Madaraka Day, Ramadan, Serengeti wildlife and other everyday life in Kenya

Hi everyone. I’m on my second last week here in Western Kenya in Wagwe. The days for me are mostly calm and easy. However, I have during this time of two weeks experienced: a music festival in a high school (a singing and dancing competition from various schools); Madaraka Day (Kenya’s 56th year of self-rule); and Ramadan.

This picture I took during Ramadan

It was a big celebration in Narok Country during Madaraka Day, located in the South-West Kenya, the land of the Maasai. Every year Kenya celebrates the day from a different county with music and dance, speeches and other events. This time, because it took place in Narok county, people had the chance to enter the Serengeti wildlife reserve for free.

Underneath, is a picture of the Maasai. Not only are they known for wearing red and to be one of the world’s last great warrior cultures – but they are also incredible good a jumping!
This picture is taken from the webpage: https://www.lightworkers.com/maasai-warrior-happiness/

I can tell you how most of my regular days looks like here: I wake up around 07:00-08:00 by the rooster. You wake up with less stress and tiredness than waking up from an alarm-sounding phone (what I am used to at home). Then, I go and boil some eggs or make myself an omelette. Every morning I need to take the malaria medicine (a red pill), which is best taken with something fat – like eggs. I make some tee and if I sync my breakfast with my host family, I will share it with George (my kind and hospital contact person). Then, either I will go to the Mama Norah school before lunch to help the chefs in the kitchen to serve the pupils or stay home and write and read. After lunch if I’m in school, I might sit in the library and read, or I attend the classes. Around 15:00 – they have something called “game time”. They bring out a basketball and some footballs to play with for about an hour. For the record, the footballs are very expensive here. I reckoned this when I bought one for the school and one for a boy. In Kenyan schilling it estimates around 1500-2000 schilling, which is about 200 Swedish crowns ($20).

When attending the Kiswahili class

On the way to and home from school there is a 10-minute walk that I usually go with one of the neighbours, one is a teacher at the school. I usually meet children on the way that wants to high-five me and others that I greet on the way. Rocky, the dog from the house I am staying in, sometimes follow me too.

Yesterday (6 June), I had an interview with one of the teachers. It was really giving. I am performing the fieldwork through participant observation, where I go on about the everyday life and attend local events and meet people in the community. It seems natural to have an interview after 1-1,5 week after some observations and time to think. I write down some structured questions as a guide of what I want to discuss or ask about, but usually the conversation leads to greater insights and discussions than what I beforehand had planned. So, there is more of an ongoing storytelling from the informant and random questions I come up with when being in the moment – it feels more natural and I get more inspired “in the zone” than writing out questions beforehand.

The community in Wagwe consist of many different types of religions. Mostly, the community consist of Roho, a branch from Christianity. But there is also Hindus, Muslims and other branches of Christianity, like The Seven Day Adventist church that live together side by side in the community. I have attended the Roho Church (mostly) every Saturday as the host family are going there. They wear a white or red coat/long dresses, and women wear a scarf around their head. Someone preaches to the crowd and then suddenly, a person starts singing, and then more people are singing. First, you can hear one drum beating in fast paste that shortly accompanies by 2-3 other drums – creating a dance beat. Someone also joins with maracas, that makes one more inspired to stand up and dance. And that is what’s happening. As soon as the first drum sounds – the smallest kids start to bounce up and down and run towards the centre where the people playing the drums and maracas and the person singing stand. The sound is so loud, it feels like your heart vibrates to the sounds of it (it’s hard for me to sit completely still). Then more and more people from all ages joins the dancing in the middle.

This is how I can look like when attending the Roho church

I seem to have written a lot this time, I hope you enjoyed the reading of some of the everyday life of mine in Wagwe. I must end this by saying that tomorrow, I will be going early to Serengeti, a wildlife reserve in Maasai Mara. It will the first trip for me “outside the field work” – I look very much forward to it. Apparently, there is low season now, because the wildebeests are over the border in Tanzania. They usually arrive to Kenya in July and departs in November. It is said that during a period of three days, more than 1 million (!) wildebeests migrates over the river to Kenya  – which is why many people come to visit the reserve at the Great Rift Park. However, I’ve been told that because of climate change, the herd will arrive earlier than usual to Kenya – which is why I might be able to view it. I will write a post after this trip, and of course put up some picture for you to see!

This is how the wildbeests migration in Serengeti can look like (pictures used from safari sites)

I also want to thank those that contributed to the foundrasing about two weeks ago to the school. I have been talking with the teachers and people in the CBO who got very happy about this – and so together we will see how we can get the best use of it – I will not forget to update about this.

