Media Release
15 January 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact:
Daniel Narbett
Director
RRaFT Educators
Telephone: (08) 9336 3438
Mobile: 0421 063 266
Email: daniel@rraft.com.au
Website: www.rraft.com.au
A night behind bars
The start of a collaboration of Fremantle and Koch (Nairobi) artist started on a high note when 15 of them were arrested and held for more than 11 hours in a Nairobi police station. The arrests were a clear demonstration of the impunity with which the Kenya police force operate with and the rampant human rights violations that the people of Koch and in deed the Kenyan community have to deal with. The police were heard beating accused persons a tendency that was also found amongst the inmates.
Jaime Yallup, Paul Roe and Ben Wandei of RraFT were in one of Nairobi’s largest slum areas, Korogocho (Koch), collaborating with local organisations Pendo Theatre, Miss Koch and Koch FM to attend the World Social Forum and also support community action through street theatre.
With hindsight the night behind bars served to deepen the discussions and engagements as the team prepared the theatre production that captured the realities of life in a slum from the youth’s perspective. The performance at the World Social Forum struck with resonance to the audience: one young lady had been asked for sexual favours by her bosses to maintain her position she declined the offer lost her job but got another. Attesting to the fact the abuse and harassment can be fought through resistance.
The RRaFT crew are bringing back with them a life time experience choosing to reside in the slum with the people sharing all the facets of life, from catching a matatu(bus) to town, eating ugali, chapati and madodo(maize, flour meal and beans), wash in the public showers. The children were the most amazing with choruses of “How are you” or “Mzungu”, which made the team at home. Every where there were children playing with soil or self made toys quipped Jaime the director RRaFT.
The workshops, the performances and the community visits were filmed and will be a basis for a documentary film celebrating youth resilience in Koch to be released in July.
Within an environment of inadequate and inaccessible health facilities, high levels of illiteracy, unemployment and an unprecedented crime rate, these Koch organisations have created powerful programmes that have effectively improved the lives of many of the inhabitants of Koch. And RRaFT was there to learn from the people who are turning the tide of things around tapping into the wealth and energy of the youth churning out innovative community development processes.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
kochfM on air
Hey good people after the long political technical battles finally KochfM is on air thanks to the timley collaboration of IndyMedia.
Its a dream come true and now we must stay focused on winning the people with truth, the level of experience and enthusiasm amongs the team members will ensure that we are on air and we continue to attract an audience and sponsors.
Sponors will play a critical role in keeping the station on air though they will not be allowed to dictate content particulalry in areas where the community will be disadvantaged unfairly.
We are also recieiving 100 lifeline radios from the free play foundation that will be used to form listner groups for specific programmes.
We are still on the look out for more publicity items and merchandise that KochfM can use to maintain visibility while generating an income...
Keep it radical
Oti
Its a dream come true and now we must stay focused on winning the people with truth, the level of experience and enthusiasm amongs the team members will ensure that we are on air and we continue to attract an audience and sponsors.
Sponors will play a critical role in keeping the station on air though they will not be allowed to dictate content particulalry in areas where the community will be disadvantaged unfairly.
We are also recieiving 100 lifeline radios from the free play foundation that will be used to form listner groups for specific programmes.
We are still on the look out for more publicity items and merchandise that KochfM can use to maintain visibility while generating an income...
Keep it radical
Oti
Monday, February 5, 2007
taking over
Another world is possible, is the theme that run through the world social forum in Kenya last week..And behold the numer of people who joined in the forum.
It was so beautiful to see all those good meaning and committed people walking in Nairobi, taking matatus, buying and having conversations with participants and Kenyans.
Kenyans are known for their generosity and as such the occassion served to deepen that bond, for us who chose to stay in Koch the expereince was quite remarkable as choruses of "How are You" followed us from street to street, the children seemed to sum the happiness of the people for seeing two brave mzungu staying in Koch.
Koch as a community has grown over the past years from being one of the most insecure to a point where now its increasingly safere than other parts of Nairobi, and these is due to the combined efforts of the residents who have formed communiyt watch gruops that patrol the area. And so for the two weeks we stayed in Koch we had the greatest sense of security and community.
We were so amazed at the progress that KochFM has made interms of visibility and also creativity, the finishing of the sound studio is the most innovative with the use of egg trys to offer accustic balance, so cheap yet so effective. Again it points us to the reality that communities already have solutions to problems and all we can do as participants from other places it to listen observe and learn, and then share our experiences with them.
