The mother in me weeps

I am obsessed with the case of one Trayvon Martin, who was shot to death in Florida, USA a few weeks ago. Listening to the news, I felt instinctively that his death was completely unnecessary. My sense of bewilderment grew as I learned of Florida's Stand Your Ground law. In my layperson's understanding, that law made it ok to shoot the young man. 

  

To be honest I find some of the arguments about whether the shooting was racially motivated or not confusing. At the end of the day, a young man lay dead. As far as I am concerned he could have been blue or purple, or the same color as the shooter. He was dead. 

In Nairobi, over the Easter holidays I was listening to the radio when when I learned of a family that was demanding justice for the death of a young Kenyan at the hands of the police. To be honest (I’m scratching my head) I do not remember the details. I do remember what was going through my mind…

A family’s shock. A son, a brother, just 28 years of age went out for a night of merrymaking. A telephone call. Whaaaat! According to the news report, the family of Fred Obado, an engineer, was informed about his death by a traffic policeman who claimed he was a victim of a hit and run accident. According to the news report, that account differs from those of eyewitnesses. Bottom line: a young man is dead!

In the news, another Kenyan family mourns the death of a young man, allegedly killed during a security operation in a Nairobi bar over Easter. Mark Muiruri, 21, had just graduated from the Kenya Institute of Management. [http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/?p=35507]

I scour the news for a sign. The optimist in me is looking for a signal that someone will be held accountable. Young men sent to an early grave—regardless of race, tribe, color, creed, social standing, sexual orientation… My layperson's thinking again: does Kenya have a variation of Stand Your Ground that would render the deaths legally justifiable? I pray not. 

My heart goes out to the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors… who may never come to terms with the losses. Easter will never be the same again.

Last night, I read news that Trayvon Martin’s shooter would be charged. I wonder whether the Kenyan police and the powers that be will step up to the plate. Will it take a campaign, a groundswell of public opinion as it did in the US? Will anyone bother? The mother in me weeps.