http://www.africanpress.me/ Patience Nyange – a Kenyan journalist

< Patience Nyange, Nairobi – Kenya

When I got a mail from African Press International asking me to write about my stay in Norway, I went blank. This is because I tend to imagine I have so much to write about concerning my 16 months stay in Norway, the land of the Vikings.

I went to Norway as an exchange participant under a journalistic program funded by Fredskorpset Norway, FK. I was selected to represent Association of Media Women in Kenya, AMWIK where I have been a member for the last 4 years. In Norway, I worked for two organizations, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK, where I did English features for Jungeltelegraphen, a weekly show broadcasted on NRKs P2. I worked with the show hosts, Sigbjorn Nedlad and Arne Berg, my two great colleagues, who came to Kenya, just two month after my return home. “You know we miss you so much and your absence is highly felt in our office” said Sigbjorn. I totally believe him. NRK Kristiansand is very special to me. I miss it and Sigbjorn remains the greatest boss I have ever had this far.

I also worked for Gimlekollen School of Journalism, and Communication, GSJC in Kristiansand where I worked as a teaching assistant. Here, I had specific assignment, to teach the communication students concerning media, politics, lifestyle and generally more about Kenya. I loved every bit of this teaching experience; it gave me a chance to learn more about the education dynamics that exists between Kenya and Norway.

Now, I am sure you are asking, so how was life in Norway, Europe. I have to mention that, given another chance, I will gladly do it again. Initially my program was meant to be 11 months. I left Nairobi, Kenya for Norway in July 2010 and I was expected back in Kenya in July 2011. That did not happen. Instead, I went back to Kenya in early July for a month’s holiday and went back to Norway. This is simply because, after my one year stay, I got a six months extension together with my colleague from Uganda, Annete Muwanga whom we shared an apartment, both of us being in the same program.

My life in Norway, seems like a dream. I wake up in the morning and I am not so sure if I spent all that time in Norway. Our two bosses in Norway, Pamela Melhus and Sigbjorn Nedland of NRK definitely did all they could do to ensure that we spent more time in Norway. It is very important to mention that we did great job at NRK as well as at the Media School. Life moves so fast and all I have with me are memories in my head and memories in form of the many photos I took while in Norway. I realized I have over 20,000 photos that I took during my stay in Norway. I have many videos too. I have done a back up of all my photos because most of these memories to keep.

As I left Kenya for Norway,  no one told me anything about Norway and Norwegians apart from the fact that many Kenyans were worried for me, telling me how racists Norwegians are.  On my part, all I knew was, Norway is a cold country with cold people. “Please carry very warm clothes, it rains and snows almost all year round,” advised a Kenyan friend who visited Norway in Winter.

I must say, that was a lie. One of the greatest memory and opportunity for me was to be able to experience the four weather seasons; Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. I had read about the seasons during my geography classes in my primary and high school life. In Kenya, we have tropical climate, therefore, we do not experience these four seasons.  Getting to experience this first hand, was quite something. During winter, the last thing I ever wanted to do was to leave my bed. I was scared of falling on the ice, I longed for the sun, I hated the long hours of darkness and I clearly did suffer winter depression. At one time, I longed to go back home, it was too much for me. I finally changed my attitude towards it and enjoyed making snow balls and went for skiing with my friends, at least four times before the winter was over.

I loved the spring and summer. To be able to see the trees come back to life after a long winter season, to be able to see the snow disappeared and behold, there came the green environment, it was spectacular. I enjoyed being outdoors and the last thing I ever wanted to do was go get back into the house. I loved spending my days by the sea during summer time with my friends, to experience the midnight sun, to barbecue, to go for biking expeditions and nature walks, it was splendid.

Getting to know and living with Norwegians was not a bed of roses. I was forewarned, “Patience, you have to go out and make friends, Norwegians do not care looking for anyone, that’s just how they are”. Said my former colleague from Uganda. This scared me. Here I was, with no one to call a friend, in this country that was so far away from my beloved home, where I left my lovely family, relatives and friends. Then I consoled myself, “I am here for a short while, I will make the best of my time here, friends or no friends, I will maximize my time in Norway.

I am a very outgoing person, very talkative and very open-minded. These traits helped me get along quite easily and within a short period of time, I had more friends than I could handle. “In Norway, friends are hard to come by, but once you make friends, be assured you have lifetime friends,” remarked a Norwegian friend.

