Since I have family in Nairobi, I get to know a lot about the horrors they have to go through to avail water for themselves as well as pay their phantom water bills which arrive in their post boxes every month without fail....., unlike the water they are charging the residents, for.
It has now been MONTHS since they are having to buy water, yet, some places in Nairobi are overflowing with the precious stuff. One example being the ex-Highridge Teacher's Training College in the Highridge/Parklands area.
While the whole area goes without water, this 'college's' water tank is overflowing! How come, nobody has done anything about it? And is the neighbourhood paying for all this water going to waste, instead of for themselves, thanks to the incompetence of the Nairobi Water Company....? Do they have an explanation for this?
Btw, Ramadhan is nearly round the corner and are the Muslims who live in this neighbourhood going to do without water 24 hours..., not just in the daytime?
Most of the postings are to do with what an average Kenyan citizen has to deal with, in the country, to survive. They go through and are treated with a lot of injustice, where very few in 'officialdom', will take notice of their problems or even do anything about them. Hence, this blog and the belief in, 'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers' - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wheel-chair friendly Parcel's office!
Yesterday, I discovered that the long awaited and very necessary wheel-chair ramp has been constructed by POSTA's Parcel's office. Now, people with mobility problems no longer have to fret, Alhamdulillah.
In fact, the Mombasa Parcel's office, has closed off the previous monstrous entrance where the steps were plain awful and only a very fit person was capable of negotiating them. Now, the entrance to the place is through a blue gate. This is where the ramp is.
It was such a relief to discover this! Keep it up, Posta, and thank you.
In fact, the Mombasa Parcel's office, has closed off the previous monstrous entrance where the steps were plain awful and only a very fit person was capable of negotiating them. Now, the entrance to the place is through a blue gate. This is where the ramp is.
It was such a relief to discover this! Keep it up, Posta, and thank you.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Re: Two bananas and an orange, for the price of a tree - Those cheeky monkeys.
'Afternoon, Musa!
About your latest adventures with your neighbour who seems to blame you for a monkey stealing his fruits. It seems that of late, Mombasa, has been suffering from too many monkeys all over town.
These monkeys, like humans are social animals and are also reproducing at a very fast rate, causing chaos and danger to the residents. Our Council and various other authorities should be doing something about them but, are not, unfortunately, despite being complained to, by many residents.
There is, at least one friend of mine who has two young children who are frightened to death of these creatures as they intimidate the human young and adult females. In fact, there was a day when the children were surrounded by these monkeys and the situation was a very intimidating one. Even my friend, their mother, was quite ineffective in chasing them away.
Surprisingly, they are only scared of males (human) and/or if one carries a weapon like a stick, to intimidate them, back.
One of the reasons for this sudden proliferation of these monkeys is ourselves - when some of us in a misguided way decide to feed them. That's when and why they get encouraged to invade human settlements to this extent for they do not know that not all humans are the source of their food supply. This and the overflowing garbage dumps all over, too. The same way that this attracts the crows and other pests, it's now attracting monkeys!
I'm sending this email, with yours, to the various 'authorities' who I think could and should take action, but, then we are living in the most lawless and unjust country imaginable and I wonder if ANYTHING will be done....
Salaams & best wishes,
Raziya
Protecting & Indemnity Kenya Ltd. wrote:
Dear Raziya.
I have recently received a frantic telephone call from my next door neighbour who lives on the first floor of a flat in a house next door. Since he is happy with the security of his flat, he does not have grills over his windows, like the rest of us. All his windows are open to the world.
His problem was that one large monkey entered his kitchen and stole two bananas and an orange. The question was who allowed the money into his kitchen and how did the monkey climb up to his flat. His shamba boy, when the Bwana asked him, with a thread to discipline him or sack him, alleged that he saw the monkey climb up a tree in my garden, on the far side of the house, jumped from my tree to his flat's roof top, then walked along the roof to the kitchen window which was wide open at the time, without grills.
The demand I received from my next door neighbour was that I should cut down the tree with immediate effect. Having lived in this area for over 38 years, and most of the trees in my garden were very old, some of which I have personally planted, it is rather painful to have to cut them down for the price of two bananas and one orange. It is cheaper for me to buy the fruits and replace what my next door neighbour has lost, if it will restore peace between us, than to cut the trees down. Afterall monkeys have been around here for much longer than human settlements have sprung up in this area. This is their habitat and we have been invading it, not to mention the lovely trees that have given us shade and shelter for a rich bird life in the area.
