Month: August 2016

It’s been five years since I last visited Rusinga Island, my maternal home. This was after my late grandmother’s burial. In her life, she gave me beautiful memories of the region which I still treasure and value too date. 
Last weekend, I travelled back to my beautiful mother land. I noticed there were some changes in the region. The major change that caught my attention was the construction of a modern fly-over bridge that will replace the Mbita-Rusinga causeway. The second change was increase in the price of fish: 1kg of fish now costs Ksh 400. That is quite expensive, being that the source of fish is just in the midst.

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes, and the second largest lake in the world covering 68,800 km2. The lake is shared by Kenya (6% by area), Uganda (43%) and Tanzania (51%). It has a mean depth of 40m, maximum depth of 84m, shoreline of 3,450km, a water retention time of 140 years and a catchment area of 194,200km2, which extends into Rwanda and Burundi.

Lake Victoria is one of the greatest resources of EAC. It is providing employment, income, and export earnings to the East African Community members. It is also a source of clean water, which has always been taken by my community without any treatment required. It is used as a means for transport, by the famous ferry, boats. It is also a source of food (fish), tourist attraction, used for irrigation…name them.

In a report by the Ministry of Fisheries, in 1960s there were more than 400 types of fish which were of high commercial value in Lake Victoria. This number has considerably reduced, with the Nile Perch, tilapia, mudfish and dagaa referred as omena in my mother tongue, are the more common ones today.

A causeway is an elevated road or railway, usually across a broad body of water or wetland. The current causeway joining Rusinga to the mainland was built in 1983 by blocking a section of the lake. Even though the 200-metre structure seemed to have solved the problem to the community, it turned out to be of double-edged sword.

This causeway was built during a period of intense political activity, due to the political tention, there was no environmental assessment that was conducted. To note as well, National Environment Management Authtority (Nema) was not been constituted, that would assess the possible impact of the channel.

The modern fly over bridge will be 160 metres tall, with a 70-metre carriage width for vehicles, and two metres for pedestrians. The vehicles and pedestrians will use the upper side of the bridge while the larger boats will use the lower side.
DEMOLISH CAUSEWAY

Environmentalists, marine experts and Nema called for the demolition of the causeway, saying it had led to the deterioration of the quality of the water, which had high concentrations of industrial waste and pollutants. Nema was formed on July 1, 2002. 

They advocated for causeway to be demolished and replaced with a trade-off system, where an environmentally acceptable alternative link is provided to sustain the socio-economic activities between the island and the mainland. 

The causeway was built using rock and earth filling, which has permanently blocked a secondary connection between the Rusinga channel and the offshore waters of Lake Victoria. The lake’s cleansing capacity has been reduced because of lack of flushing and exchange of water between the two shores. This has also prevented the migration of fish and thereby, interfered with breeding patterns. Pollutants has also affected fish breeding and resulted in a gradual fall in  fish catches over the years.

The Gulf side which is Kisumu and Siaya waters, which covers 100km of the lake, was cut off from the main lake following the construction of the causeway. This interfered with the flow of water.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Homa Bay County has the largest portion of Lake Victoria in Kenya, and therefore, also leads in fishing. The causeway blocked the free movement of fish from the Tanzanian side of the lake to Winam Gulf. This causeway is a major ecological disaster as it further blocked the migration route for fish. This has resulted in the depletion of commercial fish stocks of species such as the Nile Perch and tilapia. 

According to a report by the ministry of fisheries, in Kenya. 60 per cent of Lake Victoria has been gazetted as a breeding zone for fish, but the area around Winam Gulf does not favor breeding, this is because fish eggs need light to breed. Fish deaths have been high, especially of Nile Perch, since the species requires a lot of oxygen and clear water to survive.

Riverine species on the Tanzanian side have also disappeared because there is no outlet from their breeding sites. All the inputs from rivers in the catchment area are emptied into Lake Victoria, but they are blocked at the causeway, forming algae deposits. 

The other side of the Mbita gulf has water with less silt but the water between Mbita and Kisumu is not safe for human consumption. 

The causeway has led to increased siltation, which has led to the proliferation of the water hyacinth on the Winam Gulf side. This means that all the rivers flowing from Lake Victoria deposit silt and other components into the Lake.

ECONOMY

According to the fisheries expert, there were more than 400 types of fish of high commercial value in Lake Victoria in the 1960s, but this number has been considerably reduced, with the Nile Perch, tilapia, mudfish and dagaa (omena) being the more common ones today. 

Migingo Island, which is enjoys fresh water away from the Mbita Gulf, has gained value and prominence as large stocks of popular fish has migrated there, and it had become an excellent breeding ground for many species. But this will only last for a moment!

The causeway is finally being demolished and will be replaced with a mdern steel bridge. This will be a major victory for EAC and a source of relief for residents, who are looking forward to its completion in late this year. I was told that the demolishing the causeway started in April 2013.

Once the construction of the bridge is completed, there will be restoration of water currents which will allow the free movement of fish from the shallow grounds which is their breeding sites to deeper waters.

CONCLUSION

The residents are thrilled with the fact that they will have enough fish stocks to sustain local production, as well as well as have some to send to other parts of the country. However they are paranoid on their security. I was having a conversation with my mum about the bridge under construction and Sh told me  that the residents fear that it will lead to insecurity in the region. More so, if someone is to use the bridge at night.

