Kenya Clusterf@*!

Some travel advice: do not depend on British Airways as your African airline. Actually, let me rephrase that: do not use British Airways as your mode of travel to Africa. You can still depend on them, since they hold no reservations about flying you into the heart of escalating violence and political turmoil. The problem occurs when unforeseen circumstances, such as fearing for your safety, transpire and people are dying and you want to change your flight based on said events. Such is the case in Kenya, where police battalions have allegedly been given a shoot-to-kill order from the government to quell the thousands of rioters protesting the fraudulent election whose outcome was just announced within the past 36 hours. Because BA doesn't see any immediate threat to their planes or crew, flights are continuing to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport despite the violence that has progressed onto the airport road (apparently paying customers aren't as important). Needless to say, increasing violence and subsequent rising death tolls has persuaded me to postpone my travels to Nairobi, but British Airways (who I've been on the phone with since 5h00) is making me jump through countless hoops to change my flight. It's disappointing, to say the least - but TIA (This Is Africa), as they say, and I roll with the punches.

Before I continue, let me say that the chaos in Kenya is first and foremost what I hope finds resolution. People are dying unnecessarily while two thickheaded African politicians, each representing a different tribe in a country already plagued by tribalism, claim to be president. The hundreds of tourists and businesspeople with their travel plans to Kenya ruined by this mess are but an afterthought. But let me still give an example of just how big of a headache this has become: I, for one, have spent thousands and dollars and have been looking forward to six months in the African bush for approximately the last year. But that's not too big of a deal - as long as things calm down, I still plan to go. In synchrony with my arrival to Nairobi was supposed to be BioEE265: Tropical Field Ecology. This is a class of 15 or so students who take three weeks of their winter vacation to spend time in the field in Kenya. As of 22h00 last night, the class was canceled. That's 15 college students who have payed for plane tickets and all other class costs, which amounts to approximately $5,000 per person. Because of the short notice, most of that money has been spent in preparation for the students' arrival, not to mention some students were already en route to Nairobi. Let's just say there are lots of disappointed people out there.

In case you've only been reading the headlines, allow me to provide a more detailed update. December 27th was election day in Kenya, the choice between incumbent Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Leading all popular polls, and leading the votes through 80% of the count, Odinga declared victory. In addition, the Orange Democratic Movement (Odinga's party) took the majority of parliamentary seats. However, in the end, Kibaki miraculously came out on top and hastily held an inauguration less than an hour after his victory was officially declared. The margin was approximately 230,000 votes, though there are numerous claims of a fraudulent count. This has led to Odinga to maintain his stance that he is the true president, the "People's President." Thus, Kenya is in a state where two politicians with substantial backing claim to be president. As if that were not enough, Kibaki is from the Kikuyu tribe while Odinga hails from the Luo, and tribalism is already a serious threat to democracy. Now it is blatantly rampant as opposition supporters are actively seeking out Kikuyus, and vice-versa. In other words, this could potentially lead to a civil war. So, the way I see it, unless one of these "presidents" concedes his loss for the sake of peace, I may be stuck in the States for a long time to come.

As it were, I have to head to SeaTac shortly to try and plead my case with the BA representative there. Apparently magical things can happen at airport kiosks that can't happen over the phone (or so a BA rate supervisor told me). We'll see what comes of it. Whatever the case may be, let's just hope for peace.

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