Probably, the oldest tradition that has been binding members of the Kenya-Stockholm community is the harambee tradition, a communal collection of funds by friends in solidarity with a countryman especially during tragedy such as bereavement. In the past, once word went out that a member of the community was in difficulty and needed help, Kenyans descended with open wallets in support.
The most common situations that could trigger a harambee includes the demise of a close relative or the death of a Kenyan in Stockholm, prompting the need for the body to be transported to Kenya for burial in line with the Kenyan tradition. When you lose a brother, a sister, a mother or a father, sympathy among Wakenya is always almost spontaneous with streams of condolences pouring in as well wishers throng the residence of the bereaved to comfort the victim with kind words of encouragement and financial support. The situation is normally followed by the setting up of a “Funeral committee”, “bankrolling” to finance harambee activities and the actual fund raising being organized at a specific date.
If you have to travel home because you have lost a loved one, the psychology at home has it that you are coming with the necessary Kwachazz to help off-set the funeral expenses because relatives at home believe that here in the land of the white man, money flows like water in river Nile and what you have to do is just to scoop it!
A big mistake is that you have never bothered to explain that you break your back at MacD every day, 8 hours a day to make them pennies or do the rounds at Scandic Hotel washing at least 5,000 dishes everyday so that every month, you can make that trip to Western Union to wire them Kwachazz for your sister to go to school or to fix that leaking roof of your mother which has never been attended to because the government’s poverty reduction programs have failed to make an impact in your district.
During each and every holiday, you make things worse and raise expectations when, after saving some little cash to carter for your expenses when you go holidaying, you spend like you are a millionaire back in Stockholm or the son of King Gustav the 19th. You marvel your temporary acquaintances who flock around you to have their cut of the action by maintaining (continuously) a forest of beer bottles on the table at the most expensive restaurant known in town during your trade-mark social treats before you depart in a taxi. To be sure, the spending is normally synchronized with the number of days you are “in the country” and when you begin to smell Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, cash also begins to dry up.
When a relative kicks the bucket and you have to fly to the mother land to attend the funeral, you know that you have unrealistically “raised standards” and this means that when you arrive, you are under pressure to ensure that the same impact felt during holidays ought to be replicated when you are back mourning and this is where the Kenya-Stockholm pals could come in handy with their open wallets.
A Tit for tat game
The sudden death has happened at a “critical corner” of the month and you cannot even raise money for your air ticket. Although you have never seen the inside of a Stockholm church in recent times, you begin to pray to the almighty Jesus that your friends come to your rescue and Kenyans have always been responding well.
The difference now is that of late, the harambee magic has not been working as before, partly because of the global economic crisis, changing Kenya-Stockholm attitudes towards harambees and new inter-personal equations influenced over time by both events and circumstances.
At the level of global economic crisis, this is where you get rising standards of living in Sweden in the face of stagnant wages. A survey revealed that almost every Kenya-Stockholmer in permanent employment has taken out a bank loan that is digging a huge hole in the personal budget every month. Combined with other regular bills, many Kenyans (just like Swedes) are finding it difficult to have access to residual cash they can spend on every harambee that pops up.
Cash to sustain repeated trips to Vasa Temple is becoming limited and some Kenyans have actually disappeared from the Temple, opting to pray “in private” after purchasing the holy water from systembolaget. The language is “I am taking it izzi kwa keja” while it should be “I seh, I am just too broke to get out of my flat this week-end”.
During these difficult times, when you get an SMS about a harambee, you immediately cast the needy subject into your mental centrifuge to assess whether there is a necessity for you to chip in. You therefore begin to evaluate your personal relationship with the bereaved Kenyan to establish his/her status within your list of Kenya-Stockholm contacts.
The process is easy. At one time, you were faced with a similar situation when you needed help and you have a line up of friends who came to your rescue. You begin to “google” the name of the subject in the list and you discover that the chap never came close to your door-step during your hour of need. This leads you to a decision that you don’t have to disturb your wallenje because if the subject let you down at a moment of grief, it is time for him/her to bite the dust. Once you discover that you are under no obligation to visit the bankomat for the week end, you pick your phone and call a trusted friend. It’s time to “measure” the rhythms on the gossip wire.
“John Bosko has a harambee but me I am not going”, you open up, probably sipping holy water from the safety of your den. “There are too many harambees and nowadays I sample where to go”, you continue. Thank God because your friend understands your position. Your guess that you are sailing in the same boat as far as help is concerned was correct because John Bosko is in your friend’s “Black list”.
“There are people who enjoy others here in Stockholm and you are very right. I am also not going because when my brother died, John Bosko never came while he never even called to pass his condolences”, your friend blurts with a serious tone before you take over graciously.
