Sadly, I postponed my January trip to Kenya and will wait until spring because of turmoil in various places across the country. I am no authority either on African history or present politics but I want to give my blog readers some information. I developed these views from books, articles and conversations while researching A Maasai Warrior’s Two Worlds: Living his Dream, Protecting the Land.
People around the world have been shocked about events in Kenya. In a country still considered poor despite recent economic gains and on a continent with many weak governments, Kenya’s government has been a model of stability. What brought about the present outbreak? An article in The Washington Post summarized, observers question “…the results of Kenya’s presidential election, which began with great promise and degenerated into suspicion, chaos, and violence during the vote-tallying phase” (McCrummen, 2008).
You may have seen pictures showing outbreaks of violence, torching buildings, and maiming and killing men, women, and children linked to election results but these events have underlying causes with deep roots. Part of the turmoil is based on what we in the United States call tribalism. In the U.S. the words tribalism and tribe are usually viewed as derogatory or critical terms. In Kenya, the word tribe does not have a negative meaning because people in a community usually belong to the same tribe, or ethnic group. Rather than tribes, we in the U.S. often belong to a number of groups, or communities. What communities do you belong to? Most of us belong to several--church, school, sports, band, clubs and all kinds of organizations, in addition to the neighbors who immediately surround us.
We often have friends who don’t attend the same church and school that we do and other friends who live far away. We stay in touch by using all kinds of electronic gadgets, like phone, e-mail, and instant messaging and hop in the car or take a plane, bus, or other transportation to visit. This is our way of life. It is based on seeing many people each day but having casual interactions with most of them. When talking to people we often say something like, “How are you today?” or “Have a nice day”--casual greetings without expecting a serious reply. Except for a few people with whom we are close, we live in an impersonal world.
In areas like much of Kenya, people are less linked by easy transportation and less connected electronically. They are mainly members of the communities in which they were born and have lived their entire lives. They interact every day with each other and depend on neighbors for help and for friendship. They share what they have with each other, both material goods and time. They literally rely on each other to survive. Living in the community is usually very low keyed, without the impersonality, competition, and busyness we in the West take for granted.
Personal relationships are needed to support a relatively isolated, rural Kenyan life. Years ago the 40 plus tribes who lived in East Africa interacted with each other and often married outside their own group. Then when Kenya became a British colony about 1900, the Brits wanted to govern in the easiest way. Breaking the Kenyans into tribes helped the British oversee what each group, or tribe, did and control their behavior (Ochieng’ K’Olewe, personal correspondence, August 22, 2007). Some of the tribes cooperated with the British and some did not. Forcing the people into isolated tribal communities kept those that did not from joining with each other against the British colonial government (Elkins, 2008)!
Most families continued to live in their tribal area after Kenya became an independent country in 1963. Of course, in Nairobi and other cities, people mix but they are still aware of their own community, or tribe. Almost three-quarters of the people in Kenya belong to one of five tribes. Most Kenyans are Kikuyu (22%) or Luo (13%). Only about 1.5% of Kenyans identify themselves as Maasai, Jackson’s tribe, although to the Western world the Maasai often represent the Kenya we see on book covers and in magazines and travel brochures.
For many years all these tribes lived together peacefully. But, as is often the case, poverty combines with politicians intent on manipulation. Mark Doyle, writing for the BBC News, and Caroline Elkins, writing for The Washington Post, are two writers who believe politicians eager for personal power are exploiting tribal differences and “using their followers as proxies in a smoldering war” (Elkins, 2008). Whether the situation can be diffused by the efforts and pressure of church and other leaders from inside and outside the country and from most Kenyan citizens, who seek sanity over bloodshed, is not clear.
I cannot tell you how saddened I am from this conflict. Postponing our trip is a buzzing mosquito compared to what Kenyans must survive. Lives lost, emotional tensions stretched tight, and economic impact in a country that can scarce afford any of these is a stampeding elephant in every living room. As Jackson e-mailed this morning, “Let us all pray for peace in our country.”
References:
Berman, M. (2006). Dark ages America: The final phase of empire. New York: W. W. Norton.
Elkins, C. (2008, January 6). What’s tearing Kenya apart? History, for one thing. The Washington Post, p. B3.
McCrummen, S. (2008, January 6). Kenya’s president seeks to end crisis with coalition offer. The Washington Post, p. A6.
