A letter from Phyllis Byrd in Kenya
February 4, 2008
Greetings from Kenya,
I just wanted to thank the church and my friends and family for your calls, text messages, and prayers of concern regarding the situation in Kenya. Words will never be able to express how comforting they are for us all. Life has not been “normal” since October, when campaigning for the presidential elections went full swing. I feel as if Advent and Christmas were swept away and replaced with sermons on who to vote for and why the opposition cannot be trusted. We moved from what was supposed to be a celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, to staying up all night watching election results, to post-election violence, to standing on long lines for hours trying buy food for YAVs and my family.
Journey towards peace
Peace efforts are under way, led by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and his team of elder statespersons. Governments are increasing pressure on the Kenyan government to resolve the crisis. The Australian government said they would limit contact with cabinet ministers. The Canadian government also said they will not work directly with the government. Some countries, especially the European Union, are withholding aid. The United States said it will not be “business as usual.”
Even as we take steps towards peace, we are bombarded by stories of displacements, riots, and tension between groups living in Kenya. The media, in the country and out, fail to capture stories of the acts of kindness that take place between different groups. I experienced an act of kindness from a Kenyan woman who sells food in the market not far from my house. She has taken it upon herself to feed the young men who live on the street and hang out at the market in the day. They call this women “Mum,” and she refers to them as her “children.” This is especially interesting because she is of one ethnic group and the boys are from another.
The flag
As I was driving home from work a few days ago I screamed, “Oh no! Not the flag!” I felt a lump in my throat as I looked at several SUVs passing by with a flag flying high. My mind raced back to when I was in Rwanda during the genocide in the area that was recaptured by the Rwandan Patriotic Force. I thought about the time I was in Liberia and the country was divided, one warlord claiming part and another warlord claiming another part of the county. In both places, the only cars on the road were relief vehicles flying a flag: World vision, Care, USAID, UNICEF, World Relief. I wonder if flags are on the disaster indicator scale as a way of assessing the situation in a country?
Strange question
My week began with church on Sunday morning and in the afternoon leading a memorial prayer service for the White/Anderson family. Two dear friends were killed in a carjacking on January 27, 2007. Before traveling to the service at St. Paul’s United University, I spent 10 minutes debating with my husband on the route I should take to the school. Because of the lack of security, it is good to think through the best way to travel and to let someone know the route you are taking.
Fifteen minutes into my journey I was pulled over at a police roadblock. The police asked for my drivers licenses and acted as if he were on a fishing exposition. He looked at my passenger and said he didn’t have his seat belt on. Then he asked me where my “triangles” were. My mind went blank. I had no idea what he was talking about. (I subsequently learned that they are the things you put out in the road when your car is stalled.) Then the question came (not sure if it was a question or an accusation): “What are you? Are you a Kikuyu.” He had my drivers license that clearly read Phyllis Byrd, which is not a Kenyan name. (I use my U.S. drivers license in Kenya because it’s legal). I told him I was not a Kikuyu, but he insisted that I was. Again I said I was not Kikuyu for the third time, and he said that I was because “you are brown.”
The police proceeded to tell me my life history: you were born here and went there. I once again said I was born in the United States, not Kenya. All this time my heart felt as if it were pumping over time. I was not sure why the police was stereotyping my passenger and me. He finally said, “OK. I thought you were a Kikuyu. You can go.” I thanked God that Atieno was not with me because her name without a doubt tells her ethnicity, which could have been a major problem.
Action-packed week
On Tuesday one of the members of parliament in opposition to the government was killed in front of his house. (Information is just coming in that suggests he was killed before and dumped in front of his house.) When the news went around the city, rioting broke out in different parts of the city. My first thought was, “How do I get Atieno from school?” I was told that rioters were blocking all of the routes that lead to her school. I put my on my “mummy cape” and with the grace of God I made my way to her school and brought her home. (Everyone knows when you wear a mummy cape you have special powers.)
Thursday morning we received news about a family friend who is an Anglican priest. Last year his family served as parents to one of the Young Adults Volunteers. The family was were given a deadline to leave Limuru. They had to pack up and leave immediately.
The afternoon news reported that another opposition MP was shot and killed by police. The U.S. embassy sent around a message warning U.S. citizens about traveling to the western part of the country because of the fighting and roadblocks.
January is the beginning of the Kenyan school year, and many children are not able to travel to school because they are either displaced or their schools are in the western part of the country and aren’t functioning because of insecurity. Many people are living in camps for displaced people or police stations, which are strained. Conditions in the camps are not the best.
Many voices
I was part of the organizing team for the Archbishop Desmond Tutu solidarity visit, which took place in early January. We met with government officials, the PNU party, ODM, ODM-Kenya, European Union, and church leaders. It was clear that each party had a convincing story to tell, and all backed up their stories with evidence proving they won the elections. Depending on what church leader we talked to, their story clearly took on an ethnic slant. Many of the media houses—print, TV, and radio—characterized the situation as ethnic cleansing and genocide. Therefore, it is difficult to rely on news as a source on the Kenya situation.
The problems in Kenya predate the elections. I think the book World on Fire by Amy Chua touches on some of the difficult issues that Kenya is grabbling with and will have to grabble with as they chart the way forward. My concern is how do the church, partners, and friends stand in solidarity with brothers and sisters that we have related to for years? If a group should come for a solidarity visit, it is imperative that it be an inclusive solidarity visit. in order to get a complete picture of what is taking place in Kenya. To get a picture of what’s really happening requires visiting different regions of the country and listening to religious leaders from all over the country—not just from the mainstream groups or our traditional partners. And at the end of the day, we’ll still need to harmonize our analysis with other faith-based groups.
The temptation is great for us to rush in and accompany our friends because of the horrific situation here. The problem is much bigger than individuals, and if we are sending a group to “accompany” only our friends we miss out on the significances of the moment. Thinking on paper here: I wonder if our role as partners in the midst of a complex situation isn’t for us to be informed and reflective and engage in proactive reconciliation?
These are some random thoughts as I reflect on the week in Kenya. Today is Friday, I can exhale because I do not have to worry about rushing to Atieno’s school I will let my cape rest for the weekend. Next week the YAVs and I will travel to Tanzania for a retreat, reflection, and rest. As I started my day today, I used as a reflection these words written by the theologian Jurgen Moltmann:
That is why faith, whenever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart…. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world, for the goad of the promised future stabs inexorably into the flesh of every unfulfilled present.
- Please pray for the country and the peace talks.
- Pray for the victims of the violence.
- Pray that the church will have a clear voice.
- Pray for my family and me as we work alongside our brothers and sisters in Kenya.
Phyllis Byrd
The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 15
