Re: FW: Parking nightmare in Mombasa

I was forwarded the following by a good friend and asked to comment on it. I've written about the road and traffic of Mombasa many times as well as about parking issues and the questionable charge that our Council has come up with.

There truly is a shortage of parking in this cramped little island of ours and having unruly drivers, especially of tuk tuks and matatus, makes things worse. These, abide by no traffic law and their only aim is to get to wherever they are going in the shortest possible time and route. To hell with other road users.

Regarding the parking, or lack of it, is the responsibility of our redoubtable Council. They have nothing like town planning up their sleeves and don't even think about the welfare of the citizens of this town when allowing structures to come up on road reserves, facilitating PSVs while inconveniencing other private vehicles to take very roundabout routes to get somewhere which is also in a pathetic condition, letting noisy religious buildings like mosques and halls turned into churches all over the place, letting mkokotenis park all over the place thereby decreasing the already few parking spaces. The only thing our Council is interested in is collecting money and since the mkokoteni guys pay 'parking' fees or whatever to the Council, they promptly wash their collective hands regarding the thought that they are supposed to give to facilitate business in the CBD.

To them it matters little nor do they care, if the business community which pays for their salaries, that they are supposed to encourage the smooth running of the town and the citizens who are running businesses and also the ones who shop and/or go about for whatever purpose to town.

Heavy trucks, trailers and other heavy vehicles are also allowed within the CBD which adds to the chaos, jams and frustration. These have no business being there. Why are these allowed into the CBD? Our town roads are not made for such heavy traffic. Should not the traffic police be doing something about this?

The resultant chaos and mess will require the rearranging of attitudes and brains. I wonder if our Council is at all capable of this.....

About the water, power, garbage, etc., is concerned, I've written many emails about these, too, which can be read at my blog whose address is in the signature line at the bottom of this email.

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MSA" <info@kenyachamber.co.ke>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:57:26 +0300
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@alfakenya.com>
Subject: Parking nightmare in Mombasa

Dear sir/Madam,

Vehicle parking in Mombasa is a nightmare to many who have made an attempt to drive around town for business. The problems range from irregular allocation of parking slots, inhuman treatment of motorist by the KAPS staff, clamping of vehicles unnecessarily, vandalism of vehicle parts in full view of KAPS staff and many more.

Our initial efforts to get some of the issues addressed were fruitless because it is currently not clear who is managing parking in the town because the council and KAPS are fighting through the courts for control of the service. As a result there is no harmony in the management of traffic and more so parking in Mombasa. This has left the business community members operating in the CBD to lose business because no one want to come for shopping in the town with his or her car.

In view of the above, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mombasa Branch plans to hold a brain storming session with the business owners and stake holders on the way forward that can minimise the losses in business. We therefore wish to invite you to send your comments in advance as we prepare for this important meeting to be incorporated in chamber's position paper on traffic and Parking problems in Mombasa. The date and venue of the meeting will be communicated to you soon. Views on any other issue affecting you in your business such as oil prices, Electricity supply, water etc are also welcome.

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also giving you a golden opportunity to establish new contacts, network and market your products and services by partnering with her in implementing the schedule activities and projects herein attached. To partner with Chamber on any of the scheduled programmes and projects feel free to contact us by email, phone or pay us a visit at our office which is situated at Kizingo, Mombasa.

We also appeal to those who are not members yet or have not renewed their membership to do so by filling the attached form and returning it to us with the amount due depending on your category.

Thanking you in anticipation of your support in creating a business friendly environment to do business in Kenya.

Yours faithfully,



James N.Mureu
Chairman, Mombasa Branch
National Director, Exports and Tourism Committee
Email: chairman.msa@kenyachamber.co.ke








------ End of Forwarded Message

Striking KPLC workers...

It is very interesting to note that since the junior KPLC workers have been on strike since the beginning of last week, we have not had as many outages.

Also, the ones we have had have been of shorter duration than usual. The phones are also surprisingly being answered quite promptly, too. And our complaints addressed pronto!

So, one wonders what these striking KPLC workers are all about. They seem to be making things worse and highly inefficient! They also irritate and frustrate the public with their attitude on the phones......., by not answering them or being downright horrible on them.

Shouldn't somebody up there (senior), be making a note of these things?

