LONG TERM SOLUTION KEY TO CURBING INSECURITY

Tit- for- tat should not be looked at as the solution to our insecurity malaise.

In the wake of Garissa attack, a lot was said.Following the Mandera quarry attack, yet more was said.Before that, a lot was said following the Lamu attacks and long before that, the Westgate attack drew scathing and tough utterances.Beneath these harsh words were what seemed like assuring statements but barely assuring.

The Westgate attack was heartbreaking for lack of a better word.Never had our vulnerability and mortality been put to perspective in such brutality and cold savagery.We were exposed as a soft spot.It would never happen again, we promised ourselves and the government assured us of the death of the attackers.The Mandera bus attack brought the statement from our Deputy President that 100 Al-Shabaab militants have been killed in retaliatory attacks.After Lamu, several suspects were rounded up only to be released later.Following the Garissa attacks, we were informed of KDF bombing two Al-Shabaab bases.This should be reassuring, but is it? Should it be that we are only reactive, acting tough only after being hit? Are we supposed to feel safe when 100 al-shabaab militants are killed soon after four or five of their own lay to waste our own?

We should react first more so after issuance of travel advisories.As it has come to be, travel advisories have preceeded the recent major attacks, acting as a presage yet we choose to ignore them.Instead of dismissing these advisories  we should consider them a warning.One was issued before Garissa attacks, another during the series of Lamu attacks.That's no fluke.Sure some foreign embassies tend to overreact but we ought to take this as a warning sign, the dark clouds before our storm.Our knee-jerk reaction to terror only works against us.

Our reaction to such emergencies too is at fault.It is not reassuring that in the Garissa University attacks, some of the victims were killed as late as noon in an attack that started at dawn.And our security officers were even yet to make any foray as late as 2 pm.Fatalities will always happen in any attack but our reaction soon after receiving the news is paramount to preventing a bloodbath of the scale of Garissa, Westgate or Lamu attacks.To reach triple digits in a single attack of sporadic shooting is a travesty of our security.

However it is reassuring that we are striving to curb this menace from its roots- radicalisation and it is important that teachers of Muslim religious classes and Muslim leaders in general do more than just tell us that Muslim religion does not condone violence following an attack.It is important that whatever is taught in madrassas is monitored as the Garissa attack mastermind Mohamed Mohamud was a teacher of these classes. Many more are hidden amongst us and we should name them no matter the affiliation.

THE COLLOSUS HAS FALLEN

The sun is scarred,
The moon injured,
And in the dead of night,
The collosus has fallen.

Grief knows no bounds,
Sorrow and melancholy abound,
As dreams morph to nightmares,
The collosus has fallen.

Woods a shade of death,
Black promises thus evil uncouth,
And when life shifts to grey from mirth,
The collosus has fallen.

Broken glass,dull brass,
Soiled trophies,ugly hats,
White skin,pale shadows,
The collosus has fallen.

Eyes that see in darkness,
Darkness guides the eyes,
Light submits to the blank stare,
The collosus has fallen.

Illness and health,
Penury and wealth,
The shade and the light,
Like days of night,
Of shadows and their masters,
The dry lands and deep blue seas,
The earth and the sky,
Frowned upon by the moon and the sun,
The collosus has fallen.

Fat wallets,empty pockets,
Misery and its contrasting equivalent,
Of the mysteries of life,
And the joy of belief,
A lack of faith,
And fulfillment of achievement,
The making of a legacy,
The collosus has fallen.

By the words of the mute,
And the sight of the blind,
By the ears of the deaf,
And the life of the dead,
By the embrace of the knife,
The collosus has fallen.

Tongues of fire,
And the heat of hatred,
The pull of love,
And the fulfillment of loving,
By the words of the beloved,
The collosus has fallen.

Through the tears and the laughter,
Smiles and frowns,
Believe,
Be and live,
The collosus has spoken.

From THE WRITINGS OF THE COLLOSUS: A POEM ANTHOLOGY

BARCELONA FAR FROM VINTAGE SELF

The Catalans looked set for a 2-1win over Sevilla only for a late Kevin Grameiro goal to throw a spanner in the works for Barcelona.

Deflation prevailed following the final whistle at Sanchez Pizjuan stadium and from the looks on the Barcelona players faces,it was evident that their implosion had cost them dear.It was't a defeat, yet it felt like one in impact and magnitide,all Barca players rueful of the chances that they lost.Barcelona had started in lively style and it was Lionel Messi (who else?)who put Barca infront with a trademark curl from the right.It was domination from then on and Neymar stamped Barca's authority in the game with a peach of a free kick that sailed over the Sevilla defensive wall for the second.Sudddenly it looked like Barcelona would upset all odds and become the first team to beat Sevilla on their own backyard this season.They ought to have,they were supposed to and with a 2-0 lead in the opening half hour,they were destined to.Yet once more they showed that vulnerability that has become all too common this season as they allowed the hosts back into the game.Bravo would have only himself to blame as he allowed Banega's 30 yarder to fly through his fingers and half the deficit before a Pique error allowed sub Gameiro to make good his calling with a well taken goal to restore parity.At that,it was difficult to imagine that once upon a time,when Barca took the lead,the game was as good as done.Now,not anymore.As with all good things,that peak had its time,served its purpose and had retired to a holiday home with a pension,leaving behind a bland taste of normalcy.Yet it still didn't feel right.It shouldn't.

Following the end of the golden era-2009 to2012-under Pep Guardiola(now at Bayern Munich) Barcelona have found it hard to to equal,let alone better the heights of their best ever period.It was bound as  all glitters fade with time,but it is appalling as to how abysmally ordinary Barcelona have become.Wherever there was brilliance now there's only good.Where there was exceptional now rests  usual.Even Messi seems to have been dethroned as the best and looks contended to nip at the gate of the palace he once occupied.Plainly put,this is the most ordinary Barcelona team of recent times,one that couldn't even put its foot down against Sevilla.It was poor to blow up a lead like that and expect to be labelled worthy champions.For a team looking to win a first trophy in over a year,that was a shoddy display.

While it would be ridiculous to expect a match of Guardiola-era outrageousness,the manner in which Barcelona now labour in matches hardly elicit much positivity.Awe has turned to meh.There shows glimpses of the class of the old,but hardly consistent enough to satisfy the thirst for the usual unusual Barecelona trademark.Where there was crisp passing now there is just passing.Enrique is doing a good job of varyiny Barcelona's style of play but does it have to come at the expence of class and brilliance?Barcelona blow up when it matters most.They did it at Sociedad on january 5th.Then they were at it against Malaga a few weeks later.It could have happened at the clasico but Suarez spared them the blushes.It happened against Sevilla.Barcelona had a chance to stamp authority,they didnt.Folllowing the draw,nowhere were the celebrations louder than at the Santiago Bernabeu where Real Madrid faithfuls roared at the virtual shot at glory following the oops! moment of their great rivals.This blip could turn out to be a full blown gaffe come season's end and it would be a case of a strangely familiar déjá vu,where it was so close yet still as far as Madrid.The air of invincibility has deserted Barcelona,leaving them vulnerable to frequent falls.While far from mediocre,they are still way off their best ,a sign that much task lay in  wait for Luis Enrique and his charges.