who would be hanging out somewhere else? Also because it was an upscale mall. I don't think it was to say it was ok for anyone to be killed. Though thinking about it now, maybe they were saying it was worse because "it could be you"?

on duty. That's why people wanted to shop there but even that wasn't enough to save them. I think it has something to do with that - that this was supposed to be somewhat safe, relatively speaking.

who went to the mall. He explained that the attack was partially against the mall as a symbol of decadence.

Generally, it was spun as "Them crazy muslins wanted to kill them sum Christians".



(no, nothing was funny in this shit, but that was basically the line we were fed).

It would have looked quite different to everyone if it was reported as being, at least in part, the poor lashing out at the rich.

It was explained that with a lot of foreigners and wealthier Kenyans using the mall, it was seen as a symbolic target - just as the WTC was. But you shouldn't think that it was 'the poor' doing anything - it was people who want to be seen attacking Western-influenced society.

can be used to further agendas ranging from cynical to downright scary.

I have a friend who should be back from Kenya by tomorrow. When others recently asked me if I was worried about her my answer was that the kind of tours she takes would not have her within miles of an "upscale mall," but rather in a village marketplace if the group wanted a souvenir.

Then somebody might have noticed. At the same time the global media were going nuts about Nairobi, that many people were getting blown up every day in Iraq. But they were doing it in market places and in front of mosques.

How very "them" of those dead Iraqis. As opposed to the "us," you know, the ones who aspire to have a place in that global system that allows us to hang out in "upscale malls" in exotic locales with other Westerners and African elites.

If you're talking about a developing world city, saying "upscale mall" immediately tells the reader a lot about it (controlled access, lots of expats, western brands, largely resented by the incredibly poor neighborhood made out of corrugated tin sheets around it, etc.)

Thanks for that post.

or so the myth goes

Most of the customers were the local wealthy and tourists. That area isn't like America... it has far more poor people that can't afford to shop there.

http://www.homeless-international.org/our-work/where-we-work/kenya
Population: 39 million
Number of people in slums: 3.9 million
Percentage of urban population in slums: 55%
Partner organisation: Pamoja Trust; National Cooperative Housing Union (NACHU)

Kenya’s slum population is growing by almost 6 per cent each year. The situation in the capital, Nairobi, is typical of the challenges facing poor people throughout Kenya’s urban areas. Demand for land means that over half of Nairobi’s population is crammed onto just 1.5 per cent of the total land area. The threat of eviction places many people in constant fear of having their home destroyed.

Housing for Nairobi’s slum dwellers typically consists of shanties made of mud, wattle and iron sheets. There are as many as 250 shanties per hectare – in comparison, housing density in the UK reaches around 100 units per hectare in cities and 30 elsewhere.

I've actually learned a lot from the responses in this thread.

But sure, I don't want to be murdered at the Dollar General any more than Saks.