Kenya
is a model of kindness offering hospitality to her neighbors, so crossing in
and out of the boarders is easy. Children from the other side walk in during the
mornings to come schooling in Kenya. They freely leave when they go back home
to lunch or evening after school. One
neighboring country is unstable with war, though there is still some form of
livelihood. They have variety sources of income despite everything that goes
on. The conflict in the neighboring state has affected the relatives and
families on the other side too. The community has been divided such that clans
never see eye to eye in politics to other social avenues. If you stand outside
the customs office looking at the no-man’s land into Somalia you will notice a
black flag dancing. The Al-qaeda terrorist affiliate group Al-shabaab has set
up base at the fence on guard. They do not scare the residents, in fact they do
not fight neither ask of those going out or coming in. In fact they make sure
that things run smoothly. Their worst enemy is the African Union AISOM which is
made up of soldiers from A.U Communities teaming with Somali fighters; who
mostly come fro Ethiopia through Kenya.
The
fact that a group or individual wants to control an area and its resources, clashes
have turned into war while these ‘soldiers’ or ‘heroes’ have become terrorists.
These terrorists have a goal to spread fear and disintegrate the society. Let’s
face it they are human beings like you who have let anger, greed and
selfishness consume them. They were not born with dark hearts neither do evil
spirits manifest in them, No; they have chosen to shake the earth. The same air,
food, toilet or transport system you use so do they. Kenya has border patrol officers working round
to man the gates, don’t confuse the boarder to the U.S.A. one that is seen in
the movies. There is no 11 feet electric fence, no surveillance cameras, no
frisking gadgets and no dogs. All you
have to do is show your identification if you are not a regular, or give out
some ‘fee’ if you look suspicious.
Just
like many African communities, beliefs and culture influence norms to the
society. There are elders appointed to make sure that virtues are practiced and
discipline is enforced. Many people from that side wish to leave the strict quietness
behind and trade it for better luxuries or illusions for the city life. Some intelligent individuals have become
brokers to make dreams of these upcountry wannabes come true. There are
Government offices responsible to give national identification cards or birth
certificates. Some of those who were not born in Kenya can get these
identification cards or birth certificates by paying for them. To acquire a
valid travelling passport everybody travels to Nairobi, done by bus. You all
know the neighboring E.A.C countries think of Kenya as a free state which is
close to the American dream; Mandera is a great link. Everyone wants the best
education, nice living quarters, good security and medical attention. We also
know that Government officials are the cause of corruption. It starts with
aiding illegal immigrants get services which some are supposed to be free, but
at a higher price. Most of them will pay a substantial fee for the officers to
look the other way for waiver of their professional codes, be it in medicine,
education, security or law. In return other items become expensive since a
chain has been formed.
Tickets
are acquired from the buses’ booking offices, where you give out your
identification card and your name is recorded in the ticketing book. Before
leaving Mandera the vehicles are inspected by police officers: First, everyone
alights down with their identification documents. Second, the police with dogs
go inside and do their thing. Third, the travellers will go back in the bus
showing their identification where their photo is compared to their images. If
all is well, the bus is left to go. But if you have been through this you will
agree that those found with irregularities, they bribe the officers to let them
go. It is a long journey to Nairobi and after about eight hours, the bus stops
in Wajir. After a short rest, the next stop is Garissa, where before the bus
leaves, the bus and travellers are inspected; sadly the routine is the same.
And the bus gets to make stops in different police barriers which do not take a
lot of time in inspection but they accept the generous donations from the
driver or conductors. The story tells how expensive it is to get to Nairobi.
People hustle and save a lot for the journey. Money is paid to the brokers and security
officers. It is quite true that funds are poured into terrorists activities.
These police officers and administrators help themselves into getting richer
quickly when they accept bribes but the larger multitude pays dearly from the
outcome. If a great electric fence was built or many dogs made to work it will
not solve anything: it is all up to the relevant counter terrorism officers and
administrators to work diligently. Those authorities secretly keeping more than
two bank accounts or accounts from different banks with accumulations of
hundreds of thousands even millions should be fired. Salary accounts showing a
credit balance of negative overdrafts or loans just to cover their tracks
because huge amounts of dirty money are concealed elsewhere. Every individual
regardless of their position in the society should make an effort to stop those
savages from terrorizing Kenyans. The members of the country need a total
attitude adjustment. Greed, selfishness and corruption are holding the world
hostage worse than the terrorists. Anti-terrorism has efforts have been
heightened, or it could be for a short while then it goes back to ‘normal
business as usual’. It should be confirmed that those illegal nationals being
chased from Nairobi and Mombasa are really sent out of Kenya for them never to
return. What about the other areas in Kenya where they have set camp, like in
Rongai? Dar Al-Harb, this may be Kenya, a hub for catastrophes.
