some recent notes that I've already put on Facebook

Tuesday 15 Jan

I thought it might be time for another note from Kenya. Life is sort of getting back to normal: kids back in school (hooray!), I've started teaching (hooray!), getting up earlier (...) Tomorrow another big banned demo is planned: who knows what will happen. But many people are really worried. Our househelp Gladys is wanting to move because of ethnic-based threats against her. It has been calm-ish, at least in Nairobi, for a few days, but there's a feeling it could flare up again. Some schools are closed tomorrow: ours aren't. Universities seem to be delaying opening... normality is not here. Rhi has found it quite stressful today.

Last night I went to a church men's meeting, and the Kenyan speaker made some very good reflections on the situation. He said he'd been talking to people who told him about sleeping outside, losing houses, while he'd been disturbed about getting the last piece of chicken at Chicken Inn. It is surreal: this is an inconvenience to the middle classes (including us), but it's tragic for those who've lost homes and livelihoods. There's been some stuff on the net about the violence being about poverty, rather than tribalism. Well, both, but some journalists will always try to find another explanation for ethnic hatred. The poor are attacking the poor, not going to the nice rich suburbs...

7th Jan
Things carry on calming down, especially with the cancellation of a big opposition rally tomorrow. But the underlying problems of who should have power, and how to negotiate a solution continue. The hospital I wrote about last time has its power back, and the roads there have opened up as well: praise God!

I've also been hearing some stories of hope: people protecting those of the locally persecuted tribe against the mobs, and this from people on both sides. The police, army and press have largely remained professional and responsible, trying to calm things.

But I feel very stressed today: 3 hours of meeting this morning mainly focused on the situation probably didn't help!

And thanks for your notes, etc. It is nice to hear from people

Jan 5
Well, we're still fine. Another demonstration was called yesterday, but nothing very big happened, and the amount of violence is reducing. Still, we're not having a day trip out or anything, NEGST has delayed its opening for a week (many students are still stuck hundreds of miles away), as have the schools and universities generally. So the kids have another week of holiday. Sunday school won't be on tomorrow either, so we'll see what we do about that. Friends in the west working at a hospital are expecting to be totally without power soon as the diesel for the hospital generator runs out.
It's not all over yet, but things are getting a bit better. And the weather is delightful for sitting out in the garden! Thanks for all your messages by text, email etc. Oh, and Rhi's normal no. is still out of action: use mine!

Thursday, Jan 3
Well, not so much new since yesterday. Karen is still quiet, was able to get milk today at the supermarket, unlike yesterday, but there's little in the more traditional markets, and prices are going up: we can cope, but many of the poor face real difficulties.

We’re OK, just watching the news too much, and wondering if we’ll be evacuated, and wondering what will happen to our Luo househelp who lives in a Kikuyu area. We helped some World Vision friends with their enforced (by World Vision) departure this morning… The real issue is more the ethnic violence, than the election results. Kenya needs a government of national unity now to calm things down, but instead the two main parties are accusing each other of fomenting ethnic killing. It smells a little like Rwanda, but I don’t think it will go there.

Jan 2nd

One or two people have asked how we are, and at the moment we're fine. Karen, where we live, is calm, and there's even food in the shops, but we're having trouble getting petrol and cash (we have some reserves on both, but not masses). 2 things are going on: protests over the rigged election, but much more sinister is the ethnic killing that is going on, mainly in the west of the country. Tomorrow, the 3rd, is scheduled to be a big anti-government demostration, and might cause escalation of problems, but the poilce and army have a high presence down town, which is closed to traffic, and will try to prevent this. Pray for a good solution.