Kenyans Remember Westgate Attack Victims‏

Kenyans on Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall that left 67 people dead and many others injured.



"As a country, we stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors of the attack, both in Kenya and elsewhere in the world," Kenyan First Lady Margaret Kenyatta said during the opening of a two-month exhibition held in memory of the attack's victims.



"I acknowledge this is a time that brings much pain and sorrow to many, and still a time of healing, having also lost members of our family in this senseless massacre," she said.



On September 21 of last year, unidentified gunmen attacked Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall, where they took scores of people hostage.



The days-long saga left 67 people, including four of the attackers, dead and many others injured.



The attack was later claimed by Somalia's militant Al-Shabaab group as a reprisal for the deployment of Kenyan troops in Somalia.



Mrs. Kenyatta thanked all those who came to the exhibition to remember the victims and met with a number of the survivors.



She insisted that Kenya would not be shaken by such acts, which, she said, aimed to divide Kenyans along religious lines.



"The nation may have been seriously scarred, but we shall never be broken as a people," said the first lady. "Our resilience is unconquerable."



She urged Kenyans to be extra-cautious and remain united in such trying times.



"The unity we show in times of crisis should never be forgotten; as I have said many times before, we should always be our brother's keeper," said Mrs. Kenyatta. "We will never be cowed by such acts of cowardice."



-Mall phobia -



For Ambi Ghataurhae Singh, a plumbing contractor who survived the attack, the tragic events of those days remain fresh in his mind.



"We had 11 family members at Westgate that day – two died instantly at the scene," he told Anadolu Agency at the memorial, fighting back tears.



"I also lost my mum and son," he added, clenching his fists in an effort to hold back the tears.  



Whenever he enters a mall now, Singh is overwhelmed by fear that what happened last year could happen again.



He noted that some of his relatives had since developed a phobia of visiting shopping malls.



When asked if the government had done enough to fight terrorism, Singh appeared ambivalent.



"Since Westgate, we have had very many attacks on our soil, though the government is trying its best," he said.



"So, I would say yes, they are doing something," he added, "but not enough."



By Magdalene Mukami



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Nayrobi