(The Christian Science Monitor) Abdimalik Anwar was sipping a cup of coffee in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighborhood on January 15 when a friend called to ask if he had heard the news. A few miles away, militants linked to the group al-Shabaab had stormed an upscale hotel and office complex called 14 Riverside, killing and injuring dozens.
Anwar felt a jolt of fear. In 2013, when the Somalia-based al-Shabaab attacked the nearby Westgate Mall, some Kenyans had turned their anger on the country’s large community of Somalis.
A violent police crackdown swept Somali neighborhoods, and many young Somalis such as Anwar—who has lived in Kenya since he was an infant—endured severe harassment in the streets.
