Mob Rule

My whole train of thought has just been blown. I am sitting upstairs at an internet cafe, and all of a sudden we heard shouting and whistling. Everyone rushed to the windows to see what was going on. I asked someone what was happening and all they said was "thief". I looked down to see people forcefully beating a young man on the back, blood streaming down his face. I had to look away... It didn't matter though, I'm afraid that image is burned into my memory now, and I won't be able to rid myself of it.

We learned this week that there is mob rule here in Kenya. If someone is caught stealing, they will more than likely be beaten to death or even burned to death. Someone stole shoes from the children at school twice this week, and we learned yesterday that the same person stole money from a neighbor. They caught the person that night. One of the teachers pulled out a rubber hose type thing and showed it to us - that was what the villagers had used to beat the man. They'd taken him somewhere but would be bringing him back soon. The teachers warned us that when he arrived, everyone, even the students, would be screaming and yelling for him to be burned. Rachel Cox, one of the girls that spent a lot of time here a few years ago, warned us that if our things were ever stolen while we were out walking in the town that we could yell thief, but to be prepared because that person would likely be beaten to death.

My question is this: What is it that makes someone so desperate that he would risk his own life just to steal something? It seems as though there has to be something more. Surely they have nothing left to lose if they're willing to go that far.

- Gloria