Between dawn and dusk yesterday, our country lost 147 souls of young men and women who were pursuing their education in Garissa.
These were students beaming with hope for themselves and their country, which they certainly hoped to help change and develop.
As a parent, I know what it takes to put a child through school all the way to university. I know what the parents who lost their children in this tragedy are going through. Some of those families became paupers in the process of educating these children.
We have to stand in unity with these families. We must keep them and the injured citizens in our thoughts and in our prayers. My prayers also go to all students who lost friends, colleagues, brothers or sisters in this bloodbath. I know the kind of networks students build. The death or injury of one student touches hundreds of others.
I want to believe the government will take care of the medical and all bills related to this attack. It is the least we can do for the families and to the young students.
I thank the security officers who risked their lives to save others. At the initial stages of this attack, the officers were certainly outnumbered and out gunned. But they stood their ground. It made a difference.
Words cannot fill the holes in the hearts of millions of Kenyans caught in or affected by this tragedy but prayers and solidarity is all we can offer now.
To the affected families, the good people of Garissa and students fraternity in Kenya, my words is, in the spirit and hope of Easter, DON’T GIVE UP.
The world must stand with Kenya at this tragic moment and beyond. The entire world must unequivocally reject these brutal acts and help stop them here and everywhere else.
The Garissa attack is a continuation of a very spirited effort by our enemies to divide us along religious lines. This is one attempt Kenyans must reject in clear and categorical terms. I repeat that there will be no country left here if we succumb to efforts by terrorists to pit Muslims against Christians. We must not fall into that trap.
Instead, we must join hands across the divide, and work on stopping the radicalization of our young people and in eliminating feelings of marginalization.We should stand together, join hands across the religious and political divide and help rebuild the shattered Garissa University College as a message to those who think we are too divided to stand together.
May God bless the memory of those we have lost and may God bless their families and our country.
The Rt. Hon PM Raila Odinga, EGH.
APRIL 3, 2015
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