I made friends at NRK, GSJC, in church, Misjonhuset in Kristiansand, which is an international church, so I met people from different parts of Europe as well as different parts of Africa. By January, I had made many Norwegian friends and we were doing lots of travelling together. We travelled to Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Germany and many different cities of Norway, Bergen, Stavanger, Oslo, Arendal ,just to mention but a few. I bought souvenirs from all these places, therefore, I still have great memories when I look at each of them.

http://www.africanpress.me/ “My Norwegian colleagues and me”, Patience Nyange

Norwegians, are funny people. Their cold nature shows mostly during the winter seasons, I guess most suffer winter depression just like I did. I would meet them today at party in town, chat with them and imagine we are now friends. This is how we do it in Kenya. But in Norway, I would meet the same people two or three days later and trust me, they will behave like they had never seen me before. This was a bit boring for me. This is the country I spent 6 months without knowing my first neighbours. It troubled me. When I asked my Norwegian friends about it, they laughed. “Why do you really want to know about your neighbours?” Asked Solveig Omland. My reply was, “In Kenya, we always tend to keep  in touch with our neighbours, they are always our first call in case of emergencies. I justified my interest. “If that is why you want to know about your neighbours, the best thing to do is to save the Police number. In case we have a problem, the first people we contact is the police, not our neighbours.” There came the reply and that served as the end to my quest of knowing who my neighbours were. Many a times, I experienced lots of cultural clashes with the Norwegians. Talk of Rødruss, the celebration by the Highschool students upon finishing their course work. Why do people take a whole month party time when they haven’t done their exams yet, incredible? Trekant, the explicit TV show that showed on NRK P2, that was one show that will never show in Kenya, at least not when I am still alive.

Then, there was something that I finally got used to. It was the discussion about the weather. I realized that weather as a topic always formed a huge part in any discussion. We rarely do that in Kenya. I always wondered, why will these Norwegians ask me about my take on the weather and yet they never bother asking me about my welfare? At least this is how we are oriented in Kenya.That aside, I loved all the Norwegians that I interacted with. On returning home, many people ask me if I was discriminated against, mistreated or looked down upon during my tenure in Norway, but my answer has been, “That never happened, never.” Many people do not believe this, but the truth is, I think I was extremely lucky. I meet people I could call mum, father, brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, friends plus my bosses were extremely good.

http://www.africanpress.me/ “My Norwegian colleagues while in Nairobi, Kenya”, Patience Nyange

As I packed my belongings to come back home in December last year, I spent weeks of crying. I had made another family in Norway and saying goodbye is always a challenge for me. I was in dilemma. I really longed to be back home, join my family and clear my masters degree which I had differed on my last semester. But, part of me really wanted to stay longer. I broke down all the time I had to make a goodbye speech. Together with my friends at Kristiansand, we organized a farewell party which also served as my birthday party,  a  day before I left and again, I broke down. The reality had finally dawned on me, I was going back home, to the land where I belonged. Within me was a deep conviction, “My country Kenya needs me more that Norway.” I therefore chose to come back home and  I am loving my stay. Norway remains my second home and my promise to all my friends in Norway, “ God willing, I will visit home, at least once a year and they are all welcome to visit me in Kenya anytime.”

End

http://www.africanpress.me/ Grace Adhiambo.

< Grace Adhiambo, Reporting from Kakamega in Kenya

While Kenyans are busy paying more for food due to lack of proper policies, politicians are getting busy with their selfish acts.

For how long will we continue having such leaders is the question Kenyans should be asking themselves. When will they ever look back and appreciate the ordinary ‘wananchi’ for getting them there?
Throughout history, politics has been considered to be a dirty game. But this does not mean politicians should wash their dirty linens in public. Not long ago Kenyans found themselves in a mess killing each other, all thanks to our politicians. The post-election violence that claimed the lives of many innocent Kenyans should have served as a lesson to our politicians.
With a number of them facing International criminal charges and still on the front line as presidential aspirants, Kenyans have a reason to get worried. How can we give room for them to rule this country? My take is that William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta should not be given a chance to rule this country. I do not see their ability shining leading us to accord them opportunity to such a high office in the land. What makes us believe that it is a political party that can get one to the presidential seat?

Recently our very own Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi quit then Orange democratic movement and joined United democratic forum (UDF) claiming that the party officials repeatedly declined to amend the party constitution to pave way for the presidential ticket.

