We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.
Rashid Hajji Hussein
It was a Monday morning when I decided to travel to Garrissa but on my way to the bus stop I met with a girl who I knew before. She was also going for holiday in Nairobi. We chatted for some time but instead of leaving and saying bye to each other I followed her to the bus stadium where we boarded the same bus and continued chatting. As time went lastly I found myself in Nairobi, I didn’t know what to do. I decided to follow her up to where her relatives lived. When we went there we were welcomed and entertained a little bit, then her relatives asked her where this man come from. She narrated the whole story, but her relatives demanded from her that this man should leave whether he is here by mistake or not.
Early in the morning the girl broke the news to me. I wondered what to do. I had never been to Nairobi, so I didn’t have money to use. I think a little to myself and decided to go to bus station and be taken back to Garrissa. So again on my way to bus station I met with some robbers, in other words chokoras. They looted me. Apart from taking my luggage and my other properties like my mobile phone they also injured me.
After they had released me I found a police man passing near to where I was taken when they were torturing me. I called for help but instead of helping me he asked for an ID card. I said I come from the refugee camps. Then the police turned deaf ears and he took me to the police station to arrest me. I was then arrested for 2 months. Then later they asked me my refugee status. I narrated everything then lastly they released me and one of them gave me the fare from Nairobi to Dagahaley. Indeed I decided not to go for holiday.
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