A Memorial to Terror: Ten Years after Nairobi Bomb Blast

NAIROBI. It was August 7, 1998. Suicide bombers exploded 700 kilos of TNT in a truck outside of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The bomb blast ended the lives of 257 people, injured 6,000, and destroyed a fragile peace in a bustling city. At the same time, another explosion rocked the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A little-known terrorist network named al Qaeda organized the attacks, led by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

Ten years later, the survivors and the victims’ families continue to mourn and to seek justice. Last Thursday, Kenyans from all walks of life gathered at the site of the blast in Nairobi, to remember the dead and to call for greater vigilance. The site has been transformed into the “August 7 Memorial Park” with monuments and gardens and trees. Once called “Ground Zero,” a site of terror and pain, it is now a place of respite, a green corner in a busy city. A granite memorial wall bears the names of the 257 dead, including 12 Americans.

I joined the memorial service last Thursday. In 1998, I was also one of the survivors, an American student learning Kiswahili and international affairs. I rode into Nairobi that day in a matatu minivan, and was just 8 blocks from the embassy when the explosion rocked the city. I recall feeling the blast deep in my body, a vibration so shocking that words cannot express. I watched in horror as a mushroom cloud of dust and smoke and debris rose over the city that I had come to love.

It has taken nearly ten years for me to get over the trauma of that day and the days that followed. The repeated scenes of blood and death and anarchy. The paranoia at any loud noises. The nightmare of uncertainty. The knowledge of so much pain and suffering all around me. The fear of being an American targeted by al Qaeda. The guilt of survival. The anger, then desperation, at my own government’s response – retaliatory attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan.

On September 11, 2001, I was back in the USA, and it was déjà vu. Twin bombings in New York and Washington, DC. Glass, steel, and concrete crumbling into dust. Lives extinguished in a gulf of flames and smoke. The fear and anguish amplified by repeated scenes in the media. The fear of airplanes, of future attacks. The utter sense of insecurity and helplessness. The mantra “Why Us?” resounding in my heart. Anger and desperation at the “War on Terror,” a war without end, without rules, without known enemies.

After 9/11, the U.S. Congress ruled to grant compensation to the survivors and the families of the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Former U.S. ambassador to Kenya Prudence Bushnell says that “in an emotional reaction” the U.S. Congress established “a very difficult precedent.”

In the U.S. today, the Kenyan victims of the 1998 American embassy bombings have been nearly forgotten. The victims’ families and survivors in Nairobi have sought compensation for their losses in the U.S. courts. Phillip Musolino, a Washington attorney, represents hundreds of Kenyans injured, blinded or bereaved by the attacks ten years ago. He is now engaged in a legal battle over some $7 million in frozen assets from al Qaeda sources, and claims that this money should be used to compensate the Kenyans.

However, there has been a double standard for Kenyan victims of al Qaeda. American judges have not been sympathetic to arguments that the U.S. should be held liable for the damages. U.S. government attorneys insist that al Qaeda should be held responsible for the suffering and the losses, and that the U.S. was itself victimized by the attack. To add insult to injury, the surviving perpetrators were extradited to the United States, and were first charged with just 12 counts of murder, for the 12 Americans who were killed. They are now serving life sentences in U.S. prisons.

Current U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Rannenberger insists that the U.S. has already provided more that $42 million to Kenyan victims “to assist children with school fees, to provide medical assistance, to facilitate the resumption of livelihoods, for reconstruction, and for the creation of the Memorial Park.” Kenyans, however, will point out that most of these funds have been used to build a new fortified embassy and to buttress security and anti-terrorism surveillance. They insist that little has been invested in the people who were most affected by the violence.

Ten years later, the fragile peace in Kenya was once again unsettled by a very divisive election. The post-election violence claimed over 1,200 lives and displaced an estimated 350,000 Kenyans from their homes. Eight months later, many are still living in fear of the unknown, or fear of their neighbors and fellow Kenyans. Suspicions and assumptions and accusations abound across ethnic, gender, and class lines. Many still do not know where to call “home.” Terror has returned to Kenya.

And the Kenyan police are still engaged in a manhunt for al Qaeda mastermind Fazul Abdullah. Fazul organized the 1998 attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, as well as the 2002 bombing of an Israeli-owned coastal resort, the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala. Fazul was nearly apprehended last week in Malindi, another coastal city, where he was detected communicating with al Qaeda associates by cell phone and email. He is believed to be planning yet another terrorist attack in Kenya.

May we all remember how the events in 1998 brought together a divided Kenya in acts of heroism, mercy and solidarity. May we remember those who gave their blood, sweat and tears to save lives, to honor the dead, and to heal the survivors. Perhaps these collective memories may be the inspiration needed to bring Kenyans together across their differences, and to remind Americans of our commitment to justice and equality.

Catherine Cutcher is a U.S. Fulbright Student in Kenya. She is a Ph.D. Candidate from the Ohio University College of Education.

Homecoming Report

Dear friends and family,

I have returned to Nairobi, Kenya after a wonderful, although brief, vacation in Ohio. Thanks to all of you who met me or attended the parties and presentations that were organized during my visit. It was great to be home and to delight in the green farms and forests of Ohio, to swim in the pond, to eat fresh fruits and veggies from the garden, and to bask in the glow of my loving family and community. Thanks to all of you who made my visit memorable, and who helped me to remember all the things I love about home. Please forgive me if I did not get a chance to see you while I was in the States – I will be back in November.

Highlights from my trip included a presentation at Ohio University on July 15. Over 75 people attended the slide show and discussion about “Reflections from Kenya,” and I addressed questions about the post-election violence, conflict resolution, media, technology, education, child development, gender issues, women’s organizations, environmental issues, geography, history, cultural diversity, and other concerns. This was a great opportunity for me to reflect and articulate on a number of issues that I have been grappling with here in Kenya. Thanks to all of you who attended and helped to publicize the talk.

I also was invited to give a presentation on July 18 at the Greenfire community near New Marshfield, OH at a Permaculture Workshop led by Peter Bane, editor of the “Permaculture Activist” magazine. Again, I showed my slides and responded to questions about agriculture, land access and tenure, herbal medicines, nutrition, water, human-wildlife conflicts, and low-tech solutions for sustainability and prosperity among Kenyan rural communities. It was interesting to discuss these issues with others who are learning about and committed to principles of sustainability, self-sufficiency, and creating systems for prolonged agriculture and human culture. I concluded that Kenya is filled with excellent examples of permaculture, as people have lived here for thousands of years and have created excellent systems for agriculture, natural building, water collection, land use, and informal education for life skills.

I also want to thank those of you who donated items and funds for the Taita International School. I raised $600 in cash donations, and was given dozens of books, videos, computer games, soccer balls and shoes, art supplies, pencils, board games, puzzles, a digital camera, a walkman, sewing patterns, cake decorating supplies, and other items. I have carried many of these donations with me to Kenya, and will ship the rest. Thanks to all who generously gave resources for the school. For those who would still like to donate, you can send items to the school at:

Taita International School
P.O. Box 181-80305
Mwatate, Kenya

Please note that the U.S. Postal Service only sends packages via air mail to Kenya these days, which costs $4 per pound. If anyone has information on how to inexpensively ship packages by boat, please let me know.

I also found some young Ohioans who were interested in becoming pen pals with students at the Taita International School, and who wrote letters of introduction that I have carried to Kenya. I am still seeking pen pals – if you know any young people from the ages of 4 to 18 years old who might like to write to a Kenyan student, please send their letters of introduction and photograph to the Taita International School (Attn: Pen Pals) at the above address.

While I was home, both The Athens Messenger and The Athens News published articles about my research and experiences in Kenya. My friend Ernest Waititu, a Kenyan journalist who I studied with at Ohio University, wrote a great piece based on an interview we did in Nairobi – you can read it online at:

http://www.athensnews.com/news/local/2008/jul/14/ou-student-sticks-it-
out-through-election-violence/

Matt Gallagher also wrote an excellent article in the Athens Messenger, but I cannot find a link online –the article was on the front page on Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

There also was an article published in the “Athenaeum,” the Ohio University College of Education magazine. I have attached a copy of the article to this message.

