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Noon reflections
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Leading the Night 115 dropped to her office in one of his many cars, but she answered she had an office car waiting for her. He got the message; but there was no indication he would relent. Her phone was tapped even more after this. Tapping phones, was becoming the normal thing now, and it did not bother most people in Kenya any more. It was too common. People get used to anything, and they became carefree. They said the security could go tell it to the birds... they needed to know this bothered noone in Kenya any more. You could tie a string to a sparrow’s leg in Murang’a village and still it will fly and track its way to a remote place in Russia, to a place many people in Africa would never reach. It was meaningless to try and curb communication at this age of internet. Noon reflections The little phone lit up again and Rika answered fast. “Morning Rei, had a good night’s sleep?” she asked “Yes, I did. Thanks.” “Hi Rika! I am sorry about the first call…I “Don’t worry about that..Rei.” “Right! Coffee today?” asked Rei. “Oh, fine, May I suggest the ThornTree atThe Stanley. Then I will show you the message Martel left on the tree for his friends who come to visit Kenya from all over the world?” “Wait a minute, what does that mean, messages on trees? When I think of trees in Kenya, I remember the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Prof Wangri Maatai!” “Wangari Maathai,” is the right pronunciation! Rika, never let anyone off on names. “Oh, yes, she is greatly admired in the world. We will talk more about her. I want to see Freedom Corner. I want to see the trees she planted there for peace. 116 Leading the Night “I have walked around Nairobi. The Central Business District: the Hilton,The Inter-continental,The Basilica, Parliament,The main streets are all on my mind. Right. I will find the Thorn Tree at 12.00 noon is that fine?” “No, let’s make it 11.20am, in time for me to attend a quick meeting and so that the Thorn Tree restaurant is not too busy over lunch, allright”? “Oh, that’s fine. Thanks very much Riiiiika! Martel told me I could be confident with you as I have very little time. I have just read an email from him reminding me of that.” She flipped her phone shut and her mind went back to the paper she was reviewing. Many thoughts came to mind as she read through her own article. She was happy that this time, she had covered some public figures’ crazy nightlife and the editor- just like the last time she wrote on corruption- had not cut sensitive parts off.Thoughts zigzagged on her mind. She was truly glad. Oh, it was incredible! Killings by the rich and mighty went on all the time and were never covered for fear they would not be politically correct. In buildings inside main streets of Nairobi wealthy men undressed and did what they wanted with girls. They entered into the only ‘home’ the girls had in them and shattered them. The most intimate of human acts was turned into a barbaric deed on poor girls. One older woman told Rika how a Sudanese man boasted to her that he could not possibly sleep with black girls. He was fair he said and from the North. He had enticed her anyway into a room and odering her to take off her clothes, made her to parade for his lusty eyes. He all the time referred to how black and native she was, what big this and what big that she had. He humiliated her for a whole four hours before telling her she had nothing he could touch because she was Nilotic and from the South. Yet he slapped her body all the time. She said it was humiliating when he hit her with money. He said he was a civilised man and of Arabic descent and so his dark skin was not really dark as such. [54.226.210.133] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 15:16 GMT) Leading the Night 117 Rika was angry. She knew one thing for sure. Many pretended not to know that men from poor families where these women came from, knew how their mothers and sisters were derided. They shut their minds to the fact...