No News Is Not Good News

IFEX
Kenya: Media Being Silenced As Political Crisis Intensifies
AllAfrica.com, Washington
A continuing ban on live broadcasts and new death threats to journalists in Kenya are silencing media reports on the country’s escalating political crisis

The organisations say the ban harms the ability of journalists to cover Kenya’s unfolding political crisis, and that “the situation is worse than the government [...]

Suspension of Safety

Village Volunteers has officially suspended their volunteer program through February, and cannot guarantee volunteer placement in Kenya for future months.
While it is our hope that peace will be restored soon, we are committed to the safety of our volunteers and will not be able to resume our program in Kenya until we can be assured [...]

Spiraling to Hell

Today, rioters have followed the displaced to where they’ve fled. Morgues are filled with those who have been burned alive, hatcheted and clubbed.  The original focus of the violent conflict overflowed into indiscriminate attacks upon two tourists and the military cannot contain the situation. If I were inclined to believe in Hell, this would be it - right here on Earth.
Rival factions clash again [...]

Did You Say “Tribe?”

What’s wrong with using the word “tribe” in Western media? A lot more than meets the cultural divide, it seems.
AfricaFocus.org posted a fabulous argument about the particulars. I include the introduction here along with a link to the full length piece. This position has recently been brought to the attention of the New York Times’ Executive [...]

Because Murder isn’t Enough?

Not only must Kenya’s women and child survivors mourn great losses, their very identity must be violated as well???

Sexual Abuse of Children Increasing in Kenya
Voice of America - 3 hours ago
By Lisa Schlein The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, reports sexual violence against women and children in Kenya is increasing. …

Sex attacks on the rise in [...]

Planned Attacks, Not Spontaneous Tribal Combustion

Evelyn Hockstein for The New York Times
Violence continued in Kenya, where on Sunday the police and residents tried to quell a fire set in the Mathare slum in Nairobi.
While the idea that the post-election violence had been pre-planned is not new, Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times recently presented an evidential account of governmental [...]

In My Own Defense

Twice yesterday I heard the general supposition voiced that I will likely have to alter destination Kenya to Ghana in July. It was the first time I heard the words I haven’t quite entertained myself. While it might well be true, I continue to reject a loss of hope for the success of Kenya to soon arrive [...]

Wanna Help Buy a Goat?

Last week, I visited Kiva.org in search of a Kenyan business to support. If you haven’t yet heard of this organization:
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great [...]

Violence on Video

From the BBC:
Kenya ‘turned into killing field’
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused the government and the police of turning the country into “killing fields of the innocent”.
Shots leave man dead
Be aware. This video clip shows police firing at and killing a protester.

Sex as a Weapon

Genital Mutilation a Weapon in Kenya
By Elizabeth A. Kennedy and John Heilprin
In the violence that has followed Kenya’s disputed presidential election, a notorious gang has been mutilating the genitals of both men and women in the name of circumcision — inflicting a brutal punishment on members of a rival tribe that does not traditionally circumcise.
I [...]