Kenyans used to live in harmony and would always be reminded of elections after every five years, but today, politics is like breakfast, so frequent that it has been made an everyday thing that is recited in churches, weddings, funerals, bars and in all social gathering.
It has sunk deeply in people’s mind so much that,.. they even have forgotten to demand their other basic rights like access to free health, able to travel in good roads, easy access to clean drinking water and many more other lacking basic amenities.
The same disease has now spread to the Diaspora and if you are an active member of whatsapp group, you will outright tell that no one is really 100 percent chasing the American dream.
Many have reached at the crossroads of the American dream and the Kenyan everyday boiling pot of politics.
In these groups it’s different to the Kenyan situation though due to the fact that people don’t meet eye to eye but at times, you can gauge through reading, the level of antagonism and tribalism that exist in Diaspora.
You can clearly see tribalism, ignorance, a lot of hate and infighting among people in the Diaspora where an advice is escalated and taken as jealousy or bad advice. Love still exist in Diaspora though but the same is only shown in times of tragedies.
Basing on the fact that we show outright tribalism in groups, it will be hard for the Diaspora if given a chance, ….to vote for development conscious people and just like it’s the case in Kenya, they will only vote along tribal lines and not on development records of individuals.
People are holding seminars and discussion in whatsapp groups to push for a Diaspora constituency and vote but the same may be an exercise in futility.
It will only end up as a waste of time and resources as the outcome may not be of any impact to bring about the much needed change in Kenya.
We are simply trying to improve lives of those that we left behind without asking ourselves ….and who is improving ours?
Diaspora is asking for too much and yet, the basic things like passports, ID are not easy to get as Kenyans have to travel long distances incurring a lot of money while trying to renew them. Those are the urgent felt needs and not Diaspora voting or Diaspora constituencies and we can convince the Government to put in place simple temporally Huduma centers in all states.
To stress further, voting in a small country like Kenya (which is the size of Texas) is not all that transparent and if Diaspora is included in the ballot, it will complicate matters even further and therefore not achieve much.
It may also be used as an easy avenue to rigging and no one will really know or even question the outcome.
Kenyans in the Diaspora should not be derailed and dragged into Kenyan politics for they will only end up not pursuing their dreams and inspirations in life.
We already have enormous problems in the Diaspora that we cannot even solve.
We have for example a lot of homeless Kenyan people.
We have people struggling with depression.
We have people fighting their drug related problems, unemployment, divorce, un-affordable insurance, suicide, murder, moral decay, a lot of unmarried single ladies , tribal churches, morally wrong foreign ideologies, a lot of unmarried men and so many ills that are not even reported.
Those are the issues we need to be concerned about and address them while solving them as much as we can.
We all must realize that we left Kenya on our own will, …some were escaping from poverty, tyranny, genocide even, while others came in search for greener pastures after winning the green card lottery.
All except a few that came with scholarships and some that thought the green card lottery was an avenue to something else, had not left Kenya because they had a luxury lifestyle there, but were eager to discover the American dream.
After arriving and discovering that the American dream was just sheer hard work combined with a lot of struggle, many became caught up with a split lifestyle of constant imagination between the Kenya we left behind and the America we were trying to settle down.
Memories of the past and sweet success stories of colleagues we left behind, somehow started dominating,… constraining and haunting our minds and finally made many not to fully delink Kenya and concentrate fully on the pursuit of the American dream.
The imagination of going back and competing with colleagues that eventually made it, kept haunting many but they soon forgot that they had children that outright saw America as their promised land. The America they saw in movies and now living in it just like the movie stars they would at times admire is ineffable experience to the young generation.
That is the generation now we are raising here in America and the sweet stories you hear about Kenya and success of others, the tasty nyama choma you miss, the farmers choice sausage you miss, the Tusker beer you miss, the company you miss, is your fantasy world not theirs.
They know America now and to tell them of some paragons far away to convince them otherwise and even at a later date, to complicate and involve them with Kenyan politics, is just deceiving yourself.
Many will not even tell you who the Vice President of Kenya is for that matter as it’s of no relevance to them. Simply it’s a generation with no relevance to Kenya, nothing to miss, and to make them admire Kenya is like choosing a partner for them.
We will all the same try to make them aware of where they came from by giving them identity cards and even passports just in case they will one day be inquisitive to discover the world they left behind….. Other than that there is nothing more we can do to convince them to love a country they never had much attachment or affection to.