So, Dear Raziya, most people around here appear to be totally ignorant of their responsibilities to preserve the environment.
It is interesting to see all those palm trees our Mayor is planting along the roads of Mombasa, and one wonders if the Mayor has actually considered how these tree will look like when they grow older, blocking pedestrians' use of the pavements and walkways. On the other hand, will those seedlings survive the next dry and hot seasons which will follow these rains? There is no guarantee that they will be properly looked after. What is needed in Mombasa is more open spaces, to expand the roadways, car parks and green areas. The town (or is it already a city?) is choking with fumes, noise and filth due to the ever increasing population of cars and people. It is a mess that needs to be addressed and handled propely, not to add on to the chaos. Is it too late for Mombasa to be redesigned, planned and improved, rather than people burying their heads in the sand and hope everthing will be OK? Afterall it is the money people are after, not the welfare and livelihood of the people who live here. The word is IMPUNITY, and I am sure my next door neighbour has been thinking along the same lines. God help the rest of us who live here.
Kind regards.
_ _ _
Captn. M.M. Ittiso,
Associates (Pty) Ltd.,
C/o Protecting & Indemnity Kenya Ltd.,
Jubilee Insurance Building,
Third Floor, Suite No. 15,
Moi Avenue,
P.O. Box 99342,
Post Code 80107 Kilindini
Mombasa
Kenya.Phone : +254 (0)41 222 2494
+254 (0)41 222 0511
Fax : +254 (0)41 222 0511
Mobile : +254 (0)733 803226
AOH : +254 (0)41 249 2372
E-mail : pandi@africaonline.co.ke
Website : http://www.pandi.co.za
About your latest adventures with your neighbour who seems to blame you for a monkey stealing his fruits. It seems that of late, Mombasa, has been suffering from too many monkeys all over town.
These monkeys, like humans are social animals and are also reproducing at a very fast rate, causing chaos and danger to the residents. Our Council and various other authorities should be doing something about them but, are not, unfortunately, despite being complained to, by many residents.
There is, at least one friend of mine who has two young children who are frightened to death of these creatures as they intimidate the human young and adult females. In fact, there was a day when the children were surrounded by these monkeys and the situation was a very intimidating one. Even my friend, their mother, was quite ineffective in chasing them away.
Surprisingly, they are only scared of males (human) and/or if one carries a weapon like a stick, to intimidate them, back.
One of the reasons for this sudden proliferation of these monkeys is ourselves - when some of us in a misguided way decide to feed them. That's when and why they get encouraged to invade human settlements to this extent for they do not know that not all humans are the source of their food supply. This and the overflowing garbage dumps all over, too. The same way that this attracts the crows and other pests, it's now attracting monkeys!
I'm sending this email, with yours, to the various 'authorities' who I think could and should take action, but, then we are living in the most lawless and unjust country imaginable and I wonder if ANYTHING will be done....
Salaams & best wishes,
Raziya
Protecting & Indemnity Kenya Ltd. wrote:
Dear Raziya.
I have recently received a frantic telephone call from my next door neighbour who lives on the first floor of a flat in a house next door. Since he is happy with the security of his flat, he does not have grills over his windows, like the rest of us. All his windows are open to the world.
His problem was that one large monkey entered his kitchen and stole two bananas and an orange. The question was who allowed the money into his kitchen and how did the monkey climb up to his flat. His shamba boy, when the Bwana asked him, with a thread to discipline him or sack him, alleged that he saw the monkey climb up a tree in my garden, on the far side of the house, jumped from my tree to his flat's roof top, then walked along the roof to the kitchen window which was wide open at the time, without grills.
The demand I received from my next door neighbour was that I should cut down the tree with immediate effect. Having lived in this area for over 38 years, and most of the trees in my garden were very old, some of which I have personally planted, it is rather painful to have to cut them down for the price of two bananas and one orange. It is cheaper for me to buy the fruits and replace what my next door neighbour has lost, if it will restore peace between us, than to cut the trees down. Afterall monkeys have been around here for much longer than human settlements have sprung up in this area. This is their habitat and we have been invading it, not to mention the lovely trees that have given us shade and shelter for a rich bird life in the area.
So, Dear Raziya, most people around here appear to be totally ignorant of their responsibilities to preserve the environment.
