Nowhere to Run

January 7, 2008 10:04 PM

A recent article in the The New York Times depicts the violence in Iten, a village 18 miles outside of Elderot that has somehow managed to produce most of Kenya's best athletes. Famous for its high altitude, forgiving clay roads, and dirt track, elite runner Lorhah Kiplagat chose to base her charitable foundation for women and her training center here. The camp is now under siege. Fellow humanitarian and former world record holder in the marathon, Paul Tergat, is missing. Former Olympian Lucas Sang is dead, and countless others are injured or missing.
posted by stagewhisper (9 comments total)

Correction: Lucas Sang was murdered, Luke Kibot survived the machete attack.

(admins, any chance of replacing Luke Kibot's name above with Lucas Sangs so as not to terrify anyone who might know Luke with incorrect info?)
posted by stagewhisper at 10:09 PM on January 7, 2008

This is very sad news. I have friends trying to sell solar powered ice makers in Kenya, and they are not panicked yet, but I am.
posted by parmanparman at 10:40 PM on January 7, 2008

.
posted by chunking express at 5:57 AM on January 8, 2008

Thanks for this angle on that horrible situation. Appreciate the effort and info.

You might want to use the contact link at the bottom right of the page to let the 3 mods know about the error; they can't check inside every thread, but will probably make the correction quickly for you.
posted by mediareport at 8:01 AM on January 8, 2008

Fixed, stagewhisper.
posted by cortex at 8:02 AM on January 8, 2008

Jesus... Tergat is missing??
posted by BobFrapples at 9:01 AM on January 8, 2008

Jesus... Tergat is missing??

It sounds like he's missing in the sense that communications are a mess and nobody has been able to contact him. I wouldn't necessarily assume anything very dire because of that.

I think of myself as very cynical about the state of the world, but the situation in Kenya has managed to break my heart. I just really don't think of Kenya as a place where this kind of shit happens.
posted by craichead at 10:03 AM on January 8, 2008

Sorry to have to point it out, but I think you mean Eldoret.
It is indeed saddening to see the most promising country in East Africa laid low by it's unscrupulous upper class. I was recently in the country for a couple months. I was shocked at how deeply entrenched and accepted the tribal rivalries are. Everyone seemed to believe that these troubles were all but inevitable after the election. They also knew the election would be rigged. I was, perhaps naively, optimistic about this election. *sigh*
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 12:15 AM on January 10, 2008

Ah yes, there are a few typos in that post of mine. LorNah. Not Lorhah. Looked like I'd typed the right letters when I did my fantabulous job of proofing this thing. Considering I've exchanged email with Ms. Kiplagat in the past, that's pretty inexcusable. I think that's what happens when someone compiles a post while getting a bit too emotional about the topic.

First reports said Lucas Sang was killed during a machete attack, reports later indicated it was a stoning. Paul Tergat is not believed to have been a victim of violence, it's likely the modes of communication have been cut off for a few days and the athletes who are unaccounted for are simply unable to communicate their whereabouts. hopefully.

I also blame the ensuing exhaustion from following the Givewellgate thread for days and days
posted by stagewhisper at 8:23 PM on January 10, 2008