Until next time – take care! /Isabelle

Time to fly back to Sweden

After two months in Ukraine, I am getting ready to travel back home to Sweden. Meanwhile, I have been transcribing some of the interviews that I have conducted in Odessa and Donetsk. I have conducted very important interviews with some key research participants during my journey to the Donetsk region. This allows me to answer my research questions by having more reliability in the gathered material. I have met volunteer fighters at the frontline from such battalions as Dnipro 1, Aydar and the Right Sector. I stayed some time with these fighters and made a participant observation. This enabled me to better understand how my research participants interpret the world around them, and also how they act in the real life setting. The field notes that I made during my participant observation help me to understand the everyday experience of these fighters both during combat and among their comrades in general.

Transcribing the interviews and writing my thesis
Together with a fighter from the Dnipro 1 battalion

One thing that I noticed during my trip to Donbass was the sharp division of the population living there. People are divided into two campaigns. Pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian attitudes are eminent whether an issue concerns the language, religion, political or historical standpoints. In some cities of the Donetsk region there is a straightforward de-Sovietization, which can be observed by the removal of Soviet monuments and other symbolic items. This process of Ukrainization has achieved the removal of Lenin’s monuments and the abandonment of symbolic items that spread separatism and violence.

Lenin’s monument is removed in the town of Krasnoqorivka in the Donetsk region
Lenin’s monument is removed in the city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk region

All in all, my field study in Ukraine was very interesting, exciting and productive. I have met new people and made contacts that can be crucial in the upcoming master or even doctoral field studies. Most importantly, I have filled an essential research gap that existed in academia. Previous research within the social science describe the motivations of the Ukrainian volunteer fighters in ambiguous and simplistic ways. Despite some minor similarities, my results promise to reveal different motivations of volunteer fighters. The attractiveness of the battlezone for these fighters will also differ from the conclusions of the recent studies in this area.

The view of the nature resembles the blue yellow Ukrainian flag

Farewell Ukraine!

 

Donbass trip

This week I traveled to the Eastern Ukraine to conduct my final interviews and engage in participant observation among the volunteer fighters. This trip was necessary and I decided to realize it when I saw that I can’t answer my research question by doing my study in Odessa only. Therefore, I had to extend the sample of my research participants. Another alternative could be to reformulate the whole topic, which means the reformulation of the purpose, theory and the method as well.

My first stop was in the city of Pokrovsk or the former Krasnoarmeysk. The city was renamed after the hostilities broke out in this region. I was met by a wonderful and hospitable Ukrainian family to which I am very grateful. I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my data gathering in the field without the assistance of those people. They shared their expertise and helped me to reach some important research participants. Thanks to their contacts, I can say that my data gathering has reached the saturation point.

Pokrovsk Central Station
Ukrainian hospitality

The next day after my arrival, I participated in the posthumous award ceremony at the Donetsk Technical University in Pokrovsk. The event was dedicated to the fallen combatant of the Aydar battalion. This event was followed by a very powerful and emotional anthem singing. Michael Billig would call this banal nationalism, albeit it can provide human beings with solace and a sense of fulfillment in times of war. It was interesting for me whether Ukrainians were so patriotic from times immemorial or there was a particular factor that fueled this nationalism. Almost everyone I have been in contact with describe the conflict in Ukraine as an international conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Only people who have become the victims of the Russian hybrid war with its powerful propaganda understand the Ukrainian crisis as a civil war.

Donetsk National Technical University
Posthumous award ceremony
Posthumous award ceremony
Aydar fighters at the posthumous award ceremony of their comrade
Emotional poem telling by a patriotic Ukrainian woman

 

Together with the volunteer fighters from Aydar battlion
Visiting the grave of the posthumously awarded soldier at the local  cemetary in Pokrovsk

Despite the evidence found in the battlefield that indicates the presence of the Russian military and weapons in Donbass, most of the international community is also reluctant to admit the Russian factor in this bloody war. Although the OSCE is present in Donbass, the organization mostly takes a neutral position in this conflict. However, it is evident that Donbass is the next region of Ukraine after Crimea that Kremlin administration plans to grab from Ukraine. The international community has to support the tenets of international law and not to be indifferent when there is a threat to the territorial integrity of any UN member state. Because such indifference is a real threat to the international peace and security. Separatism spreads violence and there are many peacebuilding techniques, which can be used to stop the hostilities and provide the conflicting sides with a win-win outcome.

PEACE!!!