“These days it’s a tit for tat game in Stockholm”, you try to strengthen the point. Instead of leaving it there, you open the propaganda tool box to find more damning excuses. “John Bosko huringa because he thinks he is better than other Kenyans. Wacha ajizike”, you cleverly change the frequency as your pal gets the tune and increases the volume.
“I have a List so give me a call”
The main problem is that one of your spies told you that John Bosko had been going around saying that you have become an alkizz. The truth is that you are drinking too much but you have chosen to remain locked in the denial chamber so when John Bosko spoke the truth, you took offence instead of trying to reduce your alcoholism. The difference is that your friend has a different kind of problem with John.
“Personally, I have made a decision that I am not going because after all, I don’t need him. He doesn’t pay my bills and besides, he bullshitted me at a Party in Sätra. Imagine, I was sitting with Pamela chatting and suddenly, he appeared from nowhere that he wanted to dance with her. The chick said that she didn’t feel like dancing and after he went away, he started telling Sam Pippo that I am interested in Pam”. The gossip-can begins to open up.
Another common excuse for not attending harambees is purely ethnic. If you have been rotating around the social circles, a process of ethnicization of harambees is slowly destroying this tradition. When a member of the Kikuyu community is faced with a harambee, you will hear Luos saying that “wacha wa Kikuyu wasaidie mutu yao” aka let the Kikuyu help their kith. What happens next is that you attend the harambee and you find that 90% of attendees are Kikuyu people. For the Luos, the excuse is that Kikuyus don’t attend Luo harambees so why bother? It does not take long before the tables turn and the cycle begins to repeat itself.
A Luo is faced with a harambee and it’s the turn of Wakikuyu to deliver that sweet revenge. It goes something like “Wacha Wajaluo wataenda kumsaidia”. Luos and Kikuyus are the largest ethnic groups in Kenya-Stockholm and following the post election violence, it’s been like Kikuyus are thieves who stole elections while for the Kikuyus, Luos are untrustworthy creatures who are perpetually power hungry with their Oginga Odinga and now, Raila Odinga conundrum. We are in Strockholm but the arguments that determine people’s associations are about political leadership in Kenya! A Kenyan is bereaved and you are like “Wakamba wajitete”, “Waluhya wachukue mamlaka”, “hiyo ni mambo ya Wakale” etc.
The good news is that there are Kenyans who have cut across the ethnic divide and show solidarity, not on the basis of ethnicity but on the basis of personal relationships and the uniqueness of the situation. These are the Martin Ngatias, the Hellen Opwapos, the Laban Mberis, the Dancun Munalas, the Grace Nyamburas, the Mark Gayas, the Clay Onyangos, the Catherine Maundus, the Lizz Onyangos, the Joseph Munenes and others whom you bump into at solidarity sessions regardless of the ethnic origin of the Kenyan in distress.
Obviously, attending every harambee is impossible because of obvious limitations but not doing so purely on ethnic grounds amounts to promoting ethnicity. While chasing away the fox, the hen must also be warned against wondering into the bush.
You don’t appear at any harambee and when you are in need, you expect Kenyans to come to your rescue. Honestly, this era appears to be gone for ever. The situation is so serious that when you are “never seen”, you might have “kujizika” when you pass-on because the “obligation” that a body has to be transported to Kenya for burial by Kenyans in Stockholm is becoming nostalgic.
We are in the era of “I don’t care”, “I have a list of friends”, “It doesn’t matter if I don’t attend” and “ameitisha harambee, atajizika juu haonekani”. Talk about it becoming radical because the general message here is that Wakenya lazima wajipange.
Since the beginning of the year, two Kenyans have been unable to travel home to bury their loved ones because people did not turn up for the harambees. Currently, a Kenyan is unable to travel home to bury his wife because “watu hawakuenda kwa harambee”. The body of another Kenyan is still in the morgue because “watu hawakuenda kwa harambee”. My case is rested because “I have a list” and if your name is missing, we need to talk and bolt up our friendship so give me a call otherwise don’t expect me. That is the modern Kenya-Stockholmer if you like.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
This is what is happenig in Stockholm you are 100% Bwana Osewe.
But how long shall we have harambees? Mswedeee gives a little percent to the state so that he/she can be buried onetime na mwombelezaji anabeba tu maua kwa mazisha. These harambee way should be take us to another side of mourning without sam pippo determining mourning with how much I give from my pocket.