Mudavadi who is the member of parliament for Sabatia constituency by virtue of his ODM party membership resigned as local government minister, and also quit as ODM deputy party leader. He said he could not resign as the deputy prime minister, claiming that he was appointed to the DPM’s office courtesy of a national reconciliation agreement which created the office with the aim of bringing harmony to Kenyans, thus – he cannot resign because they are still reconciling Kenyans through their constitutional offices.
Why should he act like he is promoting harmony when he is doing the opposite? During a rally that was held in Nakuru on Sunday 6th of May, Mudavadi attacked the prime minister saying Raila Odinga was a man ripe for retirement. This is not for him to decide. He went on to say that Raila had skeletons in his closet. Who does not have skeletons in their closet and does he have to say this in public if he really wants to see peace prevail in Kenya?
Politicians should stop taking us for a ride.

Recently, rival groups from ODM and UDF disrupted the funeral of Jason Omwera Muhoro, father to Nairobi mayor George Aladwa in Sabatia constituency. They even went ahead to bring down the tent that was sheltering the casket. This started after the Ikolomani Mp Boni Khalwale said that should Mudavadi loose his post as deputy premier, he would move vote of no-confidence against the prime minister. Opposing groups, one chanting ODM slogans and another chanting UDF went for each other.
Politicians should not be allowed to engage mourners in political speeches because most of them use funerals and church services for selfish gains. The deputy prime minister even said he was ready to work with Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta who are Raila’s rivals.

Ruto left ODM and joined United Republican Party (URP) assuring Kenyans that he will fight drug addiction if elected, and strive to endear himself to locals by calling for increased allocations of government funds for development. He dismissed ODM saying it was a dead party.

Just like Ruto, former Cabinet minister Najib Balala who was once in ODM claims that ODM party is a shell of what it was when they started, and that it is now full of crooks. What politicians should avoid is ethnicity.

Why should we have ethnic groupings like Gema and Kamatusa? They are out to promote tribal hatred and should be abolished. Tribalism is becoming a real force to reckon with. Majority of parties formed are out to ensure that ODM does not get the presidential seat, yet they lack ideologies and policies. These are not the politicians we bargained for.

End

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MAE SOT,  – Health workers carrying out malaria control activities – sometimes covertly – in conflict zones along the Thai-Myanmar border hope additional donor funding will help reduce infection rates that have remained almost impervious to health services.

“If the [malaria control] programme is done efficiently, and people are given access to the basic tools to reduce malaria, then this will help to overcome malaria across the region,” François Nosten, head of the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit’s clinic on the Thai-Burma border, told IRIN.

“There has been a huge reduction in malaria, but we need continue to make sure those inside Myanmar are getting the necessary resources to prevent themselves from becoming infected.” Nosten anticipates a boost in funding to fight malaria along the Thai-Myanmar border from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Between 2002 and 2009 the Burmese government reported a continuous reduction in the number of reported malaria deaths from 2,634 to 1,088 and admissions for malaria treatment at health facilities dropped from 82,193 to 47,772.

However, these gains were not evenly distributed. “In the areas with the highest burden, infrastructure is not well developed and transport often has to be on foot. Furthermore, the control of some areas by local ethnic groups constrains the operation of public services,” the World Health Organization (WHO) noted in a national 2011-2015 malaria control strategy document.

USAID announced plans in December 2011 to expand a regional malaria control project into “hard-to-reach border areas”, including Mon and Karen states in Myanmar, “depending on access”. In its 2012 operational plan the proposed regional budget covering six countries in southeast Asia is US$12 million, with an estimated 40 percent going to Myanmar, 20 percent to Cambodia, 8 percent to border areas in Thailand, and 32 percent for regional support activities.

Evidence surfaced at least 8 years ago that the malaria parasite was becoming resistant to artemisinin in the currently recommended treatment cocktail for malaria, known as artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). Studies showed treatment time was taking longer and costing more.

The USAID-funded project applies similar strategies to combat a malaria epidemic on the Thai-Cambodia border, including the mass distribution of bed nets, malaria prevention education in communities, and improving access to remote populations.

