Stable, tourist-friendly Kenya turned violent after a disputed presidential election. This highlights a crisis in leadership in today's world.
by John Elliott
"President [Mwai] Kibaki and the Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga have met for the first time since the disputed General Election and shaken hands before a battery of journalists" ahead of face-to-face talks. This report from Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper came late on Jan. 24, 2008, after a mediation contingent led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met privately with both sides.
Unfortunately, Mr. Annan has said that full talks could take a full year to complete. As of yet, the result of these high-level meetings has not been nearly as positive as was hoped.
Tragically, they have done little to stem the tide of ethnic cleansings in Kenya's Rift Valley area. Scores of helpless civilians have been massacred and burned by armed youths who have closed the country's main highway and barricaded key towns.
There can be no positive outcome of such violence. The only "benefactors" of these atrocities are the ruthless politicians who encourage them. While corrupt politicians may seem to profit from the situation, the victims of this ongoing disaster are not limited to the dead and wounded. For those citizens who survive, the turmoil serves to worsen personal poverty and hinder the ability to maintain the interpersonal relationships that are necessary for their continued survival.
Additionally, the interruption of supplies, fuel, food and transportation make the toils of daily life in Kenya even worse. A potential collapse of the tourism and agricultural industries are also a foreboding reality.
As Aidan Hartley wrote in the Jan. 11, 2008, New York Times, "On the political front, perhaps the best we can hope is that Big Men will reach a deal and the tribes will put away their machetes and rifles." Then the local residents can "return to their daily struggle to survive."
