BiLaaL Posted June 23, 2010 The nightmare continues for the most vulnerable amongst us. For some nations, seeing their fellow countrymen/women suffer at the hands of foreign states was once enough to put aside their differences. They could not bare to watch their fellow citizens undergo hardship of any kind - especially when such hardship arises as a result of one seeking asylum abroad. It was enough to resolve long-running internal conflicts at once. I guess nations have different thresholds of care for their fellow countrymen. I sometimes wonder what our threshold is and what on earth it will take to translate it into action. “Welcome to Kenya”: Police Abuse of Somali Refugees Kenyan police wearing green uniforms in three cars stopped us a few kilometers before Liboi. The driver talked to them in a language I did not understand, but some of the other passengers understood and said they were the police. At one point they said to the driver, “All men here will be weighed and according to their weight they will give us money – and if they can’t pay, then give us the passengers.” Then they took the men,including my husband, away in a car, leaving the rest of us, seven women with several children. The police told us to get out of the bus. They put me and two women with children to one side. I was pregnant. Then four of them took the other women into the bush. They held us in the bush for three days. On the third day, two of the policemen brought the women back. We knew something bad had happened because they were walking slowly and limping. They had scratches, their clothes were torn, some were barefoot, and one woman had blood on the bottom half of her dress. One was crying. They all looked like they were in shock. They said the police had beaten them. The driver said he thought they had been raped because otherwise they would have also taken all the women and because they could have just beaten us all where we were, next to the bus. Later that day, the police brought back the men and allowed us to leave. The men said the police had beaten them and stolen their money. Human Rights Watch interview (1), Ifo camp, March 9, 2010 . The police said, “You are all in trouble - everyone will be weighed.” The driver’s assistant said the police wanted us to pay them money so we could pass. Then some of the police took us eight men to Liboi police station. Others stayed behind with the women. The police held us for three days and two nights in a cell about 3m x 4m. They gave us no food or water. We had to use the cell floor as a toilet. On the second day six policemen tied our hands behind our backs and made us lie down on the floor. They searched our pockets. Some of us struggled and they kicked and punched us. They turned me around. Three of them beat my chest with their rifle butts and two stamped on my chest. Another put his boot on the side of my face. I still have problems breathing. On the third day we heard the police on the phone, discussing with the driver we had left in the bush. That evening they drove us back to the same spot where we had left the bus. The women, children, the driver, and his assistant were all there. We heard one of the officers tell the driver to give him money. Then they let us go. — Human Rights Watch interview (2), Ifo camp, March 9, 2010. Wife (interview 1) and husband (interview 2) were interviewed by two different researchers in different locations at the same time. Full report: Human Rights Watch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