It is interesting to see all those palm trees our Mayor is planting along the roads of Mombasa, and one wonders if the Mayor has actually considered how these tree will look like when they grow older, blocking pedestrians' use of the pavements and walkways. On the other hand, will those seedlings survive the next dry and hot seasons which will follow these rains? There is no guarantee that they will be properly looked after. What is needed in Mombasa is more open spaces, to expand the roadways, car parks and green areas. The town (or is it already a city?) is choking with fumes, noise and filth due to the ever increasing population of cars and people. It is a mess that needs to be addressed and handled propely, not to add on to the chaos. Is it too late for Mombasa to be redesigned, planned and improved, rather than people burying their heads in the sand and hope everthing will be OK? Afterall it is the money people are after, not the welfare and livelihood of the people who live here. The word is IMPUNITY, and I am sure my next door neighbour has been thinking along the same lines. God help the rest of us who live here.
Kind regards.
_ _ _
Captn. M.M. Ittiso,
Associates (Pty) Ltd.,
C/o Protecting & Indemnity Kenya Ltd.,
Jubilee Insurance Building,
Third Floor, Suite No. 15,
Moi Avenue,
P.O. Box 99342,
Post Code 80107 Kilindini
Mombasa
Kenya.Phone : +254 (0)41 222 2494
+254 (0)41 222 0511
Fax : +254 (0)41 222 0511
Mobile : +254 (0)733 803226
AOH : +254 (0)41 249 2372
E-mail : pandi@africaonline.co.ke
Website : http://www.pandi.co.za
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Your Ref: KACC/INV. 6/10/ Vol.III/ (102) - 21190 - RE: NOISE POLLUTION - ATTN: P.M MWANGI 'ndc' (K)
Dear Sir,
I am in receipt of your hard copy letter dated 1st July 2009 with the above reference where you allege that my letter (email?) regarding the same issue was undated which you received on the 23rd of June 2009.
All of my letters which are in the form of emails would automatically also have a date and time 'stamp' on them. Therefore, I do not understand how my email could have arrived on your desk undated as you claim.
Also, when you tell me to ask the local OCS to restore order in the area, you'll notice from my innumerable emails/letters that the police are extremely averse to do this when one rings them up. Hence, my emails, written out of sheer frustration, because I'm beginning to believe that we have no law or justice, in this our land and nation, anymore. Unless one lives in an up-market area and by extension one is also moneyed. Then and only then, will somebody in our law and justice departments even begin to pay attention.
Otherwise, one can go jump in the nearest body of water for all that anybody cares!
For example, since yesterday afternoon, we in this neighbourhood have been inundated by NOISE from the MWA Hall and despite calling various senior police officers including the OCPD, NOTHING has been done to restore order and peace in the neighbourhood. Even as I write this, there is a racket going on since early afternoon at the said hall, again, and I dread what other kind of awful racket in the form of wedding parties, are going to disturb our much needed rest and sleep for the remainder of the weekend.....
Of course, the noises emanating from this hall as well as the various religious institutions that we are surrounded by, all add to our lack of peace and quiet every single day! And why is it that 'officialdom', cannot seem to separate the freedom of religion from noise? While there is and should be freedom of religion, this freedom should not be mixed up with the right to infringe on others right to peace and quiet.
Why is it that in this country, the law breakers, noise makers, etc., seem to have more rights than the ones who yearn for some peace and quiet? How strange that there are also two hospitals within hearing distance of these offensive noises, but, even the poor patients there seem to have no rights.
So, when you've asked me to contact the OCS of the nearest police station to restore order in my area, it is something next to impossible to get him/her to do this. I'm talking from bitter experience for even officers more senior than the OCS will not lift a finger to do this.
Therefore, where else is one supposed to turn? Can you please tell me? I'm waiting for a reply....
Raziya
I am in receipt of your hard copy letter dated 1st July 2009 with the above reference where you allege that my letter (email?) regarding the same issue was undated which you received on the 23rd of June 2009.
All of my letters which are in the form of emails would automatically also have a date and time 'stamp' on them. Therefore, I do not understand how my email could have arrived on your desk undated as you claim.
Also, when you tell me to ask the local OCS to restore order in the area, you'll notice from my innumerable emails/letters that the police are extremely averse to do this when one rings them up. Hence, my emails, written out of sheer frustration, because I'm beginning to believe that we have no law or justice, in this our land and nation, anymore. Unless one lives in an up-market area and by extension one is also moneyed. Then and only then, will somebody in our law and justice departments even begin to pay attention.
