March 2006 II

Sorry to have been absent for a while. All is well here. I'm now back in Mombasa after 3 amazing weeks in Lamu. Lamu is fascinating- it is the oldest continuously inhabited town in kenya and a recognized world heritage site by the UN, but the best way to make money there is through the tourist industry or by selling your house to a mzungu (white person) for the going rate. So visit Lamu, but do it soon because it will not last long in its current condition. For now it is a Muslim dominated city that practices subsistence fishing and expects women to keep a good distance from any man that is not part of her family. One fascinating thing about being a white women in this environment is that I was able to talk to women, as a member of their gender, and to men because I am white and therefore expected to operate outside Muslim modesty practices. So in Lamu I gained a few wonderful friendships, including one with my swahili tutor. I can now speak enough swahili to have basic conversations, though I have to ask everyone I talk to to repeat themselves a zillion times. Thanks in part to these friends I am developing a much better understanding of culture and politics here. As in any environment there are many social forces working below the surface that influence peoples interactions. For one thing gender definitions vary from person to person here. Some people seem to practice their gender roles with mutual respect and understanding. While women are expected to maintain the home and
children their role is recognized as important and in some families are shown a degree of reverence in recognition of this. Yet this varies; in conversations with educated Muslim women they tell me that the Koran fully protects a womens equal rights as a person, wife, and mother, and that cultural practices have corrupted the religions original intentions. Another conversation will be about all the ways in which men have more responsibility and therefore deserve dictatorial control of the home. Then a third conversation will focus on the burden women face as homemakers, breadwinner, child rearer all in one- in a society where (some say) men
don't take on enough responsibility. These contentions are everywhere. Another example is tribalism; politics here are all about tribal affiliation. The Kikuyu are the most numerous and have been politically dominant since independence. Today their position is being rocked by a corruption scandal that reaches directly to the president. Some people are going so far as to call for war against the Kikuyu for this theft of public resources. But these people dont really have much of an audience. Most people are just waiting to the chance to vote Kibaki out of office in 2007. Few people here think the election will bring much change, politics as usual here seems to be about favoring ones own tribe and very little about informed policy for the general good. But this is the report from frustrated Kenyans, who seem to believe that other countries dont experience the same problems they face. For example they think that in the US we can hold out leaders accountable for corruption and poor decision making- yeah right! Meanwhile some people on the coast believe they should not be part of kenya at all. They feel that they are economically neglected my the central government because they are mainly Muslims. Others, i.e. inland people, might say this is revenge for the role the coastal people played as middlemen in the slave trade- which by the way continued in East Africa much longer than we learn in school. But most people just think that Nairobi neglects every place that is not Nairobi, and since the coast was independent from Kenya until independence in 1964- and since the people here would rather not be under a govt they are unhappy with, they talk about gaining the right to self governance.
Anyway, I ramble- point is things here are interesting and I'm learning a lot. I'm back in Mombasa and staying with a wonderful homestay family that is full of children. It's a bit weird because they live in a big house behind a big wall in the middle of a neighborhood of one rooms mud huts. Yet they get along well with there neighbors and sit with them on the ground to celebrate weddings and mourn the passing of friends- both Muslim and Christian. My mom here- Mama Esha- prays, reads Koran, and goes to madrasa constantly, yet she walks around outside with her buibui open so that everyone can see her beautiful colorful clothing underneath, plus she has male friends that are not relatives (these are not the tendencies of conservative Muslim women here). This and everything else I learn is an example of how complicated human interaction, culture, and individuality can be. Now that I have border you all to death I have a bit of news related to life at home. I have decided not to be an RA next year. I was placed in Clark, but since I think it would be good to spend my senior year thinking about things other than the many concerns of the freshman class I have decided to do something different. So keep me in mind when determining your housing plans at Wes since I have no idea where I'm going to live!
Ok- thats all, I'll try to write much less next time- although I can't promise anything since I will be doing a safari, spending 10 days in a rural village homestay building a hospital, and then going to Zanzibar- so I might have a lot to say.
Love,
Gabi