Police in Nairobi’s slums face serious dangers when doing their job. For some officers, the risk is too high, leading to underpolicing or overpolicing in some of the city’s most vulnerable communities. Kenya Police Chief Spokesman Charles Owino discusses policing in the slums, and touches on KPS’ response to a rise in informal security groups in these dangerous areas.
Stephen Mwangi grew up in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s most dangerous slums. As a child, he was exposed to police abuse of power, brutality and extrajudicial killings. These experiences led him to become a youth activist with the Mathare Social Justice Center, a group that works towards mobilizing the community to stand up for its rights through grassroots activism.
Issac Muasa used to be a criminal in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s most notorious slums. After a near-death experience, he decided to change his ways, becoming a champion for his community. Believing his community would not be adequately protected by government or police, Muasa started a organization made up of young former criminals who patrol the streets at night as a deterrent to crime.
Eighty former criminals and young men from one of Nairobi’s most dangerous neighbourhoods patrol its dark streets unauthorized, providing protection to a neighborhood largely left behind by police.
Want to hear what Kenyans think about President Barack Obama leaving office (he’s a fellow Kenyan)? What they think about the upcoming U.S. election? Check out my Facebook for #NYTimes live from Nairobi.
Kenyans have never been big cheese eaters and neither are they known as experts in the cheese making business. However, a growing restaurant culture and interest in global cuisine has led to increasingly diversified tastes. Browns, a Kenyan cheese company, is using milk from local farmers to make cheeses that are sold locally and exported across East Africa and beyond.
Mostafa Kanjou escaped from Homs, Syria with his wife and two young daughters. They received asylum to come to the United States in September 2015. Now in Pomona, California, the Kanjous are building a new life. But they still miss the family that they had to leave behind.
Of the estimated 1.2 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, around 20% live in refugee camps set up by the government. I visited one of these state-sponsored camps, and some of the unofficial camps in northern Jordan, to better understand how these refugees survive each day.
Fadi Hamdan was on his way to Friday prayers in his hometown in southern Syria when a shell landed next to him. He was taken to a hospital in Jordan for emergency surgery. His father waited by his bedside, praying for his son’s recovery.
An estimated 1.2 million Syrians have fled to the neighboring country of Jordan, where they are looking to rebuild their lives. Most of these Syrians live outside of the refugee camps that have dominated the media, in cities and villages across Jordan. Although the Jordanian government has done a great deal to accommodate the needs of the refugees, they are not allowed to work without permits, which are awarded sparingly. Many refugees living in Jordan cite the inability to work as one of their greatest challenges.