National Geographic Magazine Your Shot

National Geographic Magazine Your Shot: "Add National Geographic Your Shot site content onto your Web space."

How do you say "OH S**T" in Chinese ?

While the following looks disgusting and laughable (only because the block is not occupied), and not so laughable and worse is happening in this country.

Our Town Planners, if they are planning anything responsible and livable, pass highly dangerous plans whose product is questionable and quite unlivable at best.

The buildings that they allow to be put up are substandard and never a thought is given as to the kind of surroundings where they are going to be put up. No thought is given to recreation or play areas for children, yet we have the majority of our population which is very young. Every available space, even the required 7 feet or more between buildings is taken over. In the process we will soon be having no greenery and shady areas in our towns and suburbs - just a questionable and unplanned ugly concrete jungle.

While the rest of the world is trying to be eco-friendly our Town Planners give little thought to such things other than their capacious and corrupt pockets. If all the recipients of this email will cast a glance around their respective neighbourhoods, they will be able to see what I mean.

In fact, I have countless such structures coming up all around mine and despite reporting this matter to NEMA and our Physical Planners, it has made not a jot of difference and the structures continue to be built with total disregard for other neighbours and the environment and nobody raising a voice or a finger to correct this.

We do have the most corrupt and selfish lot out there.....

Unfortunately, the pictures below don't show in the blog but, when you read the comments, you'll probably understand what happened to that building......, I hope.

How do you say "OH S**T" in Chinese? Anyone who bought an apartment here sure has a problem. Talk about a collapsed market! YES, IT'S An ENTIRE 13-STORY BUILDING IN CHINA LYING ON THE GROUND. (1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side of the building, to a depth of 4.6 meters (15 ft). (2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side of the building, to a height of 10 meters (32 ft). (3) They dug right up to the base of the building. Then the rains came. (4) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from north to south. (5) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than what the un-reinforced pilings could tolerate. Thus, the building toppled completely over in a southerly direction. *First, the apartment building was constructed.* Then the plan called for an underground garage to be dug out. The excavated soil was piled up on the other side of the building. *Heavy rains resulted in water seeping into the ground.* The building began to tilt. Then it began to shift, and the "hollow" concrete pilings were snapped due to the uneven lateral pressures. And thus was born the eighth wonder of the world. If these buildings were closer together, it would have resulted in a domino effect. Notice that there's NO rebar in the pilings! Just some wire mesh. They built 13 stories on grade, with no basement, and tied it all down to hollow pilings with no rebar. Brought to you by the same folks that make your kids' toys and want to build your next car. Now that, folks, is a true snafu. Don't you feel better now that these are the folks that manufacture nearly EVERYTHING we buy and use today? One more product "MADE IN CHINA"...!

Re: Fw: Noise in the name of religion...

It is so interesting to note that the religious racket is quite disciplined up-country compared to here, at Coast Province. Possibly because there are fewer mosques and the people who have to listen to the noise both Christian and Muslim, also don't tolerate the nonsense for too long.

The NEMA and various other law enforcers including the cops, for some reason are also more prone to listening and acting on such issues.

Unfortunately, for us here at Coast Province, as soon as one enters Mombasa, one is overwhelmed by noise, lawlessness of many kind, stench from various sources and one gets the impression that one has entered a place where there's little regard for the rights of others - extreme selfishness!

Though, I've mentioned this observation umpteen numbers of times in my numerous emails in the past, I will continue mentioning this logic ad infinitum, till NEMA and other officialdom will act on it.

First, why are mosques, churches, etc., allowed to be built indiscriminately everywhere?

Second, and if they are for the convenience of the residents, then, why is there the need for public address systems to call the faithful to prayer and even have the whole prayer and/or sermon be heard on the PA system for all the world to hear whether they want to or not?

Third, since there are so many of these houses of worship within close proximity to each other and all of them start making their religious racket around the same time everyday, the result is utter chaos and noise pollution at it's worst.

Fourth, why is it necessary for a prayer service to be heard outside the mosque or church when it is invalid for a Muslim (from the Muslim point of view and according to our prayer rules), to follow the imam at the mosque when one is even in a house next door? Therefore, what is the need of this prayer to be heard on the outside?

