Friday, September 27, 2013

GREAT reflection from someone who was in the Nairobi WESTGATE MALL the day before the attack - Carlos Sanvee

GREAT reflection from someone who was in the Nairobi WESTGATE MALL the day before the attack - Carlos Sanvee, General Secretary, Africa Alliance of YMCAs


doveUntil you are directly involved or affected, you might not understand what a terror attack is. Imagine a six-year-old girl going to a recreation area at the mall, rejoicing, jumping around with her parent. Suddenly she is shot dead in cold blood... because someone decides they have power over her life... just like that!
I was in Westgate Mall for dinner at 10pm the night before the attack and I cannot begin to imagine what I would have done or what would have happened to me had it been Saturday morning that I was there. And yet the chance that I would have been at Westgate Mall that Saturday morning for one reason or other was equally very high.
Saturday 21 September was World Peace Day, but ironically that day a group of men and perhaps women chose to reign terror on innocent children, women and men in Nairobi, Kenya. Besieging the mall for three days, killing 62 people, and injuring 200 while over 60 still remain unaccounted for. The extremist Islamic group Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack as a way of retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somali since 2011. The Westgate Mall represents a vibrant cosmopolitan world in the heart of Nairobi, a melting point for many cultures and nationalities, a lifestyle that easily brings together hundreds of people for shopping, recreation and commerce on a daily basis, with Saturday drawing in even more people. Perhaps this understanding informed the choice of the Westgate Mall by the perpetrators of the inhuman act carried out in the name of God.
The reaction of Kenyans following this tragedy has been incredible. I have witnessed solidarity in action. More than 1 000 people rescued on the first day courtesy of anonymous rescuers. Some people lost their lives trying to save others... there was one story of a man who kept going back and he alone rescued close to 100 people. People of all colours, nationality and creed lined up to donate blood.
Kenyans, both in the country and the diaspora, and peoples of other nationalities donated money to support the cause, and within three days had raised more than USD700,000. There were piles of food and refreshment donations for the soldiers working to reclaim the Westgate Mall from the terrorists who had besieged it; for the news reporters working round the clock; for the many different volunteers at various points set up to support the rescue and recovery process. Kenyan politicians, who a few days before the tragedy had dissenting political views, came together and spoke in one voice against the terror and encouraged people to stand firm against the evil meted against the country.
This exemplified a reality of togetherness that Africa should be proud of. The barbaric action of the fundamentalists and whoever is behind them was intended to cause division and dissent. Instead, it brought a great sense of togetherness and oneness to the people of Kenya and other nationalities. During this time of anxiety I suddenly realised that ethnic, regional, political and nationality divisions simply melted away and the Kenyan nation stood as one and rose from the ashes of the Westgate Mall. I too forgot about my own nationality. I became Kenyan... I felt wholeheartedly African!
I share this article with deep reflection on my life. I realise that I am not better than those maimed or killed in Westgate Mall, or the families and friends of those affected who are mourning and hurting as a result of the heinous act on Saturday. There is no explanation of why me or why them. But these events have reinforced a vital life lesson: to live each day as if it was the last one and do all I can to be fair and just to all.
Every life is sacred and holy before God and therefore taking or maiming it, either by bullet, chemical attack, nuclear weaponry or by starving people through socio-economic policies equally exemplify acts of terrorism as these acts show no care or respect for the gift of life.
I affirm the position of the leadership of the Africa Alliance of YMCAs in over 20 African countries, in standing as one with the Kenyan at this very trying time.
By Carlos Sanvee, General Secretary, Africa Alliance of YMCAs