From: David Zarembka
Dear All,
The Friends Church Peace Team (FCPT) has decided to do an assessment of the situation of the internally displaced people on their return to their home communities and how the communities have received them.
Chair of the FCPT Counseling Committee, I led a meeting last Tuesday to discuss this. We decided to visit as many of the "satellite" camps (as they are called since the big camps in Turbo and Eldoret were broken up and the people moved to small camps in their home communities) as possible in the ten communities where we have been working. We have developed a set of questions as guidelines, one for the returning community members and a parallel one for the receiving community members. In each location teams of two people will go to the two communities and interview both returnees and receivers to learn their views of the current situation and what their major needs are. The Friends Church Peace Teams expects to use this information to write a report for the government. FCPT will then decide what their next steps will be. We hope to finish the interviews and report by the end of the month.
Unfortunately I will not be present for the process. I will be on a speaking tour in England and the United States. Below is my schedule in case you can come to hear me speak. In England I will be touring with my daughter, Joy Zarembka, who will be discussing her book, "The Pigment of Your Imagination".
England/Scotland Schedule --
October 5--Bristol Meeting, 1:30 PM
October 7--Westminster Meeting, 1:00 PM
October 9--Goodenough College, London, 7:00 PM
October 12--Sheffield Area Meeting, 2:15 PM
October 14--Craig Institute, Glasgow, 3:00 PM
--Glasgow Meeting, 7:00 PM
October 16--Dundee and St Andrews meetings, Scotland
October 19--Westminster Area Meeting, 2:00 PM
United States Schedule --
October 22--Wilmington College, Wilmington, OH
October 30--George Fox University,
November 1--Bainwaithe Island
November 2--Reedwood Friends Church, Portland, OR
November 4--Baltimore, MD
We have successfully finished the first seven practice HROC workshops in Kenya. Following is a brief from Florence Ntakarutimana of Burundi who was one of the lead facilitators training the new Kenyan facilitators.
-- -- -- --
"Dear David,
"The workshop I did after the AVP International Gathering was in Kisii. We were staying in the house of the chief, Francis (HROC facilitator). The workshop brought together three tribes; Kisii, Kipsigis and Masai. When we started the workshop, you could read hatred in their eyes. They were throwing bad words to each other at the beginning. Actually, they were affected by the crisis between them as in Burundi or Rwanda. But as we continued with the workshop, they started to reconcile themselves. During the time of sharing about the experiences, people had a lot of tears.
"I remember a man from Kisii tribe who stood up and shook the hands of a Kipsigis and said: 'You were my enemy, I have planned to kill you with a spear. Now you become my friend.' Everybody was glad of that. During the workshop, people continued to give testimonies of reconciliation and forgiveness. They that they are going to organize themselves, with the help of Francis the chief, to spread the word of Peace and to help others to do something on their trauma.
"At the end of the workshop a Masai called Michael, a chief of the Massai community who attended the workshop, called me and told me that he is going to talk to the chief of Masaba District about how they can stop killings between them.
"Participants requested more HROC workshops. And I saw that the need is great.
"The new facilitators were doing great as it was the first workshop they facilitated. I was with Zipora and Francis. I hope after the second phase of the ToT [training of trainers], they will be able to lead a workshop by themselves. Teresa Tyson from Brasil/USA participated in the workshop. She enjoyed it so much and said that she wants to attend the next HROC Training of Trainers in Burundi or Rwanda.
"The participants were all men, except one lady. Next time we would wish to have a mixed group. I enjoyed to stay with those people and witness their stories of committing to change.
"I reached home on Saturday 27th, tired but very glad of that work.
"Blessings
Florence"
-- -- -- --
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sept 27 '08 - Peacemaking in the midst of conflict
From: David Zarembka
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2008 7:15 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Peacemaking in the Midst of Conflict"--Sept 27, 2008
Dear All,
A Brazilian English-language magazine/website, Comunidad Segura English, asked me to write a summary of our peacemaking in Kenya in 500 words!!! So it's short, but I hope it makes a point or two.
Peace,
Dave
Peacemaking in the Midst of Conflict
When violence broke out in Kenya following the disputed Dec 27, 2007 election, Quaker peacemakers moved into action while the violence continued around us. Within the first week we visited Kikuyus in displaced camps and learned that they needed more than the maize and beans the Red Cross was providing. Our local school sheltered 2,400 Kikuyu: resources were extremely limited. One hundred blankets could not cover 2,400 people; they were given to the children and elderly. A Burundian proverb says, "A real friend comes in a time of need," and, truly, our presence was met with gratitude from the beginning.
By February the internally displaced people were moved to a police station ten kilometers away; school was being re-opened. It was more difficult for us to visit, but we continued to go weekly. In time we brought forty counselors whom we had trained for the purpose of holding a listening session with the internally displaced people. We were the first (and I think only) people to listen non-judgmentally to their stories, difficulties, and concerns.
Next we turned to communities where people had been forced out. Again, we conducted listening sessions which was much more difficult since the villagers who had promoted violence were often very hostile. We listened with patience, not reacting to even absurd or prejudiced statements. Sometimes we were accused of being government spies. In the end the people were most thankful: no one else had ever come to hear their side of the story.
By June the Kenyan Government was requiring that internally displaced people return to their home communities, even if no peace or reconciliation had been attempted. In some cases we accompanied the internally displaced as they returned. Once, when we were not present, the returnees were met with violence and had to return to the camp. The local government official called us in to help and the second attempt was much more positive; the community decided they should welcome their neighbors back.
In order to involve the youth who had done much of the violence and damage we organized a bicycle race for young men who hire out their bicycles as taxis. We brought the two communities back together by organizing three-day Alternatives to Violence workshops which taught affirmation of self and others, communication skills, cooperation, and non-violent conflict resolution methods to members from the various ethnic groups. We continue these workshops in various villages hoping that when the next election or another crisis occurs, local people can respond without violence.
Have we been successful? We will not know until the next crisis erupts. We have learned that we need to interject ourselves into violent communities as soon as possible and work with all sides as neutrally as possible to bring about peace, reconciliation, and healing.
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2008 7:15 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Peacemaking in the Midst of Conflict"--Sept 27, 2008
Dear All,
A Brazilian English-language magazine/website, Comunidad Segura English, asked me to write a summary of our peacemaking in Kenya in 500 words!!! So it's short, but I hope it makes a point or two.
Peace,
Dave
Peacemaking in the Midst of Conflict
When violence broke out in Kenya following the disputed Dec 27, 2007 election, Quaker peacemakers moved into action while the violence continued around us. Within the first week we visited Kikuyus in displaced camps and learned that they needed more than the maize and beans the Red Cross was providing. Our local school sheltered 2,400 Kikuyu: resources were extremely limited. One hundred blankets could not cover 2,400 people; they were given to the children and elderly. A Burundian proverb says, "A real friend comes in a time of need," and, truly, our presence was met with gratitude from the beginning.