I read a great book during my trip home, and I encourage others to read it as well – “Dreams From My Father” by Barack Obama. This is Obama’s autobiography and a wonderful account of his childhood, education, family, travels, faith, and growth as a community organizer, legal advocate, and politician. I especially loved the final section about his first voyage to Kenya to meet his father’s family, and his impressions of urban life in Nairobi and in the rural village of Alego, near Kisumu. Obama is Kenya’s favorite prodigal son, and Kenyans often ask me about his campaign for the upcoming U.S. elections. I am grateful to know more about the man behind the iconic image presented in the media.

I will be here for another 3 months, and will return to Ohio in early November. I will continue my research with women’s grassroots organizations in Taita and Lamu districts in Kenya’s Coast Province. Stay tuned for future updates on my studies and travels.

Take care and keep in touch.

In peace and love,

Cat Cutcher
www.catsmeowinkenya.blogspot.com

Homecoming

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Nairobi!  I hope that you are happy and healthy.  I am writing to
let you know that I will be traveling home to Ohio on July 1 and will stay until
July 21.  I will then return to Kenya until November.  I hope to see some of you
while I am visiting the U.S.

I will present a slide show and discussion, “Reflections from Kenya,” on
Tuesday, July 15 from 7-9 p.m. at Ohio University, Bentley Hall, Room 306. I
will be discussing the elections in Kenya, the post-election crisis, conflict
resolution, and other issues related to my research with women’s organizations.
Please join us.

I am also writing to request your assistance.  I have been asked to gather some
supplies for the Taita International School and I am looking for donations of
the following:

• Sports equipment i.e. soccer balls and outdoor games
• Video games for kids (compatible with PC Windows systems)
• DVD videos – comedy, action, musicals, documentaries appropriate for ages 4 - 18
• Educational CD-roms for PC windows systems
• Digital camera
• Digital camcorder (mini DV) & video tapes
• Digital voice recorder
• Walkmans
• Rechargeable batteries and charger
• Science lab supplies
• Cake decorating supplies (for kitchen staff and fundraiser for school)
• Songbooks or CDs of children’s songs
• Foreign language textbooks or dictionaries (Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic,
• Chinese)
• Maps
• Jigsaw puzzles
• Pens or pencils (especially from OU, Ohio State or Hocking College)
• Colored pencils, crayons, watercolors & other art supplies
• Clothing patterns for sewing class

If you can donate or help me to gather any of these items, please let me know by
email at cutcher@ohio.edu or phone at 740-742-3012.  I will be gathering these
supplies during my visit in Ohio and would appreciate any assistance you can
offer since my time and budget are limited.

Thank you for your attention.  I look forward to seeing you soon,

Sincerely,

Cat Cutcher
www.catsmeowinkenya.blogspot.com

Greetings from Taita

Dear friends and family,

It has been nearly a month since I last wrote to you, and much has happened here in Kenya.
The good news is that I have completely recovered from malaria, and received a clean bill of health from my doctor a couple of weeks ago. Although it was no fun being sick, I must say that I enjoyed having the opportunity to take it easy for awhile, and to let my “mamas” here take care of me and teach me all about medicinal herbs and traditional remedies for curing malaria. I drank a bitter tea made from the bark and roots of the "Muarobaini" tree, which is known to cure 40 diseases (arobaini means 40 in Arabic and Kiswahili). The tea is nasty and strong but not bad with a large helping of local honey stirred in (like Mary Poppins says, "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way....").

I also have been eating a lot of "mchunga" - these wild herbs that are harvested during the rainy season, and considered a local delicacy offered to guests. They are known to prevent and treat malaria, and are loaded with iron, which is important to renew the red blood cells lost by malaria. They are also very bitter but are boiled in water, then stir fried in oil, onions, garlic and tomatoes (like “sukumawiki”). With plenty of salt and “ugali” (corn meal porridge), they really aren't bad. I have been eating these almost every day.

Aside from this very intimate exploration into local knowledge about medicinal herbs, I have also been enjoying being back in Taita and learning more about women’s groups and agricultural production. As is common throughout Africa, women comprise an estimated 80% of Kenya’s agricultural labor force. Since this is the rainy season, much of the focus in women’s groups here has turned to farming, and I have been meeting with groups who have taken me to their “shambas” (farms) where they are cultivating maize, beans, millet, sorghum, amaranth, arrowroots (nduma), cassava (mihogo), sweet potatoes, greengrams or mung beans (pojo), pigeon peas (kunde), pumpkins, sunflowers ….. the list goes on and on. The hills and valleys are so green and filled with vegetation these days after two months of heavy rains. I have met with members of the Mwakitutu Women’s Group, a group that I have been working with since January, and have also met two groups of “Farmers’ Field Schools,” which are groups that focus on agricultural production, and teaching new sustainable farming techniques to others in the community. It is inspiring to witness women working together collectively, sharing their harvest, and supporting each other in the many tasks and difficult labor of food production. Most of the cultivation is done here by hand, so often you will see a group of women with “jembes”, or heavy iron hoes, digging and tilling the earth in a line – like a collective human tractor. It is really difficult work and they are really strong.

I have not yet mastered the art of swinging the jembe, but I have enjoyed helping with the harvesting, drying, seed saving, and processing of food. (This is also my usual job at my own “shamba” at Willow Farm in Ohio!). I have especially enjoyed learning more about growing grains and beans, which is also a new area of food production that Joe is exploring with other farmers back home in Ohio. It has been an interesting conversation whenever I tell the women about our “shamba,” and they are delighted to hear about the foods that we grow, and the goats, chickens and donkey that we raise on our farm. They are really eager to know more about small farms, the local food system, organic foods, agricultural marketing, and other food issues in the U.S. We have been talking a lot about the increase in food prices – many basic food staples have almost doubled in price this year. They are surprised to know that this is also an issue in the U.S. and that there is a worldwide food shortage, as they thought that it was primarily due to the post-election violence here in Kenya. They are interested to hear about the revival in interest in “local foods” in the U.S. and are amazed when I tell them that there are people in the States who do not know how to grow their own food, or who do not know that milk comes from a cow, or who would rather buy their food in a grocery store than from a local farmer.

In many ways, Kenyans have a distinct advantage over Americans in terms of their knowledge about food production and their well-developed system of agriculture. Many of the small farmers here can sell pretty much everything they grow locally, as long as they are close enough to a town or a major road to get it to market by public transport. However, the local food system is being challenged by a dependency on foreign oil for transport, and the insistence upon using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified seeds that were brought here in the guise of the “green revolution” of agricultural development. Moreover, climate change has resulted in increasing aridity of the land, and rainy seasons are less predictable than ever. As water becomes an even more precious resource, farmers’ harvests are also affected, and women’s labor becomes more intense as they must carry water from even greater distances – often in large containers on their heads or backs.

Aside from agricultural production, I have also been learning more about some of the basic challenges to women’s organizing in rural areas, especially here in Taita. One of the major themes I keep hearing about is the resistance of men to women’s groups. Many of the women have said that they would have a lot more freedom and ability to participate in development projects if they were “allowed” by their husbands, but that many husbands feel suspicious of women’s groups. Part of this is that they fear that once women become economically independent and self-sufficient, they will begin to demand a greater share in the decision-making in the home, or they will challenge their husband’s authority if they make more of an income than their husbands. Some husbands also say that they fear that their wives will get new ideas from other women, and they will bring these ideas home to challenge their husbands. The resistance to girls’ and women’s education and empowerment among men is emerging as a major theme in my research – it seems like a much more controversial issue than I anticipated. Women’s education, empowerment, and organizing seems to contradict some deep-seated cultural attitudes about women’s proper “place” and behavior – and it also represents an aspect of social and economic change that seems to threaten the very structure of families and rural communities here in Taita, and also in Lamu (although for different cultural and religious reasons).

