Nairobi Star: Garissa County Teens Elect Their Governor

 The national council for children will provide an opportunity for teenagers to debate and take part in decision that affect their lives, according to a children's officer.
Garissa children's officer Bishar Abdullahi said the forum will give children a chance directly take part in issues that have an impact on their lives.
He made the statement in Garissa during the election of Garissa County governor, deputy governor and regional speaker at the weekend. Children from Fafi, Ijara and Lagdera attended the election meeting.


He said: "The Kenya Children's Assembly will enhance child participation in matters affecting them and act as a medium to articulate the various issues raised by children, especially in matters concerning education, health, protection from violence, abuse, exploitation and HIV/AIDS."


He gave the example of Northeastern province where FGM is a common practice. Children will now get a chanto the young ones saying that because they had not been given a forum to talk about it, it was becoming difficult to weed it out.


He went on:"It cannot get any better for you than this, for once you have the opportunity to interact with your colleagues from other parts of the country and share with them your experiences, not forgetting that you will have the opportunity to directly interact with your leaders and tell them your problems." He challenged the children to come up with idead that could be implemented to make society a better place for all.
Newly-elected 15-year-old governor Khadija Jibril, a Form Two student in Ummu-Salama Secondary School, said the children's council was long overdue and that it would go along way in empowering children with knowledge and skills on rights and responsibilities.


The concept of children assemblies aims at inculcating in children principles of participation critical in promotion, inclusion, equality and development of democratic values in children. Every county will have its representatives in the national assembly.

Disclaimer: Post taken verbatim from The Nairobi Star. The views expressed here in do not reflect the editorial view of GCB.

Garissa Youth Rally Against Drug Abuse

   Hundreds of peaceful youth staged a protest against the proliferating use of drugs in Garissa- coinciding, fortuitously, with the Easter Weekend when a lot of non-muslim Garissians engage in heavy drinking. The procession marched through the streets of Garissa chanting anti-drug slogans and raising awareness on the detrimental effects of drugs on health.

Who better to adjudicate matters of youth morality, disputes and problems than the youth themselves. This effort also helps re-inforce the Ulamaa's stance on drugs since reaction to them has always swinged between hostility to downright mockery.

After the procession ended, groups of youth went back to their bachelor pads for a well-deserved 'miraa chewing session.'  [ I totally made this up]

To see my past rantings on drugs and drug-addled youth, go here and here

Where is the Outrage NEP?

What is wrong with us Somali Kenyans? We generally seem to get the point that we've been ill-treated by successive regimes. We understand that we deserve better than second class citizenship yet we still give the benefit of the doubt to those who don't deserve it. Its become part of our nature.

I continue to be amazed by the remarkable passivity of Nepians. We never give any credence or attention to the constitution and its liberal ideals.
Take the TJRC hearings that were taking place in Garissa. Given the grave nature of the crimes perpetrated on Garissians by the Moi and Kenyatta regimes, there were virtually no protests or public rallies held to denounce the perpetrators or to show solidarity with the victims.

I actually think a remarkable number of our people have become apathetic and don't think their actions will bear any consequences. Mosques have lost whatever powers they've had before and the local media thinks its sole purpose is to play cheap commercials with rhyming quasi-poetic lines.

Now food and fuel prices are pushing many poor families who don't have philanthropic relatives in Western Europe or North America over the edge. Inflation and costs associated with rising fuel prices have made it impossible for the average family to live a decent life. This  adds to the already devastating effects of the prolonged drought. A litre of diesel goes for as much as Kshs. 123 in parts of NEP.We are getting screwed again, except this time round, its costing lives.

But the main point is, where the fuck is the outrage? Why aren't people coming out of their houses to protest?
The truth is, no one cares about NEP because Nepians don't give a fuck about themselves. It may not be nice to say this but the truth is rarely nice. The reason why no one-including our very own representatives-is placating us is because we don't matter and we won't until we become actively engaged in all that directly affects our lives.

We Somali Kenyans are a homogeneous bunch but beyond that we have nothing else in common. we don't believe that we share a common destiny. We are fragmented and hostile toward each other. Unlike our culture which is strongly egalitarian, we cower before our own "leaders".

To you, the high school graduate, University Student, unemployed youth, I say wake up and educate others about what is ailing us. Its up to us, the younger generation, to educate our fathers, mothers, relatives and friends on our rights. Next time a police officer from Kirinyaga asks for your ID, tell him you were born in Garissa and that he is the foreigner in Garissa.

There shouldn't be a shortage of inspiration given all thats been happening in the Arab world since January.

Let me know what you think in the comments section or by e-mail, garissacity@yahoo.com

Our Shameful Culture of Fatalism

  Something my friend and I discussed earlier this week has been gnawing at my mind for quite sometime now.Its the question any restless Somali youngster asks himself : Why is it that we Somalis are so tolerant of failure, so willing to buy into the concept predestination and so unwilling to free ourselves from the "Inshallah mentality" knowing very well that Allah said in the Qur'an "Inallaha la yughayiru mabiqawmin xataa yughayiruu ma' bi'afunsihim" (Allah does not change the predicament of a society unless the change is organically cultivated from within themselves).

