Report from John Motter

Geri Johnson and I just returned from Kenya this past Sunday night. Our program, Volunteer Kenya/ICODEI, is based in far western Kenya near the town of Bungoma. I will echo much of what Judi has said. Our program relies almost solely on the volunteer fees in order to run the programs. Geri was to be in Kenya through the end of the month and I was to be there through the beginning of April. Because of a medical emergency on my part, we were airlifted to Nairobi on January 4th. I was in the hospital for 10 days and then Geri and I continued our stay for 6 more days as I regained my strength.

I had the unfortunate experience of being in Kisumu (Odinga's birthplace) on the day that the rioting first broke out. A driver and myself were able to make it to a hotel with secure parking. From the second floor lobby, we watched the western end of town get looted. The building across the alley from the hotel was set ablaze and we were unsure whether or not it would jump the alley or not. After about 5 hours, we and 6 other guests in the hotel, decided to try to get out as it was getting dark and the looting appeared to have calmed. There are only 2 ways out of Kisumu and we planned to take the one that we though would be the safest. We found out from a matatu driver, that there were lots of road blocks and that it would be unsafe. So, we had to turn around and head through the downtown central business district. It was extremely sad to see the amount of destruction that had taken place. Smaller stores had been looted and the 2 large supermarket/general stores had been set ablaze. We managed to get out on the Kisumu/Kakamega Road by paying to get through the roadblocks set up by upset citizens. A large hotel, predominantly for Kenyans had also been burned out. Had it not been for the courage and knowledge of my friend and driver, Ben, I don't think we would have made it out safely.

Over the next several days there was substantial unrest. We were safe on the farm where the program is based, but the surrounding areas were under constant unrest. Bungoma, 10 miles to the north, and Mumias, 10 miles to the south, were hotbeds of looting and unrest. Although the area is predominantly Luhya, there are still large numbers of Luos (Odinga's tribe). Kikuyus were being displaced and their businesses were being burned. We rescued a dear friend, Wachira along with his wife and 2 small children. Petrol was unavailable and diesel for the generator was hard to come by.

There were 18 volunteers on the farm, including a group of 8 students from Cornell University. Cornell made the decision to evacuate their students. This had to be done through the Ugandan border which is about 30 miles away. 4 other volunteers chose to go with them. 2 days later, I went into septic shock and had to be taken to a local hospital. The situation was quite bad, both for my health but also for the area. During the night, Geri answered a knock on the hospital room door. She was greeted by 2 men with machetes doing a room by room search. The next morning, she and I were airlifted to Nairobi by the Flying Doctors. We learned that the 4 remaining volunteers left that day for the Ugandan border as well. There are currently no volunteers on the ground and so there are no fees available for the programs or the Kenyan workers on staff.

Over the next 15 days in Nairobi, we were pretty much holed up in either the hospital or the hotel. Geri was staying 2 blocks away from the hospital but was told to be back each day by 6PM. The hotel and the hospital had additional security forces to protect it. Downtown Nairobi was at a standstill and police presence and their use of force was quite evident throughout the city, but especially in Kibera, Mathiri (sp?), and the area around Uhuru Park. The Kibaki government and the head of police were on the news each day trying to justify their use of live bullets, tear gas, etc. Violence continued in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, and Kisumu. I am sure that there was violence on the part of some protesters, but there was also police violence against innocent citizens. Children as young as 5 and 14 were killed by police. A single mother was killed inside her sheet metal home by a stray bullet.

Some of you may have read about the threat by 14 countries to cut foreign aid. The government spokesman said that Kenya was self sufficient and would not be blackmailed. Even though the aid represents only 6% of the country's budget, it represents a much larger percentage of the budget for healthcare, education and HIV/AID services. Additionally, the country will be losing money from the much needed tourist industry. This is the peak season for Mombasa and hotels were operating at about 15% occupancy.

The government has said that they will be shutting down the emergency housing in the park referenced by Judi. This is being done despite the fact that some of the people have no homes to go back to or have homes but in areas where their safety can not be guaranteed. It is unfortunate that many of the problems have come down across tribal differences. These problems are affected the most disadvantaged citizens. They are being burned out of their homes. Their places of employment are being destroyed or are unable to open due to the ongoing violence. All the while, the opposing parties are not aggressively seeking a route to mediating their disagreements. It does appear that there were numerous discrepancies and irregularities in the tallying of votes. Until these issues can be rectified, then I believe any organization operating in Kenya is going to continue to suffer. For a short period of time, transfers of US Dollars to Kenyan Shilling bank accounts was not happening because of the fluctuation of the exchange rate. That appears to have been restarted.

John Motter

The Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition is an alliance of local organizations and individuals, united on behalf of the millions impacted by the global AIDS pandemic. The PAGAC seeks to strengthen the work of its members through the sharing of ideas and resources, to engage the local community in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and to advocate for policies that respond to the needs of those affected, both locally and globally.

Facts:
4.3 million people were infected with HIV in 2006-the highest ever in one year.

Every 15 seconds, AIDS kills a mommy or daddy.

2.3 million children are infected with HIV/AIDS.