Closing borders not the soluti
written by Nekessa , January 06, 2007

I think the cry here for innocent Somalis, innocent civilians, is an honest one. As the saying goes," Ndovu wawili wakipigana, nyasi huumia." Whose responsibilty are they? How then can we effectively be our brothers' keeper and protect our interests? :shock:

???
written by rmboya , January 06, 2007

All my life the Somalis have been killing each other. :cry: And all this time the Kenya government has been "it's brothers keeper". Is it fair to so unceremoniously withdraw that support now? ops:

The Burden of Somalia
written by aeichener , January 06, 2007

I think the cry here for innocent Somalis, innocent civilians, is an honest one. (...) How then can we effectively be our brothers' keeper and protect our interests? :shock:

I feel with you, Nekessa.

From one of the greatest poems of the English language, by one of her greatest poets (second only to Milton, a few Shakespeare sonnets and Gerard Manley Hopkins). Shortened just a little bit:

...
Send forth the best ye breed -
Go send your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild -
(...)
In patience to abide
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple
An hundred times made plain
To seek another's profit
And work another's gain
...
The savage wars of peace --
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.
...
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better
The hate of those ye guard -
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah slowly) to the light:
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night?"

...
written by emmo opoti , January 07, 2007

How very foolish, to lock borders to keep terrorists out!! Does anyone think that a terrorist will fail to find a way into Kenya. There is only one class of refugee that will suffer from this, and yes Kenya is in blatant contravention of its duties under International Law.

Then again Tuju has never said anything intelligent in his life, and the Press Conference was made with the Americans there. The same people who were fuelling funds to the Warlords who terrorised that poor country, and then got into that TNG, and then invited Ethiopia to do some added terrorising. But it's all groovy, anything that will keep the radical Muslims out.

And on radical Muslims, what have the transitional government done ever to qualify themselves for the tag of radical? And what is an Islamist? Did the UIC abuse any of the fundamental human rights of the Somali people?

Has anyone ever paused to think why it is that we have not convicted anyone of the Nairobi or Mombasa bombings? Has Mutuma Mathiu himself paused to think why it is that these are mere allegations by the Americans? Surely if Somalis wanted to harm Kenya we would have been battered time and time again.

How is it that logic presents peace itself in the wilful destruction of a peaceful order, and the rection in its stead of a harmful, fractitious one? And who exactly are the Ethiopians chasing after? Why is the global community so unfazed by the fact that people are being killed merely for being members of a Union of Islamic Courts? Given that these people are fleeing, is the solution their extermination or the extermination of their movement?

Is this not akin to someone invading Kenya and killing all K A N U members during the single-party days?

Letter from Kenya on Somali is
written by Kiddi , January 10, 2007

My friends like to write to me... seems to much trouble to sign into KI and say their 2 cents.

So here is the latest.. on my query on the general sentiment on Tuju closing the borders on the Somali's:

Somali mps need to be deported. They live in luxury in Nairobi, while their citizens are suffering.

"then some refugees were claiming ati since miraa has been banned [in] somalia they have to come into kenya coz they can't survive without it! u shud have seen how pissed off tuju was in the news!"

"even michuki doesn't want [problems] in the country coz those fleeing the country are those who are against the interim govt. so that means they support the islamists who are radicals. so he was like the borders are not going to be opened to trouble makers. Meanwhile the UN claim that kenya wasn't right in sending the refugees back, but Tuju questioned this saying, " if they are really humanitarian then they shud offer to spread those refugees to other countries coz as it is kenya is burdened by refugees and it's a small country. He was like some can go to US, UK or whichever country can take them and the gover is willing to escort them to jomo kenyatta and have them flown there."

...
written by emmo opoti , January 10, 2007

There's three things that inform the rejection of the refugess. The first is Islamophobia and an enduring association of everything Islamic with danger. The more Muslim someone is, the more dangerous we think he is. If Jesus came back a Muslim, Kenyans would refuse to follow him. We have never liked the goddamn Somalis, the bast@rds and their soft hair!