Otherwise, one can go jump in the nearest body of water for all that anybody cares!
For example, since yesterday afternoon, we in this neighbourhood have been inundated by NOISE from the MWA Hall and despite calling various senior police officers including the OCPD, NOTHING has been done to restore order and peace in the neighbourhood. Even as I write this, there is a racket going on since early afternoon at the said hall, again, and I dread what other kind of awful racket in the form of wedding parties, are going to disturb our much needed rest and sleep for the remainder of the weekend.....
Of course, the noises emanating from this hall as well as the various religious institutions that we are surrounded by, all add to our lack of peace and quiet every single day! And why is it that 'officialdom', cannot seem to separate the freedom of religion from noise? While there is and should be freedom of religion, this freedom should not be mixed up with the right to infringe on others right to peace and quiet.
Why is it that in this country, the law breakers, noise makers, etc., seem to have more rights than the ones who yearn for some peace and quiet? How strange that there are also two hospitals within hearing distance of these offensive noises, but, even the poor patients there seem to have no rights.
So, when you've asked me to contact the OCS of the nearest police station to restore order in my area, it is something next to impossible to get him/her to do this. I'm talking from bitter experience for even officers more senior than the OCS will not lift a finger to do this.
Therefore, where else is one supposed to turn? Can you please tell me? I'm waiting for a reply....
Raziya
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Varakh - silver edible foil used in mithais (sweets)
A very enlightening read!
Raziya
In India , by law, every food item has to have a green dot on it, if it is vegetarian - and a maroon dot, if it is non-vegetarian. If a manufacturer is found to be cheating by mis-labelling his product, the sentence is many years in jail.
So, how have the mithai (sweets) people not been arrested so far? Milk has been treated as vegetarian to appease the powerful dairy lobby, but the silver foil or 'varakh' on each mithai cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered vegetarian.
'Beauty Without Cruelty', a Pune-based NGO that investigates into product ingredients,
has produced a remarkable booklet on the varakh industry. Here is their report on how it is made.
*The varakh-makers select animals at the slaughterhouse. Each animal is felt for the softness of its skin before it is killed. This means that a substantial number of goat, sheep and cattle are killed specifically for the industry.
Their skins are soaked in filthy, infested vats for 12 days to dehair them.
Then, workers peel away the epidermal layer, which they call jhilli, just under the top layer of the skin in a single piece. These layers are soaked for 30 minutes in another decoction to soften them and left to dry on wooden boards. Once these are dry, the workers cut out square pieces 19 cm by 15 cm. These pieces are made into pouches called auzaar and stacked into booklets. Each booklet has a cover of thick lamb suede called khol. Thin strips of silver called alagaa are placed inside the pouches.
Workers now hit the booklet with wooden mallets for three hours to beat the silver inside into the ultra-thin varakh of a thickness less than one micron called '999'. This varakh is then sent to sweet shops*.
Here are the statistics that you should know. An animal's skin can make 20-25 pouches
only. Each booklet has 360 pouches. One booklet is used to make 30,000 varakh pieces - less than the daily supply of a single big mithai shop.
About 12,500 animals are killed for one kg of varakh. Every year, 30,000 kg of varakh (30 tonnes) are eaten on mithai. 2.5 crore booklets are made by varakh companies that keep their slaughterhouse connection secret. But the truth is that not only is this industry
killing animals furiously, much of the animal tissue that the booklet is made of remains in the varakh.
Each Jain knows in his heart that varakh is non-vegetarian. But they still use these dreadful items of mass destruction to decorate the idols of Jain tirthankars. How amazing that the idols of those that preached and practised strict non-violence to all creatures should now be covered with slaughterhouse derived silver foils. Jains are the biggest buyers of the varakh industry. Many try to bluff themselves by saying that the varakh is machine-made.
'Beauty Without Cruelty' has done a thorough investigation and found that there is not
a single machine-made varakh piece in this country (or even the world).
On the web, there is one letter from a person, Jalandhra, claiming that he has a company which has "fully automatic machines manufactured with German collaboration to beat silver pieces in between a special Indian manufactured paper in a hygienic and controlled atmosphere run round the clock by qualified Engineers and experienced R&D team". Initially, we were importing the special paper from Germany .
