BWIRE: Time President assured Asian community of their safety

An equivalent of Patel at Biashara Street would be more than happy to call Kioko and Mutua to quickly carry for you the items you have bought from him, at no extra cost, and definitely its up to you the buyer to tip the two.

In other words, whether amongst each other or with our Asian brothers and sisters, the point is we have co-existed, we are co-existing and we will still co-exist forever.

Shock on me. Here I am in a beautiful foreign country in Europe and as any visitor in a foreign place, getting to know how to adjust to the different systems, what is convenient, what is not, is no mean feat. To settle down, both residents and immigrants have been of great help.

Once you however understand the systems and culture of your new temporary or permanent home then you are good to go. And on the plus side, you get to learn a lot and see how technological advancement, which others call disruption, is actually a good thing.

Where I am, in Sweden, everything's constant, people co-exist, qualified immigrants are incorporated into the system and employment is based on merit and honesty. Amenities are there to be used, enjoyed and appreciated by all and sundry who are here naturally, by birth or legally. Human rights is a very big factor in the Swedish society.

My statements above come in the wake of the current tiff between the President William Ruto and the Indian community in Kenya. Many people, through social media, have condemned his remarks against sugar billionaire Jaswant Rai, especially ‘the ‘aende mbiguni’ statement. Or maybe he was just misunderstood, or it wasn’t that serious?

The opposition, led by Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo and Kitui's Enock Wambua, even went ahead to condemn the remarks, saying that they pose a threat to investors in the country and want the President to apologise.

The 21st century has come with some of the most controversial identity issues. There are a whole lot of identity-related problems that we can draw insights from in contemporary times.

The ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, ethnic-based genocide in Rwanda, ethnic-politics in Ethiopia leading to internal displacement and violent conflict from 1991 to present.

There is also the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, Brexit in the UK leaving the EU membership, ‘far-right extremism’ in the US and Europe and religious fundamentalism in various parts of the world, all these are very reflective of identity-related problems in the world.

These identity and diversity issues need to be analysed, scientifically examined and appropriately understood based on historical contexts before any reckless statements are made. Most Indians in Kenya call Kenya home. For most of them, it’s the only home they know of given the existing historical issues, such as their ancestors coming here to trade, and those that came to build the railway.

While understanding the meaning and relevance of identity-related challenges requires special attention, managing them in the Kenyan context necessitates innovative approaches and transformational leadership skills, which includes tolerance, curiosity and open-mindedness. Regardless of the bone of contention, the Kenyan heart always has space to accommodate and forgive.

 

Communications researcher and scholar currently pursuing Peace and Development Work Studies in Sweden