So much bigger than Kenya

Been too heartsick to post anything, until I spoke to Siyad Abdullahi in Minnesota this weekend. Since the whole crisis began, he's been tirelessly organizing the East African diaspora community in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The Twin Cities also happen to be the home of my goddess-child, and her over-achieving parents, as well the fabulous Pangea World Theater where I led one of my most memorable workshops).

Siyad's lobbying efforts, combined with the work of KPTJ civil society leaders, have finally put Kenya on the agenda of the US Senate.

Siyad inspired and re-energized me by reminding me how much larger than Kenya this is. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community outside Somalia - close to 70,000 people. Not to mention thousands of Ethiopian and Sudanese migrants and refugees, as well as diaspora Kenyans. They remit millions of dollars annually to Kenya, to support families who resettled there as a result of the troubles in their own countries. In Siyad's words:

MILLIONS of East Africans are counting on Kenyan civil society to be the voice of reason. Please include the plight of refugees from neighboring countries as you continue to speak of the magnitude of this crisis, and dangers of an impending full blown civil war.

When I got off the phone to Siyad, I recalled the words of one of my favourite writers, Toni Cade Bambara:

Depression is collaboration with the enemy.