Meditation Focus #180

Reawakening To Our Sacred Mission


Hello!

What follows is the 180th Meditation Focus suggested for the next 3 weeks beginning Sunday, January 6, 2007.

REAWAKENING TO OUR SACRED MISSION

1. Summary
2. Meditation times
3. More information related to this Meditation Focus
4. Special peace vigil for Kenya

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN PASSING THIS ON TO OTHERS

Also recommended to your attention...

The Perfect Storm Series #14: BIG Troubles Ahead (December 30, 2007)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2007/PerfectStorm14.htm

The Empire of Darkness Series #37: Urgent Action Needed Now!(December 12, 2007)
http://www.earthrainbownetwork.com/Archives2007/EmpireDarkness37.htm



1) SUMMARY

A long, long time ago, something amazing took place. Out of nowhere a whole universe manifested and gradually evolved to become what we see today. But this was only the external stage for a much more marvelous thing. Unseen to the eyes of flesh, individual spiritual beings emanating from the Original Source gradually descended into this new realm to experience duality and the countless opportunities for learning it offers. Subdividing into ever more Sparks of the Omniversal Flame, countless souls soon occupied every nook and cranny of this vast multidimensional universe. The unfolding script of what became an intricately woven plot constitutes the ever-rebounding story to which we all participate as co-creators and co-manifesters. Throughout all times there have ever been more spiritually aware beings who had a crucial role to play in assisting those who had lost their cosmic memories in their long descent into material experiencing. Today on Earth, there is a re-emergence of such beings whose mission is vital at this historical crossroad and nexus of evolutionary progress. They work mostly in a very low-key manner that is ever so respectful of each soul's freewill. Their level of integrity is absolute and the depth of their wisdom is unmatched. They are the backbone of the divinely guided plan to assist souls willing to shift into a higher dimension of existence, and the finely tuned instruments through which the Will of God is manifested.

At this juncture in our evolutionary progress, we are being called upon to assist these Higher Beings of Love in their sacred mission of redemption. In so doing we are also being exposed to what we need to learn to be able one day to, in turn, assist other souls in their own quest for full remembrance of their Divine Origin. In the infinitely vast Circle of Life, we each occupy every possible role until we have been through the whole gamut of experiences necessary to integrate all the elements leading to Spiritual Perfection and Complete Oneness with All That Is. This never-ending Journey from Omniversal GodSelf to near spiritual oblivion and back is the role-playing we have all consented to experience as part of our common drive for Self-discovery. In a sense, the Journey is the Goal of it all. Accruing ever more sensory input and ever higher understanding of What Is is the means through which our collective experience ultimately makes sense.

You are invited to join through every waking moment, but especially at the globally appointed moments of soul communion this Sunday and the next two Sundays, into a continuation of the ongoing awakening process that now pervades your entire physical realm of existence. Let the thoughts inspired by the overall vision outlined above guide you into remembering ever more fragments of your sacred mission in this lifetime, and let your soul show to your consciousness the more specific roles you are being called to play to fulfill the tasks you have chosen to accomplish before , once again, taking up embodiment. Let us all reawaken to our sacred mission and actively follow the inner urgings of our soul, so as to help bring about the unfolding transdimensional shift into a New Era of Peace, Love and Harmony, for The Highest Good of all.

This whole Meditation Focus has been archived for your convenience at http://www.aei.ca/~cep/MeditationFocus180.htm


"The Brotherhood of Light and Sisterhood of the Rays and Roses is a group of light beings, many of whom have lived Earthly incarnations, that assist the Earth in its Ascension process. Each one has mastered the physical realms to ascend in light to be one with all that is. They speak to us through many physical channels on the Earth today and also connect with us through our dreams, meditations, writings, drawings, sound, music and art. They sit within the higher dimensions of Shambhala and are cosmic beings of light that encompass galaxies of portals and vortexes of light. Their frequencies are of a much higher nature than those of the Earth realms and they move freely through the dimensions of light. You may feel more aligned to work with certain Ascended Masters because they may be aligned with your soul group, councils on which you work or are connected to you because they hold keys for you at this time that will assist you on your path to Ascension. When you connect with an Ascended Master you will experience their divine vibrational energy and your energy will be expanded simply by being in their presence. No matter whether you have ascended in other realms and other planets or have already achieved ascension here on Earth, you are here to assist Mother Gaia and all beings to ascend through the physical plane."

