From the Field: Chuck Norris Reporting

For those that are keeping score, this is my first entry into the Team Feth blog. There’s been a ton of things to write about, but I’m usually inspired while walking or driving somewhere and nowhere near a computer. For instance, everywhere you drive around Nairobi and really most of Kenya, the dirt is a striking bright red. It has the ability to stain everything, including all the what-was-once-white walls lining old colonial homes and buildings, my black dress shoes from the walks to lunch, and light colored shirts if you accidently lean against anything (which I somehow do often).

Another observation that has been visible from many conversations and experiences is that Kenyans are very religious. I think they always have been, even before outside cultures began to have influence. On the coast, the people are fervently muslim as a result of centuries of contact and rule by Arabic traders sailing from the north. In the rest of the country, people are strongly Christian. Prayers are said in public schools before assemblies, at work before beginning activities for the day (i.e., YWE slum outreach), and before meals. Christianity is embraced and discussed openly, with no embarrassment or awkward hypersensitivity. I was told before coming to Africa that Africans were beginning to send their own missionaries back to the US. I have no doubt this is true.

Many African Christians are born-again. I didn’t understand what this term really meant until we moved here. I don’t really agree with the concept but haven’t said anything when I’ve been asked if I’m “born-again”. I thought the first time was good enough. While conceptually I fundamentally disagree with a do-it-yourself theology, a concern around works and law seems to be a very healthy thing here since so many of this country’s men are in the grip of alcoholism, promiscuity is killing the young and old, and poverty is pushing people to the edge of rationale behavior, most visibly demonstrated through the ubiquitous theft, rising violent crime, and the general consensus of a near-brush with civil war following the last presidential election a year-and-a-half ago.

Another point of interest has been people’s jobs, or the lack thereof in many cases. Based on the CIA Factbook, 40% of Kenyans are unemployed and 50% of Kenyans live below the poverty line, which by the way is ~$2.50 USD per person per day. Jobs are scarce and those that do exist, don’t tend to pay well. This has created a very entrepreneurial society out of necessity. Most people have their own business doing things like buying rice in bulk from the city and selling smaller buckets of it to towns in the country, slum rent collectors, suit importers and resellers, and clothing manufacturers (these businesses are all from people we know here).

I also witness the chaos of traffic everyday on my way to and from work. The traffic jams here are almost as bad as LA due to the limited infrastructure (i.e., lack of highways, city bypasses) and complete disregard for traffic laws. There are traffic lights, but they are ignored. Most intersections are round-abouts, which is always a life-or-death experience that is little more than a game of chicken with the cars already on the roundabout or attempting to enter. The technique is to push your way in while watching the cars flying at you and gauging their intent to actually hit you. There’s a point where a decision has to be made whether the on-coming traffic will take your bluff and slow / stop for you or whether you have to slam on the breaks. The best strategy is to use the car next to you, also trying to enter the round-about, as a blocker. Since lane demarcations are also ignored, there are typically multiple lanes of traffic entering the round-about at anytime, making this a useful strategy. I’ve also witnessed driving on the wrong side of the street to bypass long lines, even when on-coming traffic is coming, and passing cars in the dirt birm on the side of the street. Police are noticeably absent here until you hit the highways outside of town, then you encounter road blocks randomly checking to make sure your papers are in order. These roadblocks multiply as the end of the month approaches and bills need to be paid at home.

Police corruption is plentiful and I think must be part of the job description when interviewing. Police aren’t paid much under I believe the same system of reasoning that has led to waiters and waitresses in the States being paid $2.50 per hour. The example starts with the politicians who are considered to be some of the most corrupt in Africa. It’s widely accepted that the tribal violence that almost led to war after the last election was motivated by politicians paying the poor for votes and making any negative media coverage into a tribal issue. Promises were made of taking land from one tribe and giving it to the poor of another tribe. This land grabbing has been happening since independence and is the root of a lot of deep resentment among the tribes. However, tribalism is actually pretty limited on the surface and most people seem to be ready to move past it and no longer want to be counted by tribe. However, with every election, the politicians stir the pot and old anger flares up.

When I first arrived, a Kenyan who I deem to be a sensible and intelligent person told me he believed the country would be better off with a benevolent dictator. I thought he was nuts at the time and I had so many ideological problems with his statement, that I chose just to keep quiet. After 2 months of living here, I’m starting to get a good understanding of the scope and complexity of the political problems. I also have a good feel for the widely held hope and intelligence of the people here, and the potential just a few fundamental changes could make to the quality of life. Though technically democratic (although the obvious vote-rigging of the last election makes this statement a bit null), the unbalanced power of the executive office, coupled with the tribalism, greed, and cronyism of the legislature, amount to at best, an incompetent and dysfunctional government, and at worst a self-serving pseudo-dictatorship. The people want better and deserve better. Furthermore, I’ve seen how safe and clean Rwanda is with what amounts to a benevolent dictator. The progress they’ve made is especially remarkable given that the atrocity of tribal genocide and civil war was less than 15 years ago. I haven’t yet abandoned my American idealism, but I certainly understand his point, which has been forged from years of frustration rather than 2 months.

Kenya truly is a beautiful country. Despite its political troubles, the culture, the landscape, the wildlife, and the Kenyan people all have much to offer and seem to be at an inflection point.

As Jalyn and I move on to our next adventure, I’m sure we’ll be thinking a lot about Kenya and doing quite a bit of comparing and contrasting. We’re both looking forward to watching this country continue its development.

CN