Powercuts

So while I sit here we're in the middle of another power cut. Thank goodness for the little bit of battery life my laptop manages to have. It's just another one of those little things you get used to in Nairobi. Like no road markings, very few footpaths and generally poor infrastructure. What it results in now is that there are a bunch of people sitting around the office up to nothing in particular because not only can they not work in a power cut they can't even go on the internet and waste time that way. The back up generator is proving to be sadly disappointing as it doesn't provide enough power to run anything properly. The internet just keeps coming on and off as occasionally the server is fed enough power to function for thirty seconds or a minute. The internet connection, and we have a relatively decent one here isn't up to much at the best of times. Even things like emailing a photo that hasn't been shrunk down to a postage stamp size prove to be a bit of a task sometimes.

Of course in terms of deficiency of services this is hardly the worst thing happening in Nairobi. The conditions that some people are subjected too bring out a mixture of feelings in me. Notably anger, sadness and frustration. To see good people deprived of such things as a paved road outside of their house or running water inside is not something I find easy to rationalize. There are no shortage of intelligent, talented and decent people in Nairobi who have been left without decent opportunities. When I remarked to one Kenyan recently that people here were hard working he asked how I could say that when there was no work for most of them to do. Later that evening when leaving a friends house I fell into a hole due to a lack of street-lighting and my right foot went down into an open drain and got soaked. The lads were very apologetic and seemed to feel bad that this had happened to me while I was in their neighbourhood and with them but all that had happened was that I had been given a little glimpse of the (literal) obstacles most Kenyans face every day. I wasn't injured and thankfully the collection of cds they had just burnt me were unharmed. I now have some excellent conscious reggae and hip hop added to my collection.

When the lads were walking me home we were stopped by the police who pretty much asked them in Swahili 'What are you doing with this white man?' Even without understanding the language I could figure out what was going on. The cops never once spoke to or addressed me; it's unusual for me to be the one they are looking out for. It reminded me once again of the very different situation that white people live in here (as if I needed to be reminded!). They replied 'We are walking our brother home.' To which the cops said 'He cannot be your brother he is white.' The lads set him straight though by saying 'We are not racists!'

One European aid worker I know however spent a couple of days in a cell the other week for what was pretty much a drunk and disorderly offence. He was held with fourteen other people included 'suspected Islamic militants'. These guys had fled over the border when the Americans bombed Somalia and been picked up by the Kenyan authorities. Included in the bunch were one Briton and one American who were receiving regular visits from the security services of their respective countries. Apparently they claimed they were innocent but there case may not be helped by the fact they were carrying AK47s when they were picked up! They said they had been given them for self defence and were then pointed in the direction of the Kenyan border.

A lot of people here are blaming the recent upsurge in violent crime here on the number of militants and weapons driven over the border by the American bombing in Somalia (Thanks again Team America!). Another story I have heard however is that in 1999 all the street kids were gathered up by the police and were shipped off to the Congo to join with the rebels. When the media started asking questions they were quickly told to shut up so it never really became common knowledge. Now the situation there has stabilized and these 'kids' are returning with weapons and military training and raising hell. However whatever the cause of the large number of shootings recently one can also never be completely sure that it is as dangerous as the media make out. Still there is no point in taking unnecessary risks but if we allow fear to become our most powerful emotion we are in danger of becoming blinkered