Another challenge is related to illiteracy among adult women, which is becoming a major theme of my research. As many women were denied access to education in the past –whether for economic or cultural reasons – there are large numbers of adult women in rural areas who do not have basic skills in literacy or numeracy. This makes it extremely difficult for women to organize themselves into groups or small businesses, as they are required to register the group with the government, write a constitution, keep minutes of the organization, or do financial accounting to keep track of expenses and income. Some groups are also involved in scientific “research,” such as testing new seeds or tracking crop production in the Farmers’ Field Schools, and they also need to develop skills in record-keeping. Some women’s groups, however, are engaged in adult literacy classes where they are learning these basic skills while they are also involved in income-generating activities. I have been meeting with a number of adult educators in the community and learning more about the provision of adult education in Kenya. However, the government seems more focused on supporting basic primary education for children in Kenya, and is working toward provision of free secondary education as well. Adult basic education remains a neglected program of the government, and many teachers complain that the need is much greater than the government is able to handle. Nevertheless, adult education services are a valuable link for women’s groups to connect to resources and assistance within the local government.

For example, the Mwakitutu women’s group was started in 1983 as an adult literacy class, taught by my friend Julius Mwakio Katuu. The group officially registered as a women’s group and they have been active for 25 years now. They have been involved in many projects – building water tanks, farming, selling charcoal, weaving beautiful sisal baskets, and building houses and rental buildings. They continue to struggle with basic literacy, however, and they often call on Julius and his wife, Mama Agneta, for assistance with organizational issues. Recently I assisted them by helping them to plan and write a proposal to the Women’s Enterprise Fund, which was initiated this year by the Government of Kenya to provide micro-enterprise loans for women’s groups. The program is well-intentioned, but it seems inaccessible to many rural women’s groups as the forms are written in English and require a lot of organizational skills such as preparing a budget, business planning, etc. However, the Social Services officer in Mwatate Division taught the women about the process and translated the forms, and Julius and Agneta and I interviewed them about their plans and assisted with the writing of the proposal. The proposal was accepted by the local government and has been forwarded to Nairobi. If they get the funding, the Mwakitutu group will have support to build a six-room structure on their land in Mwatate town, where they currently have several other structures that they have rented out to carpenters’ shops, kiosks, and small restaurants. They are excited about this opportunity to expand their investments in real estate, which will help them to generate even more income for their other projects. I have also been involved with them in examining their property lines and thinking creatively about how to approach other businesses that have encroached upon their land. It has been a fascinating process of watching them examine and solve problems based on their own experiences and practical wisdom, and of seeing their difficulty in accessing government services without the benefit of literacy. It has also been encouraging to see how they manage to work around the bureaucratic system through skillful negotiations, and by getting help from their local adult literacy teacher. I also have to give great kudos to Julius, who I think is a powerful example of a man who is gender sensitive, deeply dedicated to women’s empowerment, and is so humble and respectful in his interactions with women. This whole process has been a fascinating journey into “popular education” and the “pedagogy of the oppressed” (a la Myles Horton and Paulo Freire).

Aside from my work with women’s groups in Taita, I have also continued to support the Taita International School. In early May, I was approached by Aruna Amirthanayagam, the Cultural Attache of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy, who is my supervisor for the Fulbright Program. Aruna was interested in visiting the school since he is responsible for organizing educational and cultural exchange programs between the U.S. and Kenya. He and a Kenyan staff member, Rukiya Mwinyi, visited the school on May 12, and it was a sight to behold. The students were fabulous, and they organized performances of poetry, skits, singing and dancing of traditional songs, and speeches. The Mwakitutu Women’s Group also attended the event, where they sang traditional Taita songs and demonstrated basket weaving. Then all the teachers and staff gave short speeches, telling about the history and significance of the school. The Embassy officials donated several boxes of books for the secondary school students, including a brand new set of World Book Encyclopedias, another set of MacMillan textbooks for the new Kenyan curriculum, a set of wall charts for Chemistry and Biology, and a huge map of Africa. These books are a valuable addition to our library, and the teachers were raving about how they had wanted to purchase the MacMillian books but the school just couldn’t afford them. The Embassy staff also promised to send more boxes of books for the nursery and primary school children. They also promised that we would begin an ongoing relationship between the Taita International School and the U.S. Embassy, with assistance in the form of scholarships for girls, summer camp enrichment programs, and other educational support. At the end of our visit, Rukiya and Aruna told me that they have visited dozens of schools throughout Kenya, but they have never been welcomed so warmly by any school or had such an impressive presentation. They said that they were so impressed with the school and were amazed at how much it has been developed in just a year and a half. I think that organizing this visit was perhaps my greatest accomplishment and legacy so far in Kenya, and I hope that this will lead to more scholarships and opportunities for Taita’s students in the future.

The next day, I traveled to Mombasa with Aruna and Rukiya to visit the Sheikh Khalifa bin Ziyad Secondary School. This is a private Muslim high school, and is one of the top 10 private schools in Kenya and among the top 20 of all high schools for students’ achievement in the national Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams. Although the school is mixed, it is still segregated by gender in keeping with Islamic tradition, as the boys and girls are separated in different classrooms and by a big partition between them in the auditorium. Last year, the U.S. embassy had organized a national essay competition for high school students to write about the importance of democratic elections, and the top three winners of the essay contest were girls from this school. We presented the girls with certificates and cash prizes (the First Place winner won 10,000 shillings, which is about $150). We also presented the school with a big check for 130,000 Kenyan shillings, which will support a tuition scholarship for one student for two years. Aruna asked me to present a short speech to the students, and I spoke in Kiswahili to the crowd of about 1,000 students to their delight and surprise – the whole auditorium was howling with laughter and cheers when I greeted them “Asalaam aleikum” (Peace be with you) and explained my research to them. I congratulated them on their academic achievements and encouraged them to study hard and they too could study abroad in the United States someday. It was really delightful to speak to them and to live my dream of making a whole roomful of people crack up with laughter! (I just hope I didn’t make any big mistakes and say something stupid or offensive – it is easy to mistake a vowel and completely change the meaning of a word…..)

After our trip to Sheikh Khalifa, I stayed in Mombasa for another two weeks, where I continued with my research and writing and visiting with women’s groups and friends throughout Mombasa. It was a wonderful visit and I am once again amazed at the polycentric, multicultural space of that city. It is so exciting to live in a place that is influenced by so many peoples from throughout the world, and especially around the Indian Ocean region. It is a testament to the polycentric nature of globalization – that “globalism” does not just mean the cultural dominance or neo-colonialism of the West over the Rest, but that there is a complex interweaving of cultural influences from Africa, Arabia, India, China, Indonesia, Europe, and beyond. Although British hegemony and the English language are still an issue in post-colonial Kenya, issues of identity are far more complicated by the reality of the post-modern world and influences of media from around the Indian Ocean region. It is interesting to note how young people on the Kenyan coast today look to the Arab world, India, China, Nigeria and other African countries even more than Europe or Hollywood. I hope to write about this issue more in my research someday.

Otherwise, life is good and I am happy. I hope that you too are enjoying life, wherever you are, and remembering to be grateful. I look forward to seeing some of you when I am home in Ohio – I will be home from July 2-20. Then I will head back to Kenya to continue my research until November. Please take care and be in touch.

Peace and Love,

Cat Cutcher

Happy Maulidi from Mombasa

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from beautiful Mombasa, Kenya. I am writing with some great news today – I have received an extension of my Fulbright Fellowship, which will allow me to stay in Kenya for a full year until November 2008. I will still come home for a visit in July, but then will head back to Kenya to continue my research until the late fall. I also was awarded a dissertation fellowship from the American Association of University Women, which will support me for another full year so that I can finish writing my dissertation when I return to Ohio. I am very excited about this opportunity and grateful to have the support of such an incredible organization. The AAUW supports research to increase equity and access to education for women and girls around the world.

The Taita International School has been closed for three weeks for the April holidays, so I took the opportunity to travel and continue my research elsewhere in Coast Province. I have spent the past two weeks in Lamu, a small island off the northern coast of Kenya on the Indian Ocean. Lamu is a special place – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest and most-intact Swahili settlement in East Africa. It is hard to describe Lamu without resorting to clichés – the place has a mystical appeal and is known by many as the “Kathmandu of Africa” or a “travellers’ paradise.” I was first introduced to Lamu as a student and a tourist in 1994, and initially thought of the place as a “timeless” and “unchanging” society that has preserved traditional Swahili culture and Muslim traditions. However, after my third visit to Lamu, and experiencing more of the local culture through the eyes of women leaders, I have discovered a complex and dynamic society that is facing many of the same issues that are present throughout Kenya today.

