Posted on Monday 4th February, 2008
I Cry For Peace
By Wawi Amasha
I sit here in my art studio trying to find a way to focus on my work. But instead, the chaos going on in my country Kenya leaves me deeply saddened and hopeless. And the situation gets worse. Never did I imagine that in my lifetime or ever - my home country would go through something like this. I was born and raised in a remote village in central Kenya. People here were from different tribes and had lived in peace with each other- until now. Growing up I never thought there was any difference between one tribe and another, except for the language - which I always thought, was a unique and wonderful characteristic of our diversity. Around the country people have intermarried and traded goods in a peaceful manner and treated each other with respect and love. In fact unless someone spoke in their mother tongue, sometimes it would be hard to know which tribe they hail from.
My childhood friends and later on in high school all came from different tribes. My best friend, Beauty, whom I met in high school back in 1992 was from the Ngiriama tribe from the coast. We met in Embu and have been like twins since. Now it seems that Kenya is being divided by hate amongst tribes over political and land issues. People are dying, neighbours raising weapons against each other, life is being destroyed, and for what?
I cry for my country, I cry for my family, I cry for the innocent people caught in between, I cry for peace and still hope for Kenya. I believe that we can go back to being a stable country again. I really believe that, but I also know that a lot of people are going to die, many will suffer and are suffering, but I still hope. Being so far away makes me feel so helpless, but at the same time I am glad I am not there in the middle of all this chaos. Every morning when I turn on my computer to read the latest news, my heart stops and as much as I wish for some good news, I am yet faced with more bad news of killings and despair.
Why is it that people hurt each other? It's happening all over the world not just Kenya. It has been happening for thousands of years, and I am amazed how we don't learn from the past. I guess it is just part of humanity and our nature to destroy each other for whatever reasons - justified or not. At the end of the day, don't we all want the same thing? We all strive for the basic life needs - food, a roof over our heads, clothes on our back and to be with our loved ones, share jokes and experiences. We all just want to love and to be love. Love is the only answer, but one must be willing to love from within in order to reflect the love to the world. I believe we are all capable of love, but greed and envy seem to overpower many from realising the love within.
I continue to believe in good within people even when the world seems like it is running out of love. I will continue to let love lead me even when sometimes it seems impossible.
I hope for Kenya. I hope for Kenyans to raise above all and go back to being the nation that has been known for peace. I hope that Kenyans will again be a colourful people, many tribes living side by side, sharing life and loving one another.
To comment on this article, click here
