WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW TO BE DEFINED BY OUR BLACK SHEEP

The westgate mall attack has left all of us in shock and grief. The senseless loss of life cannot be condoned for whatever reasons. Muslims and Somalis as citizens of this country joined their fellow Kenyans in condemning the attack in the strongest terms possible. Muslim leaders held a press conference denouncing the attack as having nothing to do with Islam as claimed by the perpetrators. No Muslim or Somali has come out to support the attack. But still there is a sense of collective guilt among the Kenyan Muslims and especially ethnic Somalis. I read an article on Aljazeera where those interviewed said they don't know what the coming days portend for them. They fear attacks by fellow Kenyans and the security apparatus. This is understandable given the knee-jerk reaction by the security agents whenever a terror or a security breach occurs. The first reaction of the government is always to profile those who share faith or ethnicity with suspected criminals. Kenyans are peace loving and level headed people who love one another but like every other society there are a few bigots. I listened to one who was saying in the Morning all Somalis should go back to where they came from. I wondered where did I come from? He was immediately reprimanded by his colleagues. They told the BBC reporter that he does not represent the majority view. That is the spirit.
I am a Muslim and I am a Somali. I cannot change that and I don't want to. I am not apologetic for who I am but again I don't want to play the victim all the time. I want to define myself. Fellow Muslims and Somalis I want to address you at this point;

Alshabaab hands are dripping with Muslim blood; they do not represent Islam and Muslims

It is no doubt last night dark fall was preceded by a dark day after dozens were brutally killed at the Westgate mall. Kenyans ushered in the night with grief and fear. I slept while the situation was still fluid. Hostages were still in the mall with the blood thirsty killers. Security forces cordoned the area in a tense face off with the attackers. I woke up twice from my sleep to check my timeline on twitter and facebook to see if the situation is under control. I feared for those not safe yet. I feared the killers may blow up the mall with those trapped inside if they are cornered. Earlier images of children, women and innocent shoppers lying in a pool of blood or scampering for safety kept whirling and tormenting my mind.

As Kenyans, this brazen and barbaric attack is an attack on all of us. But as a Muslim, I have been attacked from two fronts; I have been attacked as a Kenyan and I have been attacked as a Muslim. Alshabab have claimed responsibility for the heinous crime and they are claiming to have done it in the name of my religion. Some people believe them because they have a little understanding of Islam. This pains me more than if those fanatics who attacked the mall drove a nail in my head and mutilated my body like they have done to so many Muslims in Somalia. It pains me to see Islam and Muslims being made to carry the responsibility of crimes that they have suffered for more than anybody else. THE RECORD MUST BE SET STRAIGHT.

VAT BILL: TAXING THE POOR TO FEED THE RICH

I have a new found fond for black coffee and tea. Just before the VAT bill came in to operation, I told the office tea lady to be serving me black coffee or tea. Don’t get me wrong, I had no knowledge that the milk prices would soar as a result of the VAT levied on essential commodities. However, the pertinent question that lingers on many minds is the effect the VAT bill will have on the common Mwananchi. The effects have already been felt far and wide in just the first week.

Levying VAT on essential commodities is never a good idea. It has various repercussions both for the micro and macro economics of any country. The chain reaction created by increased food prices moves up and affects every other facet of human existence. In any case without food we would all die. So food is the base here. You should not be surprised when your route matatu charges above normal rates or your shoe shiner tells you to pay more because “bei ya maziwa imepanda”. Don’t ask whether the damn car runs on milk and don’t look at the shoes to confirm that he has not applied milk cream on the shoes. Their reasoning is simple; they have bills to pay and milk is one of them. They have to earn more to continue paying for their needs.