The geography of Lamu is striking. The Lamu district includes an archipelago and mainland region that lies on the northeastern coast of Kenya, just south of Somalia. Lamu town is the administrative center of the district, and the oldest town in Kenya with over 1,000 years of continuous settlement and trade. All transport on the island is by boat, donkey or foot, as there are only four motorized vehicles on the entire island. Travel away from the island is entirely dependent on boats, and must be timed during the high tides. The “streets” of the town are narrow alleyways and labyrinthine corridors winding around ancient stone, sand and coral homes, with open sewers filtering underneath (sanitation and waste management is a major problem). Beyond the old town, new settlements are growing, and their names reflect the globalized sensibilities of modern Lamu – Kandahar, Kashmir, Bombay. Beyond these settlements, the island flattens out into an immense expanse of “shambas” (farms) of coconut, mango and cashew trees. There are also large areas for grazing cattle, goats, and sheep. On the far side of the island facing the open ocean, the landscape rises into large sand dunes, which dips down to a 6-km long, crescent-shaped beach.

The Lamu population is 95% Muslim and is characterized as a Swahili trading town where ethnicity and race tend to be fairly fluid categories, and intermarriage is common. The population of 20,000 or more people is a creolized mixture of Swahili, Bajuni, Omani Arab, Persian/Shirazi, Kore, Kikuyu, Luo, Indian, and European people. For the majority of the Muslim Swahili residents, modesty and chastity are the hallmarks of this conservative culture, but there is also a hidden element of romance and allure. Women in Lamu are often clad entirely in black “buibuis” or “shugas”, a full-length black robe, with a black “hijab” or headscarf and sometimes even a “ninja” which covers all but their eyes. However, once you go inside their homes, you realize that underneath the buibui, they are elaborately adorned with beautiful clothing, henna designs on their hands and feet, and ornate golden jewelry. Men are also covered with a full-length white “kanzu” robe and an embroidered cap or “kofia” worn on their heads, which is also worn over other clothing.

A sign at the Lamu jetty greets visitors with this message: “Lamu County Council welcomes you to Lamu. Beach wear and scanty dresses not desirable in the town. Thank you for respecting our cultures.” This conservative attitude puts off many visitors to Lamu. But a little modesty goes a long way, and I found that when I covered myself with long skirts and a scarf draped around my shoulders, I was greeted warmly by both men and women. The “Rough Guide to Kenya” explains an interesting aspect of Swahili modesty: “Outsiders have tended to get the wrong end of the stick about Swahili seclusion. While women are undoubtedly heavily restricted in their public lives, in private they have considerable freedom. The notion of romantic love runs deep in Swahili culture. Love affairs, divorces and remarriage are the norm, and the buibui is perhaps as useful to women in disguising their liaisons as it is to their husbands in preventing them” (Trillo, 2006, p. 537). The veiling of Muslim women was a topic of conversation throughout my interviews and observations in Lamu, and I hope to write about it more in my research at some point.

I traveled to Lamu for a “spring break” with two other U.S. Student Fulbrighters to celebrate Maulidi, an Islamic festival celebrating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed. This is a revered event throughout East Africa, and Lamu hosts what is considered to be the best Maulidi Festival in the Indian Ocean region. The tradition started when Habib Swaleh traveled here from the Comoros Islands in the mid-1800s and founded the Riyadha Mosque. It is said that he is a direct descendent from the Prophet Mohammed, and that he brought the Maulidi tradition to Lamu which has survived to this day through his hundreds of descendents. An estimated 50,000 Muslim pilgrims travel to Lamu every year from throughout the world to celebrate the revered holiday, which is a month of activities culminating in a three-day festival. Some people even say that “two trips to Lamu are equal to one trip to the Hajj” at Mecca in Saudi Arabia. I met many new friends from Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar, Somalia, Ethiopia, Libya, Egypt, Iran, the UK and elsewhere. I even met a Somali-Ohioan, a man who moved to Columbus, OH almost a decade ago as a refugee from the Somali civil war. We met in a café one day and talked for almost 3 hours - he was also excited to meet me since I am from Columbus and we know a lot of the same people and neighborhoods.

The events of Maulidi kept me really busy for the first week I was in Lamu. We spent a lot of time watching the singing, drumming and dancing at the Riyadha Mosque, which was the center of the religious festivities. There were also nightly performances of Taarab music in the town square, with men singing religious songs with a band playing flutes, drums, synthesizers and stringed instruments. The National Museums of Kenya also organized a number of secular events as well, which made it feel like a county fair with donkey races, dhow (sailboat) races, a football (soccer) tournament, a children’s Arabic calligraphy competition, henna painting, and daily gaming competitions in the town square with old men playing strategic games such as dominoes, bao (like mancala), and dumna (like chess). My favorite competition, however, was a “greased pole contest” at the jetty, where young men tried to balance on a greased pole to grab a flag at the end before slipping off into the cool waters of the Lamu harbor. It was really hilarious to watch.

After the Maulidi events, I spent a couple of days relaxing with my friend and fellow Fulbrighter Valerie at the beach. On Sunday, we went on a dhow trip with some local guys and spent the day sailing, fishing, snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing at the beach on Manda Island, just across the harbor from Lamu Island. One of the guys, Bakari, caught a black snapper fish with a spear, and our other friend Baji roasted it on a charcoal grill with lime juice and chili. It was truly delicious and melted in our mouths. We also ate rice cooked with coconut milk, vegetarian curry, and a dessert of mangoes and bananas. I also spent two other days at the beach with friends over the next week, and am sure that Lamu’s beaches are the most beautiful in the world – white sands, a long stretch of sand dunes, large waves, and the great Indian Ocean on the horizon.

We also spent a day at a “shamba” (farm) of our friend Omari Hassan and his family. We walked and rode donkeys for an hour or two across Lamu Island to the remote shamba in the interior, near the sand dunes. The shamba was like an oasis with palm, coconut, mango, cashew, pomegranate and guava trees. We spent the day playing with Omari Hassan’s four nephews (aged 6-10 years old) who were really silly and ornery and fun. We played cards, sang songs, chased each other up and down the sand dunes, and followed as they led us on a tour of the shamba and encouraged us to taste every piece of fruit they could find. It started raining a little bit and we ran back to the house to cook with Omari’s sister, who said that we had brought the rain as a blessing to their shamba. She taught us how to grate coconuts with a tool called a “mbuzi” and to strain it with a woven raffia sieve called a “kifumbo.” She added rice to the coconut milk and cooked it over an open fire, along with a delicious vegetable curry and beef stew. We ate from a common bowl with our hands while sitting on a woven raffia mat called a “mkeka.” After lunch, we relaxed on the mkeka for a siesta under a large acacia tree. Then we roasted cashew nuts over an open fire. The cashew shells are so oily that they catch on fire, and we had to douse them in the sand to let them cool down before shelling them. The boys had a competition shelling the nuts and then we ate the warm roasted cashews with sweet ginger tea. Tantalizing!

Throughout the next week, I stayed in Lamu and was busy with research interviews and meetings. I met with members of local government and leaders of women’s groups, and tried to learn as much as I could about education and organizing among women in Lamu. I interviewed the Lamu District Gender and Social Development Officer, who told me that there are over 400 active women’s groups in Lamu District alone. She is from Taita and shared some interesting insights into the similarities and differences between cultures, religions and women’s organizations in Taita and Lamu districts. She discussed the “geography of women’s organizing” and talked about how women’s groups operate differently and take on different roles, projects, and income-generating activities based on their environment and local economy. This is a theme that is really emerging from my research and conversations with people throughout Kenya.

