Tribes in Kenya are something that you would expect to be fairly comprehensible to an American, at least after some explaining. A tribe, after all, is just an ethnic group and every urban area in the US has plenty of those. However it really is so much more that it becomes very difficult for the average American to relate to what one's tribe means to a Kenyan. Tribes are far bigger and more important than the threads that tie people of the same ethnicity together. A tribe transcends a sense of identity, a common language or a cherished culture. And tribal stereotypes, though just as commonly held and just as partially true as ours in America, are no more than an often humorous side note. Unfortunately some of the more significant aspects are not so innocuous. When it comes down to it, tribe is the device an individual uses to distinguish "us" from "everyone else."
The general attitude is if you're of the same tribe, you're probably OK. If you're not, well then I don't know you and I don't trust what you're up to. It's funny to watch how Kenyan visitors are treated when they arrive at the market center nearest to me, which also serves as a bus stop. First the local men give sideways glances at the outsider (especially if it's another man), which quickly turn to flat out stares. If it seems the man doesn't know the place well and nobody knows him, someone will go up to the fellow and say something in Kikamba, the local tribal language. If the visitor responds in Kikamba, smiles explode and everyone lightens up and acts like family. If the visitor responds in Swahili then his questions will be answered politely yet coolly, and everyone will continue with their business with an eye kept on the stranger.
Even me, when I'm in different parts of the wider region inhabited by the Kamba people, if I speak the little Kikamba I know I am treated completely differently than if I use Swahili. Simply saying "Watinda ata?" (Kikamba for: How is your day going?) has people freaking out. They immediately start cracking up laughing, they want to know where I stay, what I'm doing, am I going to marry a Kamba woman (because we can ask each other how our days were, which is about the amount of interacting married couples do in the country side), and often a soda is offered. If I speak Swahili MAYBE they will note "Ah, you have learned some Swahili. Good for you." To have learned any Kikamba means I must have spent time with and been accepted by other Kambas somewhere, therefore I must be OK.
With 45 tribes in Kenya, and the largest comprising no more than 1/5th of Kenya's population, the problems come when you look at national politics. First of all Kenya got off to a bad start. Soon after gaining independence from the British in 1964, Kenya's founding president, a man of the majority tribe fittingly named Jomo Kenyatta, immediately seized the best pieces of land and distributed them to other members of his tribe. This set the tone early for tribalism and protecting narrow interests. To this day many people exclusively vote along tribal lines, and when elected into power a person is expected to use that influence to advance his or her tribe. Regardless if this means 'misappropriating' money or blocking a project in a rival tribe's land that might benefit the whole country.
Even worse, when any type of problem arises that incites tribal tensions violence is not uncommon. This is usually fairly isolated and tends to happen in more urban areas dominated by a single tribe but with a small but significant population of another tribe. During the 2007 election tampering was suspected by the majority tribe which has dominated national politics due to their strength in numbers. In the aftermath there were pockets of vicious violence against that majority tribe which ended up killing over 2,000 people and displacing around 300,000 more. Peace Corps actually pulled all Volunteers out of the country for six months (my group was the first full, new group to return).
Most of the time most people of all tribes get along just fine. But the fractiousness of tribalism makes national unity elusive and stability tenuous when issues of national importance arise. Living in Kenya has made me appreciate what Iraq and Afghanistan must be going through. You have all these distinct ethnic groups who may or may not see any connection whatsoever with each other, and you're asking them to become a single nation that they may or may not want to be a part of, under leadership that most absolutely do not support. There are bound to be bumps in the road. Luckily Kenyans have gone well beyond questioning whether they should be a single state or multiple. And as more people become educated and the population shifts to urban areas where peoples naturally mingle tribalism should slowly dissipate. Though for the foreseeable future tribes and tribalism are going to be shaping forces in Kenya. This will keep it an interesting place, with an enormous diversity of cultures existing right next to one another, but it will also hinder development and make national elections dangerously contentious affairs.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
still alive here
OK just in case anyone still checks this thing and has concern about my well being, worry not. All is well. I just haven't been feeling the motivation to keep up with this blogging madness. Though I'm feeling a little juice again I can't promise I'm going to all of a sudden post any more regularly than I did in my first year. Regardless of frequency, I might as well write to the world while I still have something interesting to write about. Even though I have a solid ten months remaining it truly does feel like I've entered the downswing of service.
