Kibera: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Nairobi Kibera 04.JPG|250px|thumb|View of Kibera]] |
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[[File:Kibera Nairobi Kenya slums shanty town October 2008.jpg|thumb|250px|Dwellings in Kibera, Nairobi Kenya (ca. 2008).]] |
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'''Kibera''' ([[Nubian languages|Nubian]]: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/2005/07/kibera_africas.html |title=AHI: United States " Kibera: Africa's largest slum |publisher=Affordablehousinginstitute.org |date=7 July 2005 |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref>) is a division of [[Nairobi Area]], [[Kenya]], and [[neighbourhood]] of the city of [[Nairobi]], {{convert|5|km|mi}} from the city centre.<ref name=imcworldwide>{{cite web|url=https://internationalmedicalcorps.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=1561|title=A Trip Through Kenya's Kibera Slum|publisher=International Medical Corps|date=27 March 2006|accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref> Kibera is the largest [[slum]] in Nairobi, and the largest [[urban area|urban]] slum in [[Africa]].<ref name=imcworldwide /><ref name="unhabitat">{{cite web|url=http://mirror.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=548&cid=4962|title=. Sanitation – vacutug | Participating countries |publisher=Un-Habitat. |date= |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="dominionpaper">http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/1703 Machetes, Ethnic Conflict and Reductionism</ref> The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera's population as 170,070, contrary to previous estimates of one or two million people.<ref name="nation1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kibera%20numbers%20fail%20to%20add%20up/-/1056/1003404/-/13ga38xz/-/index.html|title=Myth shattered: Kibera numbers fail to add up|date=3 September 2010|publisher=[[Daily Nation]]|first=Muchiri|last=Karanja|accessdate=4 September 2010}}</ref> Other sources suggest the total Kibera population may be 500,000 to well over 1,000,000 depending on which slums are included in defining Kibera.<ref>[http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/AdolKiberaSlums.pdf Adolescence in the Kibera Slums of Nairobi, Kenya] Annabel S. Erulkar and James K. Matheka, Population Council, New York (2007)</ref><ref>[http://tuengr.com/V02/197-213.pdf Understanding the Grassroots Dynamics of Slums in Nairobi: The Dilemma of Kibera Informal Settlements] Emmanuel MUTISYA and Masaru YARIME, International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, Volume 2, No.2 (2011); pages 197–213</ref><ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/06/08/audio-slideshow-dr-biden-sees-kibera-kenya Audio Slideshow: Dr. Biden Sees the Neighborhoods of Kenya] The White House, United States (June 2010)</ref><ref>[http://www.thepeople.co.ke/21245/kibera-slum-lords-cash-misery/ Kibera: How slum lords cash in on misery] Kimathi Mutegi, The Nation, Kenya (19 September 2013)</ref> |
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Most of Kibera slum residents live in extreme poverty, earning less than $1.00 per day. Unemployment rates are high. Persons living with HIV in the slum are many, as are AIDS cases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/video-and-audio/video-women-kibera-kenya-20090306 |title=Video: The women of Kibera in Kenya | Amnesty International |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=4 March 2009 |accessdate=18 October 2010}}</ref> Cases of assault and rape are common. There are few schools, and most people cannot afford education for their children. Clean water is scarce. Diseases caused by poor hygiene are prevalent. A great majority living in the slum lack access to basic services, including electricity, running water, and medical care. |
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The Government initiated a programme to replace the slum with a residential district of high rise apartments, and relocating the residents to these new buildings upon completion. |
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The neighbourhood is divided into a number of villages, including [[Kianda]], [[Soweto East]], [[Gatwekera]], [[Kisumu Ndogo]], [[Lindi, Nairobi|Lindi]], [[Laini Saba]], [[Siranga]], [[Makina, Nairobi|Makina]] and [[Mashimoni]]. |
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==History== |
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[[Image:kibera.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Kibera [[slum]] in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], the largest slum in Africa<ref name="Kibera UK">{{cite web|title=Facts and figures|url=http://www.kibera.org.uk/Facts.html|publisher=Kibera UK|accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC News 2">{{cite news|title=BBC News – Improving sanitation in Kibera|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15095009|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=31 January 2013|date=29 September 2011}}</ref> and third largest in the world.<ref name="imcworldwide"/>]] |
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===Colonial era=== |
