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"Our country sinks beneath the yoke, it weeps, it bleeds and each new day, a gash is added to her wounds." Shakespeare (Macbeth).
7 comments:
here is the song you had in mind, Cicero, its by Billie Halliday:
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallow south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
It's hard to dispute what you say. There is a strong argument for enforcement of basic rules. But might it be the case that rule enforcement is encumbered by tribalism? The enforcers are human too and embedded within the norms that privilege kinship, clanship, and so on. The assumption behind western law is its detached application, but that standard is not always realized even where these laws come form. How much harder will that be in Kenya?
Here's a thought experiment that i find quite engaging:
GOING WITH THE GRAIN IN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT?
Tim Kelsall
Development Policy Review, 2008, 26 (6): 627-655
In view of the disappointing performance of the Good Governance agenda
in Africa, policy-makers are asking whether better results could be
obtained with approaches that attempt to ‘work with the grain’ of African
societies. This article explores what this might mean. It identifies a core set
of beliefs and values – concerning power, accountability and social
morality – that have proved extremely durable and remain powerful
drivers of behaviour across sub-Saharan Africa. It finds that, in general,
Western institutions sit ill with these traditions. The question is, therefore,
how to redirect development efforts so that they stop working against, and
start to build upon, the extant notions of moral obligation and
interpersonal accountability in the region.
It might be the case that the enforcers of these basic rules which would protect us from the harm of tribalism might already be compromised by tribalism but I believe any such compromise is only significant in so far as we condone it; in other words, a few people would be motivated to act unlawfully (by reason of being tribalists) if the repercussions were sure, clear and severe.
On your second point, as with technology and other "alien" things, we ought to find a way of adapting democracy to suit our establishments. But I do not see much of the basic tenets of democracy being inharmonious to our traditional establishments.
I however, do not see tribe as that big of a bond in the actual sense even though psychologically it obviously is. For instance, for most people, the only thing that identifies them with their tribe is the language...and those in urban areas might not even be familiar with their mothertongues - but nevertheless could still be fiercely loyal to their tribe at the expense of the nation.
Culturally, two young men living in Nairobi, a Luo and a "contemptuous one" one, have more in common than a Luo and a Kyuk both of whom have lived all their lives in Kisumu.
I sense an exaggeration when it comes to the CAUSE of the divisiveness of tribe. It is not as simple as ethno-cultural differences.
I fully agree with your sentiments. After Kenya went on to a mad fiasco. We were never the same again. History writers will write about Kenya with a key focal point on 2007 PEV.
We have a situation whereby tribalism has now become a policy in government. A country on the verge of collapse which now stands in ruin. The way forward is to apply the rule of law period. We have to start from the top by taking people to Hague whether they fanned violence or stole elections. This can act as a good lesson to Kenyan folks and to them that dont learn, we can then take them to local jails to face Justice.
For every action there have to be consequences, whether +ve or -ve.
The lack thereof of either, leads to no motivation to change.
Rule of law has to be enforced from the corridors of power to the remotest village in Kenya.
Then and only then can we curb the brink that we are currently wallowing towards.
I agree with you 100%. Living in SA where race is still an issue, the only thing that changed was the law, and things have become so much better for black people here since '94. I think we need to attack tribalism, not by calling it that, but by calling it hateful, and saying it over and over until it sinks into the minds of the younger generation.
Well said, Dina.
i am also worried that any other lazy politician who does not bother to reach out beyond his village to earn votes will now be blaming tribalisms for his lack of "broad support."
Tribal loyalty like ethnic loyalty in US and elsewhere is a natural harmless disposition which could however be very easily channeled into destructive ends. So is such a valued sentiment as nationalism/patriotism...nationalism was good when we had to fight for Uhuru but nationalism also propelled Hitler into killing 6 million jews. Every one of those dispositions is healthy when tampered with reason.
A politician "A" from a certain locale will automatically enjoy more support than another politician "B" from a "more alien" clime but that does not mean that politician "B" cannot undermine that "inherited automatic support" by working 3 times harder than politician "B" and identifying with the needs of the people. That is how Obama won Iowa and America!
A lazy and unresourceful politician will never achieve that feat and the blame will always fall on tribalism. Mostly people vote for their self-interest and the job of a politician is to demonstrate that he is the best person suited for that task.
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