Jungle-Jim Mary & Tribal Clash Update

Today I went out to the children’s home to spend the day with the kids. The moment the boda boda (bicycle taxi) turned the corner and the kids could see me, they started screaming my name. I hugged and kissed each one (well except for the two high school boys; we just maturely shook hands).

The next five hours consisted of children crawling on me, hanging off of me, jumping on me, jumping off me, and every thing else. I had the four little ones: Jacky (7), Molongo (7), Martin (6) and Paul (6), fighting over whom was going to sit in my lap or hold my hand as we walked around the property. At one point, I was carrying Molongo and Martin in each arm, Jacky and Paul holding on to my skirt and Veronica holding on to my arm.

But don’t think I’m complaining, NOT AT ALL. My only thought was that, I wish that I had 30 arms, and then I could wrap each one around each kid.

I had a tender moment with Martin today; he’s a new boy. He came to the home while I was in Canada. When I went to the home when I got back, he was a little shy with coming to greet me but when he saw the other children’s response to me, he soften up. Today, he must’ve been craving some big time attention and affection.

There was about a 30 second window of opportunity where Molongo had let me go to go and hit Jacky for something and Martin grabbed hold of those 30 seconds. He tugged at my skirt and softly whispered my name. I picked him up and immediately, he wrapped his legs and arms around and put his head on my shoulder. Although he is six years old, he is the size of a 3-4 year old, so he snuggled quite nicely in my arms.

Then Molongo realized that he had lost his spot with me and came running, clicking and yelling, “Wewe (way-way). Natakuchapa. Whatcha. Mary yangu.” This basically means, “You, I’m going to beat you. Leave her. My Mary.” And then Molongo began pulling on Martin’s leg. But Molongo had his turn already so he had to wait, although that didn’t stop him from continually hanging off my arm or pulling at my leg.

I went and sat with Martin in the grass and he just continued to stay curled up in my lap. At one point, while the girls were playing with my hair, Martin, Paul and Patrick (8) became fascinated with my white skin and my freckles. They moved my arm every which way to get a closer look at all the different angles and freckles. Martin pulled up the sleeves of my shirt to reveal the not-so-attractive farmer’s tan. They were mesmerized by how different color of my skin was from that little revelation.

The boys would just run their hands over my arms. They would touch my finger nails and then Martin became mesmerized by my nose and cheeks. He would pinch my nose and rub my cheeks and just stare at them. Then he would out his head under my chin, nuzzle up to me and then a minute later, pinch my nose and rub my cheeks again.

And then Molongo pushed him off. So I let them each have a leg to sit on.

It was a great day, an awesome day to spend with the kids. Daniel, the kids ask me to greet you and say they miss you. Jared, Kate & Amanda, the kids want to know when you’re coming back for a visit. I had to say, “Si jui.” : )

Political/Tribal Update

In case you all here about this in the news, let me tell you what I have learned.

There are some tribal clashes happening in the core of Mount Elgon, which divides Kenya from Uganda. Kitale, where I live is pretty much near the base of Mount Elgon.

The reasoning for this tribal clash is as follows (I’ll keep the tribal names out of it):

Tribe 1 and Tribe 2 lived in the same area of Mount Elgon. Tribe 1 wanted to get rid of Tribe 2 and take “their land” back, so Tribe 1 called on Tribe 3 to assist them (Tribe 3 is living in Uganda; however, they are originally a Kenyan tribe who “inter-mixed” with a Ugandan tribe. Tribes 1&2 are Kenyan).

Tribe 1 promised Tribe 3 land if they assisted them in removing Tribe 2. Now, if I were Tribe 3, why would I even think that Tribe 1 would give us land AFTER they just chased away Tribe 2 from that land? I don’t know; it’s beyond my comprehension.

But as you can probably see where this is going, Tribe 3 assisted Tribe 1 in the removal of Tribe 2. And then Tribe 1 basically said, “Thank you very much; now get out of here.” And Tribe 3 is saying, “But wait you promised us land.” And of course Tribe 1 didn’t stick to their promise and so now…Tribe 3 is at war with Tribe 1.

These are where the militia groups (some compare them to the Mungiki) come in now (I originally called them “revenge” soldiers but the media is calling them militia groups and I think the militia group consists of Tribe 1.). They’re weapons are firearms.

On Wednesday, army helicopters went up to Mount Elgon and began dropping bombs in caves where this militia groups were hiding. They did this again yesterday but not only were some of the militia group members killed but so were innocent women and children who were hiding in the caves that were bombed. Some say that there is an estimated 1,000 people killed in the past two days of bombing.

Now for the story today (and please note, that this is rumor). Thousands of people have fled this area of Mount Elgon for obvious reasons and the closest “town” for them to flee to is of course Kitale. Today, there were about 25-30 gunshots that went off near the Showground (for those of you who know – it was in the forest area across from the Showground). That is about 1.5 kms from where I live.

Here comes the rumor part. Those gunshots were from some members of the militia group who found out that the people, who fled their homes, were the ones who told authorities about these caves and that is why they were bombed. So the militia group went seeking revenge on this “snitches” but little did they know that the army also found out (who knows how) that the militia group would be coming for revenge today.

Needless to say, there are 18 militia members’ bodies in the morgue today.

I was far away from this area today so I didn’t hear a single gunshot. But now it makes sense as to why on Friday, I saw the two military trucks filled with Kenyan soldiers back in town, roaming the streets. It’s something, unfortunately, that I have gotten used to seeing.

Currently there is a curfew in the Mount Elgon are, including the town of Kitale. No one is to be on the streets from 7pm-7am. If anyone is to be found on the streets during that time, and there is no valid reason for them to be out, they will be thrown in to the back of lorry (really big truck) and taken in to police custody.

I have friends who have needed to get their watchmen employee cards, ID, etc. so that their watchman can pass through police checks all along the roads. This is because he needs to leave to/from work at 5:30 am. I believe the curfew was to last only one week but it may be extended to longer, especially with today’s events.

Thankfully the President of Kenya and the opposition leader, now named Prime Minister, both FIRMLY agree that this militia group and their violence need to come to an end. And for once, the country is seeing these two men join in unison on something and is beginning to see new hope for Kenya. And because of this unity among the two men, many believe that the tribal clashes on Mount Elgon will be dealt with and we won’t be seeing any more violence or death.

But trust me when I say that all good. I am safe and sound. There are no problems here. It’s 10:00 pm and there is not a sound but the crickets outside.

I will keep you all updated on anything new and I’m sure between mine and Daniel’s blogs (www.dlipparelli.blogspot.com), we’ll keep everyone well informed. All we need is prayer.

Love you all,

Meredith

xoxoxo