DIASPORA VOTING
At this point, I now introduce the Diaspora voting and the enlightened will agree with me that those agitating are the age group that left Kenya while in their middle ages not long ago,… and so it will be an effort in futility to push for a Diaspora vote for a generation that will soon be no more.
In another 20 years, the children that came to America with green card lottery or through asylum, will have no reality with the Kenya we are currently urging the Government so strongly to introduce a Diaspora vote.
It will only happen if the Government is keen to introduce a constituency or counties in America but if it did, how will Kenya benefit and who will pay the office bearers?…. The Government is even trying to reduce the constituencies in Kenya and one wonders how they can now start creating them in the Diaspora whose size is the entire Africa.
Is the Government 2030 Diaspora policy vision in line with that kind of thinking that we are agitating for and if not, introducing Diaspora voting or constituencies will just be wasting time as explained above.
We already are governed by a system and introducing some other foreign Kenyan constituencies in the Diaspora will complicate matters even further.
The reports we get about Diaspora remittances somehow make many to believe that the Government should do something to reciprocate as a gesture of appreciation forgetting the fact that the people that benefit are the cousins.
The cousins that the Government improve their infrastructure and their way of life as the money you send, end up maybe in bars. The Government only later get it in form of taxes as no one in Diaspora is taxed or even made to send money direct to Government. Those having properties that are taxed, benefit from the services the Government put in place.
It is also a fact that the Government earn extra foreign currency to boast their GDP but the benefactors are not those in the Diaspora, but the same cousins that you are trying to help so in effect you are improving the lifestyle of people you left home and not yourself.
If all in the Diaspora stopped remittances, the Government will not stop its functions not even one day as the same will only affect your cousins and your business if any and that is a fact.
Diaspora are concentrating too much on their cousins and brothers and forgetting their own welfare. They are sending too much money home and denying themselves their own welfare as the same money can be used in the Diaspora to start business that will help their children.
TIME WE GO SLOW ON OUR COUSINS WAKE UP AND COPY THE JEWS BLUEPRINT.
Well it has been said before and I will hereby repeat without elaborating.
When the Jews arrived in America, the majority of them vowed to make America their home.
There were instances of those that were tied by memories of their past and even convinced young men to join liberation wars but the majority started forming communities.
They did it so aggressively that with time, they got wealthy and slowly started even taking over Government civic seats and finally to shorten since I had earlier talked about it, the Jews control America up to this day.
They have Jews schools, Jews Universities, Jews Hospitals, transportation, wholesaling, warehousing and anything you can think of that is spread from Washington to Maine and Florida to California.
They would not have done that if they remained entangled by politics and experiences of where they originated from.
They can now sponsor an American President and it was an obvious fact that Obama campaign was greatly sponsored by the Jews.
If we are to copy the Jews example, it is a high time we delink Kenyan politics and concentrate on forming communities that will help our future generations.
As of now it seems that we are only thinking of ourselves in our old age and forgetting our children completely.
There are some heavily investing in Kenya and forgetting that they are not investing for their children as they will never settle in there.
The land you are heavily developing will not be of benefit to the kids raised here as it will only create animosity and a prolonged struggle for ownership for they will later fight with their cousins they don’t even know over those properties.
If it’s clear with no ownership struggle, it will still not be a viable investment all the same due to the distance and a more ideal investment can be achieved right here.
If its not clear ownership (like in most cases when we pass on), the cousins, and especially nephews will have an upper hand for they will be in Kenya and as you know the court system that drag cases, the American kids will get tired of such court cases and will not even attend. They will then eventually loose the cases and the property you sacrificed to put up with a 3 shift job. ,,,or the loan you took and paid through the hard way.
What I am trying to stress here is to make people see the reality and hence leave politics and far away investments to the people it will eventually benefit for the same will not help our future generation that we are raising here in America.
If your family is in Kenya, and you will eventually settle in Kenya, then there is every reason to invest but if not, you are just putting your hard earned cash where its not supposed to be utilized.
It is our country all the same and just as the Jew vowed to be returning every year to Sorbibor and elsewhere, we should simply not over invest but just have a basic holiday home for yourself.
The holiday home as I always stress should be located in a place where no landlord or Government agent will knock at your door.
I will continue telling all to leave politics to those in Kenya and concentrate on how to advice and assist the Kenyan American generation on how to survive in America.
