Freedom Fighters

I know that history is important.

But until recently, I didn't realize how relevant, and how much a part of our present, is history.

Our Archiving Africa class went to the National Archives at Kew on Monday. There, we were met with an overwhelming database of over 10 million documents--documents that may not necessarily reveal clues to hidden treasures and ancient mysteries (I saw Angels and Demons just before coming to London)--but seemingly arbitrary documents.

These very documents helped to found the argument of the Mau Mau, the Freedom Fighters from Kenya during the 1960s, who are now suing the British government on claims of inhumane torture techniques, including very graphic accounts of rape, castration, and physical mutilation.

Our class attended the press conference conducted by the law firm and representatives from the Human Rights Commission, the Kenyan Parliament, and Kenyan Lawyers. Various representatives of the original Mau Mau were also present.

These men and women who fought against the colonial regime were considered terrorists, even among many Kenyan politicians who continued to perpetuate the conspiracy and the secrecy revolving around the Mau Mau post-independence.

Radical actions against the state are often considered "terrorist." Anything against the status quo, that challenges the resignation with which we live our lives, is deemed offensive.

And many times, when people are blinded by their passions, their love for a cause or a people, radical actions can cause more harm than good. I thought of Che Guevarra, who essentially worked for the people but ended up becoming a guerilla warrior.

But when I looked at these tired, forlorn, and haggard men and women, who stood up without pride, any thoughts of brutal warfare and killings were dispelled, and I only thought of the atrocities these poor people were put through as punishment for their love of Kenya.

And history and the present merged, its boundaries indistinguishable, encompassing everything we knew and know, laying groundwork for what we can only hope to know.