So thanks again to KochFM guys for leading the way in innovation am sure other studios will follow the lead.
Its also good to report that we are getting the transmitter from Indipendent media who were present during the WSF and have agreed to install the new transmitter..
Hope we shall be on air soon..
Mapambano...
Oti
It was so beautiful to see all those good meaning and committed people walking in Nairobi, taking matatus, buying and having conversations with participants and Kenyans.
Kenyans are known for their generosity and as such the occassion served to deepen that bond, for us who chose to stay in Koch the expereince was quite remarkable as choruses of "How are You" followed us from street to street, the children seemed to sum the happiness of the people for seeing two brave mzungu staying in Koch.
Koch as a community has grown over the past years from being one of the most insecure to a point where now its increasingly safere than other parts of Nairobi, and these is due to the combined efforts of the residents who have formed communiyt watch gruops that patrol the area. And so for the two weeks we stayed in Koch we had the greatest sense of security and community.
We were so amazed at the progress that KochFM has made interms of visibility and also creativity, the finishing of the sound studio is the most innovative with the use of egg trys to offer accustic balance, so cheap yet so effective. Again it points us to the reality that communities already have solutions to problems and all we can do as participants from other places it to listen observe and learn, and then share our experiences with them.
So thanks again to KochFM guys for leading the way in innovation am sure other studios will follow the lead.
Its also good to report that we are getting the transmitter from Indipendent media who were present during the WSF and have agreed to install the new transmitter..
Hope we shall be on air soon..
Mapambano...
Oti
police harassment and youth resistance
Having spent a couple of months in Australia it was a rude shock to see the manner and nature of police conduct in Nairobi during our two week visit. To say they were rude would be an understatement, or even to suggest that they were in efficient would be to give them undeserving credit. The police that night violated our rights and those of other Kenyans who were arrested for being outside at night after 11.00pm, whaterver the pretext, since Nairobi is not under curfew (but it would appear that police patroling in slum areas make it appear so).
Thus as we were having drinks dances and talks our party was interrupted by more than 20 police men did not see any policeowman, brandishing their guns at us and ordering us out to a waiting lorry. Its amazing how arbitrary the police conduct their operations, all tourists were allowed to stay while all the Kenyans were to be arrested. Now thats funny since I was a Kenyan at that momment but also a tourist since I was only visiting for two weeks, but that aside, the police did not seem eager to engage in conversation since we had tried to ask them what they were arresting us for to without any success. So at that point the most important thing was to get ourselves to the police station with the hope that we could have an audince with the officer commanding the police post, experince has showed me that the OCS tends to be more reasonable and less likely to physically assult people unlike the jnr officers who seem to derive pleasure for inflicting pain on others.
In the police car I heard one ridiculous incident that would have made us all laugh but we knew too well that the police could turn that statement in the morning. There was a mother of a 6 year old girl who had been arrested on her way to the shop to get salt and flour to finish cooking her dinner. Her main worry was that her house would probably catch fire or that something could happen to her daughter, she even showed me the things she had just bought.... it was so sad.
Well we finally arrived in the police station and got booked in with drunk and being disorderly, now for the records I do not even drink alchohol so does Njeru or Paul, but that did not matter. The biggest issue at that momment is that we were about to be placed in the same cell with other convicts and we had already witnessed them brutilizing other inmantes, se we hatched a plan to go in a single file and fight if we had to to defend ourselves, our situation was further complicated by the fact that we were in the company of a tourist. So when the door was opened we came in charging and blazing, and paralyzed the system, the bully inmates realized quickly that we were from Koch and that cooled down things abit and after consultations we were allowed to go into the VIP without the ritual of harassment or having to pay the inmates. The ritual consisted of washing the toilet and giving any valuable that one had and finally sleeping in the corridors where people were practically pillled on each other. We got into the VIP and I was seated next to the big bully inmate who alleged that he was in for robbery but since they could not get sufficient evidence to charge him they kept him in the cells(now in the cell there is a tendency for people to make their cases seem more serious than they are, or lessen them, I do not know which he was doing but he had been there quite a number of times and for the past 4months). He seemed to know people from Koch which was good. Once peace was established we settled into the sleepless night which was punctuated with either the police beating people outside the cell or the inmates beating people and bullying them once they got inside.