Kulikovo field

This week I have conducted some interviews, and I was also involved in participant observation where I took plenty of field notes in relation to my topic. I was invited to a birthday party by a woman who voluntarily enrolled as a paramedic during the most intensive fights in the Anti Terrorist Operation (ATO) in the Eastern Ukraine. This woman had a rich war experience since she was wounded and taken to hostage by the pro-Russian insurgents. During the mingle I met other women paramedics, as well as some former volunteer fighters who have participated in ATO.

Together with former volunteers of ATO and their friends
Together with former ATO volunteers on the beach of the Black Sea

The most remembered event of this week was the fifth anniversary since the events at the Kulikovo field. As a result of the provocation on May 2, 2014, almost 40 people died in the Odessa clashes. Five years ago violence broke out between those who wanted to see Odessa independent and those who supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine. On this fifth anniversary some perceived this day as a tragedy, while others perceived it as a victory and the end of war.  During my observation, the contradicting perceptions were evident at the Kulikovo field where one could observe black and red balloons, which were speaking for those who held them. Despite some conflictual situations and quarrels among the participants of two camps, violence was mainly avoided. This was thanks to the professionality of the local police and the new strategies that were adopted by the Ukrainian police in recent years.

Ukrainian flag on May 2, 2019
Kulikovo field, May 2, 2019
Ukrainian police forces during the commemoration at the Kulikovo field
Kulikovo field
Kulikovo field
Together with the Ukrainian patriot for whom the 2 of May is remembered as the end of war in Odessa
Odessa remembers the second of May…

This was all from Odessa and I will be back with new stories next week!

First interviews and participant observation within the Right Sector

Another week in Ukraine came to an end. A week ago approximately 30% of Ukrainians voted for a comedian Volodymyr Zelensky. Most of my Ukrainian acquaintances here said to me that they voted for Zelensky. They believe that the elections were conducted transparent and democratic. I have also met some people who think that it is not the right time for Ukraine to play democracy during the ongoing crisis. Therefore, they support the current “conservative” president Petro Poroshenko who will compete with Zelensky for the presidency. The second round of the elections will be held by the end of the April. Meanwhile, Poroshenko and Zelensky will engage in debates to win the minds and hearts of their voters.

This week I became acquainted with the Right Sector’s activities more closely. I met some key individuals within the organization and had an interesting conversation about the motivations of volunteer fighters. I met people who have recently returned from the frontline, but also with those who plan to depart soon. Two interviews were conducted this week. A lot more interviews are planned for the uppcoming weeks. I make use of the snowball sampling technique and I strongly recommend it to everyone who use interviews as the data collection method.  With the help of snowball technique I am constantly introduced to new people thanks to the social network of my research participants. Although I have arranged many meetings for the next week, the saturation point seems to be far away . So, to answer my research question I will need to get multiple insights on the phenomenon of voluntary enrollment in military battalions.

Together with the members of the Right Sector
Confiscated items with Russian or Soviet symbolic

I have also engaged in the activities of the Right Sector and made my first participant observation in the field. The Right Sector plays an active role not only in the conflict zone, but also in somewhat relatively peaceful settings of the everyday life. For instance, I followed with the members of the organization to Bessarabia in South Ukraine, close to the Moldavian and Romanian border. This trip played a preventive role and counteracted the attempt of a certain church to be incorporated into the Moscow Patriarchate. There is an ongoing competition and tension between the Moscow and Kiev Patriarchates. Both compete for the control of the churches located on the Ukrainian territory. According to some members of the Right Sector, churches that belong to Moscow Patriarchate take their orders from Russia and frequently engage in conspiracy to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty. Consequently, this trip was aimed to impede the possible conversion of a particular church to the Moscow Patriarchate. Fortunately, everything went without violence, though similar events in the past usually resulted in unpleasant incidents.

A conversation with the church abbot
Ukrainian police during the manifestation in front of the church
With proponents of Kiev Patriarchate in front of the church

Later on we had a lovely picnic in the forests of Bessarabia where everyone mingled. During this mingle I was introduced to some former volunteer militias whom I plan to meet and interview next week.

With the members of Right Sector during the picnic

Lastly, I would like to mention about the politicized and militarized stand posters that can be encountered in the streets of Odessa. These posters carry agitational character and express ideological aspects of the confrontation between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian exhortations. The frequently encountered slogans remind people about the Russian agression, while other posters inspire for voluntary military enrollment. There are also posters that glorify the actions of the Soviet Union during the World War Two, especially the victory over the so called “Fascist” occupation. Despite these conspiratorial posters, the Ukrainian people live with the hope for a peaceful future.

A poster in Odessa calling for the volunteer enrollment to the army
A poster that reminds people about the Russian aggression
The poster text says: 75th anniversary of the liberation of Odessa from Nazi occupation

It was all for this week and I will be back with more stories next week!