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| Displaced: Geoffery Karanja and his daughter fled ethnic violence in Kericho, Kenya, last week. Rob Crilly |
Kenyans forced to flee violence find ways to cope
Plans for key talks toward a political solution to Kenya's post-election crisis fell through Tuesday. Meanwhile, 250,000 have been displaced by ethnic violence.
from the January 9, 2008 edition
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Samwel Sangolo, who also lost his home, says many Kikuyus had been expecting trouble.
"It was overdue. It was coming," he says. "The election is an excuse. They want us to go home and not make any money from our businesses."
The Kikuyus have long been prominent in the Kenyan economy.
Many other ethnic groups are suspicious of a business acumen that has seen them spread across the country from their central Kenyan homelands, opening shops, restaurants, and factories as they go.
"You can't trust the Kikuyus. Good riddance," spits one local in Swahili as he walks past the field where hundreds of families are camping in the open.
Threats and rumors of fresh attacks continue to swirl around the town set amid the rolling hills of Kenya's tea plantations.
The Red Cross estimates that about 10,000 Kikuyus have been forced from the town so far.
Richard Barchok, chairman of the local branch, says thousands have already left for family villages farther east but thousands were still camped in the center of town, close to the security of the police station.
"We have people who have lost everything," he said. "These people need total help – food, shelter, water, sanitation, everything."
Much of Kenya has been returning to normal this week. The roads are filling with traffic and shops and offices have reopened.
Many ordinary Kenyans seem to have little energy for more protests and clashes. After a Christmas break extended by a week of violence they are eager to get back to work and start earning money.
But that is not an option for the steady flow of people leaving Kericho.
Margaret Bosiri has been sleeping under the stars waiting for a ride home since last week.
She had to watch as hundreds of attackers armed with bows and arrows swept through the farm where she lived.
"They followed me into my house with [machetes]. They took all our valuables – radio, chairs, even the mattress," she says.
The gang piled up her cushions in the center of the house, doused it with fuel, and set her little house ablaze.
She fled with her children to a church in the center of town, where they now sleep on a tiny patch of grass.
"I will return when things are normal," she says, "but I don't know when that will be."
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