I also met with Ombuya Amele, the Lamu District Adult Education Officer, who informed me about the challenges of providing adult education services in rural Kenya, and especially in a district as diverse and widespread as Lamu. He said that there are just 100 teachers for the whole of Lamu district, but the need is far greater since there are such high rates of illiteracy, especially among women. He believes that women’s groups are uniquely placed to deliver these services and are a valuable partner for raising awareness and education among adult women in Lamu.

Another day I met with Hadija, an American art historian who has lived in Kenya for the past 30 years, and who has married a local man and settled in Lamu with her family. She is the editor of Lamu Chonjo, a magazine promoting the Lamu Archipelago and reporting about community development issues facing the area. She said that she has confronted many gender issues as the mother of two girls in Lamu – wanting them to both appreciate their local Swahili culture but also strive to understand the world and their opportunities beyond Lamu. It was fascinating to listen to her ideas about female space, Swahili women’s culture, and the major obstacles to women’s and girls’ education in Lamu. She was an excellent person with whom to discuss and interpret these issues since she represents a bridge between the U.S. culture and Lamu, and could explain things in a language that I could really understand.

Another Westerner who has made Lamu her home is Julie, a former VSO volunteer from the UK who has started an NGO called “Lamu Safi” (Clean Lamu). Julie specializes in sanitation and waste management, and has worked to sensitize the local population about proper waste disposal, composting toilets, and recycling. She works with women’s groups on garbage collection and ecological restoration. She also works with youth groups to use drama and role playing to raise awareness about environmental issues in schools.

I also met with Amina Hussein Soud, a Lamu native and former Fulbright Scholar who studied at Yale University and has a Master’s in Environmental Studies. She is currently the director of Red Cross and the Spanish-sponsored organization ANIDAN, an orphanage and school in Lamu. Amina is a superwoman – the mother of 4 children, a wife, a community leader, a scientist, a humanitarian…. We had a fascinating interview about the role of women’s groups in Lamu in promoting microfinance, in developing small businesses, in encouraging girl child education, and in contributing to community development. Amina said one thing that I will never forget: that as a woman in Lamu, she works behind the scenes, while men want to take all the credit - but that she can get a lot more done as long as she understands that. Good advice.

I also met with Maryam, who also studied in Cleveland and returned home to Lamu. She taught me about the ways that women’s groups are educating the public about domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, girl child education, microfinance, and small business development. Maryam revealed that divorce and domestic violence are very common in Lamu, leaving women and children particularly vulnerable. However, she also said that it is a controversial issue to discuss domestic violence, or provide services for women survivors, as it is a small town and one could be accused of trying to break up families. (This reminds me of the secrecy surrounding “My Sister’s Place” in Athens.) She said that the role of mothers is essential in promoting girls’ education in Lamu, as women are now sensitized to the importance of educating their girls and ensuring that they can become self-sufficient.

Then I met Rukiya, a mother, grandmother, and community leader who has been a central figure in promoting girls’ education, poverty eradication, and women’s empowerment in Lamu. She was born and raised here and has lived her whole life in the working-class neighborhood of Langoni. She is a respected elder and has been particularly active in promoting “merry-go-rounds,” or small microfinance groups that have helped women to save and invest their money for income-generating activities. She discussed many of the biggest problems facing women in Lamu – divorce, drug abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, lack of child support, HIV/AIDS. She also discussed how Islam promotes women’s rights and how women can refer to the Qur’an and Sheria laws to demand equality and protection.

Another day I visited the Lamu Education Development Foundation Trust, a community-based organization that supports girl child education and family empowerment in Lamu District. Their director is Amina Kale, a teacher and community-based educator who is also a dynamic leader in the community. Their mission statement reads: “To mobilize people to work together in promoting educational standards and other sectors of development for the present and future well being of Lamu and Kenya.” They also support Kikozi, a “merry-go-round” or savings and credit association with over 600 members in Lamu District. They are particularly involved in educating women about microfinance, small business development and cooperative marketing to assist in raising money for school fees for children. Many of their board members are prominent teachers and educated professionals in the district who are invested in promoting opportunities for girls to excel in education.

Last but not least, I met with a Kikuyu woman from Mpeketoni on the mainland of Lamu district, who started a small community-based group called the Lamu East Poverty Eradication and Education Women’s Group. She told me more about the relationship between the mainland and Lamu town, and the differences between different ethnic and religious communities in the district regarding women’s education and organizing. Her group is primarily involved in agriculture, tree planting, waste management, and small business development.

After two weeks in Lamu, I left last Tuesday. I am now in Mombasa, the largest city on the coast, where I am sweating in the humidity and enjoying the island breezes and full moon. I have been making use of having some down time, and have been catching up on writing my field notes from my intense interviewing and observations in Lamu. I found an amazing place to stay in the Old Town, near Fort Jesus, with a family who rents out the top floor of their home to American students for Swahili studies and international exchange programs. I have the whole top floor to myself and have set up my writing table and laptop on the balcony overlooking the ocean. It is one of the most inspiring settings I have ever had to write, to think, and to be. Mombasa is an endlessly fascinating city and a truly multicultural space influenced by the fusion of African, Arab, Indian and European peoples. From the ancient Fort Jesus through the meandering streets of the Old Town, to the colorful market filled with carts and stands piled high with tropical fruits, vegetables and spices, to the textile shops filled with sumptuous fabrics, this is a city that appeals to all of my senses of romance and drama. Mombasa is a truly cosmopolitan and diverse space, where the whole world seems to meet and reside together. One local professor recently told me that Mombasa is a city that has historically welcomed people of every race and nationality and religion and language, and that the rest of Kenya and the world could learn a lot from this society about conflict resolution and embracing diversity. He is organizing a conference this summer on Swahili culture and conflict resolution, and I hope to have the opportunity to participate and learn more about this topic.

This weekend I visited John Nyambu Njore and his family in Nyali, on the north shore of Mombasa. I stayed with John’s family back in 1994 in Wundanyi, when he was just 12 years old, but today he is 26 and just became a father when his daughter Martha Kimbaya was born two weeks ago. I am excited to see him again, to meet his wife and daughter, and to reconnect with him as an adult. It is really wonderful to have long-term friendships with people here, and I am grateful to have the chance to cross paths with this family again.

I will return to Taita for a while to continue with my fieldwork there with women’s groups and adult education classes in Mwatate and Wundanyi. I am also planning another trip to Nairobi in the near future. I have been invited to participate in some interviews with women’s groups and displaced women in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in the Rift Valley, in cooperation with an intern from the Kenya National Human Rights Commission. I am looking forward to learning more about the issues confronting women in the IDP camps and meeting with women leading the peace and reconciliation process.

So, that is my life of the past month. I hope that you are also happy and healthy wherever you are. Please do write to me sometime and let me know what is up in your world – I am really missing home and am craving hearing some news from my friends out there…..

In peace and freedom,
Cat

Happy Easter!

Dear friends and family,

I send you Blessings and greetings from Kenya. I hope you are healthy, happy, and enjoying the beginning of springtime. I am writing to update you on my life and my research in Kenya, and am relieved to say that I am taking a break from ranting about politics ☺

I will say that the political crisis seems to be improving since the peace deal was signed by President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga on Feb. 28, and was passed by Parliament in mid-March. However, Kenya is still facing a major crisis due to the post-election violence, mainly about potential food insecurity and resettling the estimated 600,000+ internally displaced people. Please join me and keep praying for peace and justice in Kenya.

I am now back in Mwatate, after spending three weeks in Nairobi. The long rains have come, bringing fresh air, an abundance of water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and green foliage. The farmers are planting again, grateful for the rains that will produce their largest crop of the year. It is really beautiful here and I am grateful to be in a rural community where it really feels like spring back in Ohio.

The Taita International School is continuing to grow and change. We have almost 90 children now enrolled in the school’s nursery, primary and secondary classes. The dormitories for girls and boys are now full to capacity! I have moved into the girls’ dorm and am enjoying spending more time with them, braiding hair, telling stories, studying, and playing. The boys were sad and jealous when I moved out after Joe left – they said that they will really miss having us live in the boys’ dormitory with them. I think it is mostly because of Joe - he always let them listen to his IPOD and brought them chocolate treats from time to time. Many of the boys have told me that they really admire Joe for his kindness and commitment to hard work.

