Unelected refugees in their own country
By Stephen H. Padre
Nairobi, January 6, 2008--Millions of Kenyans went to the polls to choose their president in the national elections after Christmas. But for Benta Nyipolo and tens of thousands of Kenyans like her, being forced from their homes in the violence sparked by the election was something they did not chose.
The violence erupted across Kenya immediately after the results of the vote for president were announced on December 30. Nyipolo, a resident of Muthare, a large slum area in the country’s capital of Kenya, said groups of angry people went on a rampage through the area. They broke into houses, hacked people to death with machetes, raped women and stole property, from stoves to furniture. “They even took spoons,” she said.
Some of Nyipolo’s neighbors were killed, and she heard of a pregnant woman being thrown to her death from a high place. “It was really scary,” she said.
She sent her 8-year-old daughter to stay with a friend the first evening of the violence. After three days, as the violence escalated, she and others were forced to leave their homes.
Some of Muthare’s residents fled to a small patch of land outside the gate of Moi Air Force Base, just across from the slum area, where they felt they could receive some measure of protection from the military personnel guarding the gate.
Dressers, desks, plastic sheeting, empty jugs and even some live animals like ducks and goats are some of the items in scores of piles spread out across the grass of personal belongings that people brought with them when they fled. People dragged sofas and hauled cushions and mattresses to sleep on, and the metal bowls and fire pots they managed to grab from their kitchens now form makeshift cooking areas on the ground.
For several days, these families have been refugees in their own country, just meters from their own neighborhood. And they have been refugees of violence in a country that has been a sanctuary for millions of refugees from its neighbors – Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia.
It is estimated that 300,000 people across Kenya have been forced from their homes and that more than 300 people have been killed in the violent unrest.
“The situation here is hard,” said Nyipolo. The group outside the air force base has stayed on this spot with very few supplies, and Nyipolo said there are rumors circulating that the water is poisoned, meaning any supplies they can get themselves are suspect.
Nyipolo, who is HIV-positive, not only lacks food, but also lacks regular access to her daily regimen of drugs. She is worried about catching TB from sleeping outside in Nairobi’s cool nights without a blanket in addition to continued fears for her safety, so she sleeps at a friend’s house.
On January 4 and 5, Church World Service, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, through its local partner, the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), distributed emergency relief supplies to Nyipolo and the 346 other families in the makeshift camp. With an initial grant of US$20,000, KELC was able to distribute flour, salt, cooking oil, vegetables (tomatoes, carrots and beans), blankets, clothing and feminine hygiene products.
After finishing the distribution of supplies on the second morning to the people staying outside the air force base, the coordinator and volunteers of the distribution from KELC went to the Muthaiga Police Depot Station on the other side of the Muthare slum area. Other Muthare residents had fled there for the protection the police presence could offer.
The KELC group determined that the 290 displaced residents there had an adequate supply of food for several days and decided to go to another site where the needs were greater. It will complete its distribution of emergency relief supplies in the coming days.
Nyipolo is unsure of what will happen to her. For now, the slums are too dangerous to enter, even for organizations like KELC bringing relief supplies. She cannot return to her neighborhood, where shops and homes have been looted and destroyed. While the country’s top leaders try to reach a political settlement, many of Kenya’s displaced citizens will have to wait for a settlement to the crisis on the streets it has caused.
Nairobi, January 6, 2008--Millions of Kenyans went to the polls to choose their president in the national elections after Christmas. But for Benta Nyipolo and tens of thousands of Kenyans like her, being forced from their homes in the violence sparked by the election was something they did not chose.The violence erupted across Kenya immediately after the results of the vote for president were announced on December 30. Nyipolo, a resident of Muthare, a large slum area in the country’s capital of Kenya, said groups of angry people went on a rampage through the area. They broke into houses, hacked people to death with machetes, raped women and stole property, from stoves to furniture. “They even took spoons,” she said.
Some of Nyipolo’s neighbors were killed, and she heard of a pregnant woman being thrown to her death from a high place. “It was really scary,” she said.
She sent her 8-year-old daughter to stay with a friend the first evening of the violence. After three days, as the violence escalated, she and others were forced to leave their homes.
Some of Muthare’s residents fled to a small patch of land outside the gate of Moi Air Force Base, just across from the slum area, where they felt they could receive some measure of protection from the military personnel guarding the gate.
Dressers, desks, plastic sheeting, empty jugs and even some live animals like ducks and goats are some of the items in scores of piles spread out across the grass of personal belongings that people brought with them when they fled. People dragged sofas and hauled cushions and mattresses to sleep on, and the metal bowls and fire pots they managed to grab from their kitchens now form makeshift cooking areas on the ground.For several days, these families have been refugees in their own country, just meters from their own neighborhood. And they have been refugees of violence in a country that has been a sanctuary for millions of refugees from its neighbors – Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia.
It is estimated that 300,000 people across Kenya have been forced from their homes and that more than 300 people have been killed in the violent unrest.
“The situation here is hard,” said Nyipolo. The group outside the air force base has stayed on this spot with very few supplies, and Nyipolo said there are rumors circulating that the water is poisoned, meaning any supplies they can get themselves are suspect.
Nyipolo, who is HIV-positive, not only lacks food, but also lacks regular access to her daily regimen of drugs. She is worried about catching TB from sleeping outside in Nairobi’s cool nights without a blanket in addition to continued fears for her safety, so she sleeps at a friend’s house.
On January 4 and 5, Church World Service, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, through its local partner, the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), distributed emergency relief supplies to Nyipolo and the 346 other families in the makeshift camp. With an initial grant of US$20,000, KELC was able to distribute flour, salt, cooking oil, vegetables (tomatoes, carrots and beans), blankets, clothing and feminine hygiene products.After finishing the distribution of supplies on the second morning to the people staying outside the air force base, the coordinator and volunteers of the distribution from KELC went to the Muthaiga Police Depot Station on the other side of the Muthare slum area. Other Muthare residents had fled there for the protection the police presence could offer.
The KELC group determined that the 290 displaced residents there had an adequate supply of food for several days and decided to go to another site where the needs were greater. It will complete its distribution of emergency relief supplies in the coming days.Nyipolo is unsure of what will happen to her. For now, the slums are too dangerous to enter, even for organizations like KELC bringing relief supplies. She cannot return to her neighborhood, where shops and homes have been looted and destroyed. While the country’s top leaders try to reach a political settlement, many of Kenya’s displaced citizens will have to wait for a settlement to the crisis on the streets it has caused.
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