2nd - 4th Dec 2011
02 12 2011 Friday
Go to Isiolo to see the DO1 (District officer) to ask about the current situation, whether it is safe to bring the children back and how long the APs (Administrative Police) will be staying on the site. He thinks the situation has now stabilized as the 'bandits' have moved on, there is a second inter tribal peace meeting on Saturday and the APs can stay as long as we want them here.
The safe room, complete with steel shutters and doors, in between the girls and boys dormitories should be complete by Monday so I plan to start bringing the kids back from Wamba on Tuesday. If all the vehicles are working that is.
Buy some paint etc for finishing the safe room and return to Ngaremara around three. Walk to Zebra and back with James, one of the builders, thankfully it was pretty cloudy so I didnt get roasted.
On the subject of the weather, its been pretty cool for the last 7 or 8 days and Ive barely seen the sun. Theres been plenty of rain and the mud is awful here. It sticks to your boots like concrete, and after walking in it for a while you end up being about 6 inches taller than when you started.
Tip of the day... Dont suspend the person who is meant to help you look after the house when it is the rainy season... I seem to be spending about an hour a day running around with a brush trying to keep the mud out.
03 12 2011 Saturday
Fairly lazy morning, not much happening on the site funnily enough as there is noone here except a few staff, the APs and a couple of the feeding programme kids who pop in every now and then.
Talk to some people in the village and find out the time and location of the peace meeting. Drive up to it at Camp Garba at around two. Its taking place in a field beside a school, under a tree. I was hoping it would be indoors as it looked like it was about to rain.. There was roughly just over a hundred men, women and kids in attendance along with fairly tight security.
The meeting gets under way with Borana tribeswomen singing and dancing and then some of the Turkana elders join in, along with the MP for the region (and minister of livestock) and some chiefs. It looks fairly well intentioned and friendly. The process is then repeated with Turkana Tribeswomen singing and dancing and some Borana elders join in. All very good, but by the third or fourth round of this Im thoroughly bored and glad to see the rain start and somebody suggest they begin the talks.
The first man to speak is from the Borana tribe and obviously didnt realise what the meeting was about as he is quickly ejected and sent on his way as he wasnt exactly talking about peace. As the second man speaks, another starts heckling from the crowd and is swiftly removed by the police. How much of this, if any, is being staged for the small and one sided press contingent in attendance, I dont know.
The rest of the meeting seems to go pretty well (apart from reports of cattle being
stolen a few miles away during the proceedings) with both sides talking about peace.
I speak to the Chief of Isiolo who wants to know when the kids are coming back and if she can come out and visit and also have a long chat with the Chief for Tigania East.
After the meeting I drive the short distance to Isiolo to use the internet cafe to print off some documents sent out by Ken but the printer isnt working. Whilst walking back to the car I meet one of the APs who had been on the site on one of the nights of the shootings. He greets me like Im his long lost brother and wants to know how things are and whether the kids are back.
Once back at Ngaremara a Chief from the neighbouring area calls and we have coffee and a long chat. I learn some very interesting facts about what has been going on and that a senior government oficial has been removed from their post and demoted as a result of their collusion in the attrocities.
A quiet night on the site most of which I spent trying to talk with the night watchman, Ben the chef and James the well digger. The APs found it pretty amusing as the aforementioned three spoke as much as English as I did Swahili.
04 12 2011
My coffee must have been good yesterday as the Chief returns with the Chairman of security for Ngaremara. We chat about what has happened and the chief shows me his emails about the killings along with attached pictures of the dead and destroyed villages on my phone, which has a really bad internet connection here, so it takes a while. He promises to return this evening with a full list and dates of all that has happened. We all agree that the full story was never told in the media.
We also talk about getting the night watchman made to be a 'home guard' which would mean he would be armed and all agree this would be a good idea.
Phrase for the day is 'Kubwa Eka' which I think, and Im not entirely sure, means boring. That pretty much sums up this afternoon... Hence the long post.. PS I really want a bar of chocolate, if anyone would like to post me one, preferably Galaxy milk chocolate, please feel free to do so...