But they are crowded in a good way. Great, newly built edifices, they are the embodiment of modernity, success, middle class living in Africa. Sparkling, modern, new - the place to be and be seen. At weekends there are promotions, competitions, fun events - all drawing in ever larger crowds.
Shopping Centres in Nairobi are not just the preserve of the wealthy, or of expat customers - they are jam packed with Kenyans, which today is a melting pot of age groups and cultures - people are mixed together - happy to be rubbing shoulders - celebrating growth, prosperity with an exciting, dynamic vibe. Shopping Centres are fashionable, edgy places, where people are dressed up - they look cool. The feeling is optimistic, positive - shopping centres like Westgate are 'the place to be'. From teenagers hanging out at the cinema or grabbing an ice cream, young kids with their mums off to buy school shoes while nagging for something from the sweetie cart. A visit to the dentist, optician, modern business lunches in cafes, singles surfing the internet on laptops - cappuccino in hand. A family lunch at a shopping centre is a weekend treat. You might be booking flights at the travel agent. Service industry staff pop into the supermarket buy a pint of milk or a loaf of bread - Africans, Asians, Arabs, Westerners- Christians, Hindus, Muslims. The prospect of a trip to the shopping centre, up until now, always represented a treat in store. People watching. Fun. Buzz.
Since Kenya entered the fight in Somalia, we have received numerous security warnings - not just threats relating to shopping centres but other crowded places and events too. We read them and sigh. For the past two years they have popped up as text messages on our phones almost monthly. We individually assess the risk, do we go or not go? What is the truth in this message - but many people have no choice because life has to go on.
Fortunately none of my direct family or friends were at Westgate when terrorists stormed the centre last Saturday - but like so many others (and Nairobi is by no means a small place), I know people who were there. I have been to Westgate so often myself that I know the place well, I know my favourite stores and hangouts - have spent many fun hours there and I am left with the feeling; 'it could have been me' or worse 'it could have been my kids'. One can only imagine the horror people must have experienced to have been inside the centre on Saturday at lunchtime. Tragically, our house help's niece was working at Westgate over the weekend. Neither rich, middle class or expat, she was killed early on during the siege.
The incident resonates so much worldwide because it makes us all think -where next? Terrorism has reached a new level. I cannot help but reflect on the fact that after the 1998 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania, came 9/11. Over the weekend, this felt like Nairobi's 9/11. It makes you sick to your stomach - but also extremely proud of how the crisis was handled in Kenya - the almost unbelievable resilience and bravery of people in the face of the most terrifying of circumstances.
At this point there are still more questions than answers. As a bystander, we just continue our lives but also talk, watch TV and read accounts, desperately trying to make sense of the whole thing - even though there is no sense to it.
At this point there are still more questions than answers. As a bystander, we just continue our lives but also talk, watch TV and read accounts, desperately trying to make sense of the whole thing - even though there is no sense to it.
Thank you for this post. I'm a new reader, living now in Europe but my family has lived for a couple of years in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. And I'm thinking, how we used to go to certain shopping malls there, and if certain things had gone differently we might have been now in Kenya and in that very same shopping mall, perhaps. My condolences for all who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you described how the Kenyan Shopping mall works. It is so true. I also like the Kenyan spirit 'We are one'. Only when you live there you will experience it. It was incredible to see the unbelievable support ppl gave each other. The solidarity in Kenya is mindblowing. This is something ppl in Europe still have to learn.... Don't ask just offer your help to people who need it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this insight into Westgate and Nairobi, it's easy for people who haven't visited Kenya recently still to imagine it as a third world country not a bustling, thriving hub that it is. It's so tragic the way the country keeps being dealt these terrible blows.
ReplyDeletePHEWWWW!! I feared the worst when you didn't post. especially with the reports on '6 Brits'!! Glad you are okay but condolences to those who sadly lost their lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your commentary on the attack. I wonder, being an ex pat with children and choices (ie whether to return to your home country or not) do you think this incident will affect how long you stay in Kenya? If not, what are the factors that are influencing you to stay?
ReplyDeleteHi....we too r expat in nairobi and westgate was like our second home.....being unemployed due to work permit westgate was a shelter for my depression......it was very tragic...your post felt like my own words....
ReplyDeleteIt's well over a year on, but I think that we, in Nairobi, are all still reeling in disbelief over this attack. Sickened doesn't really even begin to cover it - and since then, with the rise of IS, the whole world seems to have been dragged in with similar incidents in France, Australia, Tunisia etc.
ReplyDeleteWestgate is due to reopen on July 4th 2015