KENYA:
G3 Importing Country and Underdeveloped Country
Kenya is a very poor country, rating 147 out of 182 countries on the development index. The average life expectancy there is 54 years. 80% of the people are illiterate. The children in Kenya are especially endangered due to the AIDS epidemic, domestic violence, genital mutilation, premature marriage and malnutrition. The child death rate is 32 times higher than in European countries such as Germany.
In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, one million people live on 250 hectars (618 acres) of land in Kibera slum, the largest slum in all of Africa. Due to manipulated elections in 2007, there was a great deal of unrest here and heavy battling with the police. Over 1000 people died throughout Kenya.
Why isn’t there any running water in the slum? In a study from 2009 done by Amnesty International it was explained that the city administration invested in housing with a higher standard in expectation of higher profits and did not consider the slums in its plans. „Big pipes are crisscrossing the Kibera slum. Clean water flows through them to the wealthier areas of the capital. The inhabitants of the slum, on the other hand, have to walk kilometers to buy their water at private water stations – for a price which is, on the average, seven times more than the price in the wealthier areas.“ („Auf engstem Raum: Kenia: Slums in Nairobi/Wohnen in Würde.“ English: In Crowded Quarters: Kenya: Slums in Nairobi/Living with Dignity.“ Amnesty International 2009)
Here there was heavy conflict with the police during the riots which began after the manipulated election at the end of 2007. Over 1000 people died in all of Kenya.
G3 Rifles from Germany were involved
In Kisumu alone, 44 people were shot by the police and the army. Roman Deckert, a member of the steering committee of the Armaments Information Office (RüstungsInformationsBüro) in Freiburg, Germany, wrote in the March/April edition of the magazine iz3w (Information Center for the Third World): „Photographs of the fighting show the G3 rifle – known earlier in the German army as the ‚bride of the German soldier‘. It has been the standard weapon of the Kenyan security forces for over 30 years. According to information provided by Jane’s Infantry Weapons, they also have the MP5 automatic pistol and the HK21 automatic rifle at their disposal, both of which are derived from the G3. According to the small weapons expert Edwards Ezell, these were produced with an English license. The contract with the Royal Ordnance Factories in Enflied, England of 1970 prooves that H&K participated in the cooperation in order to gain access to markets which they couldn’t reach from Germany. The German Ministry of Defense, which financed the development of the G3 and has the rights on it, gave the necessary license.“
The Unrest in 2007
Dr. Walter Odhiamso, who works with the „International Physicians to Prevent Nuclear War“ (IPPNW) and is a medical practitioner in Nairobi, treated victims of the unrest in Kenyatta National Hospital and in Musaba Hospital in the slums and reported during a visit to the Armaments Information Office (www.rib-ev.de ), that most of the wounds were caused by police bullets. He put photographs at our disposal in a power point presentation (see picture below).
A 13-year-old who came home for Christmas and was caught up in the riots. Below an X-ray showing the bullet that hit him.
The X-ray shows the bullet that hit him.
Philip Alston, UN special reporter, is convinced that Kenya’s police is responsible for the execution of more than 500 people in the vicinity of Nairobi. The German newspaper „Tageszeitung“ reported on February 26, 2009, that each sharpshooter received a bonus of 50 Euros (70 Dollars) for every murder. „Kenya’s police murders systematically, the murders are widespread and well prepared. They are willfully carried out, the perpetrators remain unidentified. The top policemen and politicians are involved. If someone in Kenia tries to steal a lightbulb, he runs the risk of being shot.“ Alston said.
Development: Two Kenya Projects
With very little money we could actually improve things in Kenya a lot. The Freiburg Peace Forum (including the Armaments Information Office) supports a school project in the Kayole slum and a project for AIDS orphans in Kisumu. Elementary needs can be easily fulfilled (water supply, salaries, medical needs).
Saint Lazarus Self-Help Group
A young man from Kenya, who now lives in Freiburg and grew up next to Kayole slum, came to us with a project description for the Saint Lazarus Self-Help Group, which is certified in Kenya. Kayole Slum is scarcely better than Kibera slum as far as living conditions are considered. The streets have a certain order, although they are not paved and have no names, and there is water flowing, but no sewage system. The inhabitants of Kayole have to live with the odor of sewage. The water doesn’t flow continuously, but only two days a week. The Saint Lazarus school project is led by Vitalis Serete in Kayole slum. About 330 children are attending the school from kindergarden age until the eighth grade.
The teachers often work without pay, because the parents cannot afford to pay the school fees. At the same time, all nine teachers of the school and three assisting persons could be paid for 500 Euros (713 Dollars) per month. The school was able to buy a water tank with a donation of 40 Euros (57 Dollars) from the Peace Forum.
Touch of Mercy Selbsthilfe Gruppe: www.touch-of-mercy.de
The HIV infection rate in Kisumu, where this project is located, is 34% – the highest rate in Kenya. In many villages only children and elderly people are still living – the parents have died from AIDS. The children are often HIV-positive, are left to themselves or are cared for by their grandmothers. Many grandmothers, who are often widows, are willing to take on more children with a little support.
The Touch of Mercy Project was initiated in Freiburg by a young woman who fled from Kenya. She is learning to care for elderly people in Freiburg and wants to help the people she left behind. We were not able to prevent the death of Clinton with our donations – he was one of the 60 women and children who are to benefit from the project and he died recently at the age of 12 from AIDS.
Donate directly to one or both projects to Kenya (see respective website), over the Freiburg Peace Forum www.fffr.de or over http://de.betterplace.org/. A responsible distribution of the donations is guaranteed by the direct contacts in Freiburg and the project supervisors at the location in Kenya. By September 2011, both projects will be visited and evaluated by supporters from Germany.