You, too, will write big books

It was a festival of voices — quite unlike its prototype in Britain, which is solidly literary and much more academic. This was very much a Kenyan product: Voices young, old, brown, black and white.

Some of the most impressive came from students who had worked with Steadman Research Group to come up with analyses of the causes of the violence that hit their institutions last year, causing massive destruction of property, loss of life and faith in the system that was supposed to be nurturing them.

The presentation by Molo Girls School was a model of clarity and lucidity. Beautiful diagrams accompanied by speeches delivered by each member of the team showed where the roots of the trouble lay —in a demoralised teaching profession which did not relate to pupils, poor school administration and a frustrating lack of equipment and resources.

The earnestness of these girls was moving as was their ability to handle the questions that came up. It was hard to imagine such students behaving riotously.
The research was enabling them to find solutions to problems such as ethnic rivalry, the environment and lack of communication. If these are our future leaders, we have little to worry about apart from their inability to achieve their potential.

Boys from Moi Forces Academy backed up this research and encouraged others to become involved in such socially and educationally useful endeavours.

SOME OF THE VOICES AND stories were overtly personal: Columnist Oyunga Pala, in a popular session called “Men Under Attack,” bemoaned the fact that the male gender in these parts had got stuck in an 1980s time warp where the stereotype of the little woman waiting for the man at home was wildly out of key with current affairs.

In the plush pink True Love tent, there was little about romance and a lot about the causes of domestic violence. Although women had always had the edge over men due to their tendency to gossip and share problems, they were still being harassed, assaulted and abused by men and, despite their independence, coming back for more.

After Nairobi Hospital opened its doors to victims of violence (90 per cent women, 10 per cent men — please note, Maendeleo ya Wanaume), they could not cope with the deluge. Fida is hampered by lack of funds, and by the sheer number of cases in the courts.

There was the familiar and the unfamiliar: Hanif Kureishi, in true laid-back British Indian style, admitted that he had benefited from an era when the birth of Channel 4 and the existence of a literary infrastructure made it possible for his early My Beautiful Laundrette to be written and then filmed.

Nigerian Chika Onugwe, who now lives in Belgium, spoke about her fascination with prostitutes. On Black Sister Street is a fictionalised account of the trafficking of young women who believe their minders’ stories about streets paved with gold only to find that they get even auctioned off, paraded naked with placards round their necks — a modern form of slavery.

Chika put on high boots and sexy gear to join the girls in their favourite coffee shop to eavesdrop. The result was a book of crime and passion, grimly humorous and truthful at the same time.

Now that the festival is over, what will we do till the next one — twiddle our thumbs or get on with writing? It’s up to you.

betty.caplan1@gmail.com