On the suject of the OT, below is an update from a friend in Kenya. No comment from me on the situation except that any conflict where opponents are ranged on tribal or religious lines is incredibly hard to resolve.
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Things have been very interesting here. On the day of the election there was a huge fire in Diani which wiped out hotels/houses/shops etc. so we ran out of basic supplies and then the election violence kicked off and we really began to run out of stuff - bread/milk/eggs/meat/water/gas/phone credit/beer/petrol/diesel, everything really. Lots of tinned soup has been consumed! The problem was that nothing was getting to Mombasa from Nairobi and anything that was getting through was being kept in Mombasa, thank you very much. Went to pick up some friends from the airport about 5 days ago and we drove through this area that's had lots of trouble. The road has melted where they set up tyre blockades and set fire to them, burnt out cars/petrol stations etc. The problem is that at any sign of trouble everyone suddenly gets tribal so people from upcountry who are working at the coast get attacked so that they disappear back upcountry, leaving a job for a coastal tribal person. The main problem is that most people prefer employing upcountry people because the coastal people are lazy! Anyway, saw lots of hilarious sights, including a bus of French tourists being taken to Mombasa airport for an emergency flight with two armed guards at the front of the bus - selfish f*cks - the armed guards would hve been better off protecting Africans who actually bloody live here. Don't believe the hype about tourists being 'trapped' here - anyone could leave at any time they wanted to...
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