World

Unity Amid The Rubble

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 13, 1998 / 8:40 PM EDT / CBS

Many Kenyans still do not know what happened to loved ones caught in the blast, reports CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey. A list of victims is posted in a local park.

Tracking down a name can be a grim task. Dozens of bodies lay unclaimed in the morgue.

Vincent Owuma was looking for his sister-in-law.

"I have seen some bodies here but some bodies are burned beyond recognition so we have no hope for today," he said.

The trauma of the blast hit every level of society. Even as it recedes, there is a bitter aftertaste towards America.

"We were not the targets. We are suffering because of some other peoples' relations," said one man.

Losses to businesses in the blast area are estimated to run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Some small business people may never recover.

The bomb blast did provoke a spirit of unity. Kenya's national motto, "Harambee," means self help. Coping with the horror of the terrorist attack made it a matter of national pride. But families need more than that.

"Most of the people who died in this bomb blast are really the breadwinners of the families." said one man.

There is a universal demand here that the U.S. offer compensation Kenya and its victims.

In terms of number of dead and wounded alone this is one of the worst terrorist attacks ever. It would be a disaster in any country. In a poor country where the only social security net is an extended family system it is more devastating than most Americans can imagine.