But when I followed this up, no factory of the given name, or even address, was found.The production of varakh is done mainly in north India : Patna , Bhagalpur , Muzaffarpur and Gaya (which is a Buddhist holy centre), in Bihar ; Kanpur , Meerut and Varanasi (the holy city of Hindus ) in Uttar Pradesh; and Jaipur, Indore , Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The booklets come to them from the slaughterhouses of Delhi , Lucknow , Agra and Ratlam.
Not only is varakh non-vegetarian, it is also very bad for your body - whether you are vegetarian or not. The silver cannot be digested; therefore, there are no benefits from its consumption . A study done in November 2005 by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow on varakh says that the silver foil available in the market has toxic
and carcinogenic metals in the thin silver foil, nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium.
Damages Body also Over half of the analysed silver foils had lower silver purity than the 99.9 per cent purity stipulated by the prevention of food adulteration act of India.
When such foil enters into the body, it releases heavy metals that can lead to cancer. The report also details the unhygienic conditions in which workers put silver in small leather bags and beat it into foil in filthy shops.
It is time we refused varakh-covered mithai, fruit or paan.
Mithai shops should be taken to court for not labelling their products non-vegetarian, before selling them. I request everyone reading this article to strictly avoid the sweets that have a silver work on them. They are purely Non - Vegetarian.
Raziya
In India , by law, every food item has to have a green dot on it, if it is vegetarian - and a maroon dot, if it is non-vegetarian. If a manufacturer is found to be cheating by mis-labelling his product, the sentence is many years in jail.
So, how have the mithai (sweets) people not been arrested so far? Milk has been treated as vegetarian to appease the powerful dairy lobby, but the silver foil or 'varakh' on each mithai cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered vegetarian.
'Beauty Without Cruelty', a Pune-based NGO that investigates into product ingredients,
has produced a remarkable booklet on the varakh industry. Here is their report on how it is made.
*The varakh-makers select animals at the slaughterhouse. Each animal is felt for the softness of its skin before it is killed. This means that a substantial number of goat, sheep and cattle are killed specifically for the industry.
Their skins are soaked in filthy, infested vats for 12 days to dehair them.
Then, workers peel away the epidermal layer, which they call jhilli, just under the top layer of the skin in a single piece. These layers are soaked for 30 minutes in another decoction to soften them and left to dry on wooden boards. Once these are dry, the workers cut out square pieces 19 cm by 15 cm. These pieces are made into pouches called auzaar and stacked into booklets. Each booklet has a cover of thick lamb suede called khol. Thin strips of silver called alagaa are placed inside the pouches.
Workers now hit the booklet with wooden mallets for three hours to beat the silver inside into the ultra-thin varakh of a thickness less than one micron called '999'. This varakh is then sent to sweet shops*.
Here are the statistics that you should know. An animal's skin can make 20-25 pouches
only. Each booklet has 360 pouches. One booklet is used to make 30,000 varakh pieces - less than the daily supply of a single big mithai shop.
About 12,500 animals are killed for one kg of varakh. Every year, 30,000 kg of varakh (30 tonnes) are eaten on mithai. 2.5 crore booklets are made by varakh companies that keep their slaughterhouse connection secret. But the truth is that not only is this industry
killing animals furiously, much of the animal tissue that the booklet is made of remains in the varakh.
Each Jain knows in his heart that varakh is non-vegetarian. But they still use these dreadful items of mass destruction to decorate the idols of Jain tirthankars. How amazing that the idols of those that preached and practised strict non-violence to all creatures should now be covered with slaughterhouse derived silver foils. Jains are the biggest buyers of the varakh industry. Many try to bluff themselves by saying that the varakh is machine-made.
'Beauty Without Cruelty' has done a thorough investigation and found that there is not
a single machine-made varakh piece in this country (or even the world).
On the web, there is one letter from a person, Jalandhra, claiming that he has a company which has "fully automatic machines manufactured with German collaboration to beat silver pieces in between a special Indian manufactured paper in a hygienic and controlled atmosphere run round the clock by qualified Engineers and experienced R&D team". Initially, we were importing the special paper from Germany .
But when I followed this up, no factory of the given name, or even address, was found.The production of varakh is done mainly in north India : Patna , Bhagalpur , Muzaffarpur and Gaya (which is a Buddhist holy centre), in Bihar ; Kanpur , Meerut and Varanasi (the holy city of Hindus ) in Uttar Pradesh; and Jaipur, Indore , Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The booklets come to them from the slaughterhouses of Delhi , Lucknow , Agra and Ratlam.
