Ethnic cleansing in Eldoret
I'm sure you've been reading about Kenya. It's very, very grim news.
The centre of all the violence is right where the project is based,
Eldoret. One tribe, the Kalenjin, are on a rampage and killing people
of another tribe, the Kikuyu. Zakayo is a Kikuyu, and he and his family
have been targeted.
My manager, Isaac, is also a Kikuyu. They've been
attacked by members the Kalenjin (not strangers but friends).
I told Zakayo not to get involved. He and his family have sought
shelter in a police station. A church there just got torched, killing
50 people. But if the killing continues, I doubt he'll be content to
stay in a police station, waiting to be killed.
At the moment, I'm frantically trying to get news of my team.
It's a mixed bunch, with 2 Kikuyus and 2 Turkanas, and
a Kikuyu manager. When all of this is over, I highly doubt if they'll
be able to live in Eldoret knowing the man serving them or driving them might have murdered a family member.
I'm quite sure that when they fled their homes, the empty houses were
looted. We've probably lost all the bikes. And the project will have to
almost start from scratch again. Right now, I'll be happy if all
of them and their families make it out alive.
I'm sure that revenge is on some minds, and it might get worse before it gets better. Already there's talk among the Kalenjin of bringing in AK47s from Uganda.
There's absolutely nothing I or anyone, can do now. We'll have to wait
for this to blow over. My immediate concerns are for the safety of the
team and their families.
If, and it's a big IF, Zakayo can do the Empire State Building run-up,
if I can somehow secure a passage for him to Singapore, and put his
family in a secure place, it's still something I believe can be a
positive thing. Especially at this time. Right now, I have absolutely
no idea if and how it can be done.
My Blog
Thursday, 03 January 2008
