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So tonight when I sleep, I will sleep with one eye open. |
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Written by Bee Dablewkay
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Tuesday, 18 March 2008 |
I refuse to accept that it is over. The hatred and the fighting is not over.
No one can convince me that the less than 12 hour turn around on the choice between no negotiations and a coalition government came through the goodwill of our precious politicians at the helm. We should not be fooled into becoming clapping buffoons when the people responsible for bloodshed continue to leech us dry. We should not pat them on the back and say thank you for the resolution.
In case we forgot, they owed us that resolution.
I will not be blinded again by their manipulative ploys and my short memory. There are a number of deja vu moments of coalition over this and over that, all ending in political backstabbing and me bleeding. We should know better, and that is why, my friend, I will sleep with one eye open.
What happened in Kenya was not the result of one year’s dedicated push towards ethnic division but the result of 20 years of unchecked animosity. For one, I question the idea that the government actually has its roots tapped into the pulse of Kenyan society. In 2005, when the referendum showed growing cleavages among Kenyans based on ethnicity, I was surprised that there was no directed push to bridge the differences. Instead it appealed to either side to let the gap remain open until it collapsed in the five worst weeks of independent Kenya's history.
I point at myself for not being part of civil society’s call to pockets of tension and my ignorance of my own country’s affairs. It was not that the reports were not in the newspapers, it is that I chose to think that the places were too remote and far away.
I also point to news reporters who until recently have simply reported and not analysed the news. We have been observers of political antics for too long, and no, this time I am not an observer. I want my country in my hands. Mine.
So tonight when I sleep, I will sleep with one eye open.
I have read that Cyrus Jirongo cycled around his Lugari constituency, asking his people to let go of growing hatred against each other. He was on a bicycle.
We are not victims of our time. We choose where we stand. The politicians need us more than we need them. Why else is there a permanent press conference at parliament? I am no longer going to shut up about injustices upon me and my people, my Kenyans.
So tonight when I sleep, I will sleep with one eye open.
My reasons are that while I can wait for those two guys rolling around in large cars and with heavy expensive watches to do my peacekeeping for me, I am not entirely sure that peace serves their needs.
In just four years and nine months we have another General Election. Let me remind you that four years and 9 months is not a long time, especially if this year is spent on creating the laws that form the coalition. I do not put it past the two at the top (and allied interests) to spend time going back and forth on a number of petty issues. In the meantime, my MP stands at the sidelines. I ask that my member of parliament, Beth Mugo, while being involved in this process, remembers to keep her eye on the ball. Us. She made promises to me and I expect those promises to be fulfilled. Where there is hatred and unforgiveness, I ask her to get on her bicycle.
So tonight when I sleep, I will sleep with one eye open.
By the way, who is your MP?
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Bee Dablewkay |
| About the author: |
| Bee sometimes blogs at katiyawanawake .
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 18 March 2008 )
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I am not buying the peace either. One simply has to pop into any of the ODM forums and see them talking hate to see that the agenda is still very much switched on.