With regards to mosques and the imams who lead the prayers - are they so very illiterate that they cannot understand this simple logic? Can they not take up my challenge when I have asked them to come forward with any valid argument which is based on the Qur'an and practice of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh), which would justify their ignorant and abhorrent behaviour? By keeping silent, they are just advertising their ignorance regarding their faith.


On 2/14/2011 4:01 PM, Shaileen Shah wrote:

Hi Raziya,

You R NOT the ONLY ONE2feel soooo frustrated!

NO ONE wants2DELIVER what they R paid a salary for!

BUT

NEVER,

never,

GIVE-UP!

Good Luck

Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS,
Box 80197,Mombasa 80100,KENYA.
ph:+254 202326282(O)
+254 41 2224954(R)
Mobi:0722 858303/0733777856

----- Original Message -----

From: Raziya Mohamedali

To: Shaileen Shah

Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 2:12 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Noise in the name of religion...

Hi, Shaileen!

I'm sorry but I've been offline for over a week since returning to this lawless and noisy town! Of course there was the matter of power (still is...), then neither my orange modem nor the livebox were working due to a signal problem and the modem is still not thanks to their useless signal at my place. Even after having reactivated the livebox, it didn't work till Friday, but, then we had another day long outage from KPLC and over the weekend I was very busy.

So, today after over a week of not having dealt with any emails, I'm trying to catch up with a huge backlog of over 150 emails and have finally come to yours..... I am going to deal with it in due course, so please have some patience as I still have nearly a hundred emails still waiting to be read, etc.

I haven't even had my breakfast, forget about lunch, yet and it's already past 2.00 pm!!!

So, ciao for now,
Raziya

On Tue, Feb 8, 2011 at 4:11 PM, Shaileen Shah <shylyn@hecl.co.ke> wrote:

Hello Raziya!

Please do NOT relent in this exercise!

IMPUNITY in KENYA has to STOP,

PERIOD!

GOODLUCK!

Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS,
Box 80197,Mombasa 80100,KENYA.
ph:+254 202326282(O)
+254 41 2224954(R)
Mobi:0722 858303/0733777856

----- Original Message -----

From: Raziya

To: Mr. Odero - OCPD Urban, Msa

Cc: Director General, National Environment Management Authority ; Director General, National Environment Management Authority ; Wemali ; Bakari Mangale, District Environment Officer, Msa

Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 10:48 AM

Subject: Fwd: Noise in the name of religion...

Dear Mr. Odero,

I was given your email address by a friend who prefers to remain anonymous but, is getting disturbed by the noise made by various religious institutions in this town. Because, this person knows about my writing since years regarding this very contentious issue, I was requested to forward my latest write-up about it to you.

NEMA has a law nowadays regarding this, but, they seem to have been intimidated by some of the Muslims from taking action.

Since, I am a Muslim too, I have great objection to my fellow Muslims disturbing others while worshiping as there is no justification for what they practice. Below, are the points and I challenge any Muslim to dispute these. In fact, I have in my previous emails asked these people to justify their noisy prayers, etc., but, have not had any response, yet. Therefore, it means that they have no reply to what they practice and it is not a part of our faith to disturb others, including fellow Muslims.

We would all, as residents of Mombasa, really appreciate it, if you could take some action, as NEMA can't or won't.

