Kenya unbowed. That has been the trending phrase after a local newspaper went against the grain in choosing its headline following a 30+ hour terrorist attack in Nairobi’s Westlands area, on Tuesday, 15th January, 2019.
I personally applaud Kenyans for speaking out against the use of gory images as the picture of what was going on. Pictures that even the media at home would never have circulated. That was a jab below the belt, NYT! And I am glad it backfired in their faces.
I still don’t know what to say, four days later. Friends lost colleagues, family members, loved ones. Loss of any kind is still a loss, and I want to express my sincere condolences to everyone who lost someone/people during Tuesday’s attack.
It’s a sad way to begin the year, but we are determined to be stronger, and to honour the memories of those who left us, and to be there for those who had to witness the atrocity. We will celebrate our local heroes: those who worked in full glare of the media, and those who worked silently behind the scenes. Thank you for your selfless gestures. May God reward you. The rest of us have been stupefied into sobriety, but we know we cannot stay in that state, otherwise they will catch us by surprise again.
We cannot let them catch us flat-footed, but we cannot live in fear either. It will be hard, painful and slow – especially for the people who were trapped in there for hours, not knowing their fate. We will get through this.
Kenyans make Kenya what it is – unbowed.
Vicky's Tinted Spectacles 