(sign on a safari van in Kenya)
Part 1: Obama Win to Help Kenya?
All over Kenya people were partying as soon as they heard about Barack Obama’s win in the US presidential election. The President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, declared Thursday November 6th a national holiday so the celebrations could continue and even the price of beer was lowered. In Nairobi, the capital, crowds were singing and dancing, waving braches and carrying posters of Obama. And across Africa people celebrated Obama’s victory—in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, for example, with special messages to Obama from Kofi Annan and Nelson Mandela.
Obama’s father was born in Kogelo, a small village in western Kenya, an area that saw a lot of discontent in the aftermath of Kenya’s elections in December 2007. His half-brother and step-grandmother still live there. The town of Kisumu, close to Kogelo, was the scene of running battles between members of the public and police after riots broke out over the contested elections. But now, in sharp contrast, a huge happy crowd was partying and Obama’s Kenyan relatives were royally feted.
Many correspondents say that the US election seems to be a unifying element for the country, with people feeling that Mr. Obama’s victory is a victory for all Kenyans. Kenyans also hope that an Obama presidency will help them out of a tourism slump that has significantly affected the country since the beginning of this year due to the post-election violence.
It’s possible, as I’ve already seen ads in the USA for special safaris to Kenya.
I don’t mind helping a little to promote the wonderful wildlife of Kenya. We were there in July this year (2008) and all around we heard stories about the economic hardships resulting from the huge drop in tourist numbers—many small stores and businesses going under and even some larger tour companies about to fold. Widespread poverty is very evident, even in the capital, but especially in the rural areas. We attended a conference at the Masai Mara National Park and, without exception, all our drivers and service personnel were friendly, helpful and amazingly knowledgeable about their country and its flora and fauna.
So, next time, more on the Masai Mara, without all the Obama-mania!
(Pictures of life along the road, as we drive to Masai Mara; African grasslands teeming with zebra and wildebees)
Couldn’t agree more with what you say about Kenya … we nearly went this year, but were put off by the new visa regulations. They said you’d need to submit your passport in advance, and the visa could take up to three weeks … and, at that time, I couldn’t do without my passport for three weeks.
Pity!
Pity you couldn’t make it—maybe another time. I agree, we couldn’t be without our passports for 3 weeks either!