Yours Sincerely,
Raziya

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	Noise in the name of religion...
Date:	Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:46:03 +0300
From:	Raziya <rmohamedali@gmail.com>
To:	pcontracts@kenya.go.ke, akariuki@nema.go.ke, Tubmun Otieno:MCM Town Clerk <tubmun@gmail.com>, amnestykenya@sections.amnesty.org, amwinzi@nema.go.ke, power_orgke@yahoo.com, wmathai@greenbeltmovement.org, Cecilia.Andersson@unhabitat.org, ps@psrpc.go.ke, president@statehousekenya.go.ke, raila@raila07.com, abuubakarm@yahoo.com, peoplesttlmntntwrk@yahoo.com, gbm@wananchi.com, ukweli@wananchi.com, haki@knchr.org, ilishe@wananchi.com, info@kara.or.ke, transparency@tikenya.org, railaaodinga@yahoo.com, kacc@integrity.go.ke, omondiosewe@yahoo.com, kmukiri@localgovernment.go.ke, kyengoi@nema.go.ke, ti@transparency.org, thegpr@swiftmombasa.com, miziziyahakipwani@yahoo.com, mkiai2001@yahoo.com, Teckla.Muhoro@unhabitat.org, modhiambos@yahoo.com, mohyder@africaonline.co.ke, Mombasa Human Rights Network <M_hurinet@yahoo.com>, muhuri@swiftmombasa.com, Mwalimu Mati <mmati@marsgroupkenya.org>, pcc@swiftkenya.com, Ngithagui@worldbank.org, nmutembei@integrity.go.ke, "Eng. Samuel Ogege" <ogegesamuel@yahoo.co.uk>, report@integrity.go.ke, National Assembly <bunge@swiftkenya.com>
CC:	Maria/Fakhru Kaderbhai <maria@civiconkenya.com>, 'Ann Wambua' <holwg@yahoo.com>, 'Barry Maeve Mitchell' <himazulu@web2.com>, 'Dan Abwao' <danabwao@hotmail.com>, "'David D. Smith'" <davbeasmith@yahoo.com>, 'Dhiru Shah' <jj@wananchi.com>, 'Donato Fonseca' <marajani@marajani.com>, "'Dr. Hemant Patel'" <hemantpatel@kioskafrica.com>, "'Dr. R S Marjan'" <drrsmarjan@yahoo.com>, "'Dr. S. S. Dhillon'" <dhillon@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Esther Ikiara' <admin@nyalihealthcare.com>, 'Faiyaz Anjarwalla' <faiyaz@africaonline.co.ke>, 'farid abdallah' <farid.abdallah@nyalibeach.co.ke>, 'Gurdeep Nayer' <pirates@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Heinz muller' <heinz.mueller@interfreight2000.com>, 'James Wild' <james.wild@ldcommodities.com>, 'Jenny Somji' <somco@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Kuldip Soar' <kuldip@africaonline.co.ke>, 'kuldipsoar' <kuldipsoar@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Lisa Nesbitt' <lawnes@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Mahesh Dhutia' <mahesh@dhutia.com>, 'Marwan Mishah' <info@solarteknowledge.com>, 'Ravi Bhagat' <urjadistributors@gmail.com>, 'Sadiq Ghalia' <law@ghalia.com>, 'Sarah Spacer' <coco@africaonline.co.ke>, 'Steven Ogwapit' <steven@architronic-ke.com>, 'Timothy Mugo' <t.mugo@mombasawater.co.ke>, 'Timothy Mugo' <timothymugoh@yahoo.com>, comms@comms.go.ke, editorial@eastandard.net, jacque@febaradiokenya.org, kamemenews@kamemefm.com, kendo@eastandard.net, kenyatimesonline@yahoo.com, mmwende@yahoo.com, Mulaa@yahoo.com, mwangiayub@gmail.com, vipslit@yahoo.ca, ntv@nation.co.ke, palaver@eastandard.net, pps@statehousekenya.go.ke, publicwatchdog@eastandard.net, sundaynation@nation.co.ke, ronklif@yahoo.com, COASTWEEK <coastwk@africaonline.co.ke>

