Home sweet home..

A portion of an article I found in the IHT, African section, dated November 14. I'm beginning to lose what little faith I had in humanity again, I often try to restore it but then it is quickly diminished.. why is it that greed always wins, and simple people always suffer the whims of those who hold power? This article depicts the destruction of a forest in Kenya, starting with the British colonials in the 1930's, and ending with those in power now, and a small tribe of people who are simply trying to keep their home (the forest) and their way of life...(nothing new I know).

This could be a problem because the Ogiek are not great record keepers. Recent reports indicate that 8 of 10 Ogiek cannot read. Their total population is estimated at 5,000 to 20,000, many of them balancing their traditions with the trappings of modern life. It is not uncommon to see an Ogiek man with a quiver of eagle feather arrows in one fist and a cellphone in the other.

“I have one question,” said an Ogiek boy in a village near Marashoni. “Will the government evict us or not?”

Another young man tramped off into the woods to check a honey trap at the top of a tall tree. He was carrying a smoking coconut — “to make the bees sleep,” he explained — and wearing an antelope skin pouch and a pair of muddy sneakers. The last thing he did before shimmying up the bark and disappearing into the leaves was to kick off his shoes, a symbol of the world he was leaving behind, however fleetingly.