By February the internally displaced people were moved to a police station ten kilometers away; school was being re-opened. It was more difficult for us to visit, but we continued to go weekly. In time we brought forty counselors whom we had trained for the purpose of holding a listening session with the internally displaced people. We were the first (and I think only) people to listen non-judgmentally to their stories, difficulties, and concerns.
Next we turned to communities where people had been forced out. Again, we conducted listening sessions which was much more difficult since the villagers who had promoted violence were often very hostile. We listened with patience, not reacting to even absurd or prejudiced statements. Sometimes we were accused of being government spies. In the end the people were most thankful: no one else had ever come to hear their side of the story.
By June the Kenyan Government was requiring that internally displaced people return to their home communities, even if no peace or reconciliation had been attempted. In some cases we accompanied the internally displaced as they returned. Once, when we were not present, the returnees were met with violence and had to return to the camp. The local government official called us in to help and the second attempt was much more positive; the community decided they should welcome their neighbors back.
In order to involve the youth who had done much of the violence and damage we organized a bicycle race for young men who hire out their bicycles as taxis. We brought the two communities back together by organizing three-day Alternatives to Violence workshops which taught affirmation of self and others, communication skills, cooperation, and non-violent conflict resolution methods to members from the various ethnic groups. We continue these workshops in various villages hoping that when the next election or another crisis occurs, local people can respond without violence.
Have we been successful? We will not know until the next crisis erupts. We have learned that we need to interject ourselves into violent communities as soon as possible and work with all sides as neutrally as possible to bring about peace, reconciliation, and healing.
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Sept 24 - "Sitting Allowances"
From: David Zarembka
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:00 AM
Subject: AGLI -- Report from Kenya -- "Sitting Allowances" -- Sept 24, 2008
Dear All,
I think it will surprise many of you that international NGO's (non-governmental organizations) are not viewed favorably here in East and Central Africa. This includes not only the big aid organizations like World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Action Aid, the Red Cross and others, but also NGO's that are much smaller in scope. I have been collecting comments on the dissatisfaction with these NGO's. At worst these are considered the newest form of neo-colonialism and exploitation of Africa. Hopefully I'll write an essay on this another day.
Today I am going to cover only one aspect of NGO aid to the region--paying "sitting allowances" for people to attend meetings, seminars, workshops, and other activities promoted by the NGO's. This might surprise you even more than my comment in the first paragraph--people are paid to be involved in learning opportunities for their own benefit. Sometimes this pay is significant. I have heard of $35 per day payments for attendance to participants when the daily wage is $1 per day!!! No wonder people want to attend and give glowing reports of how good the workshops were.
This payment is called by many names; "transport or travel" (even though people are only walking from nearby), per diem, stipend, "chai" (which means "tea" in Swahili and is a euphemism for "a bribe"), and sitting allowance.
It is AGLI's policy not to pay any "sitting allowances." In this we are at total odds with the prevailing custom of the other NGO's and the expectations of the people here. People come to the workshops expecting to be paid. I remember when we first implemented this "no sitting allowance" policy in Burundi in 2001. The trauma healing workshop was for teachers from Kibimba Primary School and Kibimba Secondary School. The teachers from the secondary school refused to come since they weren't being given a sitting allowance so the workshop was only half full. My own feeling at that time (and ever since) is that the teachers were coming for the pay and not for the learning. AVP and HROC workshops are voluntary and that is critical to their success. If people were paid it would be an inducement that renders them no longer "voluntary." Do those other NGO's who pay sitting allowances think that their activities are so meager that no one will come unless they are paid?
We have learned to tell people beforehand that they will not be paid. Sometimes people show up and expect to be paid and then leave when they realize that they will receive nothing but a good meal. Note that in IDP camps in North Kivu for example, the fact that a good meal will be served is an inducement in itself. But eating together is part of the reconciliation process because in the cultures here only friends eat together.
We have had many testimonies from people who came expecting to be paid yet decided to stay (at least for the first day) and by the end realized that what they got was more valuable than being paid. Here is one such testimony from Jérome Birorewuname: "One time when I was coming from the workshop, going home, they said, 'Where are you coming from?' I said, 'I'm coming from the workshop.' They said, 'Oh yeah, you must have received a big stipend for three days?' I said, 'Big stipend?' One said, 'Yes, of course if you are there for three days.' I told him, 'Yes, I got a lot out of the workshop.' I gave him this example, 'You know ugali [maize meal, mush]?' 'Yes, of course, I am Burundian, I know ugali.' 'Imagine that you have a lot of ugali in front of you, but your heart is bleeding, will the ugali take away the hurt and bitterness from the wound in your heart?' He said, 'No.' 'That's why I say it's a lot of money, because I come home with peace. Even if they had given us those big, big stipends, there would be no meaning to it for me because my heart was still bleeding, but now I have my heart. So peace is more meaningful than money."
Here are my reasons for not paying sitting allowances:
1. The workshop would no longer be voluntary, but would have an inducement. In a poor country this inducement can be more important than the content of the workshop.
2. If funds were given, could we trust the positive evaluations we receive and the motivations for requests for more workshops? Is it for the workshops or the funds that they offer?
3. When compensation is given people compete to get in. The recruiters (and these can be pastors or government officials, or other HROC participants) try to fill in the workshop with their relatives and friends.
4. In some cases, when participants are selected and a sitting allowance is given, the recruiter demands some or all of the allowance for themself.
5. Giving out small amounts of money is a real hassle and destroys the end of the workshop as people jostle to be paid quickly so they can leave.
6. Who really pays? It is not the organization (at least in AGLI's case) since we have a set amount of funds we can spend and when they are finished, there is no more. I calculate that if we gave the usual sitting allowance we would only be able to offer five workshops while we are able to do six workshops without the allowance. So 100 participants would be paid using funds that could instead have provided the workshop for another 20 participants. Those 20 would-be participants are the ones who would be paying.
7. When participants are paid it implies that they are in a victim role and AGLI/HROC or AVP facilitators are the rescuers. We want people's attitudes to change and not being paid to attend is the first attitude that needs to be changed. This becomes the first step out of the victim role. In Rwanda, which after the genocide was flooded with NGO's (and still is compared to say, Burundi) this habit has been the hardest to break. We have the least problem with this in up-country Kenya where NGO's are very thin on the ground (even during the recent crisis).
I have to admit that our refusal to pay sitting allowances (and we are even judged by how good the food is that we serve at the lunch) gives us a lot of problems. NGO's have spoiled the environment and we are trying to change the environment.
I hope that this report is not too esoteric or philosophical for you!
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
****************************************************
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 9:00 AM
Subject: AGLI -- Report from Kenya -- "Sitting Allowances" -- Sept 24, 2008
Dear All,
I think it will surprise many of you that international NGO's (non-governmental organizations) are not viewed favorably here in East and Central Africa. This includes not only the big aid organizations like World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Action Aid, the Red Cross and others, but also NGO's that are much smaller in scope. I have been collecting comments on the dissatisfaction with these NGO's. At worst these are considered the newest form of neo-colonialism and exploitation of Africa. Hopefully I'll write an essay on this another day.
