"I dream of Africa," too

yahoo images, Kenya
 

I dream of Africa, too.  Like Prince William.  The CNN interview with the proud new father, about his love for Africa and conserving its wildlife, struck a cord (http://www.CNN.com).  It's a place I've always wanted to visit.  Especially Kenya and Tanzania.  Take a safari.  See for myself the tigers and elephants and giraffes, the wildebeests and zebras, bounding across beautiful deserts, mountains and plains. 

So it's sad to read about that massacre at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, where Islamist extremist have so far killed 59 people and wounded close to 200. Nairobi is Kenya's vibrant capital city, a hub for international business and culture, and the country is East  Africa's largest economy.  But it's also a country where tribal loyalties have wrecked havoc on the land and still fuel violence and unrest.  Some of these tribal leaders, including Kenya's current president, is on trial in the Hague for heinous crimes against his people. 

If only Kenya's natural beauty, with its wondrous wildlife preserves and national parks, which are magnets for a growing eco-tourism industry, moderated its human frailties. "This is true all over the planet, sis," I can hear my brother Loren say.  For Loren it was always Mother Earth vs. Patriarchy.  I'm reminded of this almost daily, in the news about impossible wars, chemical attacks, gun violence, massacres in the name of God or jihad.  Africa, like the Middle East, embodies humanity's flaws and hopes.  I dream of Africa, too.