It was such a waste of time because the next morning part of the group was sent to court and actually charged with being drunk and disorderly and the magistrate finding them giulty based on their plea, others were forced to clean the police compound and the tourists including me were released without even a charge or an explanation. Now am sure one would wonder why the people in court pleaded giulty or why we did not press charges for harrassment and wrongfull arrest. The point is that at achieving human rights is a process and at times you are faced with the dilema of escaping or staying and fighting. If the people in court had denied the charges they would have been remanded for 14days or fined 5000 Kenya Shillings and the case would have taken atleast more than 6months and they would have to appear incourt every 14day.Now thats so much time to demand from activists. while agreeing to being giulty attracted a 1day community service or a fine of 200Kenya shillings...Well its easy to see whats the easiest options.
For us being in the country for two weeks it would have been difficult to institute the charges.. since they would have expected us or our lawyers to be present at the times of the hearings. The best we did is that our collegues reported the violations to the British and Australian embassy, whatever the outcome , we have informed and we shall c arry the story wherever we go to..
Well we left the police station with a sad tatste.
Oti
Thus as we were having drinks dances and talks our party was interrupted by more than 20 police men did not see any policeowman, brandishing their guns at us and ordering us out to a waiting lorry. Its amazing how arbitrary the police conduct their operations, all tourists were allowed to stay while all the Kenyans were to be arrested. Now thats funny since I was a Kenyan at that momment but also a tourist since I was only visiting for two weeks, but that aside, the police did not seem eager to engage in conversation since we had tried to ask them what they were arresting us for to without any success. So at that point the most important thing was to get ourselves to the police station with the hope that we could have an audince with the officer commanding the police post, experince has showed me that the OCS tends to be more reasonable and less likely to physically assult people unlike the jnr officers who seem to derive pleasure for inflicting pain on others.
In the police car I heard one ridiculous incident that would have made us all laugh but we knew too well that the police could turn that statement in the morning. There was a mother of a 6 year old girl who had been arrested on her way to the shop to get salt and flour to finish cooking her dinner. Her main worry was that her house would probably catch fire or that something could happen to her daughter, she even showed me the things she had just bought.... it was so sad.
Well we finally arrived in the police station and got booked in with drunk and being disorderly, now for the records I do not even drink alchohol so does Njeru or Paul, but that did not matter. The biggest issue at that momment is that we were about to be placed in the same cell with other convicts and we had already witnessed them brutilizing other inmantes, se we hatched a plan to go in a single file and fight if we had to to defend ourselves, our situation was further complicated by the fact that we were in the company of a tourist. So when the door was opened we came in charging and blazing, and paralyzed the system, the bully inmates realized quickly that we were from Koch and that cooled down things abit and after consultations we were allowed to go into the VIP without the ritual of harassment or having to pay the inmates. The ritual consisted of washing the toilet and giving any valuable that one had and finally sleeping in the corridors where people were practically pillled on each other. We got into the VIP and I was seated next to the big bully inmate who alleged that he was in for robbery but since they could not get sufficient evidence to charge him they kept him in the cells(now in the cell there is a tendency for people to make their cases seem more serious than they are, or lessen them, I do not know which he was doing but he had been there quite a number of times and for the past 4months). He seemed to know people from Koch which was good. Once peace was established we settled into the sleepless night which was punctuated with either the police beating people outside the cell or the inmates beating people and bullying them once they got inside.
It was such a waste of time because the next morning part of the group was sent to court and actually charged with being drunk and disorderly and the magistrate finding them giulty based on their plea, others were forced to clean the police compound and the tourists including me were released without even a charge or an explanation. Now am sure one would wonder why the people in court pleaded giulty or why we did not press charges for harrassment and wrongfull arrest. The point is that at achieving human rights is a process and at times you are faced with the dilema of escaping or staying and fighting. If the people in court had denied the charges they would have been remanded for 14days or fined 5000 Kenya Shillings and the case would have taken atleast more than 6months and they would have to appear incourt every 14day.Now thats so much time to demand from activists. while agreeing to being giulty attracted a 1day community service or a fine of 200Kenya shillings...Well its easy to see whats the easiest options.
For us being in the country for two weeks it would have been difficult to institute the charges.. since they would have expected us or our lawyers to be present at the times of the hearings. The best we did is that our collegues reported the violations to the British and Australian embassy, whatever the outcome , we have informed and we shall c arry the story wherever we go to..
Well we left the police station with a sad tatste.
Oti
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