Kenya Stockholm Blog

My heart bleeds today when I read and hear what is happening in our beloved country Kenya.  Kenya as we have all known, has been a peaceful country though we have had problems here and there.
 
Dear Kenyans, it is now a matter of life and death.  Our country is collapsing as we watch.  I appeal to all Kenyans around the world particularly those in Stockholm that  let us forget our tribal differences, join hands together as Kenyans and save our country.
 
It is not about Raila Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, Daniel arap Moi and other Kenyan leaders. It is about our country.  This time, it is not about ODM and PNU. It is about our beloved brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, neighbors and all Kenyans affected in the situation. 

People are being brutally killed, property is being destroyed and we are here enjoying the peace which the white man has created.  We enjoy good facilities, we move freely and sleep peacefully.  Kenyans today do not move freely, they sleep in fear while they no longer know what peace is. 

I would like to drive some points home by looking at the definitions of the following words: Tribe, Tribalism and Primitive.

The Oxford Guide to the English Language defines “Tribe” as a racial group especially in a primitive culture living as a community under one or more chiefs; set or class of people.

When we look at this definition, we notice that this is exactly what exists in our country and it is unfortunate.  We still have chiefs who order the administration police to humiliate people in the village.  This definition fits what is happening in our country today.

“Tribalism” is a word which has become a thorn in our flesh.  Wikipedia defines tribalism as the very first social system that human beings ever lived in and it has lasted much more longer than any other kind of society.  It is sad to note that tribalism is very much alive in our country and it is the source of all the deaths that we are now experiencing.

Wikipedia continues to say that conflict in tribal societies can never achieve absolute scale of civilized warfare.  Can one Kenyan come to his or her senses and agree with me that this is really degrading since this definition fits exactly what is happening in our country? 

Lawrence Keely in his book “War before civilization” wrote that tribal violence is much more lethal.  This is true, when we look at the current happenings in Kenya.  It is so lethal that it has cost hundreds if not thousands of lives.

Tribalism as a sense of identity can clearly play a big role in motivation of aggressive wars and some examples are the second world war and the slaughter of the Cathars by the Crusaders in 1209Ad, says Wikipedia.  Ordinary Kenyans, are we heading there? Are we about to start our own Kenyan war or our own slaughter?

“Primitive” is a subjective label used to imply that one thing is less sophisticated or less advanced than some other thing.  Primitive culture is one that lacks major signs of economic development or modernity.  In Kenya today, we believe that a particular tribe is more sophisticated than the other and that is why we think or believe one particular tribe should lead the country. 

I believe we are a primitive culture because we lack major signs of developments.  Look at our roads.  It takes eternity and real hell to travel on our Kenyan roads. Look at our economy, it is down to the rocks.  The gap between the rich and the poor is so wide. One does not need to go far, just compare the salaries of our Members of Parliament and Medical doctors.  Is it fair?  All these pitfalls have been brought about by tribalism.

Tribalism is lethal and it clouds one’s mind.  One can never think beyond tribal factors if one is a tribalist.  Tribalism makes one proud and mean. It makes one greedy too and that is exactly what is happening in Kenya today.
Dear Kenyans, I call upon you to think wisely. Let us join hands and fight against bloodshed in our beloved country.  Let us build a Kenya that will be comfortable for all.  At the end of all these, we will all go back to Kenya.
 
What type of a country do we want to go back to? What type of a country would we like to invest in? What happened to the Kenyan pride?  What happened to the most beautiful country in Africa?  Kenyans have been known to be hospitable for a long time. How are we known today? What type of image are we projecting to the world?

My plea goes to Kenyans all over the world and particularly in Stockholm.  I call upon all Kenyans who love our country to join the new Movement that was formed recently.  It is called  “Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in Kenya (MOREDEK). 

It is not political. We want to look at ways of ending the current bloodshed in our country.  We want to end this thorn in our flesh called tribalism and that is why this Movement is relevant.  All Kenyans are welcome to join hands and work towards the restoration of democracy and pride in our beloved country.

Our country is in tears, who will save our country?  We are the ones to do it and this means acting now.

Chebet Keter.