Quiet reigns for now which is great news. People seem to have got the memo that they should not take to the streets and they have stayed away. Police presence is very high in town but quite relaxed. In the morning we all weren't sure if people may or may not heed Raila's cancellation of the rally to be held today so most of the public transport seemed pretty quiet coming into town this morning and traffic on the roads is also quiet again, so we seemed to have taken a small step backward again on the 'almost normal' situation that we had yesterday.
Once Raila agreed that he would negotiate with Kibaki with a mediator, Kibaki immediately invited him to a meeting at State House, which then he refused to comply with - unless the mediator tells him to go for the meeting, he will not do anything Kibaki tells him to do, as he keeps reiterating, he is the rightful President of this country and Kibaki is illegally sworn in and therefore should not be recognised!
Smells a bit of one step forward, two back to me!! Anyway I shall try my best to have faith and keep positive although I must say i am finding it particularly hard today - the lack of sleep from all the worry, and the fact that most of the people around me (not my employees who are the average poor Kenyans that are suffering in all this), but all those wealthy lot that are our directors (and sadly who we should be answering to), who have their heads stuck firmly up their arses or buried in the sand, is really getting me down.
There is a commentary here from the Daily Nation today here in Kenya which really tells it all. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=114132
Please read it if you get a minute. He is thinking how I am thinking and it's really very depressing.
I really never thought I would get to a place where i wasn't sure any longer that my future is in Kenya, but for the first time in my life I have started to consider my options, and what would be the best thing for my son and I.
I'm not saying I won't survive if I stay, but it will be so much harder as a single mother with exorbitant school fees that will probably go up again, (currently about $4,000 per term), the price of food, and fuel, and seemingly everything around me, also going up apart from my salary, which I am reluctant to put up. (I have already given the majority of staff raises but now business is so low I don't feel I can justify raising my own, especially as chances are in the next few weeks that I'll have to lay off some of the junior staff which is playing on my mind, as I have no idea what they will do if I lay them off as business is so bad all over the country and there is no work, and it will probably get a lot harder before it gets better.)
I think perhaps I should stick my own head in the sand and not get quite so stressed about the situation and what these poor people are going through. Maybe I'd feel a whole lot better.
Er ............... maybe NOT!
4 comments:
i hurt for you and the difficult road ahead of you. being soley responsible for another human life is difficult and difficult choices have to be made... i am not sure what I would do if I was in your shoes... my mzungu dh can't imagine putting up with what kenyans have to put up on a daily basis... and above all choosing that life. But as a miro I know its all about survival... trying the make the most of wherever you are and whatever you have...
Kenya and Kenyans will survive even though the silver lining cannot be seen. I saw the NTV video "Song for Peace" yesterday and saw that famous scene of the first time the Kenyan Flag was raised- even though it was before my time, I still feel a sense of pride- especially when you see the faces of the wanainchi watching the raising... I wonder how hopeless they felt until that moment when the thought of an independent *Kenya* became a reality.
Yes Kenya is a land of major contrasts some disconnected - like those described in the article, but some connected- like you. As long as the second exist there is hope...
Hang in there
Miro in the Snow.
sorry for the trouble!!.I am in Europe and also feel sad and angry at the situation in Kenya. I even thought of applying for asylum or refugee status!! crazy,for a Kenyan. But again,the world is so small,who would have thought of 9/11,in new york, not just anywhere else,people have rebuilt their lives. I take it as a learning process,democratic teething problems-the americans,brits,french,spanish have gone through it and come out stronger. I still have hopes to return soon,we take risks and not run away from them.You are better off that you have a project going on,for us its a struggle between surviving the cold winters on from ugly streets or saving and going back to Africa.It all depends on how strong we are
Thanks to both of you for the strength in your words. It is true, we must be strong and carry on through this trouble as best we can and come out of the other side as better and stronger Kenyans.
It is hard isn't it? To know one can leave the situation behind while others can't? And to know that the people who can leave are also the people who can make a difference if they stayed? My heart goes out to all of Kenya. I hope a clear path is found soon but I fear it may be a long hard road.
Post a Comment