We also received a shipment of 6 boxes of beautiful books sent from Joe’s mom, Nancy Beres. Thanks to all of you who donated funds to help make this happen. We received an entire collection of leather-bound Encyclopedia Brittanica, another set of World Book encyclopedias, a Bible, and a few dozen wonderful children’s books (including my favorite Dr. Seuss stories). The children and teachers are very excited to have these resources available for their library and for research projects. Thank you!!

A group of nursery school students participated in a poetry and drama competition for Mwatate Division, and they won! Then they went to Mombasa, where they competed with other schools from around Coast Province. Many of the little kids had never even left Mwatate before, and they were excited to see the ocean, to watch the fish, and to ride the Likoni ferry across the harbor. They performed a skit with half of the kids acting as judges and the other half were children, and debated on behalf of children’s rights. They won third place in the province. Sammy, a four-year-old boy, recited a moving poem about HIV/AIDS. His poem won first place for Coast Province, and he was selected to participate in the national poetry competition in Nakuru, which is eight hours away by bus. He will travel there with the nursery teacher, Mr. Mwachia, on April 8th. This is a huge boost for all of us, and has everyone in the community praising the school.

We had an amazing and lively Easter church service at the school this weekend. The children sang and danced and rapped and laughed – they had so much fun! The staff congratulated the students for their talents, and Leonard Mjomba (the patron of the school) made them all laugh when he got up and danced for them. He encouraged them to nurture their talents for music, singing, dancing, and public speaking, and said that these were valuable skills for life and important parts of their culture that they should not lose. The janitor then gave the sermon about the significance of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter, and encouraged the children and youth to celebrate their lives, believe in themselves, and to keep Jesus in their hearts. I am impressed with the deep spirituality and religious devotion of the children and staff at the school, and of the Taita people. I really feel that the Sunday church services are a powerful way to build a sense of love, community, and cultural appreciation in the school.

The day before Easter, I traveled to Wundanyi to visit the Nyambu family, who were my hosts during a two-week homestay back in 1994. That was my first visit to Kenya as a college student, and their family left a deep impression on me. I will never forget the kindness of Mama Lisper, her deep faith and spirituality, and her devotion to her family and her work as a farmer, a mother, and a wife. We had a joyful reunion this weekend, and I was amazed to find out that her children, who were 12, 10 and 5 when I lived with them, are now all grown up. Her eldest son John is married and they are expecting their first baby. The younger children, Judy and Niko, are both in college in Nairobi. Judy and I had a wonderful time reconnecting and it turns out that we were neighbors in Nairobi! She has invited me to come stay with her then when I return to the city from time to time. I also met Lisper’s husband, Paul, for the first time, and we had a lively discussion about politics in Kenya and the U.S.

My research is continuing well and I continue to be amazed by the wonderful contacts that I have made here. Since I sent my last message to you, I spent three weeks in Nairobi and conducted many interviews and made valuable contacts. I attended a reception for International Women’s Day at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Nairobi, where I met a group of women affiliated with the Association of Women Journalists of Kenya, a women’s professional association that encourages reporting and community outreach on gender issues. I also met bankers, lawyers, politicians, diplomats, scholars and activists. The most valuable contact I made at the reception was with Dr. Helen Anyiso-Oduk, a professor at Kenyatta University who specializes in gender philosophy and who is also involved in the Gender Roundtable Discussion Series that is organized by my KU advisor, Godwin Murunga. I met with her later that week for lunch and we had an incredible conversation about changing gender roles in various Kenyan communities, about which she wrote her dissertation.

I also visited Kenyatta University’s Department of History, Archaeology and Political Studies, which is my affiliated department in Nairobi, and had a very good meeting with my advisor. I visited the library and received a tour from the head librarian, who introduced me to the different departments and collections and has offered to facilitate my research when I return to Nairobi. I was impressed to find a huge collection of Africana literature, particularly related to education, gender issues, history, culture and politics.

Later that week, I visited the University of Nairobi’s library and bookstore with my friend and fellow Fulbrighter, Opolot Okia, who is a historian. We enjoyed perusing the impressive collection at the UON library and I purchased several books from their bookstore that would be difficult to find back in the States. I also went back later that week and met with a researcher in the Institute of Development Studies, where I learned that I can also register as a research associate and get access to their special library collection as well as publish my research findings in their working papers series. I am really considering doing this, as some of the professors there are doing cutting-edge research on gender and development, and informal education and employment.

Later that week, I interviewed representatives of several women’s organizations who I met at the reception at the ambassador’s residence that I attended back in November. I visited the offices of the Society for International Development and Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (Progress/Development for Women), where I got information and contacts for future meetings. I met with a woman who works with the Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE), a regional organization that works for gender equity for women and girls in education in 33 different Sub-Saharan African countries. She gave me some valuable insights into their work with governments, universities, and teacher training programs in various countries. She also told me that there is a FAWE office for Kenya in Nairobi, and that I should contact them to get more insight into how they are working in schools and universities to promote gender equity in Kenya. They are really involved in training teachers in gender-responsive and non-sexist teaching methodologies. They also work to sensitize Ministers of Education and university administrators about the importance of gender mainstreaming, or ensuring that the leadership of schools includes at least 30% females, to work toward gender equity. They also work with adolescent girls to teach them about puberty, or how to practice good hygiene and to make their own sanitary napkins. She said this is important since menstruation is one of the major causes of teenage girls’ absences and dropping out from school, and can become a major barrier of shame if the girl cannot afford to buy menstrual pads.

Later that week, I met with Gladys Boss Shollei, the CEO and editor of the Kenya Law Reports at the National Council on Law Reporting. This government agency was created through an act of Parliament in 2000, and Mrs. Shollei has led the organization from its inception through the past 6 years. She said that the law reports were not documented for over 20 years from 1980-2000, and it had become difficult to work in the judiciary since the Kenyan legal system is a Common Law system and decisions are supposed to be made based on precedents. She had been a law professor at the University of Nairobi and was determined to document the legal history of Kenya. In the past six years, they have increased their staff to 42 people and have had 15 law students as interns each year. They have successfully documented and printed 15 of the 20 years of precedents and have collected and printed all of the legal cases since 2000. All of this information is also digitized and available online. She explained that women’s rights are really limited in Kenya, and that it has been difficult to pass laws supporting women and girls such as the Children’s Act of 2001 and the Sexual Offenses Bill of 2006. However, the judiciary has been successful in creating a Family Division, which specializes in cases of domestic violence, divorce, child custody and support. She said that this division is the one that most women deal with, and that they are getting more support and training for gender-responsiveness among judges and lawyers. She argued that women have difficulty accessing the legal system in Kenya since they often are not educated about their legal rights nor do they have the resources to pay for legal representation. However, there are women’s organizations that support civic and legal education, and that also offer pro-bono services to represent the women. She is a member of two of these women’s professional organizations - the Kenyan Women Judges Association, as well as FIDA, the Federation of Women Lawyers of Kenya. She has also been involved in trying to promote women to become more involved and more prominent in the Kenyan judicial system in order to promote more gender sensitivity and gender responsiveness from within the system. She offered to introduce me to three of the leading women judges in Kenya, including the first woman to be a judge in the High Court. She also generously invited me to visit her rural home in the Rift Valley Province near Eldoret, which was an area where a lot of people were displaced and which was the center of a lot of the violence in January. I am hoping to do this later in April or May, as I think it will be important for me to visit and meet with some of the displaced women to learn more about how women’s groups are working to assist victims of the post-election violence and to teach affected women about their rights and options.

I also had an interview one day at the United Nations Population Fund. I learned more about their educational outreach programs to teach Kenyans about reproductive health, HIV/AIDS prevention, family planning, gender-based violence, and alternatives to female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM). I learned that 38 of the 42 ethnic groups in Kenya practiced female circumcision at some point in their history, and that this practice continues in some communities and is often strongly defended. Recognizing the cultural importance of having a rite of passage to help teach girls about the transition of adolescence, the UN Population Fund assists women’s groups in various communities to develop alternative rites of passage programs that teach information about adolescence, puberty and reproductive health, but do not practice genital cutting. These programs are gaining wider support in their communities, and demonstrate the importance of informal education among women’s groups in Kenya.