 Our culture has become so steeped in destinism. An ingrained culture of fatalism has convinced most of us that standing up for our rights is not worth the risk because our efforts are inconsequential. We accept to be abused, set up ourselves for disappointment, for second class citizenship because we are made to believe that all our efforts will have zero public impact. None of us are willing to demand that the barrier at River Tana bridge be moved to the border because it has become culturally acceptable to tolerate humiliation at the hands of the Police. No one at 'Suuq Mugdi' thinks its better if they organized themselves and cleaned their place of business as a collective group instead of waiting for our blood-sucking Councillors. Everyone is waiting for a non-existent nanny state to change us because we are afraid of changing ourselves. No one is willing to ask where our CDF money went or why our public schools are so behind the rest of the nation.

 In Garissa and the entire Nep region, we have to confront this apathy that plagues us. We must realise that philistinism, lassitude and destinationism are deadly weapons capable of doing quantum amounts of  damage to our psyche than any marginalization by the state.

I do not wish to be simplistic or even sound facile in my diagnosis of NEP's problems by laying all the blame on our footsteps because its absolutely true that consecutive regimes have oppressed us and that may have made us become psychologically captive to the condition I have addressed earlier but that shouldn't be an excuse for the continuation of that debilitating state.

 We Somalis have a proud culture that holds individual achievement in high regard. Our nomadic culture glorified bravery and personal risk for the good of all. Social justice was not only a defining ingredient of what it meant to be a Somali, it was also an article of faith. We need to go back to those roots. We need to transcend the petty divisions that characterize politics in NEP. If there is anyone capable of achieving that fete, its us; the youngsters, the new generation of leaders.

This is not our destiny. Second class citizenship is not our birthright.

Garissa's Ruinous Relationship With its Leaders

 In every wretched relationship, there are moments that are so loathsome they make a person throw his hands in the air and vehemently seek vengeance with brute force. Somali Kenyans have reached that point. The anger on the ground in Garissa and other places is palpable. Whilst an unmitigated disaster unfolds in NEP as people starve, the government is splashing money on defending War criminals and genocidaires. It's a reflection of the future that lies ahead in the sick relationship between MPs and their subjects. As poverty and frustration percolate to the core of society, the men we elected to change our fortunes are busy aligning themselves with internationally recognized war criminals. As somali mothers get gang raped by the same people (Police) that were supposed to provide them with protection, our elected Somali officials are busy thwarting the ICC's pursuit of Ruto and Uhuru. As we get humiliated on our own streets by policemen who see us as walking ATM machines, our MPs pusillanimously cow-tow to the fascism of a government that we've been disenchanted with for almost half a century.

 For those of us that are unemployed, educated and frustrated, let's be done with these goons and let them be done with us. Let them start businesses with all the money they stole over these 5 years and make millions in profit. We will promise not begrudge them-as long as they create jobs here in Garissa and stay out of politics.

 To the youth, I urge you to be cynical of everything these pseudo-dictators tell you. Cultivate the Tunisian in you and even if it takes a low level intifada to bust the existing political class delineation in our county, GO FOR IT. GOD BLESS YOU!

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What is wrong with our Youth?

 What is wrong with our youth? They seem to be happy with their position of irrelevance and actually seem to thrive on it. The lack of ambition on our streets is depressing and besmirching of our honour . Everyday more and more of our vaunted future leaders join the ranks of dropouts, drug addicts and live-at-home 25 year olds. The best of what Garissa produces are those who dream of leaving Kenya for 'greener pastures' elsewhere (read; Europe & North America).

This is a scathing indictment of a culture that does not place any value on academic success, celebrates mediocrity and is hopelessly divided by the most primordial of clan loyalties.While the dynamics at work in Garissa are similar to those in the broader region, our contentment with failure is peculiar and perilous. Improvisation, can-do-demeanour and  an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit used to be an integral part of the collective Somali psyche. One didn't need to have a fancy degree to start a successful business. Our parents did it without ever knowing how to balance a financial sheet. We have no excuse not to. Most of the claustrophobic stalls in "Suuq Mugdi" are owned by foreigners. The construction industry imports labour from elsewhere because we are too classy to do such menial work. Clerical jobs are all held by senile retirees and our political system is the preserve of a few families.

This society will not change until its youth wake up from this prolonged sleep. Garissa's youth can do better, NEP's youth can achieve much more. The real challenge we face today is how to revitalise and empower our youth. Hope, self reliance, private enterprise and pursuit of happiness should be the new paradigm that predominates in Somali Kenya. Waiting for others to uplift us out of our current predicament will never materialize. So to you, the youth of Garissa, being apolitical, sitting around waiting for Dualle to get you a job or a ticket to Europe is delusional. Think of how you can replace him or hold his feet to  fire.

Good Luck.

The Garissa Youth Express

 One of the many readers of this blog sent me this video which I found truly inspiring. It's so good to see some of our young boys and girls taking charge of their destiny and deciding to get involved in the leadership of this beautiful city. Come 2012, I hope to see at least 75% of positions at the Municipal level filled by 21-35 year olds. After all this age group predominates the voting bloc in this city. Should this sleeping giant wake up and realize the power that they wield , it will mean a new dawn for Garissa.


Garissa Youth Days from Alicia Sully on Vimeo.

Finally, I hope to categorically state that I'm not in anyway involved with G-Youth. However, I wish them nothing but success.