CNN praises Kenyans for their resilience, courage, compassion during terror attack

In the aftermath of the Dusit attack on Tuesday and the anger directed at the New York Times (NYT) for publishing a gory picture of the victims, one international broadcast which has also experienced the wrath of Kenyans in the past for its reportage has praised Kenyans for their courage in the face of adversity.

The Cable News Network (CNN) on Friday praised Kenyans for coming together to show the attackers that they were not cowed by the threat of terrorism.

“They have been sharing photos of bravery by rescue teams and random acts of kindness by residents using the hashtags #KenyaUnbowed and #WeShallOvercome,” said CNN.

HEROIC EFFORTS

The broadcaster talked about how many Kenyans took to Twitter and praised the heroic efforts of security personnel, who worked most of Tuesday and overnight Wednesday to get the survivors to safety from the Dusit D2 complex where the attack happened.

CNN described how an image of an unidentified security officer shielding seven people outside the complex had been shared several times with many commending his bravery.

They mentioned and shared images of the volunteers who came and helped out during the trying time.

The network published various images of how Kenyans came together in various way for a common cause.

AMAZING TALES

In the wake of the terror attack there were amazing tales of a woman served meals to the rescuers and security forces from a van outside the hotel complex, hundreds of volunteers who trooped to designated hospitals to donate blood as well as a timely initiative by ride-hailing service UberKenya to offer free trips to these hospitals for those who wanted to donate blood.

The praises come after Kenyans went ham on NYT for publishing gory pictures of the attack, with Kenyans blaming the newspaper of employing double standards by publishing bodies of attack victims in Africa, while concealing the same when attacks happen in America.

NYT has since promised to take action but remained largely unapologetic despite a demand by the Media Council of Kenya and ordinary Kenyans to have the offensive picture pulled down.

The coming together of Kenyans during this tragic moment was best captured by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who in a televised address on Wednesday morning said “For every act of evil that led to injury, there were a dozen acts of compassion, overflowing patriotism and individual courage.”