'Evening!  Why do certain religions insist on  practicing their faith at ear  splitting levels even in residential areas where peace and quiet should  prevail? I have written about this many times over the years but,  despite there now being a law passed by NEMA regarding noise pollution,  very little enforcement of it is apparent. Why is this?  Why is it that when one complains about religious noise to officialdom,  and especially from the mosques, everybody is terrified of doing  anything about it? If there is a law regarding noise, it should be  enforced, since the law is not denying these institutions from  worshiping but, the people objecting have an objection to them doing so  loudly.  Since God is not deaf (Astaghfirullah), and He can hear the most silent  of prayers, one gets the impression from the loud worship that the  worshipers would like the whole world to know how holy they are. This  smacks of hypocrisy. One reaches the conclusion while suffering from  this noise that these people are more bothered about what the people on  the outside think than what their Maker does.  Take Islam and Muslims for instance - the numerous mosques have no need  to be heard beyond their immediate neighbourhoods and therefore do not  need to use public address systems even for the call to prayer, because  every neighbourhood has at least one mosque if not more, so whom exactly  are they calling for prayers? People on the other side of town? For  their information, those places too, have their own neighbourhood  mosques, so there is no need.  Then, when the Imam starts leading the prayers, there is no need for him  to be heard outside the mosque since he is not leading the ones outside  the confines of the mosque in prayer and it is not valid either, anyway,  for someone to follow the Imam while for example he/she is at home. So,  why should he add to the noise by being heard outside?  Also, in the entire history of Islam and the practices of the Holy  Prophet (pbuh), calls for prayers have never been given a whole hour  before the actual time in the early morning. In Mombasa, this happens at  4.00 am. Of course, if somebody wants to say supererogatory prayers it  is a very private affair and there is no need to give the call to prayer  for it. Also, in this day and age we have alarm clocks, etc., and those  of us who are interested in praying will get up of our own free will and  there is no need for mosques to disturb non-Muslims among us. Why should  they be disturbed? There's freedom of religion, remember?  Now that Ramadhan is just about a month away, most non-Muslims and even  some Muslims are dreading the continuous racket that we will have to  endure for a whole month in the name of freedom of religion. Because, of  the loud recitation of the Holy Qur'an after the mid-afternoon prayers  as well as the Tarawih prayers at night. It is really awful and disturbs  even the Muslims who are praying at home, the sick and the elderly.  Can the authorities please draw a line between freedom of faith and  noise making? And enforce their law about noise pollution, please?  This is also on behalf of the NCRRA, btw.  Salaams, Raziya  --  Raziya Mohamedali P.O. Box 80780 MOMBASA - 80100 Kenya  Fixed line Tel: 254-041-4470817  Tel: 254-020-2137033  Mobile: 0721-485444         0733-947676  <a alt="Click to show my current time" href="http://www.qlock.com/time/simple?city=Mombasa"> <img border=0 src="http://www.qlock.com/images/mytime-button3.png"></a> <br>I am located in<a href="http://www.qlock.com/time/simple?city=Mombasa">Mombasa, Kenya</a>  http://kenyanjustice.blogspot.com/  Email: rmohamedali@gmail.com  

'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers': Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

KPLC's emergency numbers.....

Though, I'm not in Mombasa at present, I do get to hear of umpteen numbers of complaints and incidences regarding our redoubtable 'power' company from my various friends and acquaintances all over.

Last Thursday, 20th January 2011, (they had advertised earlier that the Nyali area in my neighbourhood, at least), they were going to do maintenance from morning till 5.00 pm when the power would be back.

But, this being a banana republic where few people including KPLC, have scant regard for keeping time, the residents continued suffering in the dark and extreme heat of Mombasa. At least one suffering resident decided to call KPLC's emergency numbers to no avail. Not one of them was being answered.

So, he called me and asked me what to do. This was at around 8.30 pm and the power still had not returned. I advised him to call Ms. Faith Njuguna's number and also to let me know asap the results of that call.

Fortunately, for everybody, as soon as he had hung up after talking to me, the lights came back (somewhere between 8.30 pm and 8.45 pm), and so he did not have to call Ms. Njuguna.

Now, this matter of KPLC and it's emergency numbers is a long standing grouch of the Kenyan public (this disease seems to pervade KPLC in other towns, too, including Nairobi).

If the latest complaint had not reached my ears, I would not have shared a recent experience of a friend, but, I think I will have to in the hope that KPLC and it's minions take their customers more seriously and treat them with some respect.

The following are the misadventures of some Tudor residents at night and while Ms. Njuguna promises in her email to my friend that KPLC will take the emergency crew to task, nothing seems to have changed. And therefore her email was of the cosmetic variety and a window dressing.

Please, read the whole email and then think about who would have been responsible if there had been loss of property and lives? Does KPLC sound like a responsible company?

Raziya


On 1/14/2011 3:30 PM, Amira wrote:

Dear Raziya

Aslamo aleikum

Just to keep you in the “loop” see below my correspondence with Faith. Thanks so much to have forwarded me her no – she seems to be an exception!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s see what the outcome will be

Take care & have a nice weekend

Amira

From: Faith Njuguna [mailto:FNjuguna@KPLC.co.ke]
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 12:26 PM
To: Amira
Cc: Joseph Mkomba
Subject: RE: Incident at Tudor

Dear Mrs Khan,

I wish to acknowledge receipt of your email below ,dated 13/1/2011,our telephone conversation on 13/1/2011 and my subsequent visit on 14/1/2011. On behalf of KPLC, Coast Region and on my own behalf, I wish to convey our sincere apologies for the distress that you and your neighbors’ underwent on the night of 12^th January 2011, following the fire incidence on our transformer.

