January 22 Email

Mambo,

Mom finally convinced me to send out an email informing you all that I am, in fact, alive and comfortable, waiting out Kenya's turmoil in Dar es Salaam.

In training we had one session where our teachers, all from various tribes, described their cultures and the stereotypes about themselves; the Luos were the academics, the Kikuyu were businessmen, the Nandi could run fast, etc. At the time we all laughed and the teachers didn't take themselves too seriously; however I realized over the next couple weeks a strong undercurrent of resentment among even the most educated Kenyans. The politicians never even mentioned the tribes by name and created grand names like Party of National Unity or Orange Democratic Movement, but their support came entirely from monolithic ethnic voting blocs. American analysts predicted the election would involve some violence, although not as much as those of '92 or '97. Observers believed that the elections could be a watershed for Africa and the entire country was hopeful.

Thirteen of us gathered for the holidays in Kakamega forest, the last remaining rainforest in Kenya, and ate Christmas dinner in small outdoor bandas where Colobus monkeys stole our bananas. The next day we returned to Kakamega city, where one volunteer lived in a gated compound with electricity, running water, a gas stove, refridgerator, DVD projector; all the comforts the rest of us wished we had in our own homes. Even so I wanted to leave before New Year's Day - the boys in my village were finishing month-long initiation ceremonies and their extended families would be celebrating. The elections, on the 27th, went smoothly but the Electoral Commission was slow to release the votes and people became anxious. The thirteen of us were from the three western provinces which overwhelmingly supported ODM and its opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, and we believed things would turn ugly if he did not win.

An hour after the electoral commission announced Pres. Mwai Kibaki winner rioters burned down two small shops and a church across the street - apparently they were owned by PNU supporters. Police came the day afterwards and while the rest of Kenya burned Kakamega was filled with tense silence. Meanwhile the political situation continued to deteriorate and other parts of the country were still racked by violence. In Eldoret, my hometown, 30 people burned to death while seeking refuge in a church. Riots in Kisumu, Mombasa, Kisii, Migori, and Kibera all received international attention yet no intervention could bring the two sides to talk to each other.

We passed the time eating and playing cards and were always perfectly safe - even when we left the compound thugs and policemen both told us they had no problems with us, that we were guests. One soldier asked my friend to buy him a soda. After a couple days the police left, shops reopened, people cautiously resumed their lives. Because of the ongoing violence elsewhere and the political impasse in Nairobi however there was no question of us leaving; occasional gunshots did not bother us but we were afraid we would not return to our sites.

After ten days Peace Corps decided to temporarily shut down western Kenya and flew us to Dar es Salaam. They put us up in a hotel on the beach and tried to keep us busy while we waited for news. After about a week our director told us we would not be able to return immediately to Kenya, that we could try to transfer to another country or we could go home and wait for the country to clear up. As of this writing there are no plans to shut down the country altogether but it will be some time before the three western provinces reopen.

Kibaki and Raila are still at odds; recently Raila's ODM party won Speaker of the House and tensions cooled somewhat. Both sides continue to spout rhetoric but there are signs the violence is beginning to subside and I believe the vast majority of Kenyans are embarrassed and exasperated by their leaders. My host family remains in their village outside Eldoret and wants me to return; I still haven't called them told them I won't be coming back. I'm trying to transfer into Tanzania, but if I don't find a spot there I'll return home and wait for Kenya to reopen or try for a position in another country.

kwa heri,
Joseph