Saturday, January 5, 2008

On the edge of Kibera - Saturday afternoon

I'm in a dingy cyber cafe between Jamhuri Park and Kibera.



I won't spend long typing here on this sticky keyboard, but suffice it to say that the situation in Nairobi is not yet normal.



There was a roadblock on my way into town. The matatu driver pulled over to try to find out what was going on, the old woman beside was saying "turn around, turn around." But in the end, the road cleared and we continued on.



A major shopping mall near my apartment was barricaded against the vast crowd of people trying to get in to buy food.



Me and Felix, a freelance friend of mine, have walked through Jamhuri Park, where about 2000 people are camped right now. Mainly they are women and children who have left Kibera out of fear for their security.



Volunteers from the US International University were playing with kids. A couple of games of soccer were going on and women (many with babes in arms) were lined up to get first aid supplies from a St. John's Ambulance unit.



I talked with a nurse there who said she's heard no stories about sexual violence against women. But she says in all the stress, many women have got their periods. No clean water for drinking, let alone bathing, makes for an uncomfortable situation for them.



Because of the insecurity at night in Kibera, many people are back to using so-called "flying toilets," plastic bags filled with human waste that are flung out of doorways.



I had a long conversation with a woman who has left her Kibera home for Jamhuri. She has sent her children to Mathari. I will post the transcript of our conversation tomorrow, along with photos from today.



I am going now to meet a friend to walk through Kibera. Tonight, Felix will spend the night there, documenting how the young men are keeping themselves up through the night, guarding homes and businesses.



Tomorrow we will try to get into some slums on the other side of town. Most of my contacts are here, but the stories from Kibera are only one side of this national dispute. I'd like to get some other voices for you.



Stay tuned.



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