Health experts have identified three tiers of “hotspots” in Myanmar. The highest priority is given to the 10 townships in Thanitharyi Division in the south, along the western Thai border, and Shwe Kyin township in Bago Division East. Tier 2 (unclear evidence of suspected resistance) includes all of Kayin (also known as Karen), Kayah and Mon states, and the rest of Bago Division East. Tier 3 is the rest of the country.

While ethnic groups have fought for more autonomy, health workers have struggled to survey health provision, including combating malaria, in the dense jungles of Karen State, said Saw Eh Kalu, a border health worker with the NGO Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW), which is run mostly by Karen exiles operating from Thailand near the Burmese border.

With funding from the US-based NGO, Global Health Access Programme (GHAP), KDHW has trained health workers who have illegally crossed the border to work in some 200 remote villages, housing close to 50,000 people.

“By setting up this network of village health workers, we have been able to dramatically decrease the level of malaria inside Karen State by treating people faster and more efficiently,” said Saw Eh Kalu. Health volunteers have cut down on the often-fatal treks to get to a health facility for treatment, he added.

Communities in conflict areas have also organized “malaria control committees” of village leaders, school teachers and others to help with bed net distribution and malaria education. When GHAP launched its programme, it estimated that 12 percent of Karen State’s population had malaria. After six months, prevalence decreased to between 2 and 6 percent, according to the NGO.

The Karen National Liberation Army and its political wing, the Karen National Union, have engaged in ceasefire talks with the Burmese government in recent months. On 7 April, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein met with Karen leaders and agreed to a ceasefire, which both sides, despite flare-ups, have respected.

“The conflict makes it very hard and dangerous for us to reach communities most affected by malaria,” said Saw Eh Kalu. “If these ceasefires remain in place, it will make it easier for us to access remote communities and make our programmes more efficient at reducing malaria.”

Linda Smith, programme director of infectious disease at GHAP, which works closely with KHDW, noted that timing is critical. “As resistance to the artemisinin drug grows, it is an important time to increase funding and coverage,” she said. “And regardless of [drug] resistance, donors need to be sustaining funding to keep malaria down and prevent resurgence.”

The government launched the Myanmar Artemisinin Resistance Containment Project (MARC) in 2011, surveying households, health facilities and drug outlets.

Preliminary survey data has started providing a clearer picture, but WHO malaria expert Pascal Ringwald said there is a need to boost funding, to “better map the situation” in Myanmar.

Smith noted that a benefit of increased funding from USAID and others will be greater collaboration between groups working inside Myanmar and border organizations, which are often affiliated with ethnic rebels and have long been disconnected from the work carried out in Myanmar.

“The project will help to overcome past antagonisms and prejudices between the two groups, which will be important, since neither approach alone is sufficient to reach all the populations at risk.”

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source www.irinnews.org

Photo: Alexis Adele/IRIN

Nahibly IDP site in Duékoué

Duékoué,  – President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire promised paved roads, an end to power cuts and water shortages, better mobile phone coverage, and a new university in the country’s west as part of an “emergency plan” to develop a region that has been steeped in violence and insecurity for a decade. But for some displaced Ivoirians still unable to return to their homes, the promises ring hollow.

Ernest Téhé, 46, a displaced person living in Nahibly camp near the western town of Duékoué, told IRIN he feels the displaced have been forgotten. Some 30,000 people fled to the Catholic Mission in Duékoué after a massacre in March 2011. Earlier this year most of those still at the Catholic Mission were moved to Nahibly, where 4,500 people are currently sheltering.

“We haven’t even been counted as part of the population,” said Téhé. “No authority has come to say, ‘The president is coming. Come, explain yourselves, your concerns – what do you need? What do not need? What’s preventing you from returning home?’”

Most displaced families told IRIN they could not return to their homes because they were destroyed, or because their farms were taken over by other groups and are now being guarded by armed guards or “dozos”.

Téhé comes from a village 5km outside of Duékoué but he has not returned home because his fields were taken over during his absence. “It’s because we’re Guéré,” he says, referring to his ethnic group, whose members overwhelmingly supported the former president, Laurent Gbagbo.

Much of the long-term inter-community conflict in the west is rooted in issues of land tenure, as members of different ethnic groups claim ownership to the same land.

President Ouattara recognized that the west is still very unstable, with forests “infested with armed persons”, which is “not acceptable”. Nonetheless, during his visit to the towns of Toulépleu, Bloléquin and Duékoué he repeated calls for the displaced to return home, and called on Ivoirians to leave it to the justice system to punish those who have committed crimes. He stressed that he is the president of all Ivoirians, regardless of ethnicity, religion or region.

