成人论坛

Jackie Christie is a senior production manager in Kenya for 成人论坛 Media Action, the 成人论坛鈥檚 international development charity which uses media to improve health and help people understand their rights in developing countries. She manages the team that produces weekly TV and radio debate programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks), which travels around the country enabling ordinary people to directly ask questions of their leaders.

Last week鈥檚 was different from our usual shows. There was no set, no desks or podiums. No analysis, political point scoring or punditry. Instead, we brought together people from all walks of life affected by the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi to speak to one another, and to the nation, about what they experienced.听

The programme, of course, was dominated by moving and dramatic personal testimonies. One of the survivors described the day of the attack as just 鈥渁 normal day for me鈥� and the ordinary, mundane details in their recollections throw the horror of the event into relief all the more.听

During the programme, survivor Bernard Mulwa talked about hiding behind a plant stall in the basement of the building where a frightened security guard joined him.听The guard was shot and died beside him. Bernard narrowly escaped with shrapnel wounds.

A supermarket worker described how she hid in a tunnel with two children who had lost their mother. 鈥淲e heard a man walking toward the tunnel about three steps from where we were. I think because he didn鈥檛 hear anything, he assumed there was no one in there so he turned and left. They then continued with the shooting.鈥�

One of the many heroes from the mall was Abdul Haji, who described how he responded to a text from his brother who had been caught up in the shooting. 鈥淚t was a very short SMS saying 鈥榩ray for me鈥�.鈥澨�

Haji joined others in the mall working for hours to get people to safety 鈥� his . Even now, he can鈥檛 remember how many people he helped or the names of those with whom he fought. 鈥淚n a few minutes we banded well together and we were like old friends who had been doing this job for a long time,鈥� he said. 听

Trauma expert Dr Gladys Mwiti was another guest on the programme and spoke about the physical and emotional effect of witnessing such violence.

For her, talking to survivors about what they need is key to their recovery. 鈥淲hen we talk to survivors, we don鈥檛 use words such as 鈥榯rauma debriefing鈥� because we are not the ones telling the story. It is them telling us.鈥� 听

Some members of the audience who had survived the American embassy bombing in Nairobi in 1998 spoke about the absence of counselling support. 听

Dennis Muriuki lost his father in the 1998 bombing and spoke about the long-lasting emotional scars of surviving such an attack. 鈥淲e take every day at a time. You cannot say that you are completely healed. When something like this happens it returns you to the past.鈥� 听 听

The imam of a large mosque in Nairobi closed the show with a call for unity. 鈥淲hat they want is for us to mistrust each other,鈥� Sheikh Ahmed Athman said. 鈥淪o these events should not divide Kenyans. Kenyans are developed people who know their rights. Islam and Christianity have the same aim - to bring peace to Kenya. Kenya is one amazing country鈥�.

As one of the survivors remarked afterwards, this episode of Sema Kenya was the first time a number of people who had experienced the attack had come together.

And I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an exaggeration to say that bringing people together in this way was perhaps a small contribution to the healing process which is just beginning.

Sema Kenya gave people the time and space to talk, and participate in a unique, if emotional national conversation.

Above is a picture of people who featured in the episode, from left to right: Richard Mayaka, a security guard who was one of the first on the scene; trauma expert Dr Gladys Mwita, who is working with many of those traumatised by the event; freelance photographer Joseph Mathenge; Sema Kenya鈥檚 presenter Joseph Warungu; survivor Bernard Mulwa; Faith Mugambi, who was working in the Nakumatt Supermarket when the gunmen burst in.

Jackie Christie is Senior Production Manager for 成人论坛 Media Action.

• 成人论坛 Media Action鈥檚 work in Kenya is funded by the UK government鈥檚 Department for International Development.
• Watch Sema Kenya鈥檚 episode on the Westgate attack on the website.
• Find out more about 成人论坛 Media Action鈥檚 work in Kenya.听
• Follow 成人论坛 Media Action on and .