Not only is varakh non-vegetarian, it is also very bad for your body - whether you are vegetarian or not. The silver cannot be digested; therefore, there are no benefits from its consumption . A study done in November 2005 by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre in Lucknow on varakh says that the silver foil available in the market has toxic
and carcinogenic metals in the thin silver foil, nickel, lead, chromium and cadmium.
Damages Body also Over half of the analysed silver foils had lower silver purity than the 99.9 per cent purity stipulated by the prevention of food adulteration act of India.
When such foil enters into the body, it releases heavy metals that can lead to cancer. The report also details the unhygienic conditions in which workers put silver in small leather bags and beat it into foil in filthy shops.
It is time we refused varakh-covered mithai, fruit or paan.
Mithai shops should be taken to court for not labelling their products non-vegetarian, before selling them. I request everyone reading this article to strictly avoid the sweets that have a silver work on them. They are purely Non - Vegetarian.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Water situation enlightenment regarding up-country
I've just returned from a visit to Nairobi and further up-country for the past one and a half months.
First, to mention the very serious issue of Nairobi's water situation. While the water levels at the dam (reservoir), are at an all time low, this is compounded by the incompetence of the umpteen numbers of 'water bodies' that have been brought into being in this country to supposedly regulate and manage this very important and life-giving resource.
Do they know about the one case in point in the Parklands/Highridge area, where water is being wasted at the previous Highridge Teacher's Training College? The water tank there is overflowing with this precious fluid while the whole neighbourhood is going without water, since WEEKS!!!! No one seems to care.
Then, ironically, the residents of Nairobi can buy very cheap (compared to the other outfits who sell this by the tankerful), water from the Nairobi Water Company and in addition also pay 'phantom' water bills despite getting no water through their pipes. Is this some kind of scam to fleece the residents? And where does the Water Company get it's water, anyway, but can't supply the consumers via their pipes?
Also, compared to Mombasa's situation, I noticed that infrastructure in general all over the up-country areas are being improved in leaps and bounds, unlike Coast Province. Why is that? Do the politicians and politics of the area have a hand in this?
Knowing our obsession to politicians and politics with regards to every service delivery issue, I get the feeling that our local politicians seem to be totally incompetent and are least bothered about developing this province. They are just busy filling their own pockets, I think.
Is it any wonder that people from up-country generally regard us as quite an illiterate and thick headed lot. To an extent, they are right.
Wake up, everybody!!!
First, to mention the very serious issue of Nairobi's water situation. While the water levels at the dam (reservoir), are at an all time low, this is compounded by the incompetence of the umpteen numbers of 'water bodies' that have been brought into being in this country to supposedly regulate and manage this very important and life-giving resource.
Do they know about the one case in point in the Parklands/Highridge area, where water is being wasted at the previous Highridge Teacher's Training College? The water tank there is overflowing with this precious fluid while the whole neighbourhood is going without water, since WEEKS!!!! No one seems to care.
Then, ironically, the residents of Nairobi can buy very cheap (compared to the other outfits who sell this by the tankerful), water from the Nairobi Water Company and in addition also pay 'phantom' water bills despite getting no water through their pipes. Is this some kind of scam to fleece the residents? And where does the Water Company get it's water, anyway, but can't supply the consumers via their pipes?
Also, compared to Mombasa's situation, I noticed that infrastructure in general all over the up-country areas are being improved in leaps and bounds, unlike Coast Province. Why is that? Do the politicians and politics of the area have a hand in this?
Knowing our obsession to politicians and politics with regards to every service delivery issue, I get the feeling that our local politicians seem to be totally incompetent and are least bothered about developing this province. They are just busy filling their own pockets, I think.
Is it any wonder that people from up-country generally regard us as quite an illiterate and thick headed lot. To an extent, they are right.
Wake up, everybody!!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Noise in the name of functions and religion - 39th reminder to NEMA and others concerned....
Do we live in a country which observes laws? NO!!!!!
Do we live in a country which has any respect for human rights? NO!!!!! Again a deafening reply.
Nearly every weekend some GoK official allows loud and noisy functions to be held at the Mombasa Women's Hall which is right next to one hospital and within hearing distance of another and is also in a residential neighbourhood, but none of this makes an iota of difference to the thick headed and selfish merry makers and the equally like minded 'permit givers'.
The cops, when called will do NOTHING to stop the racket, either. They seem to be under the impression that the noise makers are within their rights but, not the ones who have the right to have a restful and undisturbed night and life.