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Nairobi, where Kibera is located, is a city that was founded in 1899 when Uganda Railway line was built, thereby creating a need for its headquarters and British colonial offices.<ref>Gatabaki-Kamau, R., & Karirah-Gitau, S. (2004). Actors and interests: The development of an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. In K. T. Hansen & M. Vaa (Eds.), Reconsidering informality: Perspectives from urban Africa. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute</ref><ref>Brian Ekdale, in A Companion to Media Authorship, (Editors: Jonathan Gray, Derek Johnson), ISBN 978-0-47067096-5, pages 158–180</ref> The colonial administration intended to keep Nairobi a home for Europeans and temporary migrant workers from Africa and Asia. The migrant workers were brought into Nairobi on short-term contracts, as [[indenture]]d labor, to work in the service sector, as railway manual labor and to fill lower-level administrative posts in the colonial government.<ref>Furedi, F. (1973). The African crowd in Nairobi: Population movements and elite politics. Journal of African History, 14(2), 275–290</ref><ref name="Clayton, A. 1975">Clayton, A. (1975). Government and labour in Kenya: 1895–1963. London: Cass, ISBN 978-0714630250</ref> Between 1900 and 1940, the colonial government passed a number of laws – such as the 1922 Vagrancy Act – to segregate people, evict, arrest, expel and limit the movement of the natives and indentured workers.<ref name="Clayton, A. 1975"/><ref name="Macharia, K. 1992">Macharia, K. (1992). Slum clearance and the informal economy in Nairobi. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 30(2), 221–236)</ref> Within Nairobi, Africans could live in segregated "native reserves" at the edge of the city.<ref>[https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/17638/Proefschrift%20Johan%20de%20Smedt.pdf?sequence=4 The Nubis of Kibera: a social history of the Nubians and Kibera slums] Johan Victor Adriaan de Smedt (1951), Leiden University, Netherlands; pages 62–85</ref><ref>Roberts, J. I. (1936). Plague conditions in an urban area of Kenya (Nairobi township). The Journal of hygiene, 36(4), 467–484; Haynes, W. S. (1951). Tuberculosis in Kenya. British medical journal, 1(4697), 67</ref> Permits to live in Nairobi were necessary, and these permits separated living areas of non-Europeans by ethnic group. One such group with official colonial era permits, were soldiers who served the African interests of British colonial army, and the assigned area for them developed into a slum, now known as Kibera.<ref>Mitullah, W. V., & Kibwana, K. (1998). A tale of two cities: Policy, law and illegal settlements in Kenya. In E. Fernandes & A. Varley (Eds.), Illegal cities: Law and urban change in developing countries (pp. 191–212). New York: Zed Books Ltd</ref><ref>Aiyar, S. (2011). Anticolonial Homelands across the Indian Ocean: The Politics of the Indian Diaspora in Kenya, ca. 1930–1950. The American Historical Review, 116(4), 987–1013</ref><ref>[http://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568592-day-economic-life-africas-biggest-shanty-town-boomtown-slum Boomtown slum – A day in the economic life of Africa's biggest shanty-town] The Economist (22 December 2012)</ref> |
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Kibera originated as a settlement in the forests at the outskirts of Nairobi, when [[Nubian people|Nubian]] soldiers returning from service with the [[King's African Rifles]] (KAR) were allocated plots there in return for their efforts in 1904. Kibera was situated on the KAR military exercise grounds in close proximity to the KAR headquarters along Thika Road.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Johan|last=de Smedt|year=2009|jstor=40282385|title=Kill Me Quick, A History of Nubian Gin in Kibera|publisher=[[International Journal of African Historical Studies]]}}</ref> The [[British Empire|British]] colonial government allowed the settlement to grow informally. Furthermore the Nubians had no claim on land in "Native Reserves". Over time, other tribes moved into the area to rent land from the Nubian landlords. With increase in railway traffic, Nairobi's economy developed, more rural African migrants moved to urban Nairobi in search of wage labor. Kibera and other slums developed throughout Nairobi.<ref name="Macharia, K. 1992"/><ref>Obudho, R. A., & Aduwo, G. O. (1989). Slum and squatter settlements in urban centres of Kenya: Towards a planning strategy. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 4(1), 17–30</ref> |
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[[File:Kibera Nairobi Kenya Slum July 2009.jpg|thumb|210px|Kibera slum was established in early 20th century, and has grown ever since on public lands, around water streams and railway tracks. Its current residents are people from all major ethnic groups of Kenya.<ref>[http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/AdolKiberaSlums.pdf Adolescence in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya] Annabel S. Erulkar and James K. Matheka, Population Council (2007)</ref>]] |