I was amazed by the UN compound, which is the UN headquarters in Africa. I would love to work there someday. The compound is huge, filled with gardens and fruit trees, and flies flags from every country on the planet. They host offices of UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNESCO, the United Nations Environmental Program, and other development programs. The multicultural, international staff includes scholars and activists from around the world, and I heard at least a dozen languages spoken in the cafeteria. I also visited the library and found an abundance of materials that will be useful in my research. Primarily, I learned more about the UNESCO-sponsored Kenya National Adult Literacy Survey, which was conducted in 2006 to assess adult literacy in the country. This study estimates that over 60% of adult women in Kenya are illiterate, and recommends that women’s groups and other community-based organizations are valuable partners to the government in delivering non-formal education for women in Kenya.

Last but not least, I had a series of valuable and helpful meetings with my friend and former professor, Tom Wolf. Tom was the director of the Kalamazoo College Study Abroad Program when I was an undergraduate student, and he was my teacher and advisor. We have kept in touch and have met from time to time ever since 1994. He is currently working as an election monitor and researcher with the Steadman Consulting Firm. Tom knows everything about Kenyan politics. He also lived in Taita as a Peace Corps volunteer and researcher in the late 1960s and early 1970s, speaks fluent Kidawida (the local language), and knows dozens of local families. When we met in Nairobi, he introduced me to other friends of his who also work on gender and development issues in Kenya. They listened and helped me to think through some of the issues I have been grappling with in my research, and gave me valuable feedback, insights and direction. For this, I am truly grateful.

So, that’s my life in a nutshell. As you can see, I’ve been very busy but life is good and I am happy and feeling stimulated and productive. I hope that you too are doing good work wherever you are. Please keep in touch and let me know what is going on in your life.

In peace,

Cat

Kenya and U.S. Elections: Danger and Opportunity

Greetings from Nairobi. Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch and giving me feedback now and then. I really appreciate the input and guidance that many of you provided after my last message.

As you know, after 2 months of violence and instability in Kenya following the Dec. 27 presidential elections, I was feeling ambivalent about the possibility of continuing my research. However, I have decided to stay and feel confident and positive about the potential for peace and justice in Kenya. I have already invested so much in my research and relationships here in Kenya, and I feel that I am not taking any risks that those around me are not also taking. I feel protected by my friends and family in my local community here, and by the local government leaders with whom I am working. The Fulbright Program at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has also been diligent about keeping in touch, and has assured me that we are all safe and should continue with our work.

One exciting development this week has been the invitation to attend the International Women’s Day reception on March 11 at the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger. This will be an opportunity to meet with hundreds of women’s rights activists, community organizers and educators from throughout Kenya. As you know, I also attended a similar reception about violence against women in November, which led to incredible contacts and ideas and helped me to “take the pulse” of the Kenyan women’s movement. I look forward to meeting more colleagues and making more connections next week before heading back to my fieldwork site in Taita.

As a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, an activist, and student of international affairs, it has been fascinating to witness the process of international diplomacy and peacemaking over the past two months. As an American friend to Kenya, it has also been intriguing to compare and contrast the events following the contested elections in Kenya to what I have witnessed in my own country. I am working on an article based on these observations, and I hope that you will send me some input or editorial advice on the following section of this letter.

Please continue to take care and keep in touch. I look forward to communicating with you.

Peace and progress,

Cat Cutcher

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KENYA AND U.S. ELECTIONS: DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY

Kofi Annan has taught Kenyans that the Chinese word for “conflict” includes both “danger” and “opportunity.”

Kenya has experienced the worst conflict in its 45 years of independence after the announcement of the results of the presidential election on December 30, 2007.

Many lessons can be learned from Kenya about both the limits to and potential for democracy. They also point to the importance of diplomacy and peacemaking to diffuse violence and war.

Two months of violence and instability have the potential to either make or break this East African nation. While revealing the deep divisions in Kenyan society, they have also demonstrated the deep connections between Kenya and the international community, especially the United States.

ROOTS OF THE CONFLICT

Prior to December 30, the 2007 election represented the most free, fair and open election in Kenya’s history. The political campaigns were conducted in a climate of open debate and a free press that covered all of the political parties and candidates. Thousands of new voters were registered, including an unprecedented number of women and youth. International election observers flocked to the country and thousands of local volunteers signed up to assist in the electoral process. While there was some violence leading up to the elections, it tended to be isolated in the rural communities of the Rift Valley and Mt. Elgon. Many Kenyans believed that the 2007 elections would demonstrate that Kenya’s democracy had matured in an open and inclusive political climate.

However, everything changed after Kenyans went to the polls on December 27. There were widespread reports of disenfranchisement of voters, stuffing of ballot boxes, and violence at the polls. Opposition leader Raila Odinga appeared to be leading in the tallying of votes in the presidential election for several days, and six of the eight provinces declared him as the winner. . However, the results that were counted at the local and provincial levels were different than the results announced at the national tallying led by the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), which was appointed by the incumbent President. ECK Chairman Samuel Kivuitu announced in Nairobi on Dec. 30 that incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was the winner after receiving the majority of the popular votes. Kibaki was quickly sworn in as the President in a private ceremony in State House.

Since December 30, Kenya has been engulfed in waves of violence and destruction. Over 1,000 people have died and an estimated 600,000 people are internally displaced throughout Kenya. Rapes, mutilation, torture, and other forms of violence have left deep scars, trauma and divisions in society. Human rights have been violated and anxiety and fear have become commonplace. Ethnic tensions are on the rise, as the political crisis amplified deep differences and suspicions between different ethnic communities. The economy has been affected, with thousands of businesses destroyed, jobs lost, and livelihoods threatened.

During the past two months, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan led an impressive and difficult task of bringing the two parties to the table to negotiate a political settlement. Hundreds of international visitors, journalists and mediators have flocked to Kenya. The list of VIPs has included a host of leaders, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa, former South African first lady Graca Machel, current Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, and current Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also visited Kenya to send a strong message of friendship and an insistence on peace and power-sharing on behalf of the United States.

The Kenyan negotiators from the two political parties had a long list of issues to address, and it was difficult to compromise on some of the key issues, such as the creation of a Prime Minister position for the opposition leadership. At one point the discussions reached a stalemate. The government Party of National Unity (PNU) insisted that the current constitution should be respected, while the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) insisted that the constitution no longer reflected the desires or realities of current Kenyans. In the last week of February, ODM started to threaten that they would call for mass actions and demonstrations again if progress was not made.

On Feb. 28, the peace process reached a climactic turn of events as President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga signed a peace agreement to share power between the two parties and to reform the constitution. The whole country seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief and Kenyans danced in the streets with hope for peace to return.

However, as an African proverb warns, “When the elephants fight, the grass suffers.” The conflict between the two political parties is just the tip of the iceberg. Many Kenyans believe that the real work has yet to begin. The elite deal of power-sharing between Raila and Kibaki is just a step toward a government that will be accountable to the millions of people left in poverty and suffering in the wake of a divisive election, and years of historical injustice. A great deal of work remains to heal the country from the recent devastation and violence, and to address issues of social and economic justice.

To ensure that Kenya remains united, the deep divisions of ethnicity, race, religion, gender, language, age and class remain to be addressed. As Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai states, Kenya is a nation comprised of many “micro-nationalities,” and tension often leads to an assertion of these ethnic identities and languages.

Of particular importance is the issue of land, as communities have been shifted over centuries of migration, colonial rule, ethnic cleansing, cattle raiding, and urbanization. As the displaced are resettled, care must be taken to ensure that they are not sent to areas where they will be again vulnerable to attacks, or encroaching on other people’s land. The issue of land distribution is critical as the country considers where the internally displaced people will be resettled. Discussions of economic justice reveal the deep privileges and disadvantages inherent in land ownership throughout the nation.

INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY

The international pressure on Kenya over the past two months has been staggering. The international community showed the best of its abilities in diplomacy and peacemaking. It has also revealed Kenya’s importance in regional stability for East Africa, its leadership on the African continent, and its strategic position as an ally in the “War on Terror.”

