Can Kenya Deliver Roses for Valentine's Day?

NAIVASHA, Kenya, Feb. 14, 2008 — -- Receiving roses on Valentine's Day is a universal symbol of love, but for Kenya the flowers are as much about economic survival as romance.

The country is the largest producer of roses in the world; more than 30 percent of those purchased in Europe come from Kenya. The more distant United States is a smaller market, centered in Miami. But this year, Valentine's Day roses were almost another casualty of the country's postelection violence, which has claimed more than 1,000 lives and left the economy in near ruins.

"We've had a lot of our staff chased away from the farm, which has impacted very seriously on our operations," said Simon Harris, manager of the Ol-Njorowa Rose Farm in Naivasha, Kenya. "We've lost a lot of very valuable people, including management and also we've lost flowers due to the inability to harvest."

Ol-Njorowa is one of hundreds of flower farms throughout Kenya, most based in the lush Lake Naivasha region in Kenya's Rift Valley. The environment is perfect for growing flowers, says Harris.

"We have good water, or reasonable water. Very good climate. We're very near the equator, so we have a lot of sunshine," he said. Since the region has been growing flowers for the last 20 years, there is also a "very good, experienced labor force," Harris said.

But in a country where ethnic tension is high, that labor force, made up of different tribes, has been severely tested. Naivasha was initially peaceful during postelection violence, escaping much of the ethnic violence that had gripped the Rift Valley. Flower farms, primarily owned by whites and Asians, were not affected.

Two weeks ago, the quiet town erupted into ethnic violence when gangs of Kikuyus terrorized members of rival tribes in revenge attacks. In one case at least 10 people were burned alive in a house where they were taking refuge. Hundreds of people were wounded by machetes and bows and arrows, and thousands were forced to flee their homes. Many of those affected were flower farm workers.

Joseph Njema, a member of the targeted Kalenjin tribe, is a flower farm worker who had lived in Naivasha for years with his family without any trouble. When the clashes erupted, his family was chased out of its home and threatened with death. Now he lives alone in a displacement camp set up by the farm he works for.