In fact, this country is one noisy place! For wherever one goes, one is inundated by noise whether of the religious variety or otherwise. Regarding the religious variety, officialdom is superstitious in the extreme. They seem to think that they will be damned to all eternity, if they try to stop the religious noise makers, whether they be Christians or Muslims.
Very few have any respect for the law including law-makers and upholders, especially the last. They break the law with total impunity and NEMA which is supposed to be doing something about this particular pollution is completely impervious to complaints by the public. They might talk big, but, they do not walk their talk.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards, a while back talked about this particular issue but, have gone silent, since.
Does NOISE of any kind, not bother anybody? Especially, the ones who are supposed to deal with this very annoying POLLUTION?
Do we live in a country which has any respect for human rights? NO!!!!! Again a deafening reply.
Nearly every weekend some GoK official allows loud and noisy functions to be held at the Mombasa Women's Hall which is right next to one hospital and within hearing distance of another and is also in a residential neighbourhood, but none of this makes an iota of difference to the thick headed and selfish merry makers and the equally like minded 'permit givers'.
The cops, when called will do NOTHING to stop the racket, either. They seem to be under the impression that the noise makers are within their rights but, not the ones who have the right to have a restful and undisturbed night and life.
In fact, this country is one noisy place! For wherever one goes, one is inundated by noise whether of the religious variety or otherwise. Regarding the religious variety, officialdom is superstitious in the extreme. They seem to think that they will be damned to all eternity, if they try to stop the religious noise makers, whether they be Christians or Muslims.
Very few have any respect for the law including law-makers and upholders, especially the last. They break the law with total impunity and NEMA which is supposed to be doing something about this particular pollution is completely impervious to complaints by the public. They might talk big, but, they do not walk their talk.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards, a while back talked about this particular issue but, have gone silent, since.
Does NOISE of any kind, not bother anybody? Especially, the ones who are supposed to deal with this very annoying POLLUTION?
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Red Marbles - a beautiful story
RED MARBLES
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas.
I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.
Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble". Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller." Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.
They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.
Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about.
They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them.
Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size....they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man
in Idaho ."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
The Moral : We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.
Today I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ~ A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself... An unexpected phone
call from an old friend... Green stoplights on your way to work... The fastest line at the grocery store... A good sing-along song on
the radio... Your keys found right where you left them.
Send this to the people you'll never forget. I just Did... If you don't send it to anyone, it means you are in way too much of a hurry to even notice the ordinary miracles when they occur.
IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GATHER, BUT WHAT YOU SCATTER
THAT TELLS WHAT KIND OF LIFE YOU HAVE LIVED
Monday, May 18, 2009
HIJAAB IN MODERN WORLD - VERY INTERESTING & INSPIRING ARTICLE\
HIJAB IN THE MODERN WORLD
By Sultana Yusufali (A 17 year old Toronto high school student).
Published in Toronto Star Young People's Press.
I probably do not fit into the preconceived notion of a "rebel". I have no visible tattoos and minimal piercing. I do not possess a leather jacket. In fact, when most people look at me, their first thought usually is something along the lines of "oppressed female." The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about the way I dress usually have questions like: "Do your parents make you wear that?" or "Don't you find that really unfair?"
A while back, a couple of girls in Montreal were kicked out of school for dressing like I do. It seems strange that a little piece of cloth would make for such controversy. Perhaps the fear is that I am harboring an Uzi underneath it.
Of course, the issue at hand is more than a mere piece of cloth. I am a Muslim woman who, like millions of other Muslim women across the globe, chooses to wear the hijab. And the concept of the hijab, contrary to popular opinion, is actually one of the most fundamental aspects of female empowerment. When I cover myself, I make it virtually impossible for people to judge me according to the way I look.
By Sultana Yusufali (A 17 year old Toronto high school student).
Published in Toronto Star Young People's Press.
I probably do not fit into the preconceived notion of a "rebel". I have no visible tattoos and minimal piercing. I do not possess a leather jacket. In fact, when most people look at me, their first thought usually is something along the lines of "oppressed female." The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about the way I dress usually have questions like: "Do your parents make you wear that?" or "Don't you find that really unfair?"
A while back, a couple of girls in Montreal were kicked out of school for dressing like I do. It seems strange that a little piece of cloth would make for such controversy. Perhaps the fear is that I am harboring an Uzi underneath it.
