The past week, I visited the Nairobi informal settlement Mathare where thousands of people had to flee their homes. I am just back from refugee camp Dadaab in North Eastern part of Kenya where at least tens of thousands of Somali refugees were chased from their homes, due to heavy rains and floods. Some of them were new arrivals fleeing from Somalia because they fear insecurity: some of them have to wait six months until they are recognised as a refugee. The only shelter people had was a small blanket, and small construction made out of branches from shrubs. ‘No big news’, international media houses would say, because this is how it works. We need ‘big numbers’ Twice this week, I saw people fight for food: a small box of BP5 biscuits, a small box of UHT Milk. Meanwhile rain was pouring down, adding some drama. In Dadaab, children were swimming in the mud pools, playing ball games, laughing, really enjoying, as if they were on a summer holiday. White 4WD cars of NGO’s and UN passing by. Pictures on Mathare and Dadaab are coming up.
Related Posts
-
Matatu strike
Interesting to see what happens when matatus go on strike, like what happened yesterday in -
Meles Zenawi died
Meles Zenawi, the prime minister of Ethiopia passed away: One of Africa’s ancient giants falls. -
BBC broadcasts halted in Kenya? KBC in London?
Just picked up this story from the BBC World site: comments, ideas and opinions get -
Mobile communication in Africa
This is possible: I wrote this posting on my mobile phone somewhere in the middle