- Taken from http://www.shambhalatemples.com/themasters/index.html


"The Light continues to flood the Earth, and is your promise of changes that will uplift every life form that is capable of taking its place in the higher vibrations. Absolutely everything will be subject to change in one way or another, and that which is unable to lift up will continue to evolve as it takes a different pathway to suit its own needs. Nothing is permanently destroyed in the process of change, and the Laws of Attraction ensure that all finds its correct place in the Universe. We are overjoyed at the awakening that is taking place on Earth, and we see you shaking off the energies that have bound you to it. These are times of transmutation, and the changes are occurring so fast that more and more people are becoming aware of them.

- Diane - 2 January 2008


"Our coming is one totally of a spiritual nature, as all members of the Galactic Federation recognise the soul within each Being regardless of colour or creed. We acknowledge your God selves and see your potential to rise up out of duality, and we are here to help you in any conceivable way to move onto the path of Ascension. Once your material needs are covered there will be more opportunity to consider your spiritual life, and there will be help for everyone that aspires to lift themselves up. The truth of your past history and your destiny will be clearly explained, so that each of you has an equal opportunity to make a clear choice as to what you wish to do. As we have often made known to you, there is no pressure on you to choose one way more than another. You create your own reality, and we shall always honour your choice. The year ahead promises so much and will be the turning point in your lives. The cycle must end within a few years, and you have a most informative period ahead of you. "

- Atmos 31 December 2007



2. MEDITATION TIMES

i) Global Meditation Day: Sunday at 16:00 Universal Time (GMT) or at noon local time. Suggested duration: 30 minutes. Please dedicate the last few minutes of your Sunday meditation to the healing of the Earth as a whole. See the Earth as healthy and vibrant with life, and experience the healing of all relations as we awaken globally to the sacredness of all Life and to our underlying unity with All That Is.

ii) Golden Moment of At-Onement: Daily, at the top of any hour, or whenever it better suits you.

These times below correspond (for most countries) to 16:00 Universal Time/GMT:

Honolulu 6:00 AM -- Anchorage 7:00 AM -- Los Angeles 8:00 AM -- Denver 9:00 AM -- San Salvador, Mexico City, Houston & Chicago 10:00 AM -- New York, Toronto & Montreal 11:00 AM -- Halifax, Santo Domingo, La Paz & Caracas 12:00 PM -- Montevideo, Asuncion * & Santiago * 1:00 PM -- Rio de Janeiro * 2:00 PM -- London, Dublin, Lisbon, Reykjavik & Casablanca 4:00 PM -- Lagos, Algiers, Geneva, Rome, Berlin, Paris & Madrid 5:00 PM -- Ankara, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Athens, Helsinki & Istanbul 6:00 PM -- Baghdad, Moscow & Nairobi 7:00 PM -- Tehran 7:30 PM -- Islamabad 9:00 PM -- Calcutta & New Delhi 9:30 PM -- Dhaka 10:00 PM -- Rangoon 10:30 PM -- Hanoi, Bangkok & Jakarta 11:00 PM -- Hong Kong, Perth, Beijing & Kuala Lumpur +12:00 AM -- Seoul & Tokyo +1:00 AM -- Brisbane, Canberra & Melbourne +2:00 AM -- Wellington * +5:00 AM

You may also check at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?day=06&month=01&year=2008&hour=16&min=0&sec=0&p1=0 to find your corresponding local time if a nearby city is not listed above.



3. MORE INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS MEDITATION FOCUS

The following is provided as a complement to further the process of inspirational understanding of what, in truth, cannot be grasped from a purely intellectual perspective, for the True Key to unlock the vault of your spiritual knowledge lies with you... and nowhere else.

CONTENTS

1. The Order of Melchizedek
2. Message from St. Germain  -- 4 January 2008



1.

