Finally, I made a trip back to Kenya to spend some time with my lovely wife, who I have not seen for exactly one year come 12 March 2008. It was not good; it was great to be back home in Kenya, where my heart is forever embedded in "God's Great Country." That is Kenya, one small part of Africa.
It seemed no different then the last two times I have spent while in Kenya in 2006 and 2007. Actually nothing was different to me and the warmth of the Kenyan people who are the caretakers of this wonderful place. Less than 24 hours my wife and I head back home to Nanyuki from Nairobi after a short stay overnight after arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta airport. There was a drought that some says started back the last week of October 2007, but most say it was going on for the last two months. It was hard taking a bath in the mornings or night because the water company would not send water when needed. My wife would wake up every morning around 3:00 a.m. to fetch water when the water was available through the pipes coming into the flat. We did this for about ten days when the first rain came pouring down hard one afternoon. It was nice and the dusty town of Nanyuki became easier to withstand, when walking outside without the dirt flying in your face from the strong wind gusts.
Other than that nothing was different to me. However it was different in Nanyuki and later on in Meru where I spent one weekend this time around. People I knew and some strangers already had hard times making ends meet. Now for many but not all it was even harder, because of the post election violence that had parts of western Kenya go up in flames do to ethnic cleansing seemed to change the landscape for so many Kenyans who depended on tourism to pay their bills. Even though Nanyuki, Meru and most places in Kenya didn't suffer the wrath of the violence. However they did suffer the same financial hardships as the parts of Kenya that was burning.
Even though the violence in Kenya stopped in mid February, there has been tourist coming back to Kenya. But most of those tourist have taking to Mombasa and leaving the rest of the country high and dry. Mombasa has not recovered fully even though they see most of the tourist these days. But it will take time for Mombasa and the rest of the country to bounce back from such damaging times. I have been back to the states for four days now and told someone I just got back from Kenya. She said "it's really dangerous over there right now with all the killings going on." I had to inform her that the violence has stopped since mid February and things are back to normalcy.
But things are not back to normal just yet until the tourists come back in full swing. I have a friend named Peter he is Kikuyu in Nanyuki who had lost his job as a cook at the Mount Kenya Safari Club. He is now looking to get a visa to travel to Dubai just to support his fiancée her name is Mary and has two children. He told me that if the Hotels hire him in time he would not go to Dubai if he were granted a visa to go. Their lives are so uncertain at this moment like so many others it makes you want to break down and cry. Another friend Robert who paints portraits for a living in Nanyuki for tourist has had no business for over two months he tells me.
When I walk around Nanyuki it looks busy as it always has when I was there twice before. People shopping, people selling and people eating at their favourite restaurants. What I am really seeing is the businesses that depend on Kenyans to keep them going not the tourist. However they have felt a hit in their pockets too. Many of their Kenyan customers who use to work in the tourist industry now have no money to shop or eat out on special occasions.
KENYA IS NOT BURNING!
I call on everyone Kenyan or non-Kenyan to let people know by word of mouth that Kenya is fine and if your planning a trip, now is the time to do so. Many Hotels have lowered their prices and many Kenyans who sell goods to tourist have also brought their prices down on such things like i.e. woodcarvings and jewellery. Even some of the wildlife safari companies have lowered their prices too. Kenya is fine and we didn't see another Rwanda, what we saw was mild in comparison. Kenyans know this wont happen again and the Western media should have told the West that the violence has ended almost two months ago. They have a responsibility that they refuse to report it, because to them violence is worth more to report than peace.
Photos: Copyright © 2008 Meet Kenyans. All Rights Reserved.