Kenya's Crossroads: What You Can Do
As January comes to
a close, over 800 Kenyans have been killed and at least
255,000 displaced by the violence that erupted after President Mwai
Kibaki was declared the winner of allegedly faulty elections held in late
December 2007. What began as unorganized riots and protests escalated,
within days, to campaigns of ethnically motivated attacks that many believe
are being stoked by political leaders.
The fighting is so intense that it is not only threatening the safety
of hundreds of thousands of Kenyans, but it is debilitating various other
aspects of daily life, including economic transactions, education, and
health. Indeed, the economy has reached a near standstill as the movement
of people and goods is severely restricted; teachers are fleeing and children
are unable to attend school in affected areas of the country; and violence
against women has skyrocketed, with one women's hospital in Nairobi registering
unheard of numbers of rape victims.
Some international and local observers are even asking whether these seeds
of conflict will lead Kenya down a path to civil war.
Also being questioned
is the foreign media's understanding and coverage of the crisis. As one
local paper reports, "There is more to Kenya's post-election violence
than a bungled vote count and so-called tribal rivalries." One of the
fundamental issues is the inequitable distribution of resources among
the majority of Kenyans, a problem that politicians have exploited by
citing ethnic divisions, in order to garner support following an unfair
election.
o Stay Informed
o What You Can Do
o What Others Are Doing
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STAY
INFORMED
To stay up-to-date on this extremely dynamic situation, visit the blog
of latest coverage of the crisis from around the world, updated daily
by Pambazuka News, a local forum for social justice in Africa.
To learn more about Kenya, its history, and the issues it faced even before
the current crisis, please see OneWorld's Country Guide on Kenya.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
 Looting
has been profuse throughout the post-election crisis in Kenya.
© Global Giving |
You can get involved with the following campaigns or lend your voice and
support to the OneWorld partner organizations listed
in the section below.
Africa
Action
Africa Action is a U.S.-based organization working to change U.S. foreign
policy and the policies of international institutions in order to support
African struggles for peace and development. Africa Action invites you
to write Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today and ask
her to call for an independent, comprehensive, and transparent recount
of the votes, as well a lifting of the media ban, the ban on freedom of
speech, and the ban on all other human rights now held in suspension.
American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
AFSC carries out service, development, social justice, and peace programs
throughout the world. AFSC invites you to support its provision of immediate
financial aid to those who have been most directly affected by the loss
of life, home and livelihood.
GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving is an online marketplace where you can browse ways to help
people around the world, pick the initiatives you are most passionate
about, and give to the solution. GlobalGiving invites you to donate funds to support organizations responding to the
post-election crisis in Kenya, including feeding and medical programs,
shelter, transportation, and psychological counseling for victims. Their
project leaders in Kenya have sent us personal accounts of what is happening.
Be sure to read the updates on the Kenya projects for the latest news.
You can read one such update here: Update
on Events in Kenya.
 Rema,
president of the Nairobi-based Market Traders Society, said the
rioters emptied the society's files onto the floor, trashed any
furniture they didn't carry away, and then broke most of the windows.
© Sarah Elliott / Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
|
Lutheran
World Relief (LWR)
LWR seeks lasting solutions to poverty and injustice around the world.
LWR invites you to help them, through donations, provide emergency food aid,
tents and blankets to 4,000 displaced families in Mombasa and in the Nyanza
Province.
MADRE
MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that works
in partnership with community-based women's organizations worldwide to
address issues of economic and environmental justice, women’s health
and violence against women, and peace building. Support MADRE’s
work in Kenya by donating to the Emergency
and Disaster Relief Fund.
Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
UUSC supports programs and policies that promote workers' rights, advance
the human right to water, defend civil liberties, and preserve the rights
of those affected by humanitarian crises. UUSC encourages
you to urge President Bush to support the demands by civil society
organizations in Kenya for an independent audit of the election results
and to donate to the UUSC-UUA Kenya Crisis Fund.
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WHAT
OTHERS ARE DOING
In response to the ongoing devastation, many local and
international actors -- including OneWorld's partner organizations active
in Kenya -- are mobilizing people and resources while others on the ground
are keeping the international community informed of what regular people
are experiencing on a daily basis.
An open letter from a local priest contemplates ethnic violence
among previously cohesive communities, and emphasizes that people must
first overcome hatred for peace to thrive.
Meanwhile, the president
of a U.S.-based human rights organization penned this blog while he was in Kenya assessing the political
and humanitarian crisis and meeting with those affected -- victims and
heroes alike.
Seeking to ensure awareness of the gender dimensions of this crisis, an
eleven-member committee representing the Kenyan Women's Consultation Group
on the Current Crisis in Kenya recently presented a memorandum to the mediation team headed by former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan.
OneWorld partner organizations working on the ground in Kenya include:
Academy
for Educational Development (AED)
AED works globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic
development -- the foundation of thriving societies. In western Kenya,
AED runs a program that supports families and communities to improve
the health, nutrition, and psychosocial care of young children orphaned
and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Action
Against Hunger USA
Action Against Hunger USA strives to eliminate hunger through the prevention,
detection, and treatment of malnutrition, especially during and after
emergency situations of conflict, war, and natural disaster. In addition
to monitoring nutrition among displaced Kenyan children under five, Action
Against Hunger is providing humanitarian assistance to the growing population of internal
refugees, including clean water, sanitation, and essential non-food items
such as blankets, soap, and clothing.
Centre
for Population and Development Activities (CEDPA) CEDPA
works hand-in-hand with women leaders, local partners, and national and
international organizations to give women the tools they need to improve
their lives, families, and communities. In this letter, Selestine Otom, who attended CEDPA's Advancing
Women's Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action training workshop, reflects
on the violence that has engulfed her country.
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
IRC is a global network of first responders, humanitarian relief workers,
health care providers, educators, and community leaders providing access
to safety, sanctuary, and sustainable change for people affected by violence
and oppression. In Kenya, the IRC has delivered food and emergency supplies to thousands of
Kenyans who fled the spreading violence.
John
Snow, Inc. (JSI)
JSI is a public health research and consulting firm dedicated to improving
the health of individuals and communities around the world. JSI works
on a plethora of programs in Kenya related to HIV/AIDS, public
and reproductive health, tuberculosis, and much more.
Oxfam
America
As an independent humanitarian and development organization, Oxfam is
supporting initiatives by Kenyan citizens which are aimed at helping those
affected and bringing a peaceful outcome, independent of any party political
affiliation. In Kenya, Oxfam is giving financial support to a network of organizations
campaigning for peaceful negotiations and to the Kenya Red Cross. Oxfam
is also promoting community reconciliation at the grassroots level.
Peace
X Peace
"Peace by Peace" uses the Internet and other technologies to
connect, empower, and inspire collaborative action among women around
the world. In this
recent publication, Peace X Peace provides an unusually clear and
comprehensive explanation of the extremely complex factors driving the
crisis and shares several first-hand accounts from their colleagues working
on the ground in Kenya. |
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