Today I am going to cover only one aspect of NGO aid to the region--paying "sitting allowances" for people to attend meetings, seminars, workshops, and other activities promoted by the NGO's. This might surprise you even more than my comment in the first paragraph--people are paid to be involved in learning opportunities for their own benefit. Sometimes this pay is significant. I have heard of $35 per day payments for attendance to participants when the daily wage is $1 per day!!! No wonder people want to attend and give glowing reports of how good the workshops were.
This payment is called by many names; "transport or travel" (even though people are only walking from nearby), per diem, stipend, "chai" (which means "tea" in Swahili and is a euphemism for "a bribe"), and sitting allowance.
It is AGLI's policy not to pay any "sitting allowances." In this we are at total odds with the prevailing custom of the other NGO's and the expectations of the people here. People come to the workshops expecting to be paid. I remember when we first implemented this "no sitting allowance" policy in Burundi in 2001. The trauma healing workshop was for teachers from Kibimba Primary School and Kibimba Secondary School. The teachers from the secondary school refused to come since they weren't being given a sitting allowance so the workshop was only half full. My own feeling at that time (and ever since) is that the teachers were coming for the pay and not for the learning. AVP and HROC workshops are voluntary and that is critical to their success. If people were paid it would be an inducement that renders them no longer "voluntary." Do those other NGO's who pay sitting allowances think that their activities are so meager that no one will come unless they are paid?
We have learned to tell people beforehand that they will not be paid. Sometimes people show up and expect to be paid and then leave when they realize that they will receive nothing but a good meal. Note that in IDP camps in North Kivu for example, the fact that a good meal will be served is an inducement in itself. But eating together is part of the reconciliation process because in the cultures here only friends eat together.
We have had many testimonies from people who came expecting to be paid yet decided to stay (at least for the first day) and by the end realized that what they got was more valuable than being paid. Here is one such testimony from Jérome Birorewuname: "One time when I was coming from the workshop, going home, they said, 'Where are you coming from?' I said, 'I'm coming from the workshop.' They said, 'Oh yeah, you must have received a big stipend for three days?' I said, 'Big stipend?' One said, 'Yes, of course if you are there for three days.' I told him, 'Yes, I got a lot out of the workshop.' I gave him this example, 'You know ugali [maize meal, mush]?' 'Yes, of course, I am Burundian, I know ugali.' 'Imagine that you have a lot of ugali in front of you, but your heart is bleeding, will the ugali take away the hurt and bitterness from the wound in your heart?' He said, 'No.' 'That's why I say it's a lot of money, because I come home with peace. Even if they had given us those big, big stipends, there would be no meaning to it for me because my heart was still bleeding, but now I have my heart. So peace is more meaningful than money."
Here are my reasons for not paying sitting allowances:
1. The workshop would no longer be voluntary, but would have an inducement. In a poor country this inducement can be more important than the content of the workshop.
2. If funds were given, could we trust the positive evaluations we receive and the motivations for requests for more workshops? Is it for the workshops or the funds that they offer?
3. When compensation is given people compete to get in. The recruiters (and these can be pastors or government officials, or other HROC participants) try to fill in the workshop with their relatives and friends.
4. In some cases, when participants are selected and a sitting allowance is given, the recruiter demands some or all of the allowance for themself.
5. Giving out small amounts of money is a real hassle and destroys the end of the workshop as people jostle to be paid quickly so they can leave.
6. Who really pays? It is not the organization (at least in AGLI's case) since we have a set amount of funds we can spend and when they are finished, there is no more. I calculate that if we gave the usual sitting allowance we would only be able to offer five workshops while we are able to do six workshops without the allowance. So 100 participants would be paid using funds that could instead have provided the workshop for another 20 participants. Those 20 would-be participants are the ones who would be paying.
7. When participants are paid it implies that they are in a victim role and AGLI/HROC or AVP facilitators are the rescuers. We want people's attitudes to change and not being paid to attend is the first attitude that needs to be changed. This becomes the first step out of the victim role. In Rwanda, which after the genocide was flooded with NGO's (and still is compared to say, Burundi) this habit has been the hardest to break. We have the least problem with this in up-country Kenya where NGO's are very thin on the ground (even during the recent crisis).
I have to admit that our refusal to pay sitting allowances (and we are even judged by how good the food is that we serve at the lunch) gives us a lot of problems. NGO's have spoiled the environment and we are trying to change the environment.
I hope that this report is not too esoteric or philosophical for you!
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
****************************************************
Sept 23 '08 - AVP International Gathering
From: David Zarembka
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 11:55 PM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"AVP-International Gathering."--Sept 23, 2008
Dear All,
Last week was the AVP International Gathering here in western Kenya and the AVP group from the Friends Peace Centre Lubao--Malesi Kinaro, Janet Ifedha, Joseph Shamala, Getry Agizah, Peter Serete, Dorcas Nyambura, Eunice Okwemba, and Bernard Onjala, and myself--worked very hard to make it successful. Nancy Shippen (who previously did an AVP tour in western Kenya with AGLI) did a tremendous job on the agenda and flow of the contents of the Gathering. 115 people from 23 nations attended. Bob Barns who introduced AVP in western Kenya and Nairobi and Teresa Tyson who was also on an AGLI AVP tour both attended. AVP-Western Kenya also has done/will do about 15 AVP and HROC workshops with those attending the Gathering and AVP-Nairobi will do about another 8.
Florence Ntakarutimana and Theoneste Bizimana came from Burundi and Rwanda to lead the first four HROC workshops with the Kenyan apprentice facilitators. These four workshops were on the top of Mt Elgon (in two locations) right in the heart of the conflict on that mountain. On the whole the apprentices did well. After the Gathering Florence stayed on for one more apprentice workshop at a place called Rongai in the Rift Valley Province where there was much fighting. Zawadi Nikuze from North Kivu, Congo, is also staying on to do two apprentice HROC workshops. We expect that the eight apprentices will then be able to lead workshops on their own.
Update: I just received this text message from Malesi about the first HROC workshop in Rongai: "Peace. Florence has a good kind of trouble. They expected 20 to 25 people. They have 38. She said the Masai walked one to two hours so she could not send them away and that they have great healing moments."
Nancy Shippen wanted to make sure that HROC was properly introduced at the AVP Gathering. Adrien was unable to come (he was in Indonesia for a conference supported by the Mennonite Central Committee) and Theoneste had to return to Rwanda, so only Florence and Zawadi remained to promote HROC. They had a one and a half hour plenary where they introduced the program followed by two 5 hour mini-workshops on Tuesday and Thursday. Perhaps 60 to 70 of the participants attended one or the other of these workshops. They commented that this is a really powerful Workshop.
