Chronicles of a Refugee

Again,

Where do you even start in writing one of these blogs. Life is full! I think I’ll just go chrono this time, update on the past few days.

Things in Kenya are still a muck - political leaders who refuse to resolve issues are coming at costs to the people. The shilling is beginning to fall, and schools have only just opened today - over two weeks of delay. Grrr…

I’m trotting at quite a pace. I had my first sleep over at Pistis (orphanage) last night. Had a blast (wasn’t really expecting anything other). We played some games, and then watched Chronicles of Narnia late into the night - 8:00 pm; I was completely knackered.

Saturday began early - these kids don’t know the art of sleeping in. Chai and some dopey milling around the campus took up my morning. In the afternoon Mama Wekesa took me to the refugee camp just outside the town. Pistis has been requested continually to show up and take some kids from the site. So off we went to the camp.

I didn’t really know what to expect - was it going to be everything that Hotel Rwanda portrayed? Was it going to be filled with internationals running around; crying lost children; men patrolling with guns? What was it like?

It’s like a lot of people scattered over a large area. You see the random World Vision, Islamic Medical Society, or Amnesty International flag or van around. You see the random mzungu with a video camera. Long queues for food portions, kids milling about, impromptu laundry lines strung up about, and general mill of people making their ways to and fro.

Reality is - refugee camps are boring. The people there are starved for something to do. Their jobs, lives, everything are on hold. They’re bored. This Showgrund Camp is currently holding 10 000 people. 5 000 of them are children; 90% of them are Kikuyu - forced to leave their burning homes predominantly from the west in Eldoret and Burnt Forest.

A lot of parents hiding out in forests - afraid of continued violence against them (because the man they voted for wasn’t satisfied with the number of votes he got and decided to add a few bushels of complimentary votes to the mix). Fearing their children wouldn’t survive the forests, many have sent them alone to the refugee camps. Food supplies are low - the kids are taking a cup of porridge each morning; the adults receive theirs in the afternoon.

The general feeling that I got from chatting with people was their general frustration with how both sides are refusing to reconcile and this is coming at a cost to them. No government officials have family stuck in refugee camps; none of them are having their houses burnt. The awareness of the situation among the youth is scattered; a lot of them seem resilient to the chaos - though I think I’m also a bit of a distraction in the camp, with many of them never having seen mzungus (whites) before - so a couple times I’ve been bowled over by kids just trying to reach and get a hold of some mzungu skin.

I’m planning to spend a few days a week at the refugee camp, working alongside a local Red Cross volunteer who said he wants to tag team with me. I’ll be working predominantly with youth, not in counseling but in games, and doing what I only feel capable to do - be an amusing distraction for passing time.

Pistis has accepted to house 20 children for the time being. Several of us went and picked up the children today in a matatu and brought them back. I spent my afternoon with the kids - few who speak any English at all, and the youngest ones are mainly dependent on Kikuyu - a language I’ve barely even attempted to learn. I think I’ve got two words mastered now. But played games and snacked and had some of the older kids read them story books in Kiswahili, which they liked a lot. That and more pulling at mzungu skin

What else is new… I finally took my paints out and have been doing some painting - loving that. Hmmmm, I thought there was more going on that I wanted to write about.

Oh, yes! I’ve braved ‘handwashing my clothing’. I feel like a child splashing around in a bathtub while doing it, and don’t think the clothes come out much cleaner at all when I do it - but I still have that sheepish pride in having done something all by myself.

And I’ve started teaching my two new courses. One on ‘The Meaning of You’, and one on ‘Business and Further Academics’ - both courses for the Pistis kids graduating this year, with hopes to give them an upper hand in the hard job market here.

Missing you all. Violence has decreased, and there is hope that Kofi Annan , who arrives tomorrow(?) will be able to bring some resolution to things.

Nitasema tena - (will chat again later)

Cam