Close to Home - the Situation in Kenya
January 3, 2008 - Friends in trouble - Kenya
Hi
everyone. I just recieved an email from my friend Jon Rezin. Jon is the
fellow who did the excellent mixing job on Groundwater. His wife comes
from Kenya and as many of you know, things in Kenya have rapidly
detioriated in the last week. I have included the email that he wrote
to let you know more details about what is happening there. It is very
bad, one that certainly isn't summarized by 20 second news clip on the
news.
His email:
I
am writing to request your assistance with an extremely challenging
issue.... As some of you are aware my wife is from Kenya. Our family
lives their now.. and are in grave danger...
Within the the last
3 days there has erupted a huge campaign of violence, ethnic cleansing
and tribal warfare from the alleged rigging of the presidential
election leading to the re-election of Kibaki. I
will not relate the
details as they are all readily available on the websites I include at
the bottom of this email... but the basic reality is that the country
is entering a state of warfare... Marshall law has been declared by the
president... a curfew... riot police are out in streets throughout the
country... if you are out past curfew you are beaten or shot... looting
and rioting has decimated many of the shops in the town centers... many
I and my family would frequent...leaving many without basic supplies to
live. The President
has shut off all the radio stations... all you
hear is the eerie sound of static as you scan the airwaves... The
television stations are only broadcasting un-interupted movies... no
news.. no announcements...
Everyone in Kenya uses pre-paid calling
cards for cell phones.. and the president has ordered them to stop
being sold... He has stopped all flow of information internally... We
had to ask our mom not to call her friends and conserve what little
credit she has.. we now have to call regularly to check on the
situation... even the phone networks have been going down... He has
shut the water supply off to Nairobi City (the largest and most
developed city in east africa)... There are frequent blackouts... The
two major tribes representing the presidential opponents are Kikuyu and
Luo. My Wife and Family are Luo. Kikuyus are attacking and killing Luos
en-masse throughout the country... and Luo are killing Kikuyu around
the country... within the last day.. mass killings have begun.. In Lou
towns Kikuyus have begun
killing Luos.. locking Luo social clubs
while people are inside and burning them down... over 50 Kikuyu women
and children sought refuge in a church after their homes were burned
and an angry mob of youth
locked them in the church and set fire to
it killing 35... those who escaped were met on the outside with the
mob... beaten... and burned to death in a kitchen garden outside the
church... decimation of
neighborhoods, slums, and villages where
supporters of either candidate are being burned to the ground.. with
people inside.... This is only a small fraction of the injustices being
committed.... Yet these atrocities are reminiscent of the beginnings of
the Genocide which took place in Rwanda (The next Door neighbor to
kenya)...
My Mother In Law in kenya received word from a friend
in government that Kibaki was about to be announced the winner off the
election and that she should rush to the grocery store because it was
about to get very bad... she sent my cousins to the store to buy what
food she could afford... that night 3 local social spots where my
family would regularly hang out were locked up and burnt down with
people inside...
Luckily my family was all at home anticipating the
violence to come...They are locked in their small apartment.. 2 small
bedrooms in a stone apartment structure. They have a small security
gate before
the front door which they have padlocked shut... My
brother in law...lost track of his family when their neighborhood was
attacked, people killed, and burnt to the ground... he ran around
searching all night
and luckily he was able to locate them... they
rushed to my mother in laws home... He, His Wife, and Small children
had to pass through streets littered with bodies... there are now over
14 people in this tiny apartment... they only have food for a couple
more days... the stores are dangerous if impossible to get to... most
stores have been shut or ransacked so there is no food anyway... what
food is left is being sold at very high costs... Gunshots are heard
round the clock and throughout the night...
I paint this picture
to give an idea of the severity of the situation... I watch and feel
helpless... Many who have watched Hotel Rwanda can remember that
feeling of "What did we / could we have done to prevent this..." This
is a similar situation... I am not sure of the best remedy for it.. but
it is apparent that something needs to be done before the violence,
civil unrest and massacres extend any further... How can I sit by and
watch another Rwanda or Somalia take place without so much as opening
my mouth... and the fact that my family is directly involved impels me
to act with determination. Things may get better on their own... maybe
in a few days... a few weeks... a few months... but for each day it
doesn't... lives are
lost.. families shattered.. and we inch closer
to genocide... how many times did people assume that it would probably
work itself out in Rwanda or Somalia.... and thereby delay their own
action... inaction
enabled a spark to become a flame and a flame into an inferno.
I
am writing to my congress people in Los Angeles... imploring them to
press the US govt. and the UN to intervene... The only way to ensure my
families safety is to ensure peace in Kenya... Please take a moment
to
do something... write to your congress person or call them and urge
them to address the issue of the unrest in Kenya with haste... Each day
that passes people are dying and being ripped from their homes...
only
250 people have been documented killed so far... thousands injured and
over 70,000 made homeless in 3 days... This does not include those who
are fleeing and are undocumented by the statistics. I mentioned hotel
Rwanda.. and the vivid picture it painted which brought us all a bit of
shame... now picture your family in that hotel... being left to die as
other countries get their own people out... this is more than a
movie... My family is at serious risk...and I am praying for their
safety. Please take a moment and help be a part of bringing about
peace... not only for my own families but for all of Kenya...
And Above All Pray For Them...
SITES WITH INFO ABOUT THE SITUATION IN KENYA:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/africa/default.stm
http://www.nationmedia.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/
HOW TO FIND YOUR CONGRESS PERSON:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml