It turns out, the rest of yesterday did hold some surprises, even after seeing the burnt, murdered body of the robber.
Ashley and I took the bus back to Nairobi in the afternoon. Of course, it was late, and we endured the typical Kenyan responses to our inquiries. Whenever you ask a Kenyan how long something will take, for example: When will the bus arrive? or When will this matatu leave?, the answer is always the same. Oh, 15 minutes madam! We've learned by now that 15 minutes is code for: I dont have any idea what's going on and I'm just going to say 15 minutes so you don't get mad. In fact, the bus was an hour late...
TIA.
Then, on the trip, we saw not one, but TWO overturned tankers on the side of the road! One of them was even leaking petrol out of the top and looked really really dangerous. There were cops with guns surrounding it, and then just beyond them, a group of people lined up with buckets and jerry cans, hoping to collect a bit of petrol for themselves.
This sight was depressing because, just a couple weeks ago, there were TWO petrol tanker explosions that killed hundreds of people who were there trying to collect/siphon petrol. It was a huge tragedy, and I guess that explains the big police presence at this site. It's just so horrible to know that there are people here SO desperate for a bit of money or fuel to cook with that they will risk almost certain death to get it.
Friday, February 20, 2009
What do you do with a robber? BURN HIM!
So do you all remember how I've talked about mob justice in the past? The cultural concept here where it's okay for the public to take justice into their own hands? Well, I finally saw the results of it.
Last night I stayed in Kisumu town with my friend Tosha at her house in Dunga. Apparently two robbers tried to break into the house next door to ours. My window was open and facing the house, but I actually slept through the whole commotion that followed! The woman who lives there woke up and heard noises, so she made a big to-do and all the neighbors were drawn over to the house to see what was up. The dogs in our yard were also barking their heads off for a while. The crowd saw the 2 robbers who tried to run away, and they made chase after them down the road. The next two hours were a game of hide-and-seek and find-the-robbers, and eventually they did find one of them! They started beating him as they interrogated him, and found out the name of the other robber. Apparently the guys were from across town, but they work in Dunga as firshermen, so everybody knew who they were. The mob were beating and beating this guy, but he wasn't dying because he'd prepared in case he was caught. He wore several layers of clothing to protect himself from a beating. So they poured parrafin on him and lit him on fire. He ran screaming into a nearby field and then fell over, and the mob put a tire on top of him and lit the tire. Rubber will burn FOREVER, so he burned to death lying there, and the tire was still burning by the time I woke up at 8am this morning.
Tosha told me the story and we threw on clothing and ran over to the scene just down the road. Half of Dunga was out there watching, and the fire department had just come and put out the still flaming body. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd just in time to see the body, charred and still smoking, being picked up and put in the back of a truck which was acting as a make-shift ambulance. It was DISGUSTING. It looked like something from a horror film. And the bicycle the guy had tried to run away on was also burned and crumpled next to him. There was just this big, black, burned out part of the field with a destroyed bicycle in it. SO CRAZY.
As soon as they took the body away, the crowd dispersed, and I guess another big mob went off to search for the 2nd robber. They will get their revenge on him, for sure. Some people had actually been up all night watching the body burn and went to search for the 2nd guy without even going to sleep! Kenyans really really take this stuff seriously! And the police allow it. No one is going to give up the names of those who set the guy alight, and the police won't bother to follow up on it. Even Tosha's fiancee knows who did it, but he wouldn't tell us the names, despite the fact that there's no one for us to tell. I guess they figure it's their right to bring justice.
I know it's probably not right, but I kind of agree with how things are handled here. These guys tried to rob a house full of children. If one of those kids had accidentally crossed their path, they would have absolutely killed him or her to keep the kid from waking everyone up. And Tosha told me that there have been some guys driving around at night scoping out the well-off houses--watching how many men live there, are there dogs, when do people go to sleep, etc. They were definitely planning some sort of big robbery and everyone has been on edge for a few weeks. Last night wasn't the guys who have been snooping around, but taking revenge on them sent a powerful message that crime will not be tolerated there. So everyone is taking a big sigh of relief now. And let's be serious. In a country where the police are useless and corrupt, it SHOULD be up to the people to inspire fear in criminals!
Anyway, it's not even noon and already I've had QUITE a full day. What other craziness will ensue I wonder?
Last night I stayed in Kisumu town with my friend Tosha at her house in Dunga. Apparently two robbers tried to break into the house next door to ours. My window was open and facing the house, but I actually slept through the whole commotion that followed! The woman who lives there woke up and heard noises, so she made a big to-do and all the neighbors were drawn over to the house to see what was up. The dogs in our yard were also barking their heads off for a while. The crowd saw the 2 robbers who tried to run away, and they made chase after them down the road. The next two hours were a game of hide-and-seek and find-the-robbers, and eventually they did find one of them! They started beating him as they interrogated him, and found out the name of the other robber. Apparently the guys were from across town, but they work in Dunga as firshermen, so everybody knew who they were. The mob were beating and beating this guy, but he wasn't dying because he'd prepared in case he was caught. He wore several layers of clothing to protect himself from a beating. So they poured parrafin on him and lit him on fire. He ran screaming into a nearby field and then fell over, and the mob put a tire on top of him and lit the tire. Rubber will burn FOREVER, so he burned to death lying there, and the tire was still burning by the time I woke up at 8am this morning.
Tosha told me the story and we threw on clothing and ran over to the scene just down the road. Half of Dunga was out there watching, and the fire department had just come and put out the still flaming body. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd just in time to see the body, charred and still smoking, being picked up and put in the back of a truck which was acting as a make-shift ambulance. It was DISGUSTING. It looked like something from a horror film. And the bicycle the guy had tried to run away on was also burned and crumpled next to him. There was just this big, black, burned out part of the field with a destroyed bicycle in it. SO CRAZY.
As soon as they took the body away, the crowd dispersed, and I guess another big mob went off to search for the 2nd robber. They will get their revenge on him, for sure. Some people had actually been up all night watching the body burn and went to search for the 2nd guy without even going to sleep! Kenyans really really take this stuff seriously! And the police allow it. No one is going to give up the names of those who set the guy alight, and the police won't bother to follow up on it. Even Tosha's fiancee knows who did it, but he wouldn't tell us the names, despite the fact that there's no one for us to tell. I guess they figure it's their right to bring justice.
I know it's probably not right, but I kind of agree with how things are handled here. These guys tried to rob a house full of children. If one of those kids had accidentally crossed their path, they would have absolutely killed him or her to keep the kid from waking everyone up. And Tosha told me that there have been some guys driving around at night scoping out the well-off houses--watching how many men live there, are there dogs, when do people go to sleep, etc. They were definitely planning some sort of big robbery and everyone has been on edge for a few weeks. Last night wasn't the guys who have been snooping around, but taking revenge on them sent a powerful message that crime will not be tolerated there. So everyone is taking a big sigh of relief now. And let's be serious. In a country where the police are useless and corrupt, it SHOULD be up to the people to inspire fear in criminals!
Anyway, it's not even noon and already I've had QUITE a full day. What other craziness will ensue I wonder?
Friday, February 13, 2009
Damn cows...
So yesterday was a very interesting and exhausting and wonderful day. First off, just an amusing little tidbit...I went to take my bucket shower yesterday morning as usual, leaving the bucket of water in the shower stall while I went away for a minute to put on my towel. And when I came back, I discovered that one of our cows had drunk up ALL my bathwater!! Those damn cows will eat or drink ANYTHING! They even attempted to eat my underwear off the laundry line this morning! Nothing is safe around a cow.
Also, I have successfully made friends with our cat, who I decided to name Baba Ghanoush. He will now come and cuddle with me, and even likes to scare me by climbing up the inside of my curtains and then jumping on me while I'm lying in bed. I loooove having a kitty to cuddle with again!
So on to the main event. Yesterday was the day of the much anticipated Sauri blood drive I have been helping to plan and advertise for in the villages surrounding my house. The Sauri cluster of villages is HUGE, so we had decided to launch this initiative in just a small area at first to see how many people we could get to come and donate blood. The villages included were Bar Sauri and Nyamninia (where I live).
Blood donation is a big deal around here because so many people need transfusions (children with malaria and women who give birth in the clinics in particular). However, people are scared to donate for numerous reasons: they think we will sell the blood, they think the needles are tainted with HIV, they think we are secretly trying to test them for HIV, they claim they don't have enough blood in their bodies, etc. It's difficult to get people to come and donate! The last blood drive they attempted here got only 5 people to come. ONLY FIVE PEOPLE. There are several thousand living in the Sauri cluster, so it was a spectacular failure. This time, however, we mobilized within the villages themselves. We attended church meetings and sang and danced with the members, then the bishop would let us distribute fliers and he would translate from English into Luo so everyone understood us. We went to community meetings and talked to the men and women there. We went to the local high school and talked about the importance of donating blood. We went to the clinic and explained to all the women bringing in their children that their blood could save the life of their child. We also got the Community Health Workers to talk about the drive during their normal rounds. We worked SO HARD. And guess what...
It payed off!! We got 106 people to donate yesterday!! And even more WANTED to give blood, but we actually ran out of blood bags to take it with! It was a huge huge success, and now the villages here have enough blood to last them an entire year. It's truly amazing how just a little extra effort and understanding of how people think can make all the difference.