Security: “More needs to be done”

Constant Bohé, president of the committee for returnees in the Carrefour neighbourhood of Duékoué, says he thinks security is no longer a problem in his area. “In our neighbourhood there is no problem, it’s in the surrounding villages that there are armed persons,” he told IRIN.

Olivier Mette Aubin, 50, president of a youth forum in the region, says “more needs to be done”, even though security has improved a lot. “We need security reinforced along the border so that people feel at ease.” He has not heard of any recent attacks, but there have been threats. “There are still militia groups on the other side [of the border], and people fear they could attack at any time.”

The United Nations has reported continued cross-border attacks near the town of Tai in southwest Cote d’Ivoire. The latest incident occurred south of Tai on 25 April, killing six people. In September 2011 some 20 people were killed in an attack near Tai.

In March the UN missions in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI) and Liberia (UNMIL) announced they were launching border patrols to ensure the safe return of refugees, and prevent the flow of weapons and cross-border attacks. However, a UN military official, who asked to remain unnamed, said after the announcement they were only devoting 34 troops to patrol the porous 450 mile-long border.

Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have been slow to roll out. Thousands of illegal weapons are circulating in the country, even though the UN constantly gathers weapons and ammunition.

The Commission for Truth, Dialogue and Reconciliation, launched in September 2011, is still in the “preparation phase” and aside from a mourning ceremony in March, Ivoirians have not seen many signs of it in action.

The president brought a message of reconciliation to towns that were hard-hit in post-election violence last year after former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Ouattara. “I want everywhere in Côte d’Ivoire, every town in every region, to have clean water, electricity, telephone and television, and this should be done before the end of the year,” Ouattara said during his three-day tour of the region – the first since his inauguration in May 2011.

The villages would not be forgotten, he stressed, promising to install electricity production units in all villages with more than 500 inhabitants. “This region has suffered a lot from the different crises we have gone through in the last ten years,” he said. “We have to make sure the divisions of the past do not ever repeat themselves.”

Many of the towns Ouattara visited opposed his election last year but the president, at least outwardly, received a warm welcome in each town he visited.

“We wanted peace. Peace has come,” says Agnes Zran, 56, from Man in the Dix-huit Montagnes region of the west, who lost a child and her father during “the crisis”, as it is called here. “Now we want him [the president] to help rebuild the dilapidated west.”

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source www.irinnews.org

KIGALI,  – Renewed heavy fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu Province has pushed some 3,000 Congolese refugees into northern Rwanda where they are in need of humanitarian assistance, says a senior UN official.

“The situation is worsening since humanitarian volunteers are now overwhelmed by the influx of Congolese refugees who are arriving in Rwanda,” Neimah Warsame, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative in Rwanda, told reporters on 3 May. 

According to Warsame, the refugee influx into the Nkamira transit camp, in the  northwest, has prompted a multi-agency relief effort. 

In a press release, the Rwandan Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs said that local administrative leaders, in collaboration with humanitarian volunteers, are screening the refugees arriving at Nkamira. 

The refugees are fleeing fighting between the DRC army and troops loyal to the former Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) militia leader Gen. Bosco Ntaganda.

In a 3 May statement, the UN Security Council expressed serious concern over the recent attacks by armed groups in eastern DRC -  in particular former elements of the CNDP under the leadership of  Ntaganda – against the Congolese armed forces, and called for an immediate end to the rebellion.

The Council also expressed concern over the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the area, especially the  increasing number of displaced persons and the outflow of refugees into neighbouring countries. It called “for all crimes, including crimes against women and children, to be expeditiously investigated and the need for all perpetrators of those crimes, in particular Ntaganda, to be brought to justice.”

Ntaganda has been indicted by the UN International Criminal Court for war crimes in the northeastern Ituri region by the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC) militia whose former leader, Thomas Lubanga, was on 14 March found guilty of conscripting child soldiers by the Court. Ntaganda was Lubanga’s successor at the UPC.

At present, Rwanda is hosting some 53, 000 Congolese refugees and asylum seekers in camps in the Gihembe, Kiziba and Nyabiheke areas in the north and western regions.

“Most of those Congolese refugees have fled previous fighting in their country since 1996,” said Warsame.

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source www.irinnews.org