Kenya

The news from Kenya is heart-breaking. The tribal instincts concealed forcibly behind the thick curtain of democracy - that has been the state of many third world countries. They vote, they exercise their electoral rights, but deep in their heart, several centuries of tribal lineage define their true loyalty. May be, the survival instinct is to blame for the intense hatred toward the rival tribes. Once in a while, a politician opens these old wounds, and the brutality becomes unstoppable. We have seen this over and over again in third world countries.

During my travel in Kenya in 2001, I hated Nairobi. A city with no character, poverty given rise to high rate of crimes, a facade of modernity displayed by skyscrapers, shopping malls. Yet, in the rural Kenya, I witnessed a more humble country, poor but proud people moving on with their lives, Naiwasha, Nakuru, Samburu, in between the runs between the national parks, I must have passed through the same streets where people are rioting now.

Kennedy family's endorsement for Obama is huge, despite the tenacity with which Hillary had tried to persuade the Kennedy family to endorse her or atleast stay neutral. But, the
hope and inspiration that Obama alludes greately in his speaches is finally beginning to make a difference - It is not the naivette of a junior senator, but the view of a visionary that is turning heads at this point. It is exactly that hope, or what he calls the 'audacity of hope' that attracts me to his candidacy.

The South Carolina primary takes the game back to Obama. His whopping lead over Hillary signals the momentum he has been accumulating over the last few weeks. This is exciting times --