Looking back at my old posts I think I've done a decent job of telling the story of what I go through over here. My trials, my tribulations, my victories, my failures; all the emotions evoked in the process. However I noticed I really have neglected one of the major characters in this whole experience, which is tragic for reasons beyond poor story telling. There's an actor that shapes literally every single day's events, yet I mention her in passing as a part of some specific story. Shameful. And the aggrieved one is Kenya, of course. I've provided bits and pieces on landscapes and a general sense of what the people are like, but nothing trying to explain what Africa is in reality. Part of the reason I've largely left this alone is that so much here is so different from life in America that there is no point of reference I can offer to make understanding any easier. Despite the fact that a lot of the things about Africa just wont make sense to the American perspective, I still think it's worth trying to explain. First of all this place really is fascinating for a ton of reasons. You have these many different traditional African cultures surrounding the bastion of modernity of Nairobi, with each trying to maintain some of the uniqueness of their own identities all while coalescing around modern principles of education, opportunity and equality. To me nothing represents that better than the tiny old man with a bow and arrows who got on the same bus as me a few weeks back. Now that man is what you might call old school. He probably travels armed because as a young man he was a clan warrior who had the responsibility of protecting cattle from raiders, now just hasn't come to grips to this world of speeding metal boxes. And it's a safe bet that his grandson lives in Nairobi hustling to make money however he can so that he has enough to send back to his wife in the country side to pay for their kids' school fees. When you step back and look at this world with that progression in mind you start to appreciate how far many areas have come and understand why certain things don't happen faster. The other big reason I want to talk about Africa itself is to show that there is more to it than AIDS, dictators, abject poverty and genocide. Unfortunately recent and current history has provided enough of those tragic happenings that these widely held Western perceptions aren't completely misplaced. Still, it is not accurate for the vast majority of this continent's inhabitants and even when the perception might be accurate it is grossly misunderstood. While I certainly can't speak on behalf of all of Africa, I can speak with some authority on the tiny sliver that I've been immersed in for over a year now, which is probably fairly representative of a number of other parts where people are struggling to simply lead happy and fruitful lives, with the hopes that their efforts will make things at least a little better for future generations.
Before I go I absolutely need to mention that the library is officially and completely finished! I don't think me extending one more thank you to all those that supported this effort will really be doing much of anything, so instead I will share the short thank you note a student wrote to Ade Otenaike and Wings of the Dawn. Tobias Isika is exactly the type of student I have in mind when I say something like "this library can change lives!" It will be a very nice thing to many many people, but to someone like Tobias who's very curious, very ambitious and works hard, a library just might be the outlet he needs to develop and reach his potential in life. He's already finished a few of the Harry Potter books and every week his name is all over the library log. This note was addressed to Ade, but the message certainly goes out to everyone who contributed:
I would like to thank you on behalf of all the library going addicts in Nduluku Secondary. Warning this to you means I am the most addicted due to your generosity for equping our libary. Words alone could not express how grateful I am for the opportunity you have given us (especially me). It has boosted my creativity and increased my knowledge at an alarming rate. It has also enabled me to see the world in a whole new perspective. May the Almight God bless you. Amen.
Tobias Isika
Looking back at my old posts I think I've done a decent job of telling the story of what I go through over here. My trials, my tribulations, my victories, my failures; all the emotions evoked in the process. However I noticed I really have neglected one of the major characters in this whole experience, which is tragic for reasons beyond poor story telling. There's an actor that shapes literally every single day's events, yet I mention her in passing as a part of some specific story. Shameful. And the aggrieved one is Kenya, of course. I've provided bits and pieces on landscapes and a general sense of what the people are like, but nothing trying to explain what Africa is in reality. Part of the reason I've largely left this alone is that so much here is so different from life in America that there is no point of reference I can offer to make understanding any easier. Despite the fact that a lot of the things about Africa just wont make sense to the American perspective, I still think it's worth trying to explain. First of all this place really is fascinating for a ton of reasons. You have these many different traditional African cultures surrounding the bastion of modernity of Nairobi, with each trying to maintain some of the uniqueness of their own identities all while coalescing around modern principles of education, opportunity and equality. To me nothing represents that better than the tiny old man with a bow and arrows who got on the same bus as me a few weeks back. Now that man is what you might call old school. He probably travels armed because as a young man he was a clan warrior who had the responsibility of protecting cattle from raiders, now just hasn't come to grips to this world of speeding metal boxes. And it's a safe bet that his grandson lives in Nairobi hustling to make money however he can so that he has enough to send back to his wife in the country side to pay for their kids' school fees. When you step back and look at this world with that progression in mind you start to appreciate how far many areas have come and understand why certain things don't happen faster. The other big reason I want to talk about Africa itself is to show that there is more to it than AIDS, dictators, abject poverty and genocide. Unfortunately recent and current history has provided enough of those tragic happenings that these widely held Western perceptions aren't completely misplaced. Still, it is not accurate for the vast majority of this continent's inhabitants and even when the perception might be accurate it is grossly misunderstood. While I certainly can't speak on behalf of all of Africa, I can speak with some authority on the tiny sliver that I've been immersed in for over a year now, which is probably fairly representative of a number of other parts where people are struggling to simply lead happy and fruitful lives, with the hopes that their efforts will make things at least a little better for future generations.
Before I go I absolutely need to mention that the library is officially and completely finished! I don't think me extending one more thank you to all those that supported this effort will really be doing much of anything, so instead I will share the short thank you note a student wrote to Ade Otenaike and Wings of the Dawn. Tobias Isika is exactly the type of student I have in mind when I say something like "this library can change lives!" It will be a very nice thing to many many people, but to someone like Tobias who's very curious, very ambitious and works hard, a library just might be the outlet he needs to develop and reach his potential in life. He's already finished a few of the Harry Potter books and every week his name is all over the library log. This note was addressed to Ade, but the message certainly goes out to everyone who contributed:
I would like to thank you on behalf of all the library going addicts in Nduluku Secondary. Warning this to you means I am the most addicted due to your generosity for equping our libary. Words alone could not express how grateful I am for the opportunity you have given us (especially me). It has boosted my creativity and increased my knowledge at an alarming rate. It has also enabled me to see the world in a whole new perspective. May the Almight God bless you. Amen.
Tobias Isika
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