Monday, May 02, 2005

Labor Day Weekend

I did a very long entry in the blog and when I tried to publish, the server died and I hadn't saved any of my work so it's history. Anyway, what I covered were a couple of stories that made up this weekend. As it was Labor day, the government usually organizes a march of different labor groups but this year attendance was poor and you wonder why? The economy sucks (insert expletive). More and more people are losing jobs and even the travel industry is affected. One of the major local airlines just folded because their parent company British Airways refused to continue the contract. And it was done very suddenly so thousands of travelers were left stranded where they were.

Kenya's first lady is truly certifiable and I will briefly detail why. The outgoing World Bank President to the region, Diop, had a farewell party this weekend at his home in an upscale suburb of the city. He's a jazz musician and I've seen him perform, brilliant man. Anyway, he had tons of people at this party, which was a who's who of Nairobi. The French and Canadian Ambassadors as well as two for the First Family kids were there. Apparently she came storming in pyjamas or something and began to unplug equipment and throw stuff around because ranting and raving "This is Muthaiga not Korogocho", the latter being a slum area. She said the noise was too much, she'd had it and she was screaming at Diop and at one point even slapped his wife across the face. Her own kids tried to calm her down but she was having none of it. She's done crazy thing in the past including denouncing the president's other wife, a kind and more diplomatic lady. She even got the president to denounce her after much prodding yet the lady enjoys a secret service and police detail. Hmm. She's kinda crazy actually.

Anyway, they're even more bleak tales of life in Kenya.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7677938/ This link is about how alley abortions are on the rise and there are more stories about mothers dumping new born babies and more people are calling for abortion to be legalized. The statistics also about young mothers who conceal their pregnancies and then dumping the infants at birth are on the rise. The stigma of being a young single mother in most communities that are fairly traditional is too much burden for them to bear so they get rid of their children.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200504290401.html This link is about how 2 out 3 women live in fear of being raped. This statistic was discovered during a poll about a bill that's on the table to castrate rapists. There have been horrible stories about rape and the victims have been getting younger and younger. 13 year old girl who was raped by a close male relative and contracting HIV and also syphillis which led to the dementia. A 17 year old handicapped girl who starts showing signs of being pregnant and after being repeatedly questioned as to the father of her child says that her own father frequently sleeps in her bed and it had been going on for years. Tragic, tragic and awful. The story is quite scary.

Anyway, good news, the rainy season is here, yay for farmers, boo for city folk because the drainage system sucks ass and traffic gets crippled when even a drop falls. I'll be staying later in the office just so that I can avoid rush hour. Laters, miffed I lost the first blog though.

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