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make me unsure of how to proceed with a planned trip that is mostly in Tanzania, but starts and ends in Kenya. I could potentially deal with some unrest that is controlled, but we have friends that are planning on coming that are less traveled and could back out over the perceived danger.

Does anyone have any insight on the political unrest and longterm issues in Kenya?

This shouldn't worry you, as it has happened before. I don't think anything will directly deal with tourists. I imagine most of your trip will be in Tanzania which would not be affected by this.

Listen to what this lady did, an "aid worker" (Peace Corps maybe?) Sounds like a stupid stunt that couldve gotten her killed, she shouldve just stayed in the hotel.


CNN) -- Jayne Samuels was told venturing out of her Kenyan hotel could get her killed, but she was so desperate to get away from the tribal violence, she went into the streets searching for a ride. Help came from a surprising source.

Friends in Kenya have repeatedly warned Daniel Pollack to "get ready for war." The Nairobi slum where he volunteers is filled with burned-out vehicles and other evidence of rioting. He says, in Kenya, "the only truth is the panga [machete]." But Pollack believes he is safe and intends to stay.

These I-Report stories reflect starkly different responses to a single unflinching reality. Hundreds of people have been killed during days of tribal unrest, and the worst may be to come.

Samuels, an aid worker, says she is relieved to be out of harm's way. She arrived in Kenya December 28, the day the rioting began. She planned to do volunteer work in a village two hours from Kisumu, but never made it that far.

Samuels says she had to pay a gas station owner to get a ride to her hotel. Once there, however, the trick was getting out again.

Samuels could look out from her room and see rioting and looting. When police finally cleared the streets several days later, she was more than ready to leave. But her hotel concierge offered this dire warning: "You better not go outside. The police may shoot you dead on accident."

Undaunted, Samuels left her belongings inside the hotel and walked into the streets hoping to find a ride to the airport. She came across a group of riot police and persuaded them to take her. Samuels says she is lucky they didn't ask for a bribe, because she was running very low on funds.

At the airport, Samuels discovered most inter-African flights had been grounded. She called the U.S. Embassy but officials there could offer no help and encouraged her to "stay put."

Then she got word of a small jet flying to Nairobi, with operators selling "cash tickets." She was happy to pay and get out.

Hers was not the only harrowing escape.


More.....

That was stupid on her part. She's very lucky she got out alive.

RobinMarie -- You didn't mention when you're thinking of going, but I'd at least avoid Kenya for the next week or so while you see how things play out. It sounds largely like ethnic violence at the moment, but seeing as the police have orders of shoot to kill, you don't want to end up in the middle.

I'm not going for another 6+ months - I'm in the planning process on this one.

I feel pretty confident that it will be fine when I go, but I know if some of the other people I've convinced to come on this trip find out they'll be concerned - so I thought I would post here so I could say with confidence that it really will be fine. I've been working really hard to get a bunch of people onboard that are already slightly outside their comfort zone.

The good news is I think they are all pretty ignorant to international news for the most part.

News reports here today say that many UK tour operators are starting to cancel departures to Kenya for the next few days, some on a rolling basis, a few days at a time. The UK government is advising against all non-essential travel which, for once, seems sensible.

That was dead stupid of the woman. Such things boil over, and she could have been robbed on the way to the airport, leaving her with nothing, no way home, and on the streets.

That, in fact, is panic thinking.

Sounds like what this lady did was stupid---altho' it's easy for those of us not in the middle of it to armchair-quarterback it all.

I'd defer to the expertise of skobb and donovan on this one.

I'd add that if you're from the US, keep an eye on what the state department warnings are for the area of Kenya you're going to. If you're going with a trip operator, or have already booked your flights, and/or have bought travel insurance, I'd check w/ all to see what their T & C's pertain to such warnings.

I think people too often lump together all of the various forms of violence and conflict throughout Africa without recognizing the origins, causes, as well as the behaviors and mindsets of those involved.

Very rarely will foreign travelers be involved in tribal conflicts, which is precisely what's happening in Kenya at the moment. I've traveled through areas teeming with tribal conflicts, with people looting, fighting, and generally going haywire. I never had any problems. It's an unfortunate thing what's happening in Kenya at the moment, but I'd feel very little fear traveling there, personally.

I have a buddy who's going there in a few months to do some volunteer work, and the news hasn't deterred him, either.