Samantha Lethwaite-The White Widow
http://www.mirror.co.uk/...021#.Uj85u_nsbuc.twitter

Hii yako sasa sio goggles. Hii ni binoculars.

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them, “Is there a mantra which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time – in every joy, every sorrow, every defeat, and every victory – one answer for all questions? Something which can help me when none of you is able to advise me? Tell me, is there any mantra?”
All the wise men were puzzled by the King’s question. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the King and gave him a ring with words engraved into it, with a condition that the King was not to read it out of curiosity. Only if, in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way out, only then he can read it. The King wore the ring without reading the engraving.
Some time later, the neighbors attacked the kingdom. The King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King fled on his horse and the enemies followed him. The King found himself standing at the mouth of a deep ditch. If he jumped into it, there would be no way out. The sound of the enemy horses were approaching fast and the King became restless. There was nowhere else to go.
The King remembered his ring and about the engraving. He decided to read the message.
“This, too, shall pass.”
The King read it again and again until something struck him. Yes! This, too, will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom; I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all its pleasures are gone. I am trying to flee from my enemies. But just as those days of luxuries have gone, this time of danger will pass, too. Calm came over the King. He remained still and silent. The King looked around at the place where he was standing and realized how beautiful it was. He had never known that such a beautiful place existed in his Kingdom.
The revelation of the ring’s message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about his pursuing enemies. After a while, he realized that the noise of galloping horses had receded and that his enemies had lost him.
The King gathered himself and reorganized his shambled forces and fought again. He defeated the enemy and reclaimed his empire. When he returned to the city after the victory, he was received with much fanfare. The whole capital was rejoicing and everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers rained down upon the King from every house, from every terrace as he trotted by. People were dancing and singing. In this moment the King thought to himself, “I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy to defeat me.” In all of the celebration an ego emerged in the King.
Then a ray of sunlight caught the King’s ring and sharply flashed into his eye reminding him of its message, “This, too, shall pass.”
He lowered his gaze and his valiant expression changed to one of humility. He realized, again, that if this, too, is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours. The victory was not yours. You are just a player. Everything passes by. We are witnesses of all of this. We are the beholders.
Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes. And Life?
This, too, shall pass.

'Sniffer' eyes

Update from KRC:

This SitRep No.WMHS- 002 of September 23, 2013 (issued at 11h00) gives a brief overview
of the response by Kenya Red to the on-going hostage crisis at the Westgate Shopping Mall.



1 Situation Overview
The Westgate Mall crisis entered day two with the release of four hostages and retrieval of nine additional bodies bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 69. In addition, 175 persons have been reportedly admitted in several hospitals with injuries.

2 Responses

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) continues to have a 24- hour operational centre at
Visa Oshwal Centre adjacent to Nakumatt UKAY just a few metres from Westgate Shopping
Mall. The main services being provided include First Aid, triage, Fire Safety, Tracing and
Restoration of Family links and Psychosocial counselling. The ambulance and logistics
deployment includes 12 Advanced Life Support Ambulances and paramedics as well as a
fleet of service Land Cruisers. As at the time of this update, Red Cross volunteers from
several upcountry branches have arrived in Nairobi to assist with various aspects of the
operation.

Blood donation
In response to the acute blood shortage in the hospitals, KRCS activated a countrywide
blood drive that saw 2732 units of blood collected on day 1. The major bleeding centre in
Kencom bus stage, Nairobi collected 1140 units. In Mombasa 412 units of blood was
collected, Nakuru: 527, Naivasha: 103, Bungoma: 60 and Kisumu: 490. Due to various
challenges, several donors were unable to give blood in this first day. The drive will continue on Monday 24th September 2013 at Uhuru Park located near the Central Business District in Nairobi. Other bleeding centres in Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru, Bungoma, Naivasha, Nyeri and other county hospitals will also continue with the bleeding exercise.

Psychosocial support:
These important services have been offered right from the first day of the hostage crisis with the setting up systems, retraining of volunteer counsellors, registration and deployment to the three sites in Aga Khan Hospital, MP Shah Hospital and the main desk outside Westgate Shopping Mall. The three teams of 110 counsellors assisted a total 50 individuals (family members and affected persons) in the three centres during the two shift working schedule. This is a service that will be needed more and more in the coming days and weeks.


Tracing services:
The KRCS has set up tracing desks at the Visa Oshwal Centre, and at Aga Khan and M.P
Shah Hospitals. As of Sunday 22nd September 2013, 65 cases of missing persons were
registered. Completed profiling of all casualties in Aga Khan, M. P Shah and Kenyatta
Hospitals was done. All the fatalities in the morgue have also been profiled. The number of
closed cases was 18. In addition, an online platform for registering missing persons has been
established. A hotline number 0714820219 was also activated. The Kenya Red Cross twitter
handle also started a #RedCrossTrace tag for information sharing.


3 Coordination

Several organisations, institutions and individuals are playing different but complimentary
roles in the response to the on-going hostage crisis. KRCS continues to work with National
and the County Governments, fire brigade, private security agencies, ambulance service
providers, mobile phone service providers, financial institutions, hospitals, National Blood
Transfusion Centres, the media houses, the neighbouring community and other well-wishers.
The Psychological Association of Kenya, the Kenyatta University and private Counselling
Centres and individual counsellors are providing round the clock support to affected persons.
Overall, the humanitarian operation continues to be led by the KRCS.

Information has been widely shared within and outside the Red Cross movement and with a
wide range of partners. Furthermore, the KRCS is continuously updating the public on the
situation as it develops through its social media channels that include the website, twitter and
Facebook. The IFRC on its part has continued to provide technical support and has also
approved a DREF allocation to support the operations.


4 Gaps/Challenges

• The prolonged hostage situation is putting a strain on all resources
• Blood remains a critical need.
• Uncertainty on the direction the situation will finally take is making planning difficult.
• Several hostages still remain held up inside the Westgate Mall.