From: http://www.ruidoso.net/melchizedek/order_of_melchizedek.htm

The Order of Melchizedek

A sacred and Divine name that speaks of a theme that is timeless. Melchizedek is not necessarily just the name of an individual who once lived upon Earth, as many may presume. It is also the name of the Cosmic Priesthood that exists through every dimension upon every sacred planet. In ancient days, Melchizedek temples were set up for the purpose of teaching dedicated initiates how to unfold their spiritual gift so they in turn could help their brothers and sisters to freedom. The Melchizedek Priesthood comes in many forms. All of your favorite Ascended Masters and Gurus are each Melchizedeks in their own right. No matter what ideology or religion, every saint, sage, guru and master must go through the Melchizedek Initiations, whether in a temple or in the inner planes.

Even today, many secret priesthoods continue, holding to the cosmic laws, to their own inner vision and sacred purpose. The power of the Melchizedek remains in the etheric retreats and in the subterranean cities, nurtured and guarded until the time when the outer temples can again be re-established. The time for the Melchizedek to reawaken is NOW! As each of us recognized our mission and reclaims our personal power, this will become a reality. Touching every corner of the globe and reaching every aspect of planetary society, those who serve the Melchizedek will be a healing balm to the ills of humanity.

All life-forms, all bodies, all planetary forms, and everything even beyond that, all came out of a simple little round ball. Once we created this external universe, which in actual fact was an experiment for us, we then decided to get into it. It is no problem for Spirit, for Great Spirit, for God to be in more than one place at once. In fact, God can be in all places at once. And so, God actually divided himself/herself. Part of himself/herself, beyond sex, remained outside of the experiment and part of God moved into the experiment. And again in a very, very specific way, using the very form that created the experiment - that very specific pattern and shape which is sometimes referred to as the MERKABA - the spirit of God moved inside and began to experience directly what was created. That consciousness is now referred to as MELCHIZEDEK CONSCIOUSNESS. It was formless and there was nothing but Spirit and consciousness. There was no created anything other than the format. From there, the consciousness of God through Melchizedek divided Himself/Herself one more time into the consciousness of Christ. And that consciousness took on and contained the possibility of form. All form at all levels, no matter who it is and where it came from, came from the Christ and through the Christ. But when the MELCHIZEDEK CONSCIOUSNESS divided itself into the Christ, it automatically created a third component - something beyond itself and beyond the Christ, which could be referred to as the Supreme of Ultimate Personality of the universe, that which contains all life. That Ultimate Personality is very often referred to as God. It is a - Jehovah or Yahweh. It is given a name because it is within waveform and can contain a name. It is definable. But the aspect of God outside of the created universe cannot be defined, cannot be even discussed, can't even be talked about. There is nothing inside of us on any level what so ever that can reach that, except there is Who We Are which is that droplet of the original - but there are no senses within us that can reach that point. 

We went on for a very long time in this particular way. These three components, in modern day times are usually referred to as the FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT. The FATHER is the ULTIMATE PERSONALITY, and the SON is the CHRIST, and the HOLY SPIRIT (the formless) is the MELCHIZEDEK aspect. 

If we search our hearts, it is easy to remember a lifetime in which we served in the temples of the great civilizations, now past. A lifetime dedicated to reaching the human potential of transforming ourselves from Human to Godman. By consciously choosing to be initiated into the various levels of the Melchizedek, we humbly take the first step to return to that state of being.

Melchizedek and the Order of Melchizedek are being talked about more and more in various spiritual circles. In the larger cosmic sense, the Order of Melchizedek has no "name" as such because it is identified by its work and dedication. It is composed of evolved beings who have dedicated themselves to the work of promoting spiritual growth wherever that is possible. It is the one true SPIRITUAL PRIESTHOOD. 

The spirit that has come to be known as Melchizedek came to the Earth before it was truly formed, while the nature of this experiment was still being shaped by the Elohim, those beings who had taken it upon themselves to attempt a new and daring attempt at combining free will and spiritual awareness. When spirits began to descend into physical bodies, beginning with that society we call Lemuria, the spirit of Melchizedek began to incarnate and offer guidance to these beings. As the experience Of Lemuria reached an end and it was necessary to descend further into the physical, what we know as Atlantis began and Melchizedek's work shifted to that area.

