Sunday, August 19, 2007

First Night

August 18, 20007 2AM Nairobi







The two ragged German Shepherds who roam inside the walls of the compound where I am staying just woke me with mad barking, running and snuffling. I lay in my bed, listening to their voices echo through the rooms, their toenails click against the tile floors, and wondered if Rosemary and Dan have an evacuation plan.







�We always know if someone strange is around,� Rosemary told me earlier this evening. �The dogs never bark if it is one of us.�







Rosemary and Dan are both journalists. They met at the Daily Nation, the East African media house where Dan still works, now as a senior political writer. Rosemary started AWC Features more than 13 years ago.





Earlier this week, Rosemary coordinated a large protest after a Kenyan MP tagged a last-minute addition to a law that would have required reporters to reveal anonymous sources if their stories led to litigation. More than 1,000 people turned out with taped mouths and hooded faces, to march silently through the center of Nairobi. Although  it is not yet assured, Rosemary says it now seems the bill, though passed through parliament, will not be signed in to law.







JHR requires me to come up with a personal evacuation plan within my first two weeks here. A s the December election approaches and President Kibaki faces his first round as the incumbent, I lay in my bed wondering if it is on the whole more or less safe to  live with two high-profile journalists. For a greenhorn girl from North America, there may be some comfort in the walls and the night security guard. But as a greenhorn girl from North America, I would likely be no less conspicuous if I was living in an apartment on my own.







That said, Rosemary has welcomed me with arms open. She organized a special meal at the AWC office with her staff. They seem dedicated, smart, well-traveled and warm. Rosemary says she chooses to run AWC as a family, which she says has benefits and drawback. But the staff of ten (plus two interns) produce a wide range of content for national and regional media. They also train reporters around the country to help improve their coverage of gender and children�s issues, as well as their reporting in general. Later this month, I will go to Mombasa with my colleague, Wilson, to lead a training on the coast.







Rosemary has also welcomed me into her home, saying she will be my surrogate mother. She has offered to let me stay with Dan and her two teenage children for my entire seven months here, if I like.





That decision, I think, can wait for now.







So, practicing KiSwahili... asante sana, Rosemary, for saying �Karibu a Kenya.�                                                                                                                                                





Rosemary_and_biku_for_webBiku_adn_terry_for_webDan_n_terry_for_web



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