I am feeling very good about my work out here, but these days I and most of the other MSID students are getting really disillusioned with the MSID program and how it is managed in general. Details will bore you, but I'm really starting to wish that I was here of my own accord rather than under the hands of Minnesota. They have no idea how to REALLY allow us to get the most out of our time here. It's so so frustrating and I just hope it all gets resolved soon.
Tata for now! Lanzy
Also, I have successfully made friends with our cat, who I decided to name Baba Ghanoush. He will now come and cuddle with me, and even likes to scare me by climbing up the inside of my curtains and then jumping on me while I'm lying in bed. I loooove having a kitty to cuddle with again!
So on to the main event. Yesterday was the day of the much anticipated Sauri blood drive I have been helping to plan and advertise for in the villages surrounding my house. The Sauri cluster of villages is HUGE, so we had decided to launch this initiative in just a small area at first to see how many people we could get to come and donate blood. The villages included were Bar Sauri and Nyamninia (where I live).
Blood donation is a big deal around here because so many people need transfusions (children with malaria and women who give birth in the clinics in particular). However, people are scared to donate for numerous reasons: they think we will sell the blood, they think the needles are tainted with HIV, they think we are secretly trying to test them for HIV, they claim they don't have enough blood in their bodies, etc. It's difficult to get people to come and donate! The last blood drive they attempted here got only 5 people to come. ONLY FIVE PEOPLE. There are several thousand living in the Sauri cluster, so it was a spectacular failure. This time, however, we mobilized within the villages themselves. We attended church meetings and sang and danced with the members, then the bishop would let us distribute fliers and he would translate from English into Luo so everyone understood us. We went to community meetings and talked to the men and women there. We went to the local high school and talked about the importance of donating blood. We went to the clinic and explained to all the women bringing in their children that their blood could save the life of their child. We also got the Community Health Workers to talk about the drive during their normal rounds. We worked SO HARD. And guess what...
It payed off!! We got 106 people to donate yesterday!! And even more WANTED to give blood, but we actually ran out of blood bags to take it with! It was a huge huge success, and now the villages here have enough blood to last them an entire year. It's truly amazing how just a little extra effort and understanding of how people think can make all the difference.
I am feeling very good about my work out here, but these days I and most of the other MSID students are getting really disillusioned with the MSID program and how it is managed in general. Details will bore you, but I'm really starting to wish that I was here of my own accord rather than under the hands of Minnesota. They have no idea how to REALLY allow us to get the most out of our time here. It's so so frustrating and I just hope it all gets resolved soon.
Tata for now! Lanzy
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Disillusioned...
It's been a rough few weeks.
What with some of my closest friends leaving, being mugged, being sick (again), the difficult travels all the time from my rural home to Kisumu, adjusting to a new place and a new family, and just the daily harassment for simply being a white girl in Africa. I'm EXHAUSTED!!
Yesterday, after a difficult overnight bus trip from Nairobi, I arrived in Kisumu at 5:15am. I slept for an hour in the bus company waiting room with 10 or so other people, then searched for some food, then went straight to work. I was at work from 7am-4pm straight through. You can imagine how tired I was, and I felt a bad headache coming on. But I had to get my butt back to the rural home before dark. So I got on a matatu.
I F**KING HATE MATATUS!!!!!!
The asshole conductor took my money and then REFUSED to give me my change. Even though he, I, and everyone else in a 100 meter radius knew he was overcharging me. I must've argued for 10 minutes, but he refused to give it back. And I knew that if I got out and tried to find another one, the word would spread and I might have to pay even more. So I stayed put and gave that f**ker my death glare. He was unfazed, which pissed me off even more. I was actually about to start crying from the frustration, and probably would have had I not needed to yell and slam my window shut on guys trying to sell me crap.
I'm sick of being ripped off all the time, I'm sick of being called "mzungu!" and "hey white lady!", I'm sick of being asked to make Obamas, I'm sick of being touched inappropriately whenever I'm in a crowd. Basically, I'M SICK OF AFRICAN MEN. I miss being able to walk down the street and have NO ONE speak to me! Even when I got home and was swearing and half-crying under my breath as I walked to the house, all the little children and kids getting out of school were yelling out to me. I feel I HAVE to answer them (even though Ken assures me I don't). I don't want to be that asshole white girl who is so rude she won't say hi. But can you imagine just really needing to be left alone, needing to just cry and yell and let it out...and having people expect you stop and chat with them every 2 seconds?? OY GAVALT!! FREAKIN AFRICA!!
So yes, I had my big moment of disillusionment. I had my "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE??" freak out. I think I did pretty good lasting 5 months before having one! But now I'm going to make a list of the 10 things I love most about being here and things I still have to look forward to before I leave in May. That way, I can look at it everytime I'm feeling like I want to scratch the matatu guys' eyes out or curse and swear at a bunch of kids to just leave me alone. Haha. (I'm serious about the matatu guys though. One of these days...)