We regret the service breakdown on our part and wish to thank you for taking your time to bring it to our attention. We assure you that the matter is being handled with the seriousness it deserves and corrective measures have been put in place to avert a similar occurrence in the future. We value you as our esteemed customer.

In our strive to improve and delight our customers, we have adopted ‘CUSTOMER FIRST’ as our key value in driving change towards focusing on delighting our customers. Despite the mishap on 12^th January 2011, we wish to assure you of our commitment to serve you diligently and to keep growing together with you as we all drive the economy.

KPLC mission is “POWERING PEOPLE FOR BETTER LIVES” of which we are dedicated to and shall keep correcting where we go wrong.

I have copied this email to our Regional Manager

Once again, we apologise

Yours Sincerely

Faith Njuguna

Principal Customer Relations Officer

KPLC,Coast Region

From: Amira
Sent: 13 January 2011 14:05
To: Faith Njuguna
Subject: Incident at Tudor

Dear Ms Njuguna,

Our telephone conversation of just now refers.

Kindly note the following statement:

10:23pm I noticed that the transformer outside our house is on fire

10:25pm made my first attempt to call KPLC emergency no: 2224533 - NO ANSWER

10.29pm I called 020-2074846 apparently another KPLC contact no but once again – NO ANSWER

10.30pm I pressed the 911 alarm button of our house

10.33pm I called the 4911 number to report the incident and to ask them to help us to get in touch with KPLC

In the meantime the fire was ranging and most of the neighbors were on the road worrying about their properties

10.43pm 911 security armed car arrived as well as Crest Security & Texas Alarm

Collected sand and tried to extinguish the fire – which resulted in a huge bang!

In the meantime neighbors were trying to get hold of KPLC too – BUT IN VAIN!

In the meantime 3 policemen from Central arrived who were called by one of the neighbors. Their attempt to get in touch with KPLC through their so called “hotline” was left un-answered too.

10.53pm called once again KPLC emergency no: 2224535 - NO ANSWER

Fire calmed down

Approx 11pm huge bang with big sparks! AND STILL NO FIREBRIGADE OR KPLC IN SIGHT!!

11.10pm Neighbor got hold of the KPLC call centre. Reply from the gentlemen on the phone:”I’ve just started the shift – don’t know anything about this! Please give me your account no!” instead of attending to the lady’s stressed call and acting appropriately

11.13pm I gave instructions to the 911 security team to go to Mbaraki to get KPLC maintenance team.

11:27pm I called 0717 – 703331 given by another neighbor but it was “mteja”

11:28pm than I was given the no. 0711-031680 (KPLC NBO) when we called we reported the incident once again and asked them to help us getting the maintenance team from MBA

11:30pm 911 security team arrived back. They’ve reported that they did not get anybody at Mbaraki but went to Electricity House where they reported the urgent need of help.

FIRE WENT OFF

We waited till 12am for KPLC to come BUT IN VAIN!! 911 Security team kindly offered to stick around to watch the transformer and to see if anybody from KPLC will report.

It is now 1.53pm the next day and we have not seen ANYBODY from Kenya Power & Lighting Company! We find this ridicules! Thank GOD Almighty the fire went off by itself and no sparks hit the nearby tree. GOD FORBID what could have happened! Please note, that I’ve addressed this on Facebook and will inform the media accordingly.

I will send you pictures in a separate mail – taken just now.

Regards

Amira

Tudor

Muslims who saved Jews during World War II

And now, how are the Jews/Israelis paying back their debt to the Muslims...? Muslims who saved their lives and were not the cause or perpetrators of the Holocaust. These Jews are doing the same that was done to them and worse to the innocent Palestinians. All in the name of a so-called 'homeland'. What a way to thank them!

"Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II" Now On Exhibit in NYC

Where memory fails us, art lives on, like little frozen moments or time capsules that speak to our eyes rather than our ears. Where words fall apart, images live on, taking on their own lives without the need to decode or translate or even define. And sometimes the narrative of human courage and dignity, often overlooked in the face of tragedies and vice, are best told as they are today: captured vignettes, documented moments, preserved portraits that, when strung together, tell us the histories we crave to hear, but feel unprivileged to impart.

