Myself, Wycliffe and Paul
Wycliffe spoke of coming back from his home, where he had just spent all of his savings getting his father out of prison. Apparently, he runs a computer teaching school and wasn't able to pay all of the teachers, and when he didn't show up to court to contest their civil action, he was arrested and thrown in jail. I felt sorry for Wycliffe, who was raised by his grandmother while his father was largely out of the picture. Yet I knew Paul hadn't seen his family in a long time, and I asked him about his thoughts returning home.
Paul said he hadn't seen his family since August, although he had made the two-day journey several times. His family is nomadic, and with the prolonged drought they had been forced to move frequently and far off. Now the government is trying to cut down on illegal guns, guns which protect his family because the government is unable to provide adequate security from marauding cattle raiders. "To take our guns they might as well take our lives," Paul says. The men have fled to Uganda with their guns and cattle, leaving the women and children close to towns in order to survive.
The two began talking about their backgrounds, with Wycliffe being amazed that Paul had come so far. I didn't bring up my family or background in education, and instead listened and wondered about these three men of various familial and educational backgrounds converge and discuss issues of life, pain and survival.
Wycliffe has a certificate from High School, Paul a diploma in Logistics, and I a BA degree in Political Science. I marvel where we had come from, and faithfully fear where we might go.
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