It was probably meant to be for me to watch the inauguration of President Obama from Africa the land of his forefathers. What more the day after his inauguration I found myself in Kenya in Nairobi. What I saw in the last few days gave credence to a believe that I hold dearly - the powers of inspiration and positive example.
The newspapers in Kenya went wild with Obama. After all, this is a country where a public holiday was declared on November 5, 2008 the day after Obama was elected. Every newspaper on 21 January 2009 had a picture of Obama taking his oath of office across the entire front page. 'The Standard' had it with the caption "Mr President". Its rival 'The Nation' had a similar picture with the caption "...so help me God". By the way, the two Kenyan newspapers in writing and design looked like an exact copies of The Star and the NST in Malaysia, right down to a logo for Kenya's "Vision 2030" on the side. But I digress. Inside, the coverage spanned 8-10 pages. The next day on 22 January 2009, it was the same - the whole front page was a picture from the balls and inside stories about Obama getting down to work although this time with only 6-7 pages of coverage!
Look closely though, Obama's impact on the African society is profound. Columnist and local intellectuals wrote self-questioning articles how Obama has shown Africans that, "yes we can (too)". They were inspired by how Obama could make it in the US and how it was a wake up call for their own country to change. They talked about Obama even as they discussed opportunity and corruption, race and poverty, education and national unity. One big headline declared, "Kenyans, don't just praise Obama, emulate him!"
I can only imagine what this day has done for millions of children all over Africa. What would they be thinking? What new possibilities has this planted in their young minds? What will this inspire them to do? And this is a continent of 1bn people; what would the impact on the world be if this lifted 10% or 20% or 50% of them to go beyon what has been stopping them to realise their potential?
Some of the commentators were clearly moved by his call to move beyond tribe and race. In Ethiopia, which takes pride in both its spirituality as well as its religious harmony, the headline from the inauguration (also above single picture front page spread) was "We are a nation of Jews and Christians, Moslems and Hindus...and non-believers" For some reason that must have struck a chord in their national discourse. There is a lot of self-reflection going on about race, tribe and religion. What astounded me the most was an article I read about nearby Burundi, where perhaps purely coincidental to Obama, the main opposition political party decided to drop the racial reference ("pelipehutu") from the name of the party. It's as if UMNO dropping the "M", MCA dropping the "C" and MIC dropping the "I". This is in a country where 130,000 perished in racial conflict less than 10 years ago.
I believe the impact is equally if not more powerful for the African-American community in the US and in Europe. Already there are reports of falling delinquency among boys in inner-city schools in LA last year after Obama started winning the primaries and the principle decided to talk to the kids using Obama was an example. In New York, there was a bump in test scores for black students in the previous year. It really helps that both Obamas made good despite coming from humble backgrounds. Growing up with grandparents in a broken home, or being raised by a single mother, or living in a small apartment in the inner city the daughter of a pump operator these are no longer excuses. Barack and his sister accumulated between then Columbia, Harvard and a Ph.D; that Michelle and her brother both went to Princeton and for post-graduate in Harvard and Yale. They are setting precious examples of progress and opportunity through education, hardwork and personal discipline. And this continues with the Obamas showing themselves to be a stable traditional family of good values and conscientious parenting styles. In a profound way, regardless of the fate of the presidency, they are showing and giving faith to millions that, "Yes we did and yes you can."
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2 comments:
Great story from africa. i just wonder how the kikuyu feel with a luo-American president. you said that kenya declared a holiday on Nov 5, will obama's presidency help to mend the century old hostility between the two tribes.
I am hopeful but not optimistic at this point. what is your gauge following your visit there.
Glad to see you on the post! Hahaha! I was just about to wonder if everything is OK not hearing from you for extended period!
I believe the root cause is injustice and corruption more than tribalism. As with 5-13 there were instigators among the political elements in the security forces preparing to cause trouble even before the vote.
Even today, there are still 300,000 displaced people too frightened to return to their old homes. I happen to sit next to the Australian High Commissioner on my flight out and with whom I had a wonderful conversation the entire flight, she says she has been to these camps and they are normal middle class people: school teachers, shopkeepers.
The riots last year disrupted the planting season last year - and along with drought and corruption - has resulted in famine in many parts of Kenya affecting 10% of the population. Corrupted ministers meant that emergency supplies of maize and cooking oils were not there when it was needed.
Parliament and the media is taking the government ministers and agencies to task for corruption. One Kenyan told me that Kenyans "manages" despite the best efforts of every corrupt government it has since independence. It's sad to think where its potential could have taken it otherwise.
The Australian High Commissioner thinks one big issue is the vicious cycle where MPs tend not to be re-elected so they loot as much as they can during their term in office which then justifies their removal by the constituents. I see this as a case of weak institutions plus top-down-and-bottoms-up corruption.
This is one of the more attractive aspects of Kenya: the educated middle class's continuing defense of the rule of law and democratic values. On the days when I was there, there was a debate in the papers and in the parliament about creating a parliamentary tribunal to investigate last year's poll/racial violence. At heart was the removing of parliamentary privileges from suspected perpetrators and that of vicarious liability where senior security officials for acts by their juniors. No doubt there is a lot of international pressure behind this, but I could not help but comparing this with the reign of impunity that followed 5-13.
I believe peace and reconciliation begins with a sense of justice, rule of law and democratic values being restored. More than tribalism, the conflict is about injustice and poor government.
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