind of thing? What you can do is realize that tribal groups are still a volatile idea in Africa. Look at it the same way we look at religious differences in other parts of the world. The slightest thing can set off tribal battles.
Did I just say “slightest?” I guess I consider rigging the election of one of the largest countries in Africa (allegedly) to be no big thing. In the case of Rwanda, it was the assassination of a President. The point is, those kind of things happen in Africa and it can explode into violence that we in the West cannot comprehend.
Kenya is a jewel on the African Continent. If this violence continues it will destroy all that has been accomplished there. It is important that we in the West do everything we can to help out those who are in the crossfire. Any number of causalities is unacceptable in our world.It is important that we in the West do everything we can to help out those who are in the crossfire. Any number of casualitie
Andrew Williams