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Proposals were made in the late 1920s to demolish and relocate Kibera, as it was within the zone of European residential holdings; however, the residents objected to these proposals. The colonial government considered proposals to reorganize Kibera, and the Kenya Land Commission heard a number of cases which referred to the "Kibera problem".<ref>Parsons, Timothy (1997), [http://artsci.wustl.edu/~tparsons/journal_articles/kibera.pdf Kibra Is Our Blood: The Sudanese Military Legacy in Nairobi's Kibera Location], 1902–1968. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 30(1), 87–122</ref> By then, Kibera was not the only slum. A 1931 Colonial Report noted the segregated nature of housing in Nairobi and other Kenyan towns, with housing for Europeans reported as good, and widespread prevalence of slum property for Africans and other non-European migrants.<ref>[http://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/ilharvest/Africana/Books2011-05/5530244/5530244_1931/5530244_1931_opt.pdf Colonial Reports, Annual No. 1606] Kenya Colony and Protectorate (1931), His Majesty's Stationery Office, London; page 17-20</ref> |
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===Post-independence=== |
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After Kenya became independent in 1963, a number of forms of housing were made illegal by the government. The new ruling affected Kibera on the basis of land tenure, rendering it an unauthorized settlement. Despite this, people continued to live there, and by the early 1970s [[landlord]]s were renting out their properties in Kibera to significantly greater numbers of tenants than were permitted by law. The tenants, who are highly [[impoverished]], cannot afford to rent legal housing, finding the rates offered in Kibera to be comparatively affordable. The number of residents in Kibera has increased accordingly despite its unauthorized nature. By 1974, members of the [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]] tribe predominated the population of Kibera, and had gained control over administrative positions, which were kept through political patronage.<ref name=lowder>{{Cite book | last1 = Lowder | first1 = Stella | title = The geography of Third World cities | year = 1986 | publisher = Barnes Noble Books | location = Totowa, N.J. | isbn = 0-389-20671-7 | pages = }}</ref> |
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However a shift in Kenyan demographics has taken place since then, the [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]] and [[Luhya people|Luhya]] tribes from the West of Kenya being the primary areas of internal emigration. By the year 1995, Kibera had become a predominantly Luo slum and Mathare Valley nearby the predominantly Kikuyu slum area.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}} The coincident rise of multi party politics in Kenya has caused the Luo leader and MP for much of Kibera, the parliamentary seat of Langata, Raila Odinga to be known for his ability to bring out a formidable demonstration force instantly. Meanwhile Mathare Valley has become a hotbed of gang warfare. Political tensions in the nation between the ethnic tribes escalated after the re-election of President Kibaki in 2007. |
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[[File:Nairobi slums area.svg|thumb|210px|The relative location of Kibera in Nairobi]] |
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The Nubian community has a Council of Elders who are also the Trustees of its Trust. This Trust now claims all of Kibera. It claims that the extent of their land is over {{convert|1100|acre|km2}}. It claims that owing to State sanctioned allotments the land area is now reduced to {{convert|780|acre|km2}}. The Government does not accept their claims but its rehousing program envisions a land extent around {{convert|300|acre|km2}} for the claimed Nubian settlement. Neither side has left any room for negotiation from this position. |
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Presently, Kibera's residents represent all the major Kenyan ethnic backgrounds, with some areas being specifically dominated by peoples of one ethno-linguistic group. Many new residents come from rural areas with chronic underdevelopment and overpopulation issues. The multi-ethnic nature of Kibera's populism combined with the [[tribalism]] that pervades Kenyan politics has led to Kibera hosting a number of small ethnic conflicts throughout its century-long history. The Kenyan government owns all the land upon which Kibera stands, though it continues to not officially acknowledge the settlement; no basic services, schools, clinics, running water or lavatories are publicly provided, and the services that do exist are privately owned.<ref name=econ>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7573/is_200905/ai_n42041066/ }} {{Dead link|date=January 2013}}</ref> |
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==Geography== |
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Kibera is in southwest [[Nairobi]], roughly {{convert|5|km}} from the city centre. Much of its southern border is bounded by the [[Nairobi river]] and the Nairobi Dam, an artificial lake that used to provide drinking water to the residents of the city, but now there are two main pipes going into Kibera. |
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Kibera is divided into 13 [[village]]s, including [[Kianda]], [[Soweto East]], [[Gatwekera]], [[Kisumu Ndogo]], [[Lindi, Nairobi|Lindi]], [[Laini Saba]], [[Siranga]], [[Makina, Nairobi|Makina]] and [[Mashimoni]]. |
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==Demographics== |
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[[File:Kianda popdens.jpg|thumb|250px|left|The population density in the Kianda village in western Kibera]] |
