By Salem Lorot
I am in Mombasa, the holiday-destination of many to Kenya. The Day of the African Child, celebrated on 16th June every year, was coming up recently in a place called Kwale and I was expected to be there. Between where I was (Mombasa Island) to where I wanted to go (Mombasa Mainland, in particular Kwale) was the ferry ride.
For the life of me, I had not seen a ferry, let alone board one. So you can imagine my apprehension. Also, from the news clips I had watched of the Mombasa ferry, I had always had the notion that they were characteristic of stalling. Further, not very far from here, near Bandari College, just 19 years ago we had the Mtongwe Ferry Disaster which killed 272 people.
Sorry, that was a bit sad. But when the attendant called out for the passengers ( were we passengers in the ferry?), there I was living that moment with my digital camera with me. And here, resplendent in their beauty and tribute to the creativity of man, is the evidence.
Salem is a freelance writer and poet from Kenya. Twitter: @echoesofthehill
