Earlier that week someone e-mailed me and said “this must be really hard on you.” I thought, no, not really. It is hard on people who have lost homes, family members, colleagues, cattle, land. But there in the grocery store, tears flowed and it was obvious how hard it has been on everyone, in one way or another. The tension was tangible and at that very moment, nobody wanted to even ask the question, “yes, but will it last?” It did not matter, because for that moment, peace was in the air, people were smiling and there were tears of relief and joy.
It is amazing how quickly things changed when chaos erupted in Kenya. Fortunately, the same thing has happened again—rapid change over night. After the signing of the peace agreement, it is as if someone pulled up the curtain and a new act is on. People are smiling. You can no longer taste the tension. The worry of the next violent outburst is no longer fresh in your mind. There is so much that needs to be restored, but at least restoration it the topic instead of peace keeping.
