Commentary: Dispatches from the Douglas-Hamiltons
Dispatches from the Douglas-Hamiltons
For weeks chaos and uncertainty have gripped Kenya, and yesterday the Associated Press reported that Kofi Annan had called an end to the peace talks because of a lack of progress.
The Douglas-Hamilton family, who, for years, has lived in the Samburu Reserve, working on conservation projects, has allowed us to share their letters in hopes that we, who love Africa, will not be frightened away from visiting and will continue to champion the beauty of the place and its inhabitants.
“…Everything that we love is under threat and people are being slain in the most brutally savage way. We never thought something like this could happen here, but it has. The Nairobi slums have been vomited right into our faces. All of a sudden we are meeting, dealing, talking, crying with people we would never have otherwise met. Cars spin in panic and roar down the wrong side of roads. Desperate emails and SMS circulate calling for help. We do what we can…The only thing that keeps us sane and soothes the vertiginous pain in our hearts is to be involved, up to our necks, in trying to make things better…” Read more of BBC filmmaker and conservationist Saba Douglas-Hamilton’s letter to her grandparents, by clicking here.
Saba’s father zoologist and founder of Save the Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, has spent his life in Kenya, where he and his wife, Oria, have made enormous progress in preserving the endangered elephant population. (They co-authored the landmark work Among the Elephants.) In the past few weeks, the family has witnessed scenes of horror and hope and launched an inspiring peace initiative.
- To read a letter from Oria about their peace efforts, click here.
- To read a letter from Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants, click here.
- For information on the family’s special Elephant Watch Safaris, which are still welcoming guests, click here.