Jambo
Mombasa, Kenya
Spring 1994
I am traveling on a ship, traveling around the world for 100
days. There are 500 college students in
this program. And 35 adults are also on
this ship. I am the youngest adult, at
the age of 37. Lillian is the oldest at
83. She is a world traveler but her age
has caused her to become just a little less adventurous. So when we land in
port, she is not interested in long, adventurous days with these college
students.
Typically, we land.
The college kids charge off the ship and I go looking for Lilian. The two of us wander around and find a local public
bus and hop on board. We run the entire
route and chat with everyone who hops on and off the bus. We get to see the
landscape, chat people up, get a sense of the culture and return safely to the
ship. Lillian gets back on the boat and
calls it a day. Then I run off and do something else.
So today, we are returning from our bus ride and the ship is
in sight. Lillian is in high spirits and
greeting everyone, “Jambo, jambo.” Most
people respond in kindness and move on. A tall, large man approaches us and brushes
up to Lillian. She greets him but then cries out, “No, no, he took my mother’s
bracelet.” She begins to cry and the man
runs off. He is out of our sight immediately.
We stand bewildered. A police officer shows up and we relay
the situation to him. He holds a large
rifle on his shoulder and a walkie-talkie in his hand. He calls to someone and then, a few minutes
later, another police officer emerges, dragging a teenager with him.
The kid is yanked in front of us and we are asked if this is
the villain. The kid is trembling, his
eyes and head are down. He doesn’t speak. When Lillian says he is not guilty,
he is shoved away and he runs away as fast as he can. Another kid is brought in
front of us and again Lillian tells the police that it is a man, not a kid who
stole her mother’s bracelet. That kid is released as well and the police
announce there is nothing more they can do.
We walk back to the bus.
Lillian is devastated and we don’t take any more bus trips together.
