Let's Free our Children from Bondage of Ethnic Bigotry

Story by: ATWOLI LUKOYE
Publication Date: 1/18/2008 Daily Nation Page 11

A 10-year old boy with an arm sling stares at all visitors at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Accident and Emergency Department.
Asked what happened to his arm, he replies after some hesitation that members of a neighbouring tribe attacked those of his tribe and they had to escape. He describes his escape without emotion: ‘‘They threw stones at the roof of the church so that we do not try to run out. They blocked all the entrances and set the church on fire. I jumped out through the window and ran into the bush. They hit my arm as I ran, and that is how it broke.’’
IN KISUMU, A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS shot in the leg by a policeman responding to a riot. He says: ‘‘All the policemen were speaking with the accent of members of another tribe. They used live bullets to disperse the crowd. I was shot as I tried to salvage some iron sheets from a burnt stall.’’
All around the country, little children are witnessing heightened tribal animosity. Some people are stridently repeating that this conflict is political and not tribal. They need to take some time off and visit with the children who have witnessed the atrocities. Politics is the dress our national ogre, tribalism, is wearing this time round. Next time, it will be land or business rivalry, or even disagreement over resource allocation. But at the very core of the issues is tribe.
Children who have only now grown old enough to speak a few words are repeating disturbing ethnic stereotypes with such ease, one wonders how entrenched they are in their psyche.
They have internalised our communal hates and prejudices and made these their values. They now calmly accept the fact that in some parts of this country, they are ‘foreigners’ always at risk of eviction.
These children have now learnt that nothing is sacred in the struggle for what belongs to ‘us’. Looting, murder, arson and rape are all legitimate ways of getting justice. They cannot now be convinced that stealing is all evil either.
It is said that love is natural, while hate is learnt. We are slowly but surely
incubating a hateful future for Kenya, where certain parts of the country will be inhabitable for some tribes. We have accomplished the difficult task of teaching our children to unlearn the natural love and trust they have for everyone, and have replaced that with hate and bigotry based on such a transient feature as one’s ethnic origin.
The above scenario paints a gloomy picture for the future of our nation. It promises that what is happening in Kenya today will happen again in 15 or 20 years’ time. When these children are strong enough to wield machetes, clubs or even guns, they will settle their differences the very same way they have learnt from their parents. They