The violent end of Atlantis caused a serious disruption in the natural descent and plunged humanity deep into the physical without any conscious connection to its spiritual nature. This situation called for some sort of drastic action. The spirit of Melchizedek finally arrived at a plan to restore self-aware spiritual growth and with the help of many other advanced spiritual beings, the Egyptian Mystery Schools were established. The goal of these schools was to elevate individuals into that awareness that has come to be known as Christ Consciousness. Some of those achieving Christ Consciousness stayed in Egypt to carry on the work there, others went off to Salem to work with Melchizedek in founding a community of Christ Conscious beings. (Note that this Salem is not the town that grew into Jerusalem, but a center in the Caucasus mountains, from which other teachers have come.)

So the name of the Order derives from this historical Melchizedek, the Old Testament personage described as the "King of Salem" and "Priest Of The Most High God" who met with Abraham as he returned from his battles. (Genesis 14) Melchizedek received Abraham's tithes and gave him bread and wine, foreshadowing the communion established by Jesus. Paul speaks about Melchizedek at some length in Chapters 5-7 of his Epistle to the Hebrews, and justifies Jesus' priesthood on the grounds that it is like that of Melchizedek.

But for all its involvement with human affairs, the Order has for the last 4000 years been a shadowy presence at best. While members were involved with establishing various organizations for manifold purposes, the Order itself was never a public organization. But at this time, as humanity approaches a vital cusp in determining whether it will make a vital leap in its ascension out of the gross physical, it was deemed necessary that the teachings of the Priesthood begin to be made more open.

A prime involvement of the priesthood, still, is promoting Christ Consciousness, which could be defined as having a fully opened heart chakra and centering one's being there rather than in the lower chakras. Once Christ Consciousness is achieved, the individual stands on the threshold of possibilities that include viewing the breadth and width of universes around us, being able to stand outside space and time to view the realities of existence from that perspective.



2.

From: http://www.treeofthegoldenlight.com/First_Contact/mike_quinsey/channeled%20messages/January%202008/MQ_01_04_08St.Germain..htm

St. Germain -- 4 January 2008

Dear Ones you are beautiful souls who committed yourselves to live lives beyond count, so that you could experience separation from the Source. You did so in such good faith knowing that you would never be forgotten, and that many Beings of Light would accompany you on your journey. Now your faith is being rewarded, and you are seeing many changes approaching that will finally remove the darkness from your eyes.

It is such a wonderful time to see you bringing the Light back into your lives, and seeking the Truth about your sojourn upon Earth. Many caught up in the darkness have caused you to lose your way, but in spite of that you have always been able to recognise the greater pathway to freedom. You are now achieving the realisation of your dreams, and peace and happiness lie just around the corner. Most people sense the changes but it can be confusing for those who have become entrenched in the old ways. Religion has played its part, and for better or worse kept peoples awareness of God alive. Now comes the time when the truth of God’s place in your life is to be revealed.

As you have so often been told, God is the energy and power within your Universe without which it would not exist. God is you, and you are God inseparable and bound by Love and Light. There is no one else apart from the Creator who in turn holds All That Is within his/her energy. There is but one energy that is filtered down to you through your Solar Sun, and appropriate according to the level that you can accept. Too much energy of a high vibration would be overpowering and uncomfortable for you, and that is why the Law of Attraction is in place. It ensures that you move in levels that resonate with you, and with the coming of Ascension it will explain why not everyone can move into its higher vibrations.

Guiding you ever onwards has been the task of a multitude of Light Beings, and many have sat in Councils for millennia of time deciding how to ensure your continual upliftment. The White Brotherhood has sent its mentors to Earth and they have kept your Light alive. It was so that in your minds, you knew there was a greater force than the dark that tried to keep you in ignorance of the truth. Always the Light has shone through, and always you have had your Gods even if their purpose was distorted. There is but the One God for All, and in the very near future you will come to accept a new way of understanding God that will bring you all together. God is Love that is never ending and not in the slightest way tainted by Human interpretation that brings fear into it. You must ask yourselves, how can God be anything to you other than the totality of Love. Any other Gods are false, and have no place within the true expression of that great and wonderful Being.

