The big picture of global repercussions is almost impossible for me to comprehend and probably has yet to be quantified. If nothing else it highlights how we have all become so reliant on air travel/transportation in daily life. It goes without saying that tourists are stranded here - but at least it is low season.
As one reader pointed out (see comments) the real disaster in Kenya is that flowers, fruits and vegetables have been left rotting at the airport for four days and counting. Flowers are Kenya's main export (representing 20% of all exports from Kenya) so obviously a huge source of income. In fact, exporters here are now being asked to come back and pick their backlog of produce up from Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi.
The Daily Nation today quoted Stephen Mbithi, chief exec of The Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya who said,
'On average we ship some 1,000 tonnes worth $3 million per day.' He continued,
'We have handled drought, El Nino and the post-election violence, but we have not seen anything like this.'
Mrs Jane Ngige, CEO of the Kenya Flower Council said,
'The headache now is where to take the produce. Do we dump the flowers in Dandora? What about the fruits? Where does one take so many?'
My M-I-L just sent me this link to today's telegraph on the subject of how Kenyan growers have been affected:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/kenya/7612869/Iceland-volcano-As-the-dust-settles-Kenyas-blooms-wilt.html
I saw that report on CNN International this morning, about the stranded produce and flowers at the airport in Nairobi. At least some of it is being picked up by farms to be used as compost or animal feed.
ReplyDeleteI think the fruit exporters need to put a rush on donating the 'stranded' fruit to charities while they're still edible.
ReplyDeleteI could have sworn that people in KE were still dying of hunger but apparently the UK supermarkets do not want food with their labels given out.
ReplyDeleteEither way, that food should not be going to waste. Give it to the IDP's- they're in the Rift Valley. But corporate greed....
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/world/africa/20kenya.html?scp=2&sq=kenya&st=cse
yeah..., asking what to do with the fruits is rather insane. How disfunctional has money/greed led corporations to be. For goodness sake, the kibera slum or any other slum would have benefited greatly from those fruits. It's shocking that not one person in those corporations would think that there are people starving in Nairobi.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter not..., It's hilarious that the telephone cables got stolen. I just read in the cutting edge that theives were spotted stealing telephone cables and a concerned citizen called the authorities. They showed up 48 hours later at the scene and vowed to catch the criminals. The kicker is that the same thieves came back and stole what they had left behind. It's like reading a comic book..., I know it's wrong that these things happen but somtimes it's just too funny.
Hope you get your landline fixed someday.
Many of the corporates who do the exporting are wealthy; they should be able to sustain their operations and also look after their staff. Their businesses have been affected by one week's disruption, not one month's. With their huge earnings, surely they must have some reserves. And how about asking the Chnese to do their bit and import some more from Kenya?
ReplyDeleteHello, I just stumbled across your blog :-) The situation with Kenyan farmers as a result of the ash has received a lot of coverage in the Guardian, so it's interesting to read about it from someone actually in Kenya.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wanted to invite you and your girls to join an International Postcard Swap for Families I'm hosting on my blog, Playing by the book (about kids books and play):
http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/04/22/sending-smiles-and-an-international-family-postcard-swap/
It would be great to have you on board!