Kenya - trouble in paradise
Posted Sunday, January 06, 2008, 2:25 PM by Lonely Planet
From a veranda overlooking the serene Indian Ocean, watching children playing football on the beach, it's hard to believe that in other parts of Kenya people are being killed. In one week the country has changed from a place of hope and excitement over a close general election, to one of tension and anxiety in the confusion surrounding vote-rigging allegations and hurried results. Reports of travellers being stranded are dominating international media and images of violence portray a picture of a country on the brink of civil war.
But these images can be misleading. Kilifi is 60km from Mombasa and 500km from Nairobi and from here I could be forgiven for not knowing what is going on at all. Driving along the coast today it was clear that for most Kenyans it is business as usual. The woman I bumped into in the supermarket yesterday didn't even know there was a rally planned in Nairobi and was just happy to find the shelves filled with food again after the shortages of the last few days.
Many people will have cancelled travel plans to Kenya over the next few weeks but travellers already in the country are in no direct danger in the main tourist and residential areas. The violence being shown on television reports is isolated to areas off Kenya's well-beaten tourist track; even those in Nairobi itself, such as Mathare which is a slum area, are best-avoided at any time. Tour companies have been advised not to move around which may cause disruptions but flights are still leaving Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the main roads into the capital are clear.
The worrying concern is how this can be resolved. In the aftermath of a failed election questions are being asked about one of Africa's more successful democracies. While the two main party leaders refuse to speak to each other the frustration continues and a country's reputation is destroyed in a six-minute news report. For an economy that depends as heavily on tourism as Kenya does it is disastrous. And the only losers are Kenyans themselves. One thing is certain; when things have returned to normal they will need travellers to continue to consider Kenya as a rewarding place to visit as it truly is.
- Jeanette Elsworth
Labels: Africa, Breaking travel news
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4 Comments:
Thank God calm is slowly returning to Kenya.Kenyans are tired of chaos and are calling for peace and calm.
A lot of hard work by Kenyans fostering a booming tourist industry is being undone by inappropriate headlines in the western media. I pray the politicians realise what they are doing to Kenyas international reputation and start talking.
once again the media get carried away. i hve been travelling to Kenya for 27 years. i travelled through-out air high jackings, after the bombing of the norfolk, after tourist had been attacked in Samburu & masai mara, and recently the bombing of the embassies and rocket attacks on planes.I will continue travelling to Kenya and have advised all my family & friends to do so.The TV news shows isolated outbrakes of violence. NOWHERE near tourist areas.You have more chance of being mugged in a european city than in Kenya.
Yes it is sad that these things have happened, and we pray for a swift end to the problems. Kenyans are peaceful people, and i do not think tourists should be put off travelling there. to sum up. 32 million people, and a few hundred have caused trouble.
Dan says:
The trouble with the election this year has really pounded my friend's Mount Kenya trekking business (trekmountkenya.com - he is a kenyan national btw). There is a massive drop in enthusiasm to travel to Kenya and the prices of commodities have risen by about 100%. Hopefully as things calm down, matters will return to normal. The savage attack on two Canadian missionaries has not helped matters particularly. I watched an interview on HardTalk last night: Parliamentarians in Kenya are earning $200,000 whilst people, like my friend Benson, live on $400 per year. Nice
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