Unstructured or not

Well, my sister's time in Kenya was officially called to a close on Tuesday - at least from the Peace Corps perspective. In her own words..

They're having us all take Interruption of Service and flying us from Dar (Tanzania) to the States beginning on Sat!!! Got this tonight and we're all full of emotions that are very hard to describe. They're asking us to give them one month to figure out stuff here in Kenya. so I'm Done, for the most part..

(since my sister's Peace Corps service was done in August anyway)

The news is very hard to take for myself and mentally I don't know where I am with this whole situation. I left thinking I would go back home to Matayos and continue the life I made for myself for the next few months; obviously, that's not going to happen.

As I mentioned earlier, my sister was evacuated - via motorcycle, then car - from her village, Matayos, about two weeks ago due to the violence that erupted over disputed presidential elections.

In fact, the NYTimes reported yesterday (with updates today) on new protests and killings in Kisumu (the closest city to where my sister was stationed), as well as in other large cities like Nairobi and Mombasa. The article itself is a little all-over-the-place, touching on a lot of subjects related to the current violence and potential for continued political and civil unrest, but not really getting into any details on any one aspect. In other words, it's not a good article to "start on", but if you've already been following the action, it does provide a little view into the latest scene. Check it:

Protests Bring New Violence in Kenya
By Jeffrey Gettleman
Published: January 17, 2008

And the BBC fills in a little more:

'Seven dead' in Kenyan protests
BBC News, January 17th, 2008

In any case, I read these stories with a bit of amazement (and a grain of salt); I really don't have any practical experience to call upon when I try to empathize with any of the players involved, from native Africans - especially from the native African perspective! - to international workers (ex. from NGO's, foreign governments and so forth).

You see, I've never lived in a place with such a level of uncertainty with respect to its everyday societal constructions.. from transportation infrastructure to general rule of law (including the expectation to NOT be hacked with a machete). These types of things should just "be", right? I, of course, say that with a wink-wink and a nudge-nudge: these things are *hardly* simple in their implementation, maintenance, and, later, evolution with the times. But that fact is easy to forget because while they are all intrinsically complex systems - built layer by layer, and tweaked infinitely (and, many times, slowly) - they can have a seemingly-simple interface.. as least when viewed by a given individual.

In any case, I'll let the news speak for itself.. before I get too off track and start philosophizzizing without hard data to back me up. Besides, as I write, more updates are pouring in, BBC-style:

Kenya 'turned into killing field'
BBC News, January 17th, 2008

Alas, the who's-at-fault-hype coming from both sides, it seems, is strong (and conflicting). But that is the way of the world, unstructured or not..

UPDATE: My sister will be discharged from the Peace Corps on January 19th, but will be sticking around Africa until at least the end of February; there are belongings to collect and goodbyes to be said.