Be aware that God allows all that you choose to experience and neither endorses it or denies it, as it is your freedom of choice as to how you do so. It is the whole object of you being in duality, and you have stood on both sides for the completion of your experiences. One without the other would not further your evolution and upliftment. Now try to see what is happening in your world in a different way. Realise that those who now play the part of the dark are themselves nevertheless on the upward path. It may take longer than those who have already turned to the Light, but at some stage they will see through the darkness they have created. They are not disowned or cast aside, as every soul is precious and loved by God.

On Earth it is understandable that you grieve for those who pass on, particularly where you consider that their death is premature. However, remember that nothing is by chance, and the soul involved is not affected in the same way that you are. Immediately they arrive in the higher dimensions they find themselves surrounded by love through energies and souls who tend their needs. There is little trauma and even that is soon overcome after a short period of recovery. The circumstances of your passing are explained, and once they understand that it has been part of their pre-life contract they become at ease. Life does not stop, and is one continual experience that links all other lives together. The result is that there is always some gain from the experiences of any one life, and it can be used in subsequent ones.

Your present period of life is one of the most important that you are experiencing, as many who are working towards Ascension will not leave the Earth through death of the physical body. Instead, they will rise up in it, albeit that it will have been refined and cleansed of the old energies. It will have been renewed and able to house a soul of super-consciousness with a fully developed DNA. You will have become as the Gods that we have always told you that you are. Your powers of creation will have increased so that you will be able to manifest whatever you need. With it comes responsibility, but you will have no difficulty in handling it, as you will have become One with your Higher Self and God.

Do not be frightened by the prospect of upliftment as it is quite normal and natural to you, and is but a stepping up into that which you were before the Fall. It has always been your destiny to return to your higher status, and you were never meant to languish in the lower dimensions forever. See that all around you is illusory and conjured up out of your own minds. Now you are manifesting a new vision and it will become your reality very soon, and as you draw the higher energies down so it will begin to emerge. Nothing can stop this process of change, and it will soon become obvious that the old is being swept away to be replaced by the new.

I am St. Germain and ask you to allow for change, knowing that it will bring into your lives that which is pure and of the Light. That which has no place in it will disappear and there is no reason to mourn its loss. The coming Golden Age is exactly that, where the energies are of the highest vibrations and creation occurs with absolute perfection. Words cannot truly express what is coming into your reality, but it will be of Light beyond your present imagination, with harmony and beauty that you have yet to experience. All will live as they desire in perpetual Love and Light. Carry this vision with you, and let it Light your way now and show you the path back to God.

Thank you St. Germain.

Mike Quinsey



4) SPECIAL PEACE VIGIL FOR KENYA

Here are some of the latest developments in Kenya. Please also keep this situation in mind during your meditations in the coming three weeks to help ensure that peace prevail there as well.

CONTENTS

1. Terrified Kenyans flee ethnic violence
2. Kenya's humanitarian crisis grows
3. Save Kenya

Also recommended...

Kenyans focus fury on food crisis in slums - Election violence replaced by more misery (6 January 2008)
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Kenyans-focus-fury-on-food.3644588.jp
ELEVEN days ago, residents of Kenya's biggest slum joined long, snaking queues to cast their ballots in the east African country's presidential polls.After an explosion of violence following opposition claims the outcome was rigged, those unfortunate enough to live in Kibera are now queuing for food."Is this what you call aid – we don't want your dirty water?" one man in an angry crowd shouted at police sitting on an armoured car mounted with water cannon.Security forces were back in Kibera – one of Africa's biggest shanty towns, with an estimated 800,000 residents – on the lookout for ethnic clashes that have convulsed Nairobi's tribally polarised slums.But now the focus is on food. Thousands of people gathered as two local Red Cross vehicles arrived to deliver aid – but then left without off-loading, overwhelmed by the numbers."We have come to get our food but now they are refusing us," said a furious David Majengo, pointing at the Red Cross staff as they departed. "All we have eaten for days is tear gas."Resident Shelef Ndar, shouted: "We are hungry and angry; we will soon begin to eat dogs."The anger in Kibera was yesterday being reflected across the country, with many Kenyans and outside observers still in disbelief as to how one of Africa's most stable and relatively prosperous countries has lurched towards a humanitarian crisis in less than a week.A UN official in Nairobi estimated that up to 500,000 Kenyans, mainly in the rural western areas, were in urgent need of food aid. The International Committee of the Red Cross issued an urgent appeal for more than £7m of aid. CLIP