It is Wednesday evening, at a around 10pm. I am in one of the fast food restaurants in Nairobi. I just ordered food, so I have to wait for 10minutes before I pick my food. A young girl goes to serve herself, she looks age 14 or 15…

Do you know that slave trade is in existence to date!! It is referred as contemporary slavery or modern slavery. I believe majority of us witness it , some of us recognize it while others don’t or if they do they assume it

It is prudent to note that slave trade is not legal. I know this is obvious but the parties involved in it seems to ignore the fact. 

Modern slavery is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the world today. According to a report by United Nations, India has most slaves of any country, China second, followed by Pakistan then Bangladesh.

According to a data by the United States Department of State, an “estimated 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children [are] trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 70 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The data also illustrates that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. It is estimated that 50,000 people are trafficked every year in the United States and Arabic countries.

United Nations defines Human trafficking as the the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

So this young girl that I was telling you about earlier, serves herself and goes upstairs. After getting my food, I went upstairs as well. So I notice this young girl again, this time she was with a company, a white man who looks around 50 of age and a young girl of a similar age as hers. The man was taking pictures of them and telling them how beautiful they looked. Hope this doesn’t sounds like being too nosy? If it does then you have to  pardon me! So the two girls are enjoying the packet of food as the man takes their pics…

There are several types of slavery trade today. Slavery by descent is one of them. This is done through conquest, where a conquered person is enslaved.

Another type of slavery today is bonded labor. It all starts when individuals take extreme loans under the condition that they work off debt. This “loan” is designed so that it can never be paid off. This loan is often passed down for generations.

Forced migrant labor. This is where individuals are often enticed to migrate with the promise of work, only to have their documents seized and be forced to work under the threat of violence to them or their families.

This type of slavery has been affecting most African countries. A story that I can relate to in my country Kenya, where people are taken to work in Middle East, and being abused both physically, mentally and even sexually. As I was interned at HAART Kenya such cases were the most that were being handled by the organization. However there were internal cases of the same characteristics.

Illegal immigrants may also be taken advantage of. This is to those who don’t have legal residency, they often have no recourse to the law. this is often experienced in US, Western Europe and Middle East.

Sex slavery as a type of slavery, has affected mostly child sex slaves. They are trafficked from their state of residence to Western countries and Middle East.

Early or forced marriage, this is driven by certain regions. Usually when a family cannot support their children, their daughter are often married off to wealthier, and more powerful families. The men are significantly older than girls.  The females are forced into lives whose main purpose is to serve their husbands. This always fosters an environment for physical, verbal and sexual abuse. This is a common culture in North Eastern region  and The Rift Valley region as well as  Eastern region of Kenya. Young girls are forced into marriage at a tender age. I was shocked the other day when I was watching KTN News when a 9 year old girl was featured as one of the victims of  such an incident. This is disturbing. Surely do such people have conscience!

Child labor is another form  of slavery. Children comprise about 26% of the slave today. Most of them are domestic workers. Many are trafficked and sexually exploited. In war- torn countries, children have been kidnapped and sold to political parties to be used as child soldiers. This is a dominant form of slavery in Haiti, Somali and South Sudan.

I watched this documentary by Aljazera on Slave Trade, I was amazed how slavery has dominated the Western countries. Young girls and boys are kidnapped and then forced into prostitution. This business seems to be booming in the region. As much  as there is Modern Slavery Act 2015, that is used to combat slavery. Such cases are still in existence. Let me still hope that sooner we, if you are interested… we will be able to ensure that slavery is reduced if not to eradicate it completely.

Islamist can also be categorized as a form of slavery, in 2003 Shaykh Saleh Al-Fawzan, a member at the time of Senior Council of Clerics, this is Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, issued a fatwa stating “slavery is a part of Islam. Slavery is part of jihadist and Jihad will remain as long there is Islam and that  anyone who says otherwise is an infidel”

Boko Haram, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are the one known to take part in this form of slavery.In 2014, both groups were reported to have kidnapped large numbers of girls and younger women.According to August 2015 story in The New York Times, in territory of the Islamic state “the trade in Yazidi women and girls has created a persistent infrastructure, with a network of warehouses where the victims are held, viewing rooms where they are inspected and marketed and dedicated fleet of buses used to transport them.

The man receives a call, then the three walk out of the restaurant. One of the girls is dressed in a ragged leather skirt, and a vest. She looks miserable to me, but maybe that’s the latest fashion or trend of dressing that am not familiar with… The other girl was dressed in a short dress. There is this lady who sat in the  table next to me. She was apparently   observing the trio as well. When they were leaving, she started laughing at them. After which we had a short conversion about them.

It will be wrong of me to state that the girls are victims of slavery, or the white man has an intention of making them his slaves.  This is because I have nothing as an evidence to point at that. Maybe he is an uncle, father, guardian, friend… who has just taken her dear ones for a late dinner date. But that incidence got me me thinking on contemporary slave trade.

Those parties involved in the transaction use our weaknesses, our vulnerability, what we admire and desire, our goals, dreams name them to lure us into victims of slavery. Some victims are taken by force. It is  our key responsibility to address modern slave trade.This can be done in all platform available, be it institutions, seminars, any forum that you may have. Let us do our best to eradicate any form of modern slavery.