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The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reported Kibera's population as 170,070.<ref name="nation1"/> The Kibera slum was previously thought to be one of the biggest informal urban settlements in the world. Several actors had provided and published over the years growing estimations of the size of its population, most of them stating that it was the largest slum in Africa with the number of people there reaching over 1 million. According to Mike Davis, a well known expert on urban slums, Kibera had a population of about 800,000 people.<ref>M.Davis, (2006) The Planet of Slums</ref> International Housing Coalition (IHC) talked about more than half a million people.<ref>http://www.intlhc.org/docs/urban-investment.pdf</ref> UN-Habitat had released several estimations ranging between 350,000 and 1 million people.<ref name="unhabitat" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=548&cid=4961 |title=. Sanitation – vacutug | Phases |publisher=Un-Habitat. |date= |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref><ref>http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/4626_83992_GC%2021%20Africa%20on%20the%20Move.pdf</ref> These statistics mainly come out of analysis of aerial pictures of the area. IRIN estimated a [[population density]] of 2000 residents per [[hectare]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=62409 |title=IRIN In-Depth | KENYA: Kibera, The Forgotten City | Kenya | Environment | Urban Risk |publisher=Irinnews.org |date=13 September 2006 |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref> |
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In 2008 an independent team of researchers began a door-by-door survey named "Map Kibera Project"<ref>http://mapkiberaproject.yolasite.com</ref> with the aim to map physical and socio-demographic features of the slum. A trained team of locals, after having developed an ad-hoc surveying methodology, has so far gathered census data of over 15,000 people and completed the mapping of 5000 structures, services (public toilets, schools), and infrastructures (drainage system, water and electricity supply) in the village of [[Kianda]]. On the basis of data collected in Kianda, the Map Kibera Project team estimated that the whole Kibera slum could be inhabited by a total population ranging from 235,000 to a maximum of 270,000 people, dramatically scaling down all previous figures.<ref>Marras, S. (2012) "GIS, web, and 3D. Tools for holistic and shareable knowledge. The experience of the Map Kibera Project." in Territorio, n.61: 110–114</ref><ref>Marras, S. (2010) "Map Kibera Project. Risultati e analisi dalla prima mappatura indipendente della baraccopoli di Kibera." in Lotus, n.143: 32–33</ref> |
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The breakdown of ethnic groups inhabiting Kibera and their gender-specific representation is<ref name=ErulkarMatheka>{{cite web|last=Annabel S. Erulkar|first=James K. Matheka|title=Adolescence in the Kibera Slums of Nairobi Kenya|url=http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/AdolKiberaSlums.pdf|publisher=Population Council|accessdate=10 July 2012}}</ref> [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]]: 34.9% (male), 35.4% (female); [[Luhya people|Luyia]]: 26.5% (male), 32.5% (female); [[Nubian people|Nubian]]: 11.6% (male), 9.1% (female); [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]]: 7.9% (male), 6.4% (female); [[Kamba people|Kamba]]: 7.5% (male), 10.3% (female); [[Kisii people|Kisii]]: 6.4% (male), 2.2% (female); Other: 5.2% (male), 4.1% (female) |
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[[File:Kibera Slum Railway Tracks Nairobi Kenya July 2012.jpg|thumb|Railway Tracks in Kibera, Nairobi Kenya. Uganda Railway line linking Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu on Lake Victoria began about 1901 under the British colonial empire. The British government gave Kenyan soldiers in its regional army in early 20th century, the right to live on public land near the railway tracks, which created Kibera.<ref>Parsons, T. (1997). " Kibra Is Our Blood": The Sudanese Military Legacy in Nairobi's Kibera Location, 1902–1968. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 30(1), 87–122</ref><ref>Smedt, J. V. A. D. (2011). The Nubis of Kibera: a social history of the Nubians and Kibera slums (Doctoral dissertation, Faculty of the Humanities, Leiden University)</ref>]] |
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==Infrastructure== |
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The [[Uganda Railway]] Line passes through the centre of the neighbourhood, providing passengers aboard the train a firsthand view of the slum. Kibera has a railway station, but most residents use buses and ''[[matatu]]s'' to reach the city centre; [[carjacking]], irresponsible driving, and poor traffic law enforcement are chronic issues. |
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Kibera is heavily polluted by human refuse, garbage, soot, dust, and other wastes. The slum is contaminated with human and animal faeces, due to the open [[sewage]] system and the frequent use of "[[flying toilet]]s". The lack of sanitation combined with poor nutrition among residents accounts for many illnesses and diseases. The Umande Trust, a local NGO, is building communal toilets that generate [[methane]] gas (biogas) for local residents.<ref>{{Cite web |
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| last = Shimanyula |