It's been said that "the story of Albania's Muslims, and what they did during World War II, is one of the great untold stories of the world." In recent years, these private heroisms have been revitalized through the lens of Jewish-American photographer Norman H. Gershman and his collected images and oral histories that make up the traveling portrait exhibit called Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II, now currently on display in New York's Soho Photo Gallery until January 29th.

The story is quite an extraordinary one. When Hitler's troops began invading the Balkan States in the early 1940s, Muslims across Albania took an estimated 2,000 Jewish refugees into their homes en masse and welcomed them not as refugees, but as guests. They disguised these Jews as Muslims, took them to mosque, called them Muslim names, gave them Muslim passports, hid them when they needed to, and then ferried them to inaccessible mountain hamlets. "In fact, Albania is the only Nazi-occupied country that sheltered Jews," says Gershman. The Jewish population in Albania grew by ten-fold during World War II, and it became the only country in occupied Europe to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning. Records from the International School for Holocaust Studies show that not one Albanian Jew or any of the other thousands of refugees were given up to the Nazis by Albanian Muslims. "They did this in the name of their religion," Gershman said. "They absolutely had no prejudice what so ever."

That is because these Muslims held themselves accountable to what Albanians call Besa, which is still upheld as the highest ethical code in the country. "Besa is a code of honor deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims," the gallery explained in the show's press release. "It dictates a moral behavior so absolute that non-adherence brings shame and dishonor to oneself and one's family. Besa demands that one take responsibility for the lives of others in their time of need. This Islamic behavior of compassion and mercy celebrates the sanctity of life and a view of the other- the stranger- as one's own close family member."

"Most remarkably, this was all done with the consent and support of the entire country. Thousands of Jews, hidden in plain sight- everyone knew- and no one told."

And no one told for a long time "because of the shutters that went down on Albania so soon after 1945 and the draconian Communist regime," Holocaust historian Deborah Dwork told Jim Axelrod on CBS's Sunday Morning. "For the next half century, Albania was completely cut off from everyone, even from other Communist regime countries. And by the time the shutters lifted, what happened half a century ago was not so urgent as people's everyday needs right then and there."

"When I first learned of the World War II rescue of Jews in Muslim Albania and Kosovo, my reaction was visceral," Gershman said, who learned about the story from a member of Israel's Yad Vashem, a memorial dedicated to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. "Muslims who saved Jews? I must record this forgotten event with my camera and tell the story through the various family histories I was to meet. As a Jew and a Sufi, my spiritual connect with the beauty of Islam and Judaism is seamless."

Over a five-year period that began in 2002, Gershman traveled to Albania to document these surviving Muslim families and collect their stories, both through pictures and words. A man who worked for the Albania-Israel Friendship Society carried a small notebook with the names and addresses of these Muslim families, and with that, an interpreter, a driver and an assistant, Gershman crisscrossed the country, finding these families in cities, villages, even at the end of gravel roads. Yad Vashem knew of 63 families on record, but Gershman's trek led him to more than 150. "I travelled all through Albania and Kosovo where I met the rescuer's children, who are in their sixties or even older, the rescuers' widows, and in some cases the rescuer himself." He took their portraits and began with the same question: What is your story?

"I asked them, 'Why did you do this? What was in the Quar'an that you did this?' They would only smile. Some of them said, 'We have saved lives to go to paradise."

"There was no government conspiracy, no underground railroad, no organized resistance of any kind-" Gershman said, "only individual Albanians, acting alone, to save the lives of people whose lives were in immediate danger. My portraits of these people, and their stories, are meant to reflect their humanity, their dignity, their religious and moral convictions, and their quiet courage."

The saddest part of many of these families' stories were the endings when Soviet communism cut off all communication between the Jews that fled to Israel or their native countries and the Muslims that stayed. Many of them ended with "... and then all contact was lost. We never heard from them again. Please help us find them so we can return items they left in our trust."

"I came back with pictures and stories that are different from the ones you read in the papers every day." Together, the images say more than words can about courage, compassion, faith, and intercultural companionship. "They're not perfect pictures," he said. "But what's important is for these people to reflect themselves." It's a message he believes needs to be understood now more than ever.

