Thanks for the great questions. Hakijamii, and several other like-minded NGOs, serve as a link between the people and the government. Because the decision to evict or properly relocate comes down to the government, Hakijamii helps communities fight back. They try to lobby and get legislation changed (there is some pending eviction guidelines legislation now) and to get that legislation enforced. They empower communities to stand up for their rights. It definitely is tricky, but Hakijamii takes a less antagonistic approach, and instead tries to work with the government to change things. In theory the government wants to help these people- it after all doesn’t want negative attention and recognizes the fact that so many of its people are living in substandard conditions. But in practice things are different, and there’s a lot of corruption and greed that gets in the way. It’s tough work, but there are good people out there trying to do good things.

Thanks Christa! Kenya is much more developed than Mali and there are so many entrepreneurs with successful businesses. There is a lot more money here, but a lot more inequality (whereas in Mali, everyone was poor pretty much). Most people are literate and somewhat educated here. Ethnicity also plays a big role. They are less animated than Malians, though the same generosity and willingness to be hospitable are there. However, I have only been in Nairobi and therefore haven’t seen what life in rural areas is like, which I’m sure is very different.

Thanks for your wonderful comments and questions. The track was built a long time ago before people lived there. People slowly moved there- many many years ago- because of the access that the railroad had to town. They have lived there ever since, and parts of the railway were cleared in 1988 and 1995 (the former evictions that the video talks about). I’m not sure of the details, but I think they moved the people so that the railway was clear and could run faster (and was safer). They tried to evict them again in 2005- for some of the same reasons, but also to expand the railway. After taking them to court, the railway agreed to only take 5.2 meters on each side instead of 30. Then there were some derailments and many people died (I believe the biggest happened during the post-election violence in 2007), so that is why the railway now wants 30 meters on each side. It’s definitely not safe for them to be living right along the line like that, but they have not been given alternatives, which is what they are fighting for now. I hope that clears things up! I’ts been difficult trying to wrap my head around the whole thing.