….. The photos on these three walls form the second part of the tour. Each wall has vivid pictures of victims and the scene.
Photos speak more than words, yeah. All these speak is, despair, pain, blood, lots of blood, confusion. Photos that speak so much pain yet so much hope; hope that we can be one if we decide to.
The First Wall
On this wall, you’ll find a description of events as they happened, from morning until the bomb went off.
Friday, August 7th, 1998, began like any other day in Nairobi’s Central Business District- people boarding matatus, walking along crowded streets, bidding their children goodbye as they headed off to school, and heading out to meetings.
However, August 7th wouldn’t be like any other day. Just before 10:30am, a truck with two men in the cab pulled into an exit lane of the rear parking lot of the US Embassy. The men demanded that the guard open the gate to let them in, but the guard declined. One of the men began shooting and the other threw a grenade.
The unharmed guard ran for cover and tried calling for help. Unfortunately, all phone lines were busy…
Thinking out loud: Have you ever been in a tricky situation, you need help you’re trying to call everyone you can think of, and no one’s picking up the call? The thoughts that ran through your mind. Now imagine what was running through this guard’s mind.
So the bomb exploded in the rear parking lot of the embassy, and due to the Embassy’s location at a busy intersection – the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue – and next to both a railway station and a busy bus terminal, many more people going about their day were killed and injured than those in the targetted embassy.
Second Wall
Imagine a whiteboard being your family’s judge; to decide whether your lives go on normally, or whether you’ll be forced to adapt to a new life.
This wall shows the aftermath of the bombing. The rescue mission, family members trying to find the names of their loved ones…
After the blast, US Marines were keeping people off the Embassy site in an effort to protect them.
Kenyans came together to dig through the rubble of the Ufundi Cooperative House, with their bare hands, to rescue those injured by the explosion and collapsed buildings. They came together to save foreigners and other Kenyans regardless of their ethnicity at a time when ethnic tensions were high.
They jumped in with minimal concern for their own safety to help those who had been injured, and continued to do so even after rescue teams had arrived.
Thinking out loud: Going through these photos reminded me of how proud I am to be Kenyan. We have our moments, from memes, to making fun of situations…. But one thing about us, we come through. We come through for our brothers and our sisters who need the extra hand. That’s evident in the photos here.
I believe we’ve all seen the three-legged stools found especially at our grandparent’s place, yeah? We call them ‘Njung’wa’ in my dialect. Below these photos, there’s an array of these stools.
The stools symbolize something deeper and bigger. Something in the community.
Do you wanna know? Do you really want to know? Haha…. Maybe I’ll leave that to you to find out. Make a visit.
Third Wall
The third wall holds stories from survivors; and kin to those who died during the attack. Did I cry? Sweet Jesus, I tried to hold back the tears.
Finally, when the tour was over, we watched a short clip dubbed “August Seven”…. Our experiences and reactions may vary.
Important to Note
I spent around 600 bob. I had invited a friend to accompany me, so I footed most part of the bill.
Entry Charges are 30 bob at the gate (access to the garden only), and 100 bob at the Museum entrance.
The rest was used to buy snacks and a few drinks which we shared after the tour.
If you are a lover of history and culture like me, maybe have this on your list. And if you’re looking for a place to spend time with your friend or your partner, then the garden is perfect. Dates don’t have to be expensive.
With the growing tension due to the election season, this site is key in reminding us of who we are, and the power we hold when we decide to come together as one UNBOWED people. Do not wait for bloodshed to force us into being one. Kanairo ni yetu. Kenya ni yetu. Peace.
