Article: Dark days for Nairobi - Kenya's once-lauded 'green city in the sun' Nairobi was recently downgraded to one of the least pleasant and safe places to work.(World)

Just getting through the day here can be a triumph. Water stops running in the middle of your shower; the car gets stuck in a crater-size pothole; and the electricity is forever flickering.

Phone lines can take a month to fix, e-mail can take two hours to connect. And if you haven't paid off the street kids, they may just puncture your tires while you're visiting some government office to complain about it all.

By far, the most serious problem is security. Those who can afford it install "rape gates" - bars and doors that divide living areas from sleeping quarters. That way, robbers may steal, but they cannot touch you.

Welcome to Kenya ...

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