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| first = James |
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| title = Biogas helping to clean up Nairobi slum |
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| work = Deutsche Welle |
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| accessdate = 3 November 2014 |
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| date = 27 October 2014 |
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| url = http://www.dw.de/biogas-helping-to-clean-up-nairobi-slum/a-18023280 |
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}}</ref> |
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A community radio station, [[Pamoja FM]], advocates not only upgrading Kibera slum but also all the slums in Nairobi. |
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''Kibera Journal'' has existed since November 2006. The paper covers issues affecting the people of Kibera, and it has played an important role in training the youth in basic journalism skills that they use to cover issues in their communities. |
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==Education== |
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Most education centres in Kibera are classified as informal, but various initiatives have been underway to add schools.<ref>[http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/123456789/3457 Slum dwellers' response to free primary education: a case study of Kibera slum, Nairobi] Caroline Njeru, University of Nairobi (2010)</ref> Some start as babycare centres, which later develop into schools. Most are not regulated by the government. Some of the notable schools are Olympic Primary School, one of the leading government schools in the country, Kibera Primary School (also called Old Kibera), [[Facing the Future School]] (FaFu), as well as several church-owned and privately owned schools. Notable Secondary schools include [[PCEA Silanga High School]], owned by the [[Presbyterian Church of East Africa]], Raila Educational centre, and Olympic secondary School among others. There is the vocational PCEA Emmanuel Technical Training Centre, offering self-employment skills to the residents. Several other local youth organisations, like the football (soccer) team the Kibera Black stars,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kiberablackstars.org|title=Kibera Black stars football club|accessdate=1 March 2014}}</ref> are also concerned and involved in educational projects. |
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==Slum upgrading== |
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[[File:Children and open sewer in Kibera.jpg|thumb|left|The ground in much of Kibera is composed of refuse and rubbish]] |
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Kibera is one of the most studied slums in Africa, not only because it sits in the centre of the modern city, but also because [[UN-HABITAT]], the [[United Nations]]' agency for human settlements, is headquartered close by. [[Ban Ki-moon]] visited the settlement within a month of his selection as UN secretary-general.<ref name="econ"/> |
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Kibera, as one of the most pronounced slums within Kenya, is undergoing an intensive [[slum upgrading]] process. The government, UN-HABITAT and a contingent of [[NGO]]s, notably Maji na Ufanisi, are making inroads into the settlements in an attempt to facelift the housing and sanitary conditions. |
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There are three significant complicating factors to construction or upgrade within Kibera. The first is the rate of petty and serious crime. Building materials cannot be left unattended for long at any time because there is a very high chance of them being stolen. It is not uncommon for owners of storm-damaged dwellings to have to camp on top of the remnants of their homes until repairs can be made, to protect the raw materials from would-be thieves. |
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The second is the lack of building foundations. The ground in much of Kibera is literally composed of refuse and rubbish. Dwellings are often constructed atop this unstable ground, and therefore many structures collapse whenever the slum experiences flooding, which it does regularly. This means that even well-constructed buildings are often damaged by the collapse of nearby poorly constructed ones. |
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The third complicating factor is the unyielding [[topography]] and cramped sprawl of the area. Few houses have vehicle access, and many are at the bottoms of steep inclines (which heightens the flooding risk). This means that any construction efforts are made more difficult and costly by the fact that all materials must be brought in by hand. |
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===Clearance=== |
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[[File:Kibera, Nairobi May 2007.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The new apartments being built adjacent to Kibera]] |
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On 16 September 2009 the Kenyan government, which claims ownership of the land on which Kibera stands, began a long-term movement scheme which will rehouse the people who live in slums in Nairobi.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=Kenya begins huge slum clearance|date=16 September 2009|accessdate=17 September 2009|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8258417.stm}}</ref> |