I agree with u dame. its high tyme kenyans learn to take insurrance so that upon death enough chapaa is paid to pay expenses. pia sam pippo are known to have used wakenya ati their next of kin have passed but ni lies. wanajijua, i will not expose them here. the spirit of harambee is dying among wakenya wengi cause they have realised wanatumiwa
Hapo tabitha umenena, mambo ya kutumiana is bad news. a girl told kenyans ati her mum has passed which was a lie, only to relocate to london. a man whos fathee died long ago b4 he came to sweden called 4 a harambee and later locked himself kwa hao. he never went home cause there was no one to burry. mwingine called 4 a harambee ati bro ame die, got chapaa, went to kenya to enjoy himself. another one called 4 a hrmbee to pay debts ya krono cause he fought on a viking bout. the list is big. sasa what iz all dis. i strongly dnt thik ni ethynicity, its only wakenya wameamuka, ama fipi???
Its unfortunate we have been divide by our different tribes. Lets assist where we can sometimes people are broke and they don’t know what to do. There have been too many cases at the same time. KSB Please continue to put account numbers when you send out information for some who can’t go in person. Also those who receive help through transfers indicate in the contribution book for accountability purposes. love, peace and unity
Another side to the story is harambess that do not make much sense. There are Kenyans who have “made” it in Sweden and yet still chase after harambees when they have musiba. These guys drive the heaviest moti’s in town, buy designer clothes, take their families on holiday to exotic locations and have even managed to buy their own apartments or houses. They are seen in Kenyan occasions flashing their wares like the wabenzi in Kenya. Then they have the nerve to stretch out their hands to Kenyans ati saidia harambee. I am not jealous of their achievements but isn’t this behavior just pure exploitation? This guys often travel back home where they have projects that go to the tune of millions of shillings, lakini they still want harambee. Harambee has become free money from foolish Kenyans struggling with life in Sweden living from hand to mouth. Shauri yenu.
I agree with comments number two,Dame, three Tabitha & number six, Kenya damu, 100%! I need add no more! Chukueni bima so as to help ourselves..How can kenyans in Stockholm make it a habit that when one rela dies harambee…yaani don’t we never get it that our resources are limited!? Ndugu za nguni, We need to stop the misuse of our harambee spirt!
The Harambee spirit was a very good thing kenyans had, it was for gathering and part time socialization at the same time helping the needy and those who have been mis fortuned, be it flood relief, hunger, loss of loved ones, and Kenyans have responded properly.Unfortunately here in Papua New Guinea, Harembee has been turned in corning people of good faith, the organizers have lied to their fellow Kenyans and their friends,Relatives death in Kenya and else where, and yet they are building condos in Nairobi,Kitengela,Kisumu,Kpenguria and so forth Harambee has lost its mining in in this Country of Papua New Guinea.
I do not agree with Karume at all. How on earth can someone say ati mathee ame dedi when she is alive? wewe sema u r one of those who are against harambee. ur stori is not true kabisa.nimeishi hapa 10 yrs n hakuna kitu kama hio. wacha wewe.pls let harambee spirit live on. long live wakenya stoki
Unfortunately, there seems to be alot of comments based on pure hearsay with lots of imaginations in this debate. Take comment 6 kenya damu. Who are these rich people he/she is refering to?
I have been to several harambees, but havent met any of these miljondollar pippo! and how do you know what they have back home and why the curiosity? yet you are not jealous! The only sound contributor here is Tabitha who offers constructive solutions to the issue.
wakenya, lets agree to agree. watu wawache kutumia wengine so that the spirit will not die. Hiyo ni kumanisha watu wenye mapepe wachukuwe bima, but mtu asiye na mapepe akifa, basi tutachanga kwa roho safi.Birthday za watoto ziwe ni za watoto, za yuth ziwe za yuthi. I was at steve the other day and I congratulate him the way he oganised his pati, mayuth waliachwa peke wa njoy, just like cathy did th other day.Hii mabo ya harmbe tunaa kiwa toingele, dio isikufwe
koment nr 6 is wrong! who r this pipo? i thik kuna enemy wa divolpyment hapa, ama nimimi c eelewi
nyinyi nr 4 n 6 r pure enemies of maendeleo. J
Umenena ndugu Osewe. You put it so well that si elewi why people are attacking others. There is a lot of exploitation in harambees and what the article is saying is that know your friends hapa stocky. Good job and keep it up.
