Monday Malaise

The Standard has this interesting article about how the use of Kenya as a drug traffic conduit is slowly going to change Kenya into a nation of drug users. The interesting thing with Kenya is that other than the liberal smoking of weed and chewing of miraa (khat), the use of hard drugs ie cocaine isn't very prevalant unless you come from the down and out neighbourhoods or hang out with rich recreational drug users. It isn't like here in the States where over half of the people in jail are in for drug related offences and how some inner city areas have been brought to their knees by drug users and the crime that follows them.

This is both a good and a bad thing if you ask me. It is good to know that Kenyan law enforcement is doing what it can to stop hard drugs from entering the country but on the other hand the less hard evidence Kenyans see of hard drugs and there effects, the more blissfuly ignorant we shall remain. The best close example is the slow but growing alcoholism epidemic we have in Kenya. I had a Kenyan friend who works for an insurance company here and was talking to a client about their health situation so that they would consider the person for insurance coverage. So when it came to how much alcohol the person drank, the customer said they were an alcoholic; my friend in turn asked the person how many drinks per day he took. The client said X number of drinks per week, my friend put down the number but in her head she was thinking, "me and my friends drink that amount of liqour and more every weekend and we just fine."

The sad thing is that for most Kenyans as long as you are functioning you are not an alcoholic. You become an alcoholic when you everyday life becomes a mess due to your drinking; but if you can overindulge and function, you are fine. I think that is the same situation we have as regards drugs in Kenya, if we can't see the damage; then it's all good. I do sincerely hope that the cost of the hard drugs keeps them out of the reach of most Kenyans, young and old; we have enough problems as it is without having drug dealers, crack heads and broken families in the mix.

I was reading the New York Times when I came across an article by their travel writer called "36 Hours in Nairobi, Kenya." The article covered the usual tourist sites but what caught my eye was the paragraph below.

11) A QUICK LUNCH

After a stop in Jeevanjee Gardens, Nairobi’s equivalent of Speaker’s Corner (on a recent Sunday a muscular and aggressive preacher held forth on God’s love for street children), head across Moi Avenue for lunch at Topaz, a chicken and chips joint. It’s one of the city’s favorite greasy spoons, packed even in the middle of the night, and everything here is lovingly deep fried. A meal of chicken, French fries, sausage and a Krest Bitter Lemon soda will run you around 350 shillings.

So now I can proudly say that I was a regular patron at an internationally reknowned dining establishment!