The Chaos in Somalia is spreading to Kenya according to an article in News Week in October of 2011. I think when someone says "Somalia" the first thing that comes to mind for most people is crime and of course, pirates. It is believed they are to blame for a number of kidnappings of women in Kenya, from cities that border the coast. The new piracy is not on boats to steal treasure, it is people, to get ransom money. Because of the instability of the security in Kenya, many many tourists have cancelled their vacations, not only affecting the restaurant and hotel owners, but the entire community.
One thing i found surprising was the Kenya government seems hurt by the kidnappings but will not do much to stop it. According to the article their pursuit after the Somalians ended because they didn't want to enter Somalian territory. It is speculated whether that is because they were scared or respecting the border. None the less, Kenya is just as responsible for the problem as Somalia because they aren't doing much to stop it and get their tourism back. A hotel that use to charge $1,720 a night now has police patrolling, making their paradise not so pretty. Still, with all their protection, the Somalians are able to swoop in and kidnap guests. It is said that the area of Kenya near the border is starting to become Somalia. Scary!
The article is well written and organized but not very entertaining. The author tells a boring story and i was surprised to have not been interested. Her aim seemed more to inform then to tell a story to entertain the reader. Big thumbs down, I was looking forward to reading the article and instead it was hard for me to finish it.Perhaps I had expectations too high because it was about Somalian pirates, a subject I am interested in.
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