Of course, the issue at hand is more than a mere piece of cloth. I am a Muslim woman who, like millions of other Muslim women across the globe, chooses to wear the hijab. And the concept of the hijab, contrary to popular opinion, is actually one of the most fundamental aspects of female empowerment. When I cover myself, I make it virtually impossible for people to judge me according to the way I look.
I cannot be categorized because of my attractiveness or lack thereof. Compare this to life in today's society: We are constantly sizing one another up on the basis of our clothing, jewelry, hair and makeup. What kind of depth can there be in a world like this?
Yes, I have a body, a physical manifestation upon this Earth. But it is the vessel of an intelligent mind and a strong spirit. It is not for the beholder to leer at or to use in advertisements to sell everything from beer to cars. Because of the superficiality of the world in which we live, external appearances are so stressed that the value of the individual counts for almost nothing. It is a myth that women in today's society are liberated. What kind of freedom can there be when a woman cannot walk down the street without every aspect of her physical self being "checked out"? When I wear the hijab I feel safe from all of this. I can rest assured that no one is looking at me and making assumptions about my character from the length of my skirt. There is a barrier between me and those who would exploit me.
I am first and foremost a human being, equal to any man, and not vulnerable because of my sexuality. One of the saddest truths of our time is the question of the beauty myth and female self-image. Reading popular teenage magazines, you can instantly find out what kind of body image is "in" or "out." And if you have the "wrong" body type, well, then, you're just going to have to change it, aren't you? After all, there is no way that you can be overweight and still be beautiful.
Look at any advertisement. Is a woman being used to sell the product?
How old is she? How attractive is she? What is she wearing? More often than not, that woman will be no older than her early 20s, taller, slimmer and more attractive than average, dressed in skimpy clothing.
Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated like this? Whether the modern woman wishes to believe it or not, she is being forced into a mold. She is being coerced into selling herself, into compromising herself. This is why we have 13-year-old girls sticking their fingers down their throats and overweight adolescents hanging themselves .
When people ask me if I feel oppressed, I can honestly say no. I made this decision out of my own free will. I like the fact that I am taking control of the way other people perceive me. I enjoy the fact that I don't give anyone anything to look at and that I have released myself from the bondage of the swinging pendulum of the fashion industry and other institutions that exploit females. My body is my own business. Nobody can tell me how I should look or whether or not I am beautiful.
I know that there is more to me than that. I am also able to say no comfortably when people ask me if I feel as though my sexuality is being repressed. I have taken control of my sexuality. I am thankful I will never have to suffer the fate of trying to lose/gain weight or trying to find the exact lipstick shade that will go with my skin colour. I have made choices about what my priorities are and these are not among them.
So next time you see me, don't look at me sympathetically. I am not under duress or a male-worshipping female captive from those barbarous Arabic deserts. I've been liberated….!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Number Plate Hi-Jackers - SECURITY ALERT!!!!!!
Please read this, watch out and tell your friends and family.
NUMBER PLATE HI-JACKERS
There is a new number plate hijacking trend brewing around in Tanzania & Kenya .
These Hi-jackers will stalk you to a parking lot or mall, after parking your vehicle, they remove your number plate and wait for you to drive off.
They then follow you and overtake you, displaying your number plate at their window as if you had lost it and want to give it back to you.
Shocked that your number plate has fallen off your car, you bring your vehicle to a halt to get it from them.
This is all they want you to do and by the time you realize what happened it is too late, your car is either hi-jacked or your cash/belongings stolen or you could be raped/killed.
Please don't just stop for any thing; a number plate is valueless compared to your life.
Think what is happening before you react to it. Criminals are clever and cunning but are ruthless in getting what they want.
NUMBER PLATE HI-JACKERS
There is a new number plate hijacking trend brewing around in Tanzania & Kenya .
These Hi-jackers will stalk you to a parking lot or mall, after parking your vehicle, they remove your number plate and wait for you to drive off.
They then follow you and overtake you, displaying your number plate at their window as if you had lost it and want to give it back to you.
Shocked that your number plate has fallen off your car, you bring your vehicle to a halt to get it from them.
This is all they want you to do and by the time you realize what happened it is too late, your car is either hi-jacked or your cash/belongings stolen or you could be raped/killed.
Please don't just stop for any thing; a number plate is valueless compared to your life.
Think what is happening before you react to it. Criminals are clever and cunning but are ruthless in getting what they want.
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