"The paranoia that's sweeping the country regarding Muslims is absolutely nuts," he said. "I defy of anybody sees my pictures, especially in the West, and say that these people are militants or supporters of violence. These photographs show quite a different story."

It's a story that has gone on to reach further than Gershman could alone. Since a 2006 endorsement from former President Jimmy Carter and its first showing at Yad Vashem in 2007, the world has seen more than 75 exhibitions of Besa, including at the United Nations. In 2008, Syracuse University Press published the images and stories in a photobook that shares the same name as the exhibition.

When its showing at Soho Photo Gallery wraps up at the end of this month, it will travel to a new one in England's House of Commons. Gershman attributes much of the show's success to the fact that it contradicts popular misconceptions of not only Muslims, but also of intercultural relationships between Muslims and Jews.

"The exhibitions," a press release said, "were shot in black and white, fittingly chosen as each of the subjects and their families understood that when it comes to saving a life, there can be no shades of grey."

What a farce!

It is now just over a year since our, 'all talk, but, no action',

government asked all citizens with disabilities to register. Now, it is
more than a year since so many of us did this very strenuous and quite
expensive exercise and we still have not heard anything from them.

All this was at our own expense and there was no 'special rate' for the
ones registering.

We provided a passport sized photograph (one of the requirements), as
well as various other check-ups, etc., which took over two weeks
sometimes of going back and forth to various government departments
including the Ministry of Health and then waiting to be assessed by a
medical team, etc. At times, we even had to do this more than once when
this team was not satisfied with something. In my case, I had to get a
Neurologist's report about the disease (Multiple Sclerosis), that I
suffer from. Probably because, I have not one disability but a number of
them and I suppose this team could not believe it! They were/are
probably not familiar with the disease.

But, after having gone through all of these inconveniences and expense,
we have not heard a squeak out of officialdom. Why? Was this just a
cosmetic exercise on their part so that they will please the 'aid'
givers out there?

The disabled of this country are no better off, than they were a year or
more ago. In fact, with the rising cost of living they are at the
receiving end of joblessness and homelessness, not to mention the ever
present hunger.

While quite a sizable population which consists of the disabled in this
country, our thuggish policy makers continue to behave insolently
towards its hard-earned tax payers and ignoring their needs.

So, all of you out there, what happens next after we register/ed? We
thought that the photograph we gave was for an ID card which would open
many doors for us, the disabled. What have you done in this one year
since we registered and many are still doing so.....?

92nd, 93rd & 94th outage

It happened again on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, though I was told that it would take about an hour, the power at our end was back within a few minutes, in fact.

Then, yesterday we had an outage of nearly 3 hours less 20 minutes starting from 7.00 pm till nearly 10.00. This time KPLC's emergency numbers had been switched off and whatever number I tried was not being answered. Finally after getting frustrating no answers from everybody whom I called, one of the emergency numbers answered and I was told that it would take one to two hours as there was a 'breakdown' in ...., yes, you've guessed it - Kipevu! Again!!!

When the two hours were up, I tried calling again, but, no answer. Then, I called Faith Njuguna who answered (in a very long time!), and by the time she got into action and the power came back, most of us were nearly 'well done' in this stifling heat of Mombasa.

And just now, our power went off, again, for a few minutes. Is the KPLC ever going to behave in a responsible and accountable manner and give us an explanation for these expensive outages? This can only happen in a banana republic. This irresponsible attitude.

91st outage

Within a couple of hours of having written the last email, the 90th...., when I had to wait to send it as I'd written it on battery power and could not send it immediately. At that time the power took at least an hour before it was back.

But, of course, not for long. It went off again and when I called the previously switched off 'emergency' number, it had come 'alive' again, mercifully. This time, a harassed sounding male voice told me that I would get my power back in 20 minutes as there was a problem (what kind...?), at Mwishomoroni.

These outages are playing havoc with our lives not to mention our every device which is dependent on electricity. Everything is beginning to pack up on us, including the Sollatek power regulators.

We demand that KPLC behaves in a responsible manner and/or be ready to pay for the damage their 'services' do to us. Their ineptitude is costing us, the consumers, thousands of shillings and they have to be held accountable and responsible.

And I wonder how soon after writing and sending this, the 92nd outage will happen.....