INVISIBLE WOMEN
I have just been doing my Saturday morning shopping and it has happened for the third time. I walk into a butchery and wait patiently for one of the men behind the counter to serve me. A man walks up behind me and they ask him what he wants. They serve up his ground meat and then notice that I am standing there and say, "Oh, what do you want?"
The second time it happened I was in a little shop and had put my two items on the counter when a man squeezed himself at the counter and started giving his orders. At almost the same time another man hollered behind the three other women waiting behind me that he wanted this and that. The store keeper asked if my items belonged to the first man and I replied that they were mine and I had been waiting first. He quickly took my money and got rid of me.
The first time it happened, the vegetable stand was busy and it was on International Women's Day. I was politely waiting my turn as an elderly African woman was in front of me. The men knew me well. I was a regular customer. A young Arab woman in a hijab swoops past me and was immediately served while I patiently waited for them to finish. When I asked them why they didn't serve me as I had been waiting patiently they just said sorry. I didn't go back for some months but have finally put aside my pride and returned. When I showed up today he could see I was sullen. He asked me if everything was OK. I didn't answer. He gave me an extra tomato and onion. I told him what happened at the butchery. I am white and usually get preferential treatment. So if I am invisible/ignored it makes me wonder what happens to older African women who have none of the privilege that I have. It makes me mad and I get a glimpse of what other invisible people feel...especially women.
FAREWELL AGAIN!!!
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| Bethany Klueg with Teresa Villaruz |
Our Kenya region is saying goodbye once again. Teresa has moved on to continue her ministry in Bolivia. She was happiest with the children she taught and they will miss her. She worked in Kibarani, an informal settlement which had some of the poorest people who live in Mombasa. It was hard work and very frustrating at times. The children under her tutelage were very blessed and will carry her in their hearts for loving them so much. We wish her well as she begins studying Spanish in Bolivia. She may be invisible to us now but she is very visible to those in Bolivia!!!
More invisible women. We have had another terror attack in Mombasa. Three young women went to the central police station a couple of blocks from where I live at 10:30am on Sept. 18th. They claimed they were reporting a lost phone. Two of them pulled out knives and stabbed two police officers in the neck and back. The other threw a petrol bomb at the station. One of the officers shot the two who were still outside. The leader inside blew herself up. The so called Islamic State has claimed responsibility. Rumor has it they planned to cause confusion at the police station and then go to the nearby Anglican and Catholic Cathedrals with their bombs. Who knows. I felt sick to my stomach when I heard about one of the officers who was 4 months pregnant and missed the knifing because she bent down to pick up a book. She is so terrified she won't let anyone open the windows in her room in the hospital.
I believe that these young women, only 19 or 20, were brainwashed, used and perhaps even drugged to cause such horror. Now, it will be hard to trust a person in this type of dress. They may be female or male and can carry anything underneath. It is a big turning point for Mombasa in this age of violence. After that followed the violent incidents in NY, New Jersey, St. Cloud Minnesota and Charlotte North Carolina. So we are not the only ones with this problem. I picked this picture off the internet because the invisible women are three and look like women here in Mombasa who wear the hijab (black veil and gown) and niqab (face mask). But guess what??? They are not Muslim women. They are Jewish women from Yemen!!! More food for thought as I make a wrong assumption once again. We must learn to sink into love so that fear will be kept at bay. Otherwise, terrorism wins straight away.
My voting ballot arrived 24th Sept. I completed it on the 25th and mailed it on the 26th. Now it is in the hands of the Kenya postal system. I did my best and we'll all have to live with the results when half of us are disappointed. My friends here are concerned as they have to live with what we choose and they have no say in the matter. The President of the USA is a very powerful person in this world.
I believe that these young women, only 19 or 20, were brainwashed, used and perhaps even drugged to cause such horror. Now, it will be hard to trust a person in this type of dress. They may be female or male and can carry anything underneath. It is a big turning point for Mombasa in this age of violence. After that followed the violent incidents in NY, New Jersey, St. Cloud Minnesota and Charlotte North Carolina. So we are not the only ones with this problem. I picked this picture off the internet because the invisible women are three and look like women here in Mombasa who wear the hijab (black veil and gown) and niqab (face mask). But guess what??? They are not Muslim women. They are Jewish women from Yemen!!! More food for thought as I make a wrong assumption once again. We must learn to sink into love so that fear will be kept at bay. Otherwise, terrorism wins straight away.
My voting ballot arrived 24th Sept. I completed it on the 25th and mailed it on the 26th. Now it is in the hands of the Kenya postal system. I did my best and we'll all have to live with the results when half of us are disappointed. My friends here are concerned as they have to live with what we choose and they have no say in the matter. The President of the USA is a very powerful person in this world.
PEACE OF OUR INVISIBLE GOD
MADE VISIBLE IN CREATION
HAPPY FEAST OF ST. FRANCIS
ON 4TH OCTOBER
WHICH CONCLUDES OUR
CELEBRATION OF THE
SEASON OF CREATION
23RD OCTOBER
WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
WE ARE INSTRUMENTS OF GOD'S MERCY!
