Paul Makibia, Nairobi, Kenya

NASDU Level 4 EDD Handler at Explosive Detection K9 Handler, Research Assistant and Writer, Freelance and for Nightwalk Productions

At what point did you realize this was something bigger than a flu bug?

I realized it was something bigger when the first covid-19 was announced in Nairobi and everyone was going on a shopping spree panic buying everything they can afford from food to disinfectants. The rich class was the one panicking the most as the majority , poor people, went on with their normal lives because what they face daily is more worse than covid 19. Poverty, food shortage, other diseases that kill more people than corona in sub-Sahara africa , for example, malaria and cholera, and police brutality. After the curfew was put in place, so far the police have killed more people in Kenya in the name of “fighting” coronavirus than the virus itself, that’s how I knew shit was getting real.

 How has it affected your day to day life?

My life has been affected so badly, I get paid minimum wage here, 150 US dollars  to be exact, the transport system we use here are mini buses and vans popularly known here as ‘matatus’ ,the government ordered the buses to carry less passengers without minding the poor class society which can’t afford cars and have to use the matatus daily, majority earn less than a dollar a day and hiking the fare with even half a dollar has a very major effect on their lives, most people don’t fear covid-19, they better die from the disease than die from hunger, the government just copies what is done in other countries and tries to implement the same thing here without knowing their own society is way more different than most of the developed countries they are copying ideas from, most people are risking their lives just to go and work and can’t afford masks or sanitizers so it’s living by luck, hoping by the end of the day you will have not contracted the virus.

Are you satisfied with the way your government and community has adapted to these changing
times? How so?

I’m not satisfied at all.  The majority in the community are just carrying out their duties normally, we are more scared of our own government than the virus itself.  The government doesn’t really care about the majority poor in the country, the health facilities are way below standards, they even struggle to fight simple diseases how can they now deal with a virus that’s making the first-world countries go berserk? Mostly the rich are calling for a total lockdown, but the majority poor will die more of other factors than covid-19.  If a total lockdown is put in place, the police are using colonial techniques, killing their own people and their brutality is not being addressed by the government, it’s a total failure, soon the government will start facing uprisings from the communities which will be worse than the virus. They should be offering the basic things like masks and sanitizers to the community but nothing is happening.

Of people you are close to, are they pretty optimistic of things to get back to normal or do you find
people are more in despair?

People are more in despair. They don’t care if they die from covid-19. They are more scared of hunger, poverty and how they can survive, they are saying it’s a virus which would have been controlled if the government had taken measures earlier and controlled the people entering the country. A whistleblower exposed how foreigners from worst hit countries were easily getting into the country before the virus was even here, if they had taken measures earlier the country would be virus free but the high levels of corruption and government irresponsibility has now affected the majority who don’t even have a passport but worried about a foreign virus in the country, most people I know are ready to die from corona than die of hunger and other diseases.

 Some people have been using the time in solitude to start new projects or develop new insights- have
you found yourself drawn to any old hobbies, new projects or new outlooks?

Well, I’m still going to work, but during curfew hours I’ve started this habit or reading books.  For instance right now I’m reading this book titled “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”, by Mark Manson.It’s a pretty interesting book. I’m also seeing how this virus has made all people know they are the same despite their color or where they are from, it attacks humans, and all of us are humans.

 Do you feel you have learned anything new these last few weeks, spiritually or about mankind, your community or yourself?

I’ve learned that respect should be given to everyone, it’s now the low paid lower class people feeding the people risking their lives outside, the government for instance in my country should learn that this is a wake up call about the health sector in this country, how it is so below standards because the government officials and the rich mostly go to the US and UK to get treatment, but now if they get coronavirus they will have to also stay in these same hospital they neglected. I’ve also learned that science and religion are two different things, people should stop being ignorant and know how to differentiate the two and know science and religion can never mix, I’ve also been thinking about becoming a Jew lately, after learning the law of rodef which I learned in a TV show I’ve been following, but that’s something to decide if I’ll still be alive when this pandemic comes to an end.

Anything else?

I would urge the government of Kenya to help its own people and know the real things happening to the majority poor. I would also urge the human rights organization to make sure all the police officers engaging in acts of police brutality be held accountable and at least make the citizens get justice, if at all justice will ever prevail.