I spent most of my time in the office answering 2,441 questions so I was not too involved with the Gathering itself. Miriam Were, Malesi's sister, and the head of the AIDS council here in Kenya, gave an inspirational presentation. Joseph Mamai, the Clerk of the Friends Church Peace Teams in Kenya, gave an overview of their work after the violence in January and February.
Joseph also showed a graphic film on the violence in Kenya. This was the kind of thing that is never shown in America because it showed burnt bodies and dead people in their gruesome detail. I have wondered if the custom not to show the gruesome details of the violence that the US promotes around the world is one of the reasons there is not more opposition to US policies. People believe what they see on TV but if they aren't shown the most gruesome reality are they not being cheated of the truth?
Everyone I spoke with appreciated the Gathering since they were able to share their experiences while also hearing the reports from others which gave them new ideas and, more importantly, inspiration to forge ahead with their AVP programs. Some participants, like the US, had very established programs, while Nepal had just conducted their first workshops. The next AVP International Gathering will be held in Nepal in 2010.
At the opening of the Gathering here in Kakamega, Kenya, a time of remembrance was held for Linda Heacock. Linda had come to Kenya three times, in 2005, 2006, and 2007, to facilitate AVP workshops when the program was just getting off the ground. In 2006 she attended the previous AVP International Gathering in South Africa. Linda died from lymphoma the Friday before the Gathering began. Nancy Shippen found a picture of Linda from the last International Gathering and projected it on the wall. Malesi Kinaro gave a eulogy and there was a time of silence.
Later, after the Gathering was finished, a memorial service was held, organized mostly by folks from AVP in Western Kenya. It was conducted much in the manner of unprogrammed Friends in the United States. Malesi introduced Linda's passing. There was then silent worship with people giving testimonies. Malesi, Janet Ifedha, Gladys Kamonya (my wife), Caleb Amunya, Margaret Wanyoni, Eunice Okwemba (my sister-in-law), and I all spoke. We are now the people who are currently the most involved with AVP in western Kenya. Two spoke of having their first basic workshop with Linda; one spoke of doing her first apprentice workshop under her. There were reports of various adventures with Linda--such as the time when late in the afternoon they were offered a ride in the back of a truck full of goats and sheep (which was declined), being stuffed into mini-buses, etc. Earlier in the year, when Linda had been feeling better, she had written that she hoped to return to Kenya again in 2009. Eunice talked of spending the last night in western Kenya with Linda in the bedroom where she vomited numerous times and they decided to send her by airplane to Nairobi. Several people spoke of how easily she had fit into Kenyan culture so that people considered her one of the family, a sister or auntie. The worship concluded with Malesi reading the 46th Psalm after which we sang a song that Linda would have liked and held hands with a closing prayer for her soul. It was a very moving memorial service.
May Linda rest in peace as the fruits of her labors ripen here in western Kenya.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 11:55 PM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"AVP-International Gathering."--Sept 23, 2008
Dear All,
Last week was the AVP International Gathering here in western Kenya and the AVP group from the Friends Peace Centre Lubao--Malesi Kinaro, Janet Ifedha, Joseph Shamala, Getry Agizah, Peter Serete, Dorcas Nyambura, Eunice Okwemba, and Bernard Onjala, and myself--worked very hard to make it successful. Nancy Shippen (who previously did an AVP tour in western Kenya with AGLI) did a tremendous job on the agenda and flow of the contents of the Gathering. 115 people from 23 nations attended. Bob Barns who introduced AVP in western Kenya and Nairobi and Teresa Tyson who was also on an AGLI AVP tour both attended. AVP-Western Kenya also has done/will do about 15 AVP and HROC workshops with those attending the Gathering and AVP-Nairobi will do about another 8.
Florence Ntakarutimana and Theoneste Bizimana came from Burundi and Rwanda to lead the first four HROC workshops with the Kenyan apprentice facilitators. These four workshops were on the top of Mt Elgon (in two locations) right in the heart of the conflict on that mountain. On the whole the apprentices did well. After the Gathering Florence stayed on for one more apprentice workshop at a place called Rongai in the Rift Valley Province where there was much fighting. Zawadi Nikuze from North Kivu, Congo, is also staying on to do two apprentice HROC workshops. We expect that the eight apprentices will then be able to lead workshops on their own.
Update: I just received this text message from Malesi about the first HROC workshop in Rongai: "Peace. Florence has a good kind of trouble. They expected 20 to 25 people. They have 38. She said the Masai walked one to two hours so she could not send them away and that they have great healing moments."
Nancy Shippen wanted to make sure that HROC was properly introduced at the AVP Gathering. Adrien was unable to come (he was in Indonesia for a conference supported by the Mennonite Central Committee) and Theoneste had to return to Rwanda, so only Florence and Zawadi remained to promote HROC. They had a one and a half hour plenary where they introduced the program followed by two 5 hour mini-workshops on Tuesday and Thursday. Perhaps 60 to 70 of the participants attended one or the other of these workshops. They commented that this is a really powerful Workshop.
I spent most of my time in the office answering 2,441 questions so I was not too involved with the Gathering itself. Miriam Were, Malesi's sister, and the head of the AIDS council here in Kenya, gave an inspirational presentation. Joseph Mamai, the Clerk of the Friends Church Peace Teams in Kenya, gave an overview of their work after the violence in January and February.
Joseph also showed a graphic film on the violence in Kenya. This was the kind of thing that is never shown in America because it showed burnt bodies and dead people in their gruesome detail. I have wondered if the custom not to show the gruesome details of the violence that the US promotes around the world is one of the reasons there is not more opposition to US policies. People believe what they see on TV but if they aren't shown the most gruesome reality are they not being cheated of the truth?
Everyone I spoke with appreciated the Gathering since they were able to share their experiences while also hearing the reports from others which gave them new ideas and, more importantly, inspiration to forge ahead with their AVP programs. Some participants, like the US, had very established programs, while Nepal had just conducted their first workshops. The next AVP International Gathering will be held in Nepal in 2010.
At the opening of the Gathering here in Kakamega, Kenya, a time of remembrance was held for Linda Heacock. Linda had come to Kenya three times, in 2005, 2006, and 2007, to facilitate AVP workshops when the program was just getting off the ground. In 2006 she attended the previous AVP International Gathering in South Africa. Linda died from lymphoma the Friday before the Gathering began. Nancy Shippen found a picture of Linda from the last International Gathering and projected it on the wall. Malesi Kinaro gave a eulogy and there was a time of silence.