Since I am being asked to toa pesa in the spirit of harambee, dont I have any say? Recieving harambee contributions is not part of human rights. Lets call a spade a spade. Yes, nr 12 & 13 I am an enemy of maendeleo that is based on climbing on other peoples backs and sucking their blood like a “kupe”. I didnt see anyone at JKIA when I left for Sweden and didnt see anyone welcome me at Arlanda when I arrived. That is how well I know the Kenyans here, so I dont owe anyone anything. But I can be gracious and chip in when I feel the situation demands it and is merited. It is my choice. So i suggest you first sell your cars or properties or withdraw funds from your savings held in bank accounts here and in Kenya when faced with problems BEFORE you turn to wakenya for harambee. This is what morality is all about. Kwani wakenya in stockholm wamekuwa toliet paper to be used and discarded? Is this the development nr 12 & 13 want? Sio mimi! Be men and women of character and stand on your own two feet, kula jasho jako. Unfortunately with wakenya in Stokholm it seems begging, while calling it harambee, has become a character trait na hawana haya. Shame!
Why are some kenyans distroting this debate. People have a right to inform and call their friends when they lose a loved one, not necessarly to donate in harambees but to mourn together. During the process of consoling the family, friends have a right to chip in with whatever little help they can give, whether financial and moral. If I lose a close relative, I will still have to inform my friends to come and help me mourn even if I have a ticket. Attacking Kenyans with cars and talking about selling cars is idiotic to say the least. If you don’t want to attend a funeral, don’t go to a friends house. If you don’t have a car, get help from those who have so you can have one instead of uivu mingi. Some Kenyans are bure kabisa.
Why are you people complicating this thing. I don’t call friends because I want money. I call them because I am sad and lonely and need comfort. If others decide to donate, what is the problem? I encourage Kenyans not to shy away from telling close friends that they have lost close relatives. I know of a guy ambae huring sana juu ana drive taxi. When his father died, he never told anybody until he was back and guess what people were saying? that aende mbali na maringo juu how can your dad pass away and you fail to inform friends. Whichever way you do it, people will still tok shit so kwendeni huko. Either, stick in your house and don’t go anywhere or chose where you go instead of bringing cheap politics in this debate. Stop scaring Kenyans from calling frinds when wakifiwa. Nimesema.
@kenya damu but abroad!
l happen to understand u and ur comments and l agree there r those people who want 2 use others here.But, and l quote u on comment (15)you didn’t see anyone at jkia or arlanda) surely, do all kenyans living here need to go to arlanda and wave a placard everyday screaming all new kenyans , wellcome.Ofcourse u came here alone and l totally respect that.But u should also know that it can happen to u when u lose a close relative back home and u need to travel ASAP ASÅ.Then it normally happens when u’got nothing.l also saw that u have written about chipping in when u feel the situation is merited and thats positive.All l wanna say is, l have been to a death related harambee and that person after l was there everyday from work, helping with money, cooking, consoling, l was treated like shit after that. When the same person after one yr lost another close realtive, l decided not to appear coz once beaten, twice shy, so, l prayed to God in my home to give the family the strength.All the same, mazizi to a close relative is understable, and l don’t think those people if they had won 214million krs would ask 4 money.Those who use others , then u or the rest need not appear in thier harambee’s.Thanks Osewe 4 this article and don’t mind my spelling mistakes if any…lam in a hurry.PAMOJA WAKENYA…be blessed.Gladpåsk till alla.
Sasa what are these comment for? I mean nr 12 n13, 4 how long hv u bn here juu u dnt understand anything. We dnt want to put pippo names here sababu they know themselves. I do go to hrmbe but those dat r real
This article is just on the dot and thanks Osewe for calling a spade a spade. The harambee spirit is not dying. Kenyans are beginning kuchagua where they put their money. I don’t mind being part of whatever help a friend needs following death and i will continue to demand that my friends don’t keep me away from their grief especially if its a close one. But I am now not going everywhere simply because a Kenyan has said that my bla bla bla has passed away.
Nr. 15 I understand you, but how quick should your solutions materialize, i.e. if one was to sell the car or maybe the house, how quick could the affair materialize?Can you suggest quicker solutions because that is where we have no solution.
The percentage the swedish state spares for a person`s burial is always given immediately the person dies, i.e. it is always available.
For sure, harambee spirit should not die. Many have genuinely benefited. Waongo wachunguzwe na jina ziwe published! tuko mbali wazee. tuwache ukabila na tusaidiani kindugu. osewe keep up the spirit.
KSB: You r right. One rotten potato could spoil the whole sack!
bwana osewe pls dnt publish pippos names hapa, some one said wanajijua, so why publish??? italeta vita n we want peace
KSB: Peace Man, you can’t decide what is to be published/not published at KSB. Stop imaginery vitas out of nothing. If yr name has been published and you don’t like it, send mail so that I handle it maturely. Why should you complain when the newsmakers are not doing so? Stop playing net police. Which names are you referring to because the harambee article under which you are commenting has no names.