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Police Brutality in Kenya

pdez90

Nanjala Nyabola, a Kenyan journalist and author tweeted: 'There were two anti-police brutality protests in Nairobi today. The one featuring white people made it's way to the US embassy undisturbed. The one led by working class and poor folks ended in teargas and arbitrary arrests.'

On March 25, 2020 the Kenyan government imposed a curfew to limit movement in Nairobi to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. In the ensuing months, the police 'enforced' the curfew by killing as many people as COVID-19 in Nairobi. The police have had a long and bloody history in Nairobi. Missing Voices Kenya have documented the shocking number of people who have lots their lives to police brutality over the years. Although groups in poor neighbourhoods such as Mathare have long held protests against police violence, the recent murder of George Floyd in the US has lent momentum to this movement. Thus, these groups took to the street to walk to the apartment where Yasin Moyo, a 13 year old playing on his balcony was killed by police, to demand that Black lives mattered- everywhere. The protests ended in the police tear gassing protestors.

A separate group comprising of many white protestors marched to the US Embassy to protest extrajudicial killings in the US and Kenya. From reports I have been reading about the protests on Twitter, these groups were left unharmed by the police. It is thus important that we recognize the the situatedness of protests agains police violence in different parts of the world, and the specific histories and contexts that shape each one of them, while recognizing their common themes.

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Sara_Nesheiwat

The purpose of this program is to help instill into nurses, doctors, social workers and more with the ability to mix their clinical practice with the ability to interpret, recognize and be moved by stories of illness according to their mission statement. This program is for those that want to improve the effectiveness of their care by increasing their familiarity with the skill of narrative medicine. 

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Sara_Nesheiwat

Columbia University was one of the first medical schools to open a program in Narrative Medicine. This program was built within their College of Physicians and Surgeons. Rita Charon is the executive director of the program and is on the forefront of spreading the need for narrative medicine in the medical field. Colleagues of hers also believe that medicine has become too professional and clinical, and doctors focus on treating medical problems based off symptoms, not the patient. The educational program at Columbia created the opportunity to earn a Masters of Science degree in Narrative Medicine in 2009, making to one of the first programs devoted to only narrative medicine. 

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Sara_Nesheiwat

This prgram is only offered in-camous adn takes roughtl 2-6 terms  to cp,plete. earnign the degree requires 38 points. Menaing fuill time studnes can copelte the program in one academic year and a summer. The degree requirements include  five Core Courses in Narrative Medicine (22 points) and the Research Methodology course (4 points), which is required for all students who have not taken a graduate-level course in research methodology. The other 12 to 16 points may include any combination of additional Topics in Narrative Medicine courses, elective courses chosen from other departments, Independent Study and/or Capstone (two to four points).

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Sara_Nesheiwat

Requirements to apply are a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and demonstrable evidence of promise in the field of narrative medicine according to the admissions website. Ultimately, those looking to enter the medical field in any capacity are the main targeted demographic for this program. The goal is to instill into doctors, nurses, PAs, social workers, etc, the idea of incorporating narrative medicine into their clinical work. Those predisposed to healthcare fields are likely optimal candidates for this program.