Later, after the Gathering was finished, a memorial service was held, organized mostly by folks from AVP in Western Kenya. It was conducted much in the manner of unprogrammed Friends in the United States. Malesi introduced Linda's passing. There was then silent worship with people giving testimonies. Malesi, Janet Ifedha, Gladys Kamonya (my wife), Caleb Amunya, Margaret Wanyoni, Eunice Okwemba (my sister-in-law), and I all spoke. We are now the people who are currently the most involved with AVP in western Kenya. Two spoke of having their first basic workshop with Linda; one spoke of doing her first apprentice workshop under her. There were reports of various adventures with Linda--such as the time when late in the afternoon they were offered a ride in the back of a truck full of goats and sheep (which was declined), being stuffed into mini-buses, etc. Earlier in the year, when Linda had been feeling better, she had written that she hoped to return to Kenya again in 2009. Eunice talked of spending the last night in western Kenya with Linda in the bedroom where she vomited numerous times and they decided to send her by airplane to Nairobi. Several people spoke of how easily she had fit into Kenyan culture so that people considered her one of the family, a sister or auntie. The worship concluded with Malesi reading the 46th Psalm after which we sang a song that Linda would have liked and held hands with a closing prayer for her soul. It was a very moving memorial service.
May Linda rest in peace as the fruits of her labors ripen here in western Kenya.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
From: David Zarembka
Saturday, September 13, 2008
AGLI - Report from Kenya - HROC on Mt. Elgon
Dear All,
A Sad Note: Linda Heacock, who came to Kenya as an AVP facilitator with AGLI in 2005, 2006, and again in 2007, died peacefully last night at her home in Ashland, VA. Her cancer was discovered when Linda became ill while here in Kenya last September. She had been battling with lymphoma since that time. Gladys, Florence Ntakarutimana, and I visited Linda in July on our way to the Friends United Meeting Triennial and at that time the chemotherapy was not working as well as it should have. Her passing will be a great loss to AVP here in Kenya and all for those she helped train and to the Friends Peace Teams for whom she was a representative. As they say in Swahili, "Pole sana", a word that has no equivalent in English, but means "I sympathize very much with your sorrow." -- Dave Z
Theoneste Bizimana from Rwanda and Florence Ntakarutimana from Burundi came to Kenya last week to lead apprentice workshops with the HROC (Healing and Rebuilding Our Community) participants who finished a two week training in June. Getry Agizah arranged for the workshops to be held high up on Mt. Elgon where for the last two years there has been armed conflict in which about 600 people have been killed. In May or June of this year the Kenyan army moved into the area and killed the leaders of the rebel group--the Sabaot Land Defense Force. The army is also accused of torturing and killing many other men from the area. The conflict began between two clans of the Sabaot ethnic group--the Soy and Ndorobo -- over land allocation on the mountain which was done by the Government in the 1970's. Soon all other ethnic groups in the region became targets; including a Luhya sub-tribe called the Bugusu who live on Mt. Elgon right below the Sabaots (who are part of the Kalenjin ethnic group).
We learned that one of the participants from the initial HROC workshop in June 2007 has been killed. Theoneste reported that people are still being killed although this information is not reported in the newspapers. In the community where Theoneste was facilitating the workshop one person had been killed the previous week. Theoneste also noted that land distribution was so unequal--in some cases one person owned an entire hillside while others had only small plots--that it would lead to continued violence on the mountain. This is an important observation for all of Kenya.
Florence took three apprentices with her and held two workshops in Chwele Yearly Meeting. These were arranged by Joseph Mumai, the Chairman of Kenya Friends Church Peace Teams. Participants in the first workshop were mostly leaders of Chwele Yearly Meeting. We prefer to have participants in HROC groups as diverse as possible but in this case it was probably fine since this was the first workshop the new apprentices had ever led. Moreover, the apprentices were young and the participants were older. The apprentices worried whether the elders would follow their instructions. In fact, the result was positive and the workshop went well. In the second workshop there was a much greater mix of ethnic groups--Sabaot, Luhya, Teso, Kikuyu, and others. The group was also mixed in age since on Mt. Elgon we are not targeting only youth, but also leaders in the community. This workshop also went well. Florence commented that it had the same effect as in Burundi where hostile people, who would not sit next to each or talk together at the beginning, were making friendships by the end.
Theoneste and five other apprentices went to another part of the mountain for their workshops. The first was held at a place called Kalaha and the second at Kitwamba. Since both are high up on the mountain, it was cold. The team slept in tents at the IDP camps at both places. (I doubt that the media even knows that there are still lots of IDP's in places like this.) Since the conflict is really not over, the participants were at first reluctant--some not arriving until late. All the various sides were represented and the results were the same as those described by Florence of her workshops. People were quite appreciative because this was the first time anyone came to visit this conflict area high up the mountain, and actually stayed there overnight. At the end of the workshops people were so enthusiastic that they said when the community celebration of the workshops is held they will bring a cow to be slaughtered and eaten at the celebration!
Florence's two workshops were conducted mostly in English--Nancy Shippen from New England Yearly Meeting attended the first one. She commented that while the participants came to learn how to help others, they discovered how relevant the workshop was or their own personal lives. Theoneste's workshops were mostly in Swahili. However, in the second workshop three of the Kikuyu women did not know Swahili. Teso people speak a Nilotic language, while the Luhya and Kikuyu speak a Bantu language (Swahili is also a Bantu language), and the Sabaot speak a Kalenjin language. These three languages are completely different: more different than English is from Hindi (which are both Indo-European languages). So this is going to make reconciliation rather different than in Rwanda and Burundi where everyone speaks the same language.
Naturally the people all want more workshops for more people. Theoneste and Florence indicated that the apprentices were progressing well. Florence is staying in Kenya to lead one more HROC workshop for the apprentices following the weeklong AVP International Gathering which starts tomorrow. Zawadi Nikuze from North Kivu, Congo, will stay to conduct two more workshops. Florence and Theoneste think that the apprentice HROC facilitators will then be able to lead workshops on their own. In January, after they have facilitated a number of workshops on their own, we hope to have the second one-week training for the new facilitators.
I am hoping that we will continue to focus the HROC work on Mt Elgon.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
****************************************************
Saturday, September 13, 2008
AGLI - Report from Kenya - HROC on Mt. Elgon
Dear All,
A Sad Note: Linda Heacock, who came to Kenya as an AVP facilitator with AGLI in 2005, 2006, and again in 2007, died peacefully last night at her home in Ashland, VA. Her cancer was discovered when Linda became ill while here in Kenya last September. She had been battling with lymphoma since that time. Gladys, Florence Ntakarutimana, and I visited Linda in July on our way to the Friends United Meeting Triennial and at that time the chemotherapy was not working as well as it should have. Her passing will be a great loss to AVP here in Kenya and all for those she helped train and to the Friends Peace Teams for whom she was a representative. As they say in Swahili, "Pole sana", a word that has no equivalent in English, but means "I sympathize very much with your sorrow." -- Dave Z
Theoneste Bizimana from Rwanda and Florence Ntakarutimana from Burundi came to Kenya last week to lead apprentice workshops with the HROC (Healing and Rebuilding Our Community) participants who finished a two week training in June. Getry Agizah arranged for the workshops to be held high up on Mt. Elgon where for the last two years there has been armed conflict in which about 600 people have been killed. In May or June of this year the Kenyan army moved into the area and killed the leaders of the rebel group--the Sabaot Land Defense Force. The army is also accused of torturing and killing many other men from the area. The conflict began between two clans of the Sabaot ethnic group--the Soy and Ndorobo -- over land allocation on the mountain which was done by the Government in the 1970's. Soon all other ethnic groups in the region became targets; including a Luhya sub-tribe called the Bugusu who live on Mt. Elgon right below the Sabaots (who are part of the Kalenjin ethnic group).