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The clearance of Kibera was expected to take between two and five years to complete. The entire project was planned to take nine years and to rehouse all the slum residents in the city.<ref name=AP/> The project had the backing of the [[United Nations]] and former Prime Minister [[Raila Odinga]], who was the area MP, and was expected to cost $1.2 billion.<ref name=BBC/><ref name=AP/> The new communities were planned to include schools, markets, playgrounds and other facilities.<ref name=BBC/> The first batch of around 1,500 people to leave the slum were taken away by truck on 16 September 2009 from 6:30 am local time and were rehoused in 300 newly constructed apartments with a monthly rent of around $10.<ref name=BBC/><ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Kenya moves 1,500 slum residents to new homes|date=16 September 2009| accessdate=17 September 2009|publisher=The Standard|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2mIs1YGVZOqru3LLXpzLNtLJDnQD9AOF4C00}}</ref> |
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The project start was postponed several times when Prime Minister Odinga was unavailable to oversee the first day.<ref name=standard/> He was joined on the first day by Housing Minister [[Soita Shitanda]] and his assistant [[Margaret Wanjiru]], with all three helping residents to load their belongings onto the trucks.<ref name=standard>{{cite news|title=Ecstasy as Kibera slum residents finally reach 'promised land' after years of waiting|date=16 September 2009|accessdate=17 September 2009|publisher=The Standard|url=http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1144024186&cid=4}}</ref> Also present were several dozen armed police officers to oversee the arrangements and to deter any resistance.<ref name=standard/> |
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The process has been legally challenged by more than 80 people, and the Kenyan High Court has stated that the government cannot begin demolition works until the case is heard in October but will be able to demolish the homes of people who leave voluntarily before then.<ref name=BBC/><ref name=AP/> The 80 [[plaintiff]]s are a mixture of middle-class landlords and Kibera residents, and they claim that the land in Kibera is theirs and hence the government has no right to demolish the shacks. The Nubian community, who have lived on the land for nearly 100 years, are also disappointed with the scheme, and one elder has said that the present housing should be improved instead.<ref name=BBC/> |
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The project has also come under fire from urban planners who say that it risks repeating the mistakes of previous schemes, when poor families either shared two-room apartments with one or two other families to pay the rent, or sublet them to middle-class families and moved back into the slums.<ref name=BBC/> Workers earning a [[minimum wage]] in Kenya make less than [[US dollar|US$]]2 per day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61575.htm |title=Kenya |publisher=State.gov |date=8 March 2006 |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref> There is also controversy over the timing of the project, with the first phase, rehousing 7,500 people, being delayed by five years and one government official stating that if the project continues at the current pace it will take 1,178 years to complete.<ref name=AP/> |
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==References in popular culture== |
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[[File:TS-ONSET-small2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Shooting feature film ''Togetherness Supreme'' in Kibera and with the collaboration with Kibera youth trainees]] |
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Kibera is featured in [[Fernando Meirelles]]'s film ''[[The Constant Gardener (film)|The Constant Gardener]]'', which is based on the [[The Constant Gardener|book of the same name]] by [[John le Carré]]. It is mentioned in the music video "[[World on Fire (song)|World on Fire]]" by [[Sarah McLachlan]], which profiled the work of [[Carolina for Kibera]], a grassroots organization named a Hero of Global Health in 2005 by ''Time'' magazine.<ref name=ndeti>{{cite web|author=YUNUS NDETI <!-- Features --> 25 October 2003 |url=http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/71289/1/ |title=OneWorld South Asia Home / News – Slums have a history too |publisher=Oneworld.net |date=25 October 2003 |accessdate=31 January 2013}}</ref> |
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[[Robert Neuwirth]] devotes a chapter of his book ''Shadow Cities'' to Kibera and calls it a squatter community, predicting that places like Kibera, [[Sultanbeyli]] in [[Istanbul]], Turkey, and [[Dharavi]] in [[Mumbai]], India, are the prototypes of the cities of tomorrow. Among other things, Neuwirth points out that such cities should be reconsidered and not viewed merely as slums, because many locals were drawn to them while escaping far worse conditions in rural areas. Michael Holman's 2005 novel ''Last Orders at Harrods'' is based on a fictional version of the slum, called ''Kireba''. [[Bill Bryson]] visited Africa for [[CARE (relief agency)|CARE]] and wrote a companion book called "Bill Bryson's African Diary", which includes a description of his visit to Kibera. |
