Between a Rock and a Really Hard Place

A really close friend has really been bummed out with what is going on in Kenya. This heart wrenching image I think captures everything that she finds wrong with what is happening in Kenya. She may have been supportive to the idea of Raila in the past, but now, I think she has reached the point where anyone who will let this happen and isnt screaming for this madness to stop is just as bad. So Raila, Kibaki and all our elected leaders, both old and new, PNU, ODM, ODM-K, NARC, KANU, and whatever other affiliation they may be no matter what ethnic group, they come from, are all the same.

Well, as you may have noticed in my previous posts, I am a strong believer that we have reached the point in Kenya where we need to be in the streets fighting to be heard and to reassert ourselves as a people.

BUT, how do I reconcile this horrendous image with my heartfelt desire for real change in my country.

Martin Luther King said, "A time comes, when silence is betrayal".

For me, silence is no longer an option. We as Kenyans have made so much, yet so little progress. I look around at my friends and neighbors and I am amazed to see that most of them are in mixed marriages now. A fact that belies the crazy situation that we see on the ground. However, listen to our parents, friends and even ourselves we in many ways still carry within us deep seated ingrained attitudes that are rooted in ethnic biases.

So, interestingly, Dr. King also said "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."

I refuse to accept that our only options as a Kenyan people are to either accept a government system (and I include the executive, legislature and judiciary in this )that is completely inept and corrupt or to go out and conduct a proxy fight with another Kenyan because of his ethnic origin or political beliefs.

So, here is where I plant my flag.

• I will NOT be ignored by my government anymore. I will NOT be told what to do, where to go, what to think anymore by my government.
  
• My fight is not with the Kenyan next door, across the street or in another city, province or place, and I cannot and will not take it out on him/her.
• The Kenyan next door, across the street, or in another city, province or place cannot and will not take away my right to speak out and if necessary change my government.
• I will change this damned country/government/system or die trying.

So, how you ask, i say we take a leaf from 60's in the USA. Read up on the Montgomery Bus Boycott sometime. How long do you think any of our leaders will last if we boycott any product they make, any hotel they own, blockade any premises they own, and well, just sit down and make each and everyone of them feel pinch like the rest of us. And I am not saying selectively target anyone. I am saying ALL OF THEM. I am saying, take thousands of us and sit on the streets around parliament with all of them inside so no one can leave. Sit around state house, sit around their shambas, so their cows cannot be milked, their businesses cannot operate. Mark you, i am not saying be violent. I am just saying, sit there. so they cannot get any food in and out of their homes, or offices, so that as the people, get hungry, they get hungry, as people get tired, they get tired, as food runs out in the peoples homes, they run out of food also. At that point, when they are stuck in their homes, and in their work places, how much difference will how much money they have make. When their servants cannot go in or out, that will be the great equalizer.

And to the police, do your work. Stop violence, but respect the peoples right to peacefull congregate and express their opinion.

Whats your Tribe!

For the last couple of days, it looks like rather than write my own thoughts, I am posting links to other peoples blogs. But, what can i say, sometimes, you come across something that is so well written that you have to just have to acknowledge it.

I sometimes struggle with how to discuss ethnic and tribal politics as a Kenyan. I am totally opposed to tribalism, nepotism or any other ism's that could be out there. I have a number of friends of the same mindset, but listening to us talk about it, it is shocking how many different layers and nuances there are to tribalism and even though we may not think we are, we have some deeply ingrained habits, values etc that are rooted in our ethnic heritage and background (and I am not talking about being a kenyan).

Well, it is sad to see how big of an impact our tribes still plays in our politics and how we automatically will fall into these roles that are when you think about it, really ridiculous.

So, I came across this very well written piece that you really need to read. Here are some excerpts.

"When I lived in Kibera some years ago, I shared my modest crib with Onyango, Kimani, Kipngeno, Mutisya and Abdi."............

In short we were more than brothers, and we remained so for 5 years until the elections were called. It was time to part ways. We got new identities jaluo, msapere, mkale, mkamba, walalo and banye ...........

You have to read the rest for yourself.

Kenyan president lost election, U.S. exit poll indicates

I just read this very intriguing article on yahoo. Although most of the foreign governments have been very much sticking to their diplomatspeak, they are really doing an unusual thing.

by all mean, I already believe that Raila won, but i must say, more and more i get convinced.