We learned that one of the participants from the initial HROC workshop in June 2007 has been killed. Theoneste reported that people are still being killed although this information is not reported in the newspapers. In the community where Theoneste was facilitating the workshop one person had been killed the previous week. Theoneste also noted that land distribution was so unequal--in some cases one person owned an entire hillside while others had only small plots--that it would lead to continued violence on the mountain. This is an important observation for all of Kenya.
Florence took three apprentices with her and held two workshops in Chwele Yearly Meeting. These were arranged by Joseph Mumai, the Chairman of Kenya Friends Church Peace Teams. Participants in the first workshop were mostly leaders of Chwele Yearly Meeting. We prefer to have participants in HROC groups as diverse as possible but in this case it was probably fine since this was the first workshop the new apprentices had ever led. Moreover, the apprentices were young and the participants were older. The apprentices worried whether the elders would follow their instructions. In fact, the result was positive and the workshop went well. In the second workshop there was a much greater mix of ethnic groups--Sabaot, Luhya, Teso, Kikuyu, and others. The group was also mixed in age since on Mt. Elgon we are not targeting only youth, but also leaders in the community. This workshop also went well. Florence commented that it had the same effect as in Burundi where hostile people, who would not sit next to each or talk together at the beginning, were making friendships by the end.
Theoneste and five other apprentices went to another part of the mountain for their workshops. The first was held at a place called Kalaha and the second at Kitwamba. Since both are high up on the mountain, it was cold. The team slept in tents at the IDP camps at both places. (I doubt that the media even knows that there are still lots of IDP's in places like this.) Since the conflict is really not over, the participants were at first reluctant--some not arriving until late. All the various sides were represented and the results were the same as those described by Florence of her workshops. People were quite appreciative because this was the first time anyone came to visit this conflict area high up the mountain, and actually stayed there overnight. At the end of the workshops people were so enthusiastic that they said when the community celebration of the workshops is held they will bring a cow to be slaughtered and eaten at the celebration!
Florence's two workshops were conducted mostly in English--Nancy Shippen from New England Yearly Meeting attended the first one. She commented that while the participants came to learn how to help others, they discovered how relevant the workshop was or their own personal lives. Theoneste's workshops were mostly in Swahili. However, in the second workshop three of the Kikuyu women did not know Swahili. Teso people speak a Nilotic language, while the Luhya and Kikuyu speak a Bantu language (Swahili is also a Bantu language), and the Sabaot speak a Kalenjin language. These three languages are completely different: more different than English is from Hindi (which are both Indo-European languages). So this is going to make reconciliation rather different than in Rwanda and Burundi where everyone speaks the same language.
Naturally the people all want more workshops for more people. Theoneste and Florence indicated that the apprentices were progressing well. Florence is staying in Kenya to lead one more HROC workshop for the apprentices following the weeklong AVP International Gathering which starts tomorrow. Zawadi Nikuze from North Kivu, Congo, will stay to conduct two more workshops. Florence and Theoneste think that the apprentice HROC facilitators will then be able to lead workshops on their own. In January, after they have facilitated a number of workshops on their own, we hope to have the second one-week training for the new facilitators.
I am hoping that we will continue to focus the HROC work on Mt Elgon.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
****************************************************
Aug 26 '08 - Growing Up
From: David Zarembka
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:47 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Growing Up"--August 25, 2008
Dear All,
Growing Up:
When Gladys and I returned from our latest trip, one of our nephews, Duncan, came to see us. He came to thank us for having sent him through college. He attended Maseno University to become a secondary school Math/Physics teacher. He had finished a year ago and got a local hire position which paid him 6,000/- ($92) per month for salary! He came because he has just received an appointment as a regular government secondary school teacher and his salary will now be 25,000/- ($385) per month. He was so excited that he hadn't slept the night before coming to visit us.
The point of this bit of family information is that it illustrates how difficult it is even for a youth who does well in school and "follows all the rules" to get ahead in Kenyan society. In Duncan's case he was lucky to have relatives who were willing to support him through college. We appreciated his thanks.
But what happens here in Kenya when you don't have family to support you in your young life's journey?
As part of our contract with the United States Institute of Peace, in conjunction with the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, we just finished three Basic AVP workshops in Kitale (a town north of Eldoret at the eastern base of Mt Elgon). The participants were youth living on the streets, sex workers, drug addicts, etc. In other words, those who have no family to support and guide them. Eunice Okwemba, who was the lead AVP facilitator in these workshops, told me that one young woman (16 or 17 years old) was an orphan and already had a baby. A Pentecostal Fellowship with support from Norway was working with these youth and arranged the workshops for us.
On day one of the first workshop 57 youth showed up! They had to turn away half of them. Normally we have 20 to 24 participants in a workshop, so 30 was already over the limit. In the end we conducted three workshops with a total of 85 youth. Eunice said that the workshops were remarkable. As I listened to her stories, two aspects came to the fore. First the "respect for self and others", which they had not experienced much in their lives, gave them positive hope. Then the "transforming power" led them to realize that they had within themselves the resources to change.
After the last day of the third workshop the youth, on their own initiative, decided to have a closing ceremony. They invited the government officials and media to attend. Getry rushed over from Lubao to participate and the youth presented a petition to the government to give more peacemaking activities to the youth. Two TV stations filmed the event, although I haven't heard of anything being broadcast.
In the United States young people have so many possibilities that it is difficult to decide what choice they want to make. Here there are so few possibilities in life that the transition from youth to responsible adult is fraught with discouragement.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:47 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Growing Up"--August 25, 2008
Dear All,
Growing Up:
When Gladys and I returned from our latest trip, one of our nephews, Duncan, came to see us. He came to thank us for having sent him through college. He attended Maseno University to become a secondary school Math/Physics teacher. He had finished a year ago and got a local hire position which paid him 6,000/- ($92) per month for salary! He came because he has just received an appointment as a regular government secondary school teacher and his salary will now be 25,000/- ($385) per month. He was so excited that he hadn't slept the night before coming to visit us.
The point of this bit of family information is that it illustrates how difficult it is even for a youth who does well in school and "follows all the rules" to get ahead in Kenyan society. In Duncan's case he was lucky to have relatives who were willing to support him through college. We appreciated his thanks.
But what happens here in Kenya when you don't have family to support you in your young life's journey?