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Kibera is the backdrop for the award-winning short film ''[[Kibera Kid]]'', which featured a cast entirely drawn from residents. It has played in film festivals worldwide including the [[Berlin Film Festival]] and won a [[Student Emmy]] from [[Hollywood]]. Recently, [[Hot Sun Foundation]] and [[Hot Sun Films]] started the first film school in the slum, the [[Kibera Film School]]. The school teaches the youth from the slum how to make films and tell their stories. In 2009 through 2010, the [[Kibera Film School]] and [[Hot Sun Foundation]] collaborated on the feature follow-up to [[Kibera Kid]], which is titled ''[[Togetherness Supreme]]''. |
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In his documentary ''Living with Corruption'', [[Sorious Samura]] stayed with a family in Kibera to film the corruption that occurs even at the lowest levels of Kenyan society. Furthermore, Kibera is portrayed in the Austrian 2007 documentary [[Über Wasser: Menschen und gelbe Kanister]]. |
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''[[The Economist]]'' published an article in 2012 suggesting that Kibera "may be the most entrepreneurial place on the planet" and that "to equate slums with idleness and misery is to misunderstand them".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/news/christmas/21568592-day-economic-life-africas-biggest-shanty-town-boomtown-slum|title=Upwardly mobile Africa: Boomtown slum|publisher=The Economist|date=22 December 2012|page=59|accessdate=29 December 2012}}</ref> |
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The Netflix 2015 series ''[[Sense8]]'' features a character named Capheus based in Kibera, showing the hardships of a fictional matatu driver there. |
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==See also== |
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{{portal|Africa}} |
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*[[List of slums]] |
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*[[List of slums in Kenya]] |
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*[[Kawangware]] – Nairobi slum |
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*[[Kiambiu]] – Nairobi slum |
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*[[Korogocho]] – Nairobi slum |
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*[[Mathare]] – Nairobi slum |
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*[[Mukuru slums]] – Nairobi slum |
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*[[Matopeni]] – slum on the outskirts of Nairobi |
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*[[Majengo, Nairobi|Majengo]] – slum on the outskirts of Nairobi |
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*[[Toi Market]] |
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*[[Community Support Group]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* De Lame, Danielle. "Grey Nairobi: Sketches of Urban Socialities." In: Charton-Bigot, Hélène and Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres (editors). ''Nairobi Today: The Paradox of a Fragmented City''. [[African Books Collective]], 2010. p. 167-214. ISBN 9987080936, 9789987080939. The source edition is an English translation, published by Mkuki na Nyota Publishers Ltd. of [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]]<!--mkukianyota.com--> in association with the [[French Institute for Research in Africa]] (IFRA) of Nairobi<!--www.ifra-nairobi.net-->. The book was originally published in French as ''Nairobi contemporain: Les paradoxes d'une ville fragmentée'', [[Karthala Editions]] (''Hommes et sociétés'', ISSN 0993-4294). French version article: "[http://books.google.com/books?id=O9pTMVqVsQoC&pg=PA221&dq=%22Gris+Nairobi:+Esquisses+de+sociabilit%C3%A9s+urbaines%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SgsbUszYCoW52wWBioDwCA&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Gris%20Nairobi%3A%20Esquisses%20de%20sociabilit%C3%A9s%20urbaines%22&f=false Gris Nairobi: Esquisses de sociabilités urbaines]." p. 221-284. ISBN 2845867875, 9782845867871. |
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** Includes a section on Kibera, titled "Kibera: Land of the Nubi?", p. 180-185 (In French: "Kibera : site Nubi?", p. 238-244). |
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==External links== |
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{{commons}} |
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*[http://clpmag.org/content/contentpages/2008/articles/Stuteville_Kibera.php Clean Water for Kenyans: Multimedia story on Water Sanitation Projects in Kibera] |
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* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2297279.stm BBC News: Nairobi Slum Life] |
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{{Nairobi}} |
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{{Coord|1|19|S|36|47|E|region:KE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki|display=title}} |
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[[Category:Suburbs of Nairobi]] |
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[[Category:Shanty towns in Kenya]] |
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[[Category:Slums in Africa]] |
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Revision as of 13:18, 6 July 2016
Get rekt m8