The second issue is our servility to the US and the UK. This is why for example there is no noise about the endless murders by Ugandans on our Western border, or the raids by the Ethiopians on our Northern border, but we are terrified of the Somalis, and jealous that they have 'soft' hair!! So if the Americans say the Somalis are dangerous then we believe them, even suicide bombers coming to Nairobi. I would not be surprised if we got a New Year's Gift from Uncle Sam, and a message from youtube claiming culpability ( sic). When your parents told you about the tooth-fairy, or Santa you believed them right? We don't want the Ethiopians to take all the glory for unseating the Al Qaeda,do we?

Finally there's the lie that these refugees are Kenya's expense, they are not. Kenya does not feed refugees, nor provide them with care or anything. When the Somalis in Diaspora send money to their people in Kenya si ni mapato kwetu, when the Refugee Agencies and Relief organisations run these camps in Kenya, si those are jobs for Kenyans, all that fuel duty, import duty,etc,etc, etc.

on the Refugees
written by Angela Wairimu , January 11, 2007

Christian charity, much like international law is very clear on what we must do with regard to the Somalis.

As Emmo says above, we are much better off for the presence of all those refugees. Kenya has benefitted in no small way from all the conflicts around us. The costs of running the camps are enormous, but they are not borne by the government or the people of Kenya. What we bear is the injection into The Exchequer of billions of shillings in extra revenue.

Drastic measures needed, a few
written by Honey , January 16, 2007

The kind of Kenya forists ask for here will never achieve a damn thing, just like a democracy never does.

It is time the Somali stood on their own and fought back. Kenya cannot afford to be the their soft landing forever. Mohammed had to go to the mountain. For a solid 10 years, they have crisscrossed the world refusing to do anything about their plight, whose duty is it to put ones house in order?

I bet, left on their own, they will not kill each other to nothingness...the last man will rebuild that country.

As pertains their revenue contribution, it has come at a heavy price too. Eastleigh is no longer livable by peace loving Kenyans, never mind the poor sanitary conditions that they so easily embrace. Small arms have flooded the country.

Lastly, Somalis are not the hardest working people I know of, probably enetrpreuneural...but when it comes to doing other things, they just sit around doing nothing.

Kudos to our boys and Girls guarding our nation Kenya, God Bless you!.

By the way, if one wants to know why the US is reluctant on admitting them, most religious organizations responsible for aiding them have branded Somalis incorrigible. Unlike the Sudanese who readily assimilate and work to go save their own from Arabs, Somalis just sit and talk!

oh no!!
written by Stephen Wanyama , January 17, 2007

God honey!! I thought this place was immune of the likes of your opinion! You must be a fan of the Chimperor and TB, democracy does not achieve anything do you say?

Somalis refusing to do anything about their plight? What does that mean? Did they not rise up and form the UIC which then disarmed the warlords, removed the gangs and roadblocks and brought tranquility to the country?

Peace loving Kenyans cannot live in Eastleigh? Any links to back that claim?

Ah now we encounter the phenomenon of the war-loving, shower-skiving, lazy Somali. And are we talking a sanitization of ukabila here just because the victims are not nywele ngumus?

Somalis to fight back?
written by Amina , January 17, 2007

I think a lot of people have completely disassociated themselves from the real issues... from the plight of the Somali mwana nchi. (before I discuss that, let us for a minute discuss Kenya, and tell me with all the ills going on in our country when have we "fought back"? when thousands, nay millions, of kenyans barely have enough to eat.. look @ the condtions in Nairobi slums? when have we taken to the streets and fought?) Would you not argue that the regular mwana nchi is a hard worker? where then are the fruits of Otieno and Wanjiku's labor? have u heard the west saying that Africans are lazy?

Now, to the question of Somalia. What assumption is this that Somalis just sit and talk? ala? Allow me to demonstrate the industriousness of Somalis: Getting back to business in Somalia

The perpertrators of the violence? Try the war lords, the tribal leaders, et al... just as you would any bad leader in any country.