As part of our contract with the United States Institute of Peace, in conjunction with the Laikipia Nature Conservancy, we just finished three Basic AVP workshops in Kitale (a town north of Eldoret at the eastern base of Mt Elgon). The participants were youth living on the streets, sex workers, drug addicts, etc. In other words, those who have no family to support and guide them. Eunice Okwemba, who was the lead AVP facilitator in these workshops, told me that one young woman (16 or 17 years old) was an orphan and already had a baby. A Pentecostal Fellowship with support from Norway was working with these youth and arranged the workshops for us.
On day one of the first workshop 57 youth showed up! They had to turn away half of them. Normally we have 20 to 24 participants in a workshop, so 30 was already over the limit. In the end we conducted three workshops with a total of 85 youth. Eunice said that the workshops were remarkable. As I listened to her stories, two aspects came to the fore. First the "respect for self and others", which they had not experienced much in their lives, gave them positive hope. Then the "transforming power" led them to realize that they had within themselves the resources to change.
After the last day of the third workshop the youth, on their own initiative, decided to have a closing ceremony. They invited the government officials and media to attend. Getry rushed over from Lubao to participate and the youth presented a petition to the government to give more peacemaking activities to the youth. Two TV stations filmed the event, although I haven't heard of anything being broadcast.
In the United States young people have so many possibilities that it is difficult to decide what choice they want to make. Here there are so few possibilities in life that the transition from youth to responsible adult is fraught with discouragement.
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Aug 12 '08 - Return of the IDPs
From: David Zarembka
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 4:17 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Return of the IDP's"--August 12, 2008
Dear All,
Return of the IDP's.
When Gladys and I were still in Rwanda, George Njoroge, the leader of the IDP camp (internally displaced persons) at Turbo, called me to say that he had returned to his home at Mbagara and that all the IDP's from Turbo had returned to their home communities.
As we rode home from Uganda and crossed the border into Kenya, we passed Musimbi, a small roadside village on top of a hill overlooking the Kipkarren River valley. Here we saw about 25 small houses built with plastic sheeting and salvaged mabati (corrugated iron sheets) just like the ones in the IDP camps. Clearly the people had just taken down their houses in the IDP camps and re-erected them on a plot in town. Further down the road we saw another plastic house on a plot and three men were building a mud and wattle house nearby. Mud and wattle means posts in the ground about every two feet, with straight branches tied to them horizontally, and then filled with mud. This is the simplest type of house in the region, but even here, for a small house one would need about $500 for doors, windows, and the mabati for the roof.
In Kipkarren River itself I saw that a major commercial block of buildings that had been destroyed was being rebuilt.
On Thursday last week when I was taking my walk around town, I ran into one of the returnees (as we have been calling those who are returning from an IDP camp). He told me that he had returned about July 15 and was now living on the plot of Njau, one of the more prosperous Kikuyu near Lumakanda. The Red Cross (or the Government) had provided transportation and a ration of maize (corn) and a little cooking oil, only. The papers say that the Government is going to compensate those who were displaced with 10,000/- ($150) which is not even enough for the roof of a small house. None of these displaced people had seen even this 10,000/-.
So on Friday Gladys and I decided to visit Njau's home to see how things were going. He has a large plot and some of the returnees were living on various parts of it. His own home had been completely destroyed, but he seemed to lament the destruction of his maize storage bin which was full to the top from the recent harvest. I t had burned for three days, the corn sometimes popping with a bang. He had a matatu (mini-bus) which was sitting in his yard, burned. He did say that he drove away his "tinga-tinga" (a great Swahili word meaning "tractor"). He had returned to plant his maize, but he was late (I remember when I saw him plowing his field at the end of April) so that it did not do as well as the maize of those who planted earlier, but it will be enough for him and his family to eat. He had repaired one of his smaller two room houses, which had not been so badly damaged, and was living in that.
There were two other interesting things about this visit. He told us that now the local people were suffering because they burned down his storage bin. He said that each year he would save 8 to 10 bags of maize and when the time of food shortage came--May, June, and July before the new harvests came in-- old women (these would include those from other tribes) from the neighborhood would come and ask him for some maize. He would give each about 5 pounds plus a few shillings to grind the maize. This year, of course, he had no maize so he was unable to help those in need.
The second surprising point for us was that we found that "Professor" was living in his compound. Professor is one of the crazy people of Lumakanda--someday when I have time, I'll write you a little essay about the crazy people in Lumakanda. Professor always carries around some notebooks and that is why he is called "Professor." Njau told us that Professor had once been his tractor driver before he went crazy. Njau had taken him back to his home in Maragoli (that is to say, he is a Luhya), but he had then walked for two days back to Lumakanda. So he is a fixture in our town.
Both these stories illustrate how much a part of the Lumakanda community Njau is --he was born here-- without much regard to ethnicity as he, although a Kikuyu, is helping out Luhya.
Then, of course, this is Africa. Because we had visited him, he had to give us a present. He gave us about 20 avocados and then, cut down a banana tree, and added a small stalk of eating bananas. So who is the victim and who is the rescuer? Does this not destroy these roles? Is this not important?
On Sunday Gladys was in Maragoli, her original home in Luhya area, attending the memorial service (the women of the family get together and stay up all night, talking, singing, and dancing) for her aunt who had died just before we left for the United States. I went to visit the twenty-five returnee homes I had seen at Musimbi. As I walked into the mini-camp, two little boys came up to shake my hand. When we had started visiting people in Lumakanda in January, in order to seem friendly, I had started the custom of shaking hands with all the little kids. So these kids, although only about 3 years old, still remembered me. Naturally I was warmly greeted by all the people in the camp. I found out that this mini-camp had 400 people! There were more houses farther inside which could not be seen from the road. They had returned on July 7. They also were given transport and about a two weeks supply of maize and a little cooking oil. One of the younger men, who had been born right there, showed me the destroyed houses. Most had been build with either mud and wattle or adobe bricks. So the houses, which had been stripped of their doors, windows, and mabati roofs, crumbled in the rain and were already back to the earth from whence they had come.
They had already started planting some greens and vegetables on the rubble. My host took me back into the interior a little and I saw a field that they had just plowed with oxen (so different from the men in Rwanda and Burundi!) and were planting beans. If they are lucky and the rains hold up into October and early November, they will get a decent harvest. If the rains do not hold up, then this will be a wasted effort.
I asked them how they were received by the local community. The response was essentially "cordial, but distant." I am not certain that this does not describe their interactions with the rest of the community even before the violence. The children had no problems when they returned to the local school.
Plastic houses have no insulation. It is raining a lot right now, sometimes at night. According the thermometer in my house, which is insulated, the temperature gets down to 55 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. I asked them if it was cold at night in their plastic sheeting houses and they responded in the affirmative. They also commented that this meant that their children got colds--without knowing what we were talking about, two small children then coughed in the background.
They are wary of rebuilding. First, I am not certain how they will get the funds to rebuild even the simple houses. Moreover they are worried that this will all happen again during the next election in 2012 or the next crisis.
