In light of our conversations about prejudice in values class and our study of Africa in social studies, I wanted to share an email I received from a friend who is living in Kenya. I visited her last summer, and she was back in the States for a few short weeks in December. After traveling for over 24 hours, Allison arrived in the Nairobi airport and entered a chaotic country – one that was peaceful only days earlier.
I think you will find her words interesting…
“In Nyeri, the school is still functioning as normal. Classes are still held and homework is given out as expected. However, at the moment, we are taking extra precaution by not having students leave the campus for cross country or other activities where the security might be questionable. At night, our security guards, armed with their usual bows and arrows, watch over us…”
“While there is no violence here, there is obvious tension around campus as the radio is constantly on in the staff room and conversations rarely touch on anything other than the current and developing situations in the country. In addition, we’ve had some of the school employees, as well as our first student today, leave Nyeri due to the fact that they come from a tribe other than the Kikuyu, the predominate tribe in this area and that of President Kibaki. They fear that after suffering at the hands of angry tribes who blame the Kikuyu for the flawed elections, the Kikuyu will act on revenge and therefore, they do not want to be seen as a possible target…”
“The major problem areas are the Rift Valley and the slum areas of Nairobi where many people come from tribes of Western Kenya. Many of those are the people who were promised by Rila Odinga, such ludicrous things as other people’s legal land and property, something that sounds awfully similar to what Robert Mugabe has done in Zimbabwe. Because Odinga lost the election,and therefore is unable to make due on his promises, many of those people have acted in anger, demanding to obtain the coveted land. However, there is rumor that the violence was planed long before the election and actually funded by one of the acting Members of Parliament, Ruto. More than anything, this supposed political violence, has become something rooted more deeply along tribal lines.”
“I continue to love this country, but my soul aches to know and witness the raw brutality of the human race. Why is it that we refuse to learn from history? I can not, for all my efforts, understand the idea of people turning on one another simply because of the tribes they come from. And yet, this is not the first time humanity has witnessed it.”
“Let’s all pray for peace, love and unity – words that come directly from the Kenyan national anthem and realities that are so desperately needed now.”
I am interested to hear sixth graders’ responses – especially in light of our studies of Kilwa, Zimbabwe, and (next week), the Kongo. Here is a question that my friend posed:
What is it about human nature that forces us to put ourselves at such great odds with those who are different from us, be that in regards to race, religion, or ethnicity?