Kenyan opposition leader: No unity gov't (January 6, 2008)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080106/ap_on_re_af/kenya_elections;_ylt=Ao_aJWvhWAyYhgS64HjW1ius0NUE
NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Sunday rejected an offer to form a unity government from his foe, saying he wanted mediation following an electoral dispute that has sparked deadly ethnic violence. Odinga told a news conference that President Mwai Kibaki, re-elected by a narrow margin in a vote count that international observers said was deeply flawed, "cannot offer us anything because he did not win the election.""There cannot be peace without justice," Odinga said. "We want a mediator. We want a properly negotiated settlement, not a coalition government."He welcomed the expected arrival next week of Ghana's President John Kufuor, current chairman of the African Union, to mediate.Kibaki offered to form a government of national unity on Saturday during talks with the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer. CLIP

In Kenya, a Spiral of Killings
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010408T.shtml
Robyn Dixon, The Los Angeles Times: "There always has been an undercurrent of tribal tension in Kenya, but the East African country has avoided the kind of wholesale violence that has plagued nearby countries such as Rwanda. The dispute over the election, however, has left about 300 dead from Kisumu in the west to Mombasa on the Indian Ocean."

Full Coverage: Kenya
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Kenya;_ylt=Asof5K866KYZkxjfjz3me0gV6w8F



1.

From: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080105/ap_on_re_af/kenya_scene_1;_ylt=AlQRld1yZMz0MYGgrLxAHIFOs6YB

Terrified Kenyans flee ethnic violence

By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer

Jan 5, 2008

CHEPTIRET, Kenya - Thousands of refugees fled western Kenya Saturday on buses escorted by armed soldiers, streaming down roads strewn with downed power lines, burnt out vehicles and the corpses of others killed when they tried to escape an explosion of postelection ethnic violence.

Behind them, thousands more huddled at church compounds and a police station in the city of Eldoret as wailing relatives tried to identify hacked, burned and strangled family members in a mortuary so full of bodies they lay piled wall-to-wall across bloody floors.

At Cheptiret, 12 miles south of Eldoret, bus after packed bus mostly full of people from President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe drove slowly past soldiers loyal to the president who stood guard at a roadblock controlled hours earlier by a machete-wielding mob.

Wide-eyed passengers pointed out the windows, hands covering their mouths, as they gawked at two bodies laying in the dirt along the roadside beside the charred hulk of a white minibus.

The two slain men had been pelted with stones by Kalenjin mobs several days earlier and then set ablaze, said one man in Cheptiret, Bernard Kimutai, an ethnic Kalenjin who said he was a human rights worker.

"They failed to identify themselves properly, and then tried to run," he said, alluding to his belief they were Kikuyu.

The struggle between Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga over who won a bitterly contested Dec. 27 presidential vote has ignited some of the worst ethnic unrest in Kenya's history, destroying its image as a stable democracy and a top tourist destination boasting some of the best wildlife viewing on earth. Unrest has left hundreds dead and displaced at least 250,000 people across Kenya.

Kibaki was declared winner of the poll by a mere 200,000 votes, but the head of the electoral commission and the country's attorney general have questioned the results, saying the tally must be independently reviewed.

Kenya hosts a mosaic of more than 40 tribes, and tensions between them have rarely boiled into open, widespread conflict. But the prosperity and power of the influential Kikuyu minority has spawned a simmering resentment among some for years.

