Political unrest in Kenya has hit home in Crawfordsville.
Two members of John Steele's family, Crawfordsville Superintendent Dr. Kathy Steele and his son Mathew Steele, a student at Indiana University, are currently in Kenya. He said that he has not had contact with them since Dec. 27, 2007.
"I got an e-mail on Dec. 27," Steele said. "I think that they are in remote places. That may be one of the reasons we do not get e-mail. I am sure everybody is doing the best they can."
He said he received the e-mail on their second day in Kenya.
"It was for a mission trip," Steele said.
He said that the group they went with from Leadership & Renewal Outfitters was going to spend time in orphanages. A second group was going to work in Kenyan schools. Political unrest following recent elections changed those plans.
"Originally they were going to visit four orphanages," Steele said. "At the end they were going to have a two-day safari. What I have heard is that they may not go to where they were supposed to go."
According to a Department of State Overseas Citizens Services spokesperson, "there has been wide-spread violence in parts of Kenya, including in areas of greater Nairobi since the Dec. 30 announcement that President Kibaki won re-election. Since Dec. 30, isolated areas of Nairobi have experienced rioting, looting, and burning. There has been violence in other cities including Eldoret, Kisumu and Mombasa. There are no reports of American citizens being injured. American citizens wishing to depart Kenya who cannot safely travel to Nairobi's international airport are advised to seek departure via another international airport, such as Mombasa in southeast Kenya; Entebbe, Uganda; or Kilimanjaro and Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. Some American citizens have reported difficulty booking flights out of Kenya. There is ample availability at hotels near the airport. International-standard hotels are located along the airport road - the Mombasa Highway."
The violence in Kenya has left about 300 people dead.
The State Department said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made three telephone calls Thursday to discuss developments in Kenya: one to Kibaki, one to European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and one to the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger.
The State Department said Rice and Solana agreed on the need for political reconciliation but neither had specifically endorsed the formation of coalition or a government of national unity.
"We're not going to be prescriptive here," spokesman Sean McCormack said. "They do need to come together, they need to broker some political solution to the political crisis," he added. "Fundamentally, this needs to be a 'made-in-Kenya' solution."
Steele said that he has been surrounded by family since hearing the news.
"I get a periodic e-mail from the group she went with," Steele said. "They have been planning the trip for at least three months."
Attempts to reach Leadership & Renewal Outfitters were unsuccessful.
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