The peace process has been a delicate balancing act between helping to find a “Kenyan solution” and insisting on real change. The involvement of the international community has revealed many double standards, and the tension between respecting the sovereignty of the nation-state while also putting pressure on the government to recognize Kenya’s importance in global politics.

Kofi Annan assured Kenyans that the international community was not here to ‘impose’ a solution but rather to ‘insist’ upon one. The diplomatic efforts have called into question the reality of post-colonial (or neo-colonial) international relations. While Kenyans are deeply grateful to the international community for stepping in to negotiate, some are suspicious of the intentions and the results of this deal. Indeed, the very role of the international community in conflict resolution has been deeply examined, and the unequal power between nations has been revealed.

What pressure is appropriate for other nations to use in expressing solidarity or “insisting on” solutions? What role can other nations play when internal divisions make it difficult for countries to develop solutions and create peace? At what point is it appropriate for other nations to step in? And what are the intentions of nations that support peace and power-sharing in Kenya after turning away from war and genocide in other East African nations, such as Rwanda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo?

The diplomatic corps in Kenya has been active in negotiations, with U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger and British High Commissioner Adam Wood putting pressure on the Kenyan government to admit that the elections were flawed and to create a power-sharing, coalition government.

A number of Kenyan government leaders were suspected of inciting violence or blockading the peace process. They were issued warnings that they would be denied visas to enter the United States. They were told that the ban would be lifted if they would write an essay defending their position and explaining how they were contributing to peace in Kenya.

Martha Karua, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the head of the PNU government’s delegation in the peace process, responded to the ambassadors’ call for power-sharing and denial of visas to Kenyan leaders. She declared that Kenya is a sovereign nation and wanted to remind the ambassadors that they were “low level civil servants” who were just expressing their own opinion but were not eligible to express the policy of their countries. She also reminded other countries that Kenya is “not a colony” and that they should allow the government to solve its own problems. She declared that the opinions of these diplomats were completely “irrelevant.”

When U.S. President George Bush visited Africa recently, he avoided Kenya due to the current violence and alleged corruption of its government, and instead sent U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as an ambassador. Rice sent a strong message of “friendship” that insisted “there must be no violence” and that the two parties must agree on a “power sharing government.” While in Rwanda, Bush warned that the international community must act quickly to prevent genocide and violence in the future. The U.S. warned that unless a power-sharing deal was struck, there would be no “business as usual” between the two countries. The peace deal was settled by Kibaki and Raila shortly after receiving these strong warnings from the United States.

CLOSER TO HOME: US ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRATIZATION

Ironically, the closest example to the electoral problems and alleged corruption in Kenya may be found in the United States. In fact, we have a lot more in common with Kenya than we would like to admit.

When similar concerns about election rigging were raised in the U.S. elections in 2000 and 2004, they were swiftly swept under the rug. Did the Republicans talk about sharing power with the Democrats? Did the international community rush to the aid of the American people whose votes had been stolen? Are U.S. citizens confident that their votes will be counted in 2008?

No, and neither has the U.S. stopped insisting upon democratization abroad, while its citizens keep struggling to defend democracy at home.

In 2000, questions were raised in the U.S. presidential elections in Florida and the closest election in U.S. history. Concerns arose about “hanging chads,” the disenfranchisement of African-American voters, and the biased roles of Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who had been the co-chair of the Bush campaign in Florida, and Governor Jeb Bush, the younger brother of George W. Bush. Bush was declared the winner after receiving 537 more votes than Al Gore in Florida, out of more than 5.8 million votes cast. In spite of a recount, when Gore and the Democrats took the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, the results of the election were decided by judges, not by voters. Protestors flocked to the streets to protest the Bush inauguration, and they were met with rubber bullets, tear gas, police batons, and arrest.

In 2004, the results of the U.S. presidential election were similarly contested, and all eyes shifted to the swing state of Ohio. Again, there was widespread evidence of disenfranchisement of African-American voters in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. Absentee and provisional ballots were still uncounted when John Kerry conceded the presidency to George Bush the morning after the election. Voting machines were reportedly “hacked” or pre-programmed to deliver the result of a slim 51% majority for George Bush. These voting machines were created on a government contract by the Diebold Corporation based in Columbus, Ohio, whose CEO is one of Bush’s campaign contributors. Walter O’Dell, the head of the company, told Republicans in a 2003 fund-raising letter that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." The final decision about the contract for the voting machines and the final results of Ohio’s elections were directed by one man, former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Like Katherine Harris in 2000, Blackwell was also a Bush supporter and campaigner for the Republican Party. Despite widespread suspicion and evidence of election fraud in Ohio, Bush was declared the winner of the 2004 national election. Again, the second Bush inauguration was met with thousands of protestors in the streets of Washington, who were kept out by metal fencing barriers and an army of police.

Given, following the contested U.S. elections in 2000 and 2004, we did not see the extent of the violence that erupted in Kenya, or the massive displacement of American citizens from their homes. Indeed, the majority of the American people seem too comfortable and too unwilling to give up their privileges and their property to engage in oppositional politics.

The opposition movement in the U.S. may be gaining momentum, but it has not the organization or the militancy which was witnessed in Kenya. Over the past eight years, the American Left has become galvanized in its opposition to the Bush Administration, and to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Anti-war protests were organized before the wars even started, and have continued to gain momentum as the wars drag on and as U.S. soldiers and Iraqi and Afghan civilians die by the thousands. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens have gathered to protest the Bush administration’s policies, but the fear of the police and the power of our institutions are overwhelming to the majority of U.S. citizens. Moreover, a deep disconnection and mistrust has grown between the U.S. anti-war opposition activists and the formal opposition of the Democratic Party.

For the majority of Kenyans living on less than a dollar a day, many felt they had nothing to lose and everything to gain from engaging in mass action and demonstrations. They have also been joined by a large contingent of militant, unemployed and frustrated youths who are increasingly tempted to engage in crime and violence.

The dynamics of these two countries’ elections are all the more intriguing in 2008. Barack Obama is rising as the favored candidate of the Democrats and activists in the U.S. presidential race. Obama would be the nation’s first African-American president. Coincidentally, Obama is Kenya’s prodigal son, the child of a Kenyan man and a European-American woman.

Obama was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia and has traveled extensively around the world. A photo of Obama was recently circulated in the U.S. media that was taken during his visit to Wajir, in the Northeast Province of Kenya. He was dressed in a turban and wrapped in the traditional garb of a Somali elder, a sign of respect and reverence for important visitors. This photo was used on the front page of the New York Post with the headline “Bum Wrap.” The photo was cynically used to scare Americans into thinking that Obama is an Arab or Muslim sympathizer. A recent interview with the Somali-Kenyan man who dressed Obama in this outfit revealed that he did so out of deep respect for the potential U.S. President and a beloved son of Kenya.

According to his supporters, Obama is articulate, inspiring, highly educated, and has the potential to unite the U.S. across our divisions of race, class, religion, gender, and politics. He also has the ability to reach out to nations around the world in friendship and solidarity, and improving the image of the United States as a partner with other nations in global leadership. Unlike his competitors, Obama is the only candidate who has consistently voted against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a statesman and a global thinker who has supported international diplomacy and peacemaking over war and violence.

The Kenyan press has been eagerly reporting the Democratic primary elections in the U.S., with a keen eye on Obama. A recent political cartoon in the Daily Nation depicted many Kenyans’ wishes to vote for Obama in the 2008 U.S. elections. The election of Obama is the dream of thousands of Americans and Kenyans who are seeking real change and a peaceful and respectful form of diplomacy between the U.S., Kenya and other nations.

Kenyans and Americans are joined today in friendship and in our hopes and struggles for democracy. Elections present both the danger and opportunity of democracy. We can all hope that the 2008 U.S. elections will be peaceful, free and fair. We owe it to Kenya and the rest of the world to truly practice what we preach.

*** Catherine Cutcher is a U.S. Fulbright Student in Kenya and a Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Studies in Education at Ohio University. She is currently engaged in dissertation research on the Kenyan women’s movement.****