Ken Wafulah, director of Eldoret's independent Center for Human Rights and Democracy, estimated up to 5,000 people left Eldoret for the capital, Nairobi, on Saturday in five different convoys that included long trails of private cars.

Those who could not afford to move stayed behind, some displaced within their own town, sleeping in the open around churches in which they sought refuge.

The worst atrocity of the crisis occurred at a Protestant church on the outskirts of Eldoret last week. A mob set fire to the church where hundreds of people had taken refuge. Many were burned alive. Those caught trying to escape the flames were hunted down and hacked with machetes. Dozens of Kikuyus were killed there.

Philip Cheptinga, a doctor at the Eldoret's Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital — the country's second largest — said most victims had been killed with machetes known as "pangas," shot with bows and arrows, or burned.

CLIP



2.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7172103.stm

Kenya's humanitarian crisis grows

4 January 2008

At least 180,000 people have been displaced by unrest as the humanitarian crisis grows after last week's disputed election in Kenya, say UN officials.

Some have been housed in makeshift camps while others have sought refuge in police stations or churches, fleeing violence that has claimed 350 lives.

In badly-affected western Kenya nearly all the refugees are hungry, and several children have died of exposure.

A top UN official in Nairobi says about 500,000 Kenyans need urgent help.

The latest developments came as anti-government protests fizzled out and the president said he might accept opposition demands for a fresh election, but only if ordered by a court.

The UN World Food Programme said it was struggling to get food to 100,000 hungry people forced to flee their homes in the Rift Valley area.

We are profoundly alarmed by the reports of incitement to racial hatred and the growing frictions between the different ethnic groups in Kenya

The BBC's Karen Allen in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, where at least 30 people were burned to death in a church this week, says 30,000 local people have been displaced.

Some 10,000 people there are seeking refuge in the compound of the cathedral of the Catholic Church, which is now spearheading local relief efforts.

A statement by a group of independent UN rights experts on Friday said: "We are profoundly alarmed by the reports of incitement to racial hatred and the growing frictions between the different ethnic groups in Kenya."

The officially-declared results of the 27 December presidential poll - giving victory to incumbent President Mwai Kibaki over opposition rival Raila Odinga - unleashed a wave of violence.

Protesters furious at alleged electoral fraud went on the rampage, killing scores of people and torching churches, businesses and homes.

CLIP



3.

Date: 03 Jan 2008
From: "Paul Hilder - Avaaz.org" (avaaz@avaaz.org)
Subject: Save Kenya

Election fraud in Kenya could trigger civil war, even genocide - send a message to your foreign minister to withhold recognition of a new president until the vote is independently reviewed:


Send a message now!

Last week, Kenya held a national election tainted with vote-tampering. It ended in a claim of victory for incumbent President Mwai Kibaki over the challenger Raila Odinga who had led the polls -- now Kenya's future hangs in the balance. Violence has broken out across the country, with roving gangs of machete-wielding youth terrorizing the population. Suddenly, this hopeful country could be sliding toward genocide.

We must not sit back and watch this nightmarish scenario unfold -- but we need to act fast. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has flown into Nairobi, joining the African Union in an effort to broker a power-sharing agreement and review the election results. But if talks are to succeed, foreign governments must avoid prematurely recognizing a fraudulently elected government and locking in their power. That's where we come in.

Please send a note to your foreign minister today, asking them to withhold recognition of any Kenyan government until agreement is brokered and the election results are independently reviewed – you can do so using our simple online tool at the link below (and when you're done, please forward this email to friends and family):

http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/5.php

It's too early to tell how far the situation in Kenya could deteriorate -- and we just can't afford to wait and find out. Please send a note to your foreign minister today.

With hope,

Paul, Ricken, Ben, Galit, Milena, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team

Here are some links to more background -

The election commissioner admits he was pressured into declaring Kibaki's victory, and does not know who truly won:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200801030055.html

Kenya's attorney-general also just called for an independent review of the election results:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7169720.stm

Reuters on mediation efforts by Tutu and the African Union:
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL02368842.html



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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN PASSING THIS ON TO OTHERS