I share news about steps our Minciu Sodas laboratory is taking to help
our friends in Kenya.

I spoke this morning with Samwel Kongere. He is in Rusinga Island and
is safe. He says that in Kenya there is now a tribal situation and the
next two days or so will be unstable. Kennedy Owino is safe but is not
in Nairobi and can't get home because there is no transportation. I
will be in touch with Samwel by phone and in a couple of days he thinks
he should be able to send email. He has curtailed his activities for
now. He will think of how we can help and alert us if there is somebody
we should send money to in Kenya. I told him Agnese's concern. Agnese,
Sasha, Janet motivated me to take action.

I also spoke this morning with Davis Weddi in Kampala, Uganda.
http://www.ms.lt/?thinker=Davis_Weddi I share his letter below. He will
do a small project for our laboratory which we will think through
together. I would like him to see how we can help the refugees, how can
they help us help Kenyans, what information do they have and also report
to us and the world. Is there any way that we can encourage a network
of SMS and mobile phone connection? (I assume that these channels will
open up soon.) Davis works for the news media, perhaps we can build on
that? Thank you to Fred Kayiwa for introducing us to Davis.

I am also interested that we do a small project with Kiyavilo Msekwa in
Arusha, Tanzania which is near Kenya. Kiyavilo, are there refugees or
travelers coming to Arusha from Kenya? Could you work with them for us?

Thank you to Sasha Mrkailo of Serbia for collecting helpful links our
wiki page http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?Kenya Sasha knows the
hateful logic of media blackouts and ethnic strife. Sasha, please, can
you choose some short texts or excerpts (each should be one page or
less) that would help take nonviolent action or overcome ethnic hatred?
I ask our Uyoga participants in Tanzania, could you translate such texts
into Kiswahili for us? and then publish them online at our wiki and our
groups? and perhaps print them to help send them into Kenya? Also, can
you check the Dar es Salaam bus station or other places and speak with
travelers and refugees and report the situation to us?

I ask for help at Rising Voices, what can we do to help reports get out
of Kenya and information get into Kenya? (And congratulations to Dennis
Kimambo and all of the winners of the recent microgrants.) Thank you to
Global Voices for the news at:
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/12/31/is-kenya-turning-into-a-police-stat\
e/

What else can we do? I invite us to send money by Pay Pal to ms@...
and we will use that to fund more small projects.

Andrius

Andrius Kulikauskas
Minciu Sodas
http://www.ms.lt
ms@...
+370 699 30003
Vilnius, Lithuania


----------------------------------------------------------

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onereachinganother/message/93

As we all plan and think about the situation in Kenya, I must hasten to
note that Uganda has been seriously affected by the events in that country.

Ugandans can no longer drive their cars as the fuel supply that comes
through Kenya is now cut off.

Worse still Kenyans have started fleeing into Uganda. Some of us who
have relatives across the border, are now hosting some of those who
managed to cross in time to escape the violence.

But those who arrived are in dire need of help. The refugees are
increasing by the day. Each hour, a new groups arrives on foot at least
according to eye-witnesses including journalists.

One story like the one I have attached below tries to explain, but the
situation is really very worrying.

We think that if the fuel situation continues like this, our mobile
phones will soon not be able to call up-country where the base stations
are diesel powered. And yet transport has already been paralysed.

Davis Weddi

Kampala, Uganda

+256 752 697575

----------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?Kenya

SashaMrkailo January 2, 2008 2:20 CET I am afraid that there is not much
that I can do from here with my meager means. I can only offer some
ideas and links. I think it is very important for our Kenyans to have
acurate and timely, informations. I persume that there is a media
blockout in Kenya. Its just the best way that dictators political
manipulants use to control public opinion. So I se they have immediately
bocked sms and cellhones. veryy convinient. I think it is good to have a
shortwave radio , they can be cheap and reliable because you can folllow
international uncensored informations. Here is a link to e-bay with some
prices : http://global.ebay.com/gbh/search?browse=0&Query=shortwave

There is knowledge on the internet how to build simple cheap ham radio
like this person does
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hb_diypeople/article/0,2033,DIY_13875_2277976,00.h\
tml
I used to listen the almost only oposition radio station on a car radio
powered by car battery ( both taken from my old Yugo) during blackouts.

Second idea: teach people how to peacefully demand their rights. This is
very important and the only viable resistance , and the most powerfull
one. read civil disobedience: http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html
Briliant text, I had inention to ranslate it to Serbian whenwe had out
problems with the local dictator, very powerfull reading and empowering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience

Professor Brian Martin from Australia is an autor of many non violent
resistance books Here is his text on communications used in non -
violent situations.
http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/01tnvs/tnvs05.html

Another idea and I think it could be quite dangerous is to use those
digital cameras and picture what is happening. This is a way that can be
used to put a serious pressure on the rulling structure.

This is what happens when problems are building up and no one works
tosolve those same problems. Poliicians an ruling wlites manpulate
peeple into mutual warring a slotering instead of searching and working
on harder problems. Meanwhile criminals (which often are serving as help
for the elites) are doing what they are doing. This brings terrible
condition to whole people.

Kenyan blog updated yesterday on January 1 http://blog.thinkersroom.com/

-----------------------------------

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mendenyo/message/830

Asif, Sasha, Janet, Agnese, Thank you for your concern and help
regarding our participants in Kenya and the post-election violence there.

I spoke with Maria Agnese Giraudo and she says the situation is very
grave, especially in Kisumu (where Tom Ochuka is) and in Nairobi's slum
Kibera (where many of the Nafsi Afrika Acrobats are) based on what she
heard from a Kenyan colleague in Italy and from news reports. Also, she
has received no replies to SMS and has not been able to call anybody by
phone. We also have not received and emails from Kenya. There are
reports of a media blackout in Kenya. This means that we may have
access to information on the Internet that may not be available to
people in Kenya.

Asif Daya, because you grew up in Kenya but now are in Florida, and are
well informed, I ask you to lead our efforts to help, if you agree. If
you can, please also send me your telephone number so I might call you
if there is a need.

Currently, we can think how we might prepare to help when we do have the
chance.

- We can share information that we learn about our participants.
- We can organize some money, even a few hundred dollars, to send as
needed where needed by Western Union.
- We might prepare some information that we're able to collect here,
depending on how bad the media blackout is in Kenya. We can then have
it ready to send when the opportunity arises. I have set up a page
http://www.worknets.org/wiki.cgi?Kenya Sasha, please, can you help there?
- We can write letters and sign petitions to the foreign ministries in
our various countries.
- We can make a list of organizations and contacts that are able to help.
- We may be able to organize help from Tanzania and Uganda (please advise!).

Asif, What do you suggest?

Just for clarity, my understanding is that Samwel and Kennedy are of the
Lou tribe, as are most of the people of Rusinga Island where Samwel
lives. Kennedy lives in one of Nairobi's slums. Raila Odinga, the
presidential challenger, is a Lou and Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent
president, is a Kikuyu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenyan_presidential_election%2C_2007
And here's a Kenyan newspaper that's online: http://eastandard.net

Fred, Agnese and I decided that you should not travel by bus to
Nairobi. Soon she will learn about the visa and then we will discuss
further about buying your ticket to Rome.

Asif, I have changed your settings at Mendenyo so that your letters go
through directly and you can write as many as you please.

Andrius

Andrius Kulikauskas
Minciu Sodas
http://www.ms.lt
ms@...
+370 699 30003
skype: minciusodas