On Monday, Gladys and I went to Eldoret. On the way we saw the same plastic sheeting housing and people rebuilding in some places, but not in others. On the way home, when we got to Turbo, we stopped at the Blue Line Inn. This is a Kikuyu establishment that had been sacked during the violence, but the hotel (which is what a small restaurant is called in Kenya) was open and we ordered some snacks. The walls had been repainted and all seemed to be going well. On the other hand, the two stores next to them, had been completely destroyed and gutted by fire. The owner was not there but at home so we did not see her. Why did we stop at the Blue Line Inn? Because when we spoke in Palo Alto, California, on our recent tour of the US, Margaret Muchemu, the daughter of the owner, had come to hear us speak!
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
***************************************************
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 4:17 AM
Subject: AGLI--Report from Kenya--"Return of the IDP's"--August 12, 2008
Dear All,
Return of the IDP's.
When Gladys and I were still in Rwanda, George Njoroge, the leader of the IDP camp (internally displaced persons) at Turbo, called me to say that he had returned to his home at Mbagara and that all the IDP's from Turbo had returned to their home communities.
As we rode home from Uganda and crossed the border into Kenya, we passed Musimbi, a small roadside village on top of a hill overlooking the Kipkarren River valley. Here we saw about 25 small houses built with plastic sheeting and salvaged mabati (corrugated iron sheets) just like the ones in the IDP camps. Clearly the people had just taken down their houses in the IDP camps and re-erected them on a plot in town. Further down the road we saw another plastic house on a plot and three men were building a mud and wattle house nearby. Mud and wattle means posts in the ground about every two feet, with straight branches tied to them horizontally, and then filled with mud. This is the simplest type of house in the region, but even here, for a small house one would need about $500 for doors, windows, and the mabati for the roof.
In Kipkarren River itself I saw that a major commercial block of buildings that had been destroyed was being rebuilt.
On Thursday last week when I was taking my walk around town, I ran into one of the returnees (as we have been calling those who are returning from an IDP camp). He told me that he had returned about July 15 and was now living on the plot of Njau, one of the more prosperous Kikuyu near Lumakanda. The Red Cross (or the Government) had provided transportation and a ration of maize (corn) and a little cooking oil, only. The papers say that the Government is going to compensate those who were displaced with 10,000/- ($150) which is not even enough for the roof of a small house. None of these displaced people had seen even this 10,000/-.
So on Friday Gladys and I decided to visit Njau's home to see how things were going. He has a large plot and some of the returnees were living on various parts of it. His own home had been completely destroyed, but he seemed to lament the destruction of his maize storage bin which was full to the top from the recent harvest. I t had burned for three days, the corn sometimes popping with a bang. He had a matatu (mini-bus) which was sitting in his yard, burned. He did say that he drove away his "tinga-tinga" (a great Swahili word meaning "tractor"). He had returned to plant his maize, but he was late (I remember when I saw him plowing his field at the end of April) so that it did not do as well as the maize of those who planted earlier, but it will be enough for him and his family to eat. He had repaired one of his smaller two room houses, which had not been so badly damaged, and was living in that.
There were two other interesting things about this visit. He told us that now the local people were suffering because they burned down his storage bin. He said that each year he would save 8 to 10 bags of maize and when the time of food shortage came--May, June, and July before the new harvests came in-- old women (these would include those from other tribes) from the neighborhood would come and ask him for some maize. He would give each about 5 pounds plus a few shillings to grind the maize. This year, of course, he had no maize so he was unable to help those in need.
The second surprising point for us was that we found that "Professor" was living in his compound. Professor is one of the crazy people of Lumakanda--someday when I have time, I'll write you a little essay about the crazy people in Lumakanda. Professor always carries around some notebooks and that is why he is called "Professor." Njau told us that Professor had once been his tractor driver before he went crazy. Njau had taken him back to his home in Maragoli (that is to say, he is a Luhya), but he had then walked for two days back to Lumakanda. So he is a fixture in our town.
Both these stories illustrate how much a part of the Lumakanda community Njau is --he was born here-- without much regard to ethnicity as he, although a Kikuyu, is helping out Luhya.
Then, of course, this is Africa. Because we had visited him, he had to give us a present. He gave us about 20 avocados and then, cut down a banana tree, and added a small stalk of eating bananas. So who is the victim and who is the rescuer? Does this not destroy these roles? Is this not important?
On Sunday Gladys was in Maragoli, her original home in Luhya area, attending the memorial service (the women of the family get together and stay up all night, talking, singing, and dancing) for her aunt who had died just before we left for the United States. I went to visit the twenty-five returnee homes I had seen at Musimbi. As I walked into the mini-camp, two little boys came up to shake my hand. When we had started visiting people in Lumakanda in January, in order to seem friendly, I had started the custom of shaking hands with all the little kids. So these kids, although only about 3 years old, still remembered me. Naturally I was warmly greeted by all the people in the camp. I found out that this mini-camp had 400 people! There were more houses farther inside which could not be seen from the road. They had returned on July 7. They also were given transport and about a two weeks supply of maize and a little cooking oil. One of the younger men, who had been born right there, showed me the destroyed houses. Most had been build with either mud and wattle or adobe bricks. So the houses, which had been stripped of their doors, windows, and mabati roofs, crumbled in the rain and were already back to the earth from whence they had come.
They had already started planting some greens and vegetables on the rubble. My host took me back into the interior a little and I saw a field that they had just plowed with oxen (so different from the men in Rwanda and Burundi!) and were planting beans. If they are lucky and the rains hold up into October and early November, they will get a decent harvest. If the rains do not hold up, then this will be a wasted effort.
I asked them how they were received by the local community. The response was essentially "cordial, but distant." I am not certain that this does not describe their interactions with the rest of the community even before the violence. The children had no problems when they returned to the local school.
Plastic houses have no insulation. It is raining a lot right now, sometimes at night. According the thermometer in my house, which is insulated, the temperature gets down to 55 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. I asked them if it was cold at night in their plastic sheeting houses and they responded in the affirmative. They also commented that this meant that their children got colds--without knowing what we were talking about, two small children then coughed in the background.
They are wary of rebuilding. First, I am not certain how they will get the funds to rebuild even the simple houses. Moreover they are worried that this will all happen again during the next election in 2012 or the next crisis.
On Monday, Gladys and I went to Eldoret. On the way we saw the same plastic sheeting housing and people rebuilding in some places, but not in others. On the way home, when we got to Turbo, we stopped at the Blue Line Inn. This is a Kikuyu establishment that had been sacked during the violence, but the hotel (which is what a small restaurant is called in Kenya) was open and we ordered some snacks. The walls had been repainted and all seemed to be going well. On the other hand, the two stores next to them, had been completely destroyed and gutted by fire. The owner was not there but at home so we did not see her. Why did we stop at the Blue Line Inn? Because when we spoke in Palo Alto, California, on our recent tour of the US, Margaret Muchemu, the daughter of the owner, had come to hear us speak!
Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams
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