WHY I LOVE KENYA
1. My mom is coming to visit in just over 2 weeks!
2. I'm going to CAIRO for Spring Break to see Jesse and Anna.
3. The Lisa Frank-esque rainbow I see everytime I go back to my rural home in the late afternoon (it rains over the mountains around 4 everyday, creating the most gorgeous rainbow you've EVER seen...I swear I see leprechauns and unicorns dancing around the base). And the rain itself, cause it's always a fabulous lightning storm here!
4. Our cat at the rural home, who I call Kitty, who is just starting to trust me and likes to take naps with one of our dogs. And the cows and chickens in my yard who wake me up every morning and never fail to amuse.
5. My Sauri, Nairobi and Mombasa-(minus the dad)-families...and Ken of course.
6. Going out to shake-shake (aka DANCING), and having everyone say "are you SURE you're white?".
7. Paying the equivalent of about $3.50 for a movie, a hot dog, a big popcorn, and a big soda.
8. Piki-piki rides! (Motorbikes). Especially at night when I can look at the perfect perfect stars.
9. Learning how to cook African food...and having everyone be super impressed when I make cookies out of a Betty Crocker bag.
10. Having micro-braids...cause I haven't had to wash my hair in over 3 weeks!
What with some of my closest friends leaving, being mugged, being sick (again), the difficult travels all the time from my rural home to Kisumu, adjusting to a new place and a new family, and just the daily harassment for simply being a white girl in Africa. I'm EXHAUSTED!!
Yesterday, after a difficult overnight bus trip from Nairobi, I arrived in Kisumu at 5:15am. I slept for an hour in the bus company waiting room with 10 or so other people, then searched for some food, then went straight to work. I was at work from 7am-4pm straight through. You can imagine how tired I was, and I felt a bad headache coming on. But I had to get my butt back to the rural home before dark. So I got on a matatu.
I F**KING HATE MATATUS!!!!!!
The asshole conductor took my money and then REFUSED to give me my change. Even though he, I, and everyone else in a 100 meter radius knew he was overcharging me. I must've argued for 10 minutes, but he refused to give it back. And I knew that if I got out and tried to find another one, the word would spread and I might have to pay even more. So I stayed put and gave that f**ker my death glare. He was unfazed, which pissed me off even more. I was actually about to start crying from the frustration, and probably would have had I not needed to yell and slam my window shut on guys trying to sell me crap.
I'm sick of being ripped off all the time, I'm sick of being called "mzungu!" and "hey white lady!", I'm sick of being asked to make Obamas, I'm sick of being touched inappropriately whenever I'm in a crowd. Basically, I'M SICK OF AFRICAN MEN. I miss being able to walk down the street and have NO ONE speak to me! Even when I got home and was swearing and half-crying under my breath as I walked to the house, all the little children and kids getting out of school were yelling out to me. I feel I HAVE to answer them (even though Ken assures me I don't). I don't want to be that asshole white girl who is so rude she won't say hi. But can you imagine just really needing to be left alone, needing to just cry and yell and let it out...and having people expect you stop and chat with them every 2 seconds?? OY GAVALT!! FREAKIN AFRICA!!
So yes, I had my big moment of disillusionment. I had my "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE??" freak out. I think I did pretty good lasting 5 months before having one! But now I'm going to make a list of the 10 things I love most about being here and things I still have to look forward to before I leave in May. That way, I can look at it everytime I'm feeling like I want to scratch the matatu guys' eyes out or curse and swear at a bunch of kids to just leave me alone. Haha. (I'm serious about the matatu guys though. One of these days...)
WHY I LOVE KENYA
1. My mom is coming to visit in just over 2 weeks!
2. I'm going to CAIRO for Spring Break to see Jesse and Anna.
3. The Lisa Frank-esque rainbow I see everytime I go back to my rural home in the late afternoon (it rains over the mountains around 4 everyday, creating the most gorgeous rainbow you've EVER seen...I swear I see leprechauns and unicorns dancing around the base). And the rain itself, cause it's always a fabulous lightning storm here!
4. Our cat at the rural home, who I call Kitty, who is just starting to trust me and likes to take naps with one of our dogs. And the cows and chickens in my yard who wake me up every morning and never fail to amuse.
5. My Sauri, Nairobi and Mombasa-(minus the dad)-families...and Ken of course.
6. Going out to shake-shake (aka DANCING), and having everyone say "are you SURE you're white?".
7. Paying the equivalent of about $3.50 for a movie, a hot dog, a big popcorn, and a big soda.
8. Piki-piki rides! (Motorbikes). Especially at night when I can look at the perfect perfect stars.
9. Learning how to cook African food...and having everyone be super impressed when I make cookies out of a Betty Crocker bag.
10. Having micro-braids...cause I haven't had to wash my hair in over 3 weeks!
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