Today is “Super Tuesday” in the U.S., meaning that voters in 24 states are heading to the polls to cast their votes to decide their presidential candidate. There’s an excitement and energy around; people are mobilizing left and right to get out the vote in a race that’s too close to call. I’ve already gotten five phone messages reminding me to caucus today, and it’s only 10 in the morning.

I hate to admit it openly, but I’ve been pondering whether to make it to the polling station or not today. Usually I’m the typical Democrat, voting early and often, but making it to the caucus tonight would require a two hour drive alone in the dark in snowy weather. Not appealing, to be sure, and not the safest conditions, but is it enough to deter me from practicing my right to vote, a right that other people around the world fight tooth and nail for? Rationally, I tell myself that this is only a primary, and that neither hell nor high water could keep me from casting my ballot in November, but images in my head cast a guilty shadow over my excuses. The images are those from the Kenyan election back in December, images of hundreds of Kenyans standing patiently in long lines waiting to cast their ballot, many of them having traveled miles upon miles to make it there.

Kenyans turned out en mass on December 27th, recording turnouts as high as 98% in some areas (the U.S. is lucky to get 60%). And now, because of fraudulent elections that gave way to ethnic tensions, the country is still in a state of turmoil. In a month and a half, 1,000 people have been killed and over 300,000 people have been displaced according to the Red Cross.

The news is full of stories of armed gangs setting fire to churches and schools, places typically associated with sanctuary and community. Just yesterday, an angry armed gang looted and burned a children’s home, housing 130 children with troubled pasts. These gangs, organized along tribal lines, and some of which have been reported to have ties to the outlawed Mungiki cult, have threatened, raped, killed, burned, and looted the country to shreds.

The Rift Valley, the fertile and temperate highlands typically settled by Kikuyus and Kalenjins, has been the site of much of the violence in Kenya. Land disputes and economic inequities have only fueled the anger over the election results. Violent mobs marching door to door, armed with machetes and torches, have forced hundreds of Kikuyus to flee by burning their houses, often starting while they’re still inside. Kikuyu gangs have retaliated with equally reprehensible killings and actions.

The violence in the Rift Valley has made it next to impossible for commercial food and food aid to get through to Nairobi. Kenya is experiencing a serious lack of food along with an increase in food prices. Coupled with the lack of supplies is the severe lack of health care. Teams from the United Nations visiting IDP camps (Internally Displaced Persons) have reported sub-standard sewage and draining situations and severe overcrowding.

Out of the 300,000 homeless and displaced, nearly 85% are women, who have managed to survive, but under heavy costs. Rape is rampant, and even in the IDP camps the women of Kenya are under constant threat of gang-rape from mobs of men. In less than a month the number of rape cases for women and girls has more than doubled. The Nairobi Women’s Hospital averages 10 rape cases a day, and half of those are for girls under the age of 18. And only a small percentage of women seek treatment. In 2000, 52% of rape cases went unreported in the United States. In a situation like Kenya, the percentage is likely to be much, much higher.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Kenya at the beginning of the month to mediate talks between the opposition leaders. Both Odinga and Kibaki agreed to discuss a plan for ending the violence caused by political and ethnic tensions, and address both short term and long term strategies. The talks are scheduled to last for a month, and stop the violence within two weeks. The beginning of the talks corresponded with a fresh wave of killing in the Rift Valley that left over 20 people dead, including two MPs from the region in what looked to be a targeted assassination. More than 140 people have been killed in the five days since the talks began.

The talks have four main points- stopping the violence and restoring rights, addressing the humanitarian crisis, healing and restoring the country, and dealing with the political situation. Annan hopes to have the first three dealt with within two weeks, but professes that the fourth point, the political crisis, could take much longer to deal with. Annan has stated that he is opposed to a re-vote, worried that it may result in more violence.

Odinga, the leader of the ODM, called for international peacekeeping troops on Sunday, stating his mistrust of the national police force. On Monday, former Secretary General Annan called for a Kenyan Truth and Reconciliation Committee to be established, much like that in South Africa, and for U.N. investigators to look into human rights abuses. Surprisingly, South African businessman Cyril Ramaphosa, who played a significant role in the TRC in his own country, pulled out of the talks as a mediator after complaints from Kibaki’s party.

Kibaki’s government, while participating fully in the talks, claims that the violence is politically instigated by the opposition party, and has stated that the politicians just need to go talk to the people for the issue to be resolved. This seems more and more unlikely, particularly in the wake of the MPs assassinations. It is increasingly probable that the government has no ability to change what’s happening on the ground. Even if the government comes to an agreement, is it possible to stop the retribution-like killings going on in the area? Will people be happy with a change in government, or has it become about much more than politics? We’ve seen land disputes, tribal tensions, economic issues, and historical arguments come into play, and it seems like it may take more than Mr. Annan’s two weeks to settle all these scores.

Not to say there hasn’t been some progress. News reports say that the violence is somewhat lessening, and the government just lifted its ban on live broadcasts. The Kenyan government also issued a statement today warning that they will search out and prosecute those who send “hate texts” used to instigate violence in the country. The government implied it has been tracking text messages within and outside of the country in an attempt to stem the violence.

But whether the fighting ends in two weeks, two months, or more, the repercussions will be felt for much longer. Kenya is now alongside Kosovo, Bosnia, and even Rwanda in terms of what it must undergo to recover from its current situation. It will take a lifetime to heal the wounds that have occurred over this last month and a half. Women, men, and children alike have witnessed unspeakable acts and been victims to horrible atrocities, and it all began on that fateful Election Day. Not all the current violence stems from political frustration, but the unrest began as outrage over the rigged Presidential election. And while there is absolutely no legitimacy or justification for any of the violence that has taken place, there is legitimacy in that feeling of unfairness. To put your faith in the democratic process, to stand in long lines for hours on end to be able to cast your vote, only to have it be rigged is worthy of outcry. My heart goes out to all those in Kenya, and I mourn not only the humanitarian situation, but the economic and the political. And suddenly that two hour drive in the snow to my polling station doesn’t seem that significant, but my vote seems much more so.

So whether you’re hitting the polls today or not, I urge you to take a moment to think about those who did in Kenya, those who are suffering as an unforeseeable result of the election aftermath, and to stand in solidarity, however you can, with them throughout the violence and as they undertake their long and difficult path of healing and restoration.