Incase you are financially stable, help them get a house that they will be able to pay within a short time and if not, convince them to study good degrees that will enable them to get good paying jobs.
To the folks that have passed 50 years and still struggling to get a mortgage house, just chill for you will not own that house in your lifetime. This is due to the fact that the life expectancy is getting lesser and lesser and your choice of house may not be your children choice as they will move away and settle in other States.
Those that read, heard me and those that read only the headline will never get my point and will continue making the same mistakes many have done and continue making.
Devise a resolution of not getting trapped and disturbed by debates on succession in Kenya for you will be derailed,… as you get assimilated and brainwashed in the process to an extent that you will eventually, forget your set up goal.
The final decision of the election outcome if a good electoral process is put in place in Kenya, will be a true reflection of the wishes of the people and all we can do is to encourage them and if the people are dissatisfied then that is the time we can join in petitioning and assist with signatures.
If they strongly feel the Chinese invasion is an issue, it will surely start with them and then we will join in to protest as Kenya is still our home.
Let change start from those that are greatly affected and then we can support them if we feel it’s necessary.
Kenyans will in the end endorse their choice and as they do it, we in the Diaspora will not be derailed. We will still continue forming our own strong resourceful communities here in America for our future generations.
INVESTMENTS
There are groups here in America with visions already put in place and those are the ones that are thinking of our future generations but those buying remote land in Nanyuki and deep in Maasai communities, are just selfish and thinking about themselves.
They are just complicating the lives of their children who are focused in settling in America and mixing them with future battles of ownership far way. They are introducing them to join a battle they cannot win.
To summarize,…do not get derailed by Kenyan politics and don’t even imagine that getting a Diaspora to run for President will solve the Kenyan problem, as all after getting the top seat get a unique kind of plague that make them victims of irresistible greed.
Who is willing to form strong Kenyan communities here in America for our future generation? If you will not join the sages just do it your own way and invest where your children will not leap.
Communities that will eventually yield our own unique school system, recreation, community churches, run for civic seats, US representative, Mayors and even Governors and communities that can be done in all states if only we can unite.
Many may talk of integration with other communities but the American constitution also guarantees freedom of association and assembly and Kenyans should take advantage of that protection like the Jews and Semite have done it all over United States.
The future of Diaspora youth is right here but the future of the elderly is a peaceful retirement place where you own a dwelling in Kenya without a mortgage or made to pay property taxes. ( Give the elderly a break they have paid taxes for too long)
This is also in line with our beliefs that after life, we must be closer to where our ancestors are buried. When you reach the age when ailments start striking, don’t waste time but just take a flight to be closer to where you will finally rest and that way, you will help in solving a lot of heavy burden that is always left to people in the Diaspora.
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IF YOU MUST VOTE:
Those that really want to vote can as well take a holiday to Kenya to effectively express their democratic rights while campaigning on the ground instead of campaigning in whatsapp group that is not known to that man in Turkana who slept hungry.
We will only be wasting our time to send people to Kenya to improve the welfare of those we left behind as we will only be improving their welfare for they will soon forget that they too were in the Diaspora.
If it’s a calling, and you really need to help Kenyans just leave the American dream and settle for the Kenyan dream and that way, you will be near the many suffering that need help.
We have seen Governors and even Presidents who were once in the Diaspora and after getting into high offices, they have no time for people in the Diaspora.
Diaspora voting Kenyan representatives,… let it be a dream for dreamers and never a reality.
Kenyans it’s time we stop following two paths like the hyena in the story for if we don’t we will always be struggling without making any meaningful impact.
In conclusion I will borrow Reverend Wambui’s sentiments and I copy:
We do not have much control to issues back home. Actually we can be more effective here as we objectively look at our country. America is our area of influence and we should be more concerned with the welfare of the kids we are raising here bearing in mind that they can never settle in Kenya when we are no more.
My conclusion is similar and will advise those investing in Kenya to do so if they have children ready to settle there but if not, they are only doing it for themselves or simply giving headaches to their children at a later stage.
To the dreamers agitating for a Diaspora vote, continue rehearsing old fashioned 1970 movie “Cotton comes to Harlem” and call me the day it will be open to the public.
It may never happen for its simply a bridge too far!
May what you read don’t go beyond your conscience.
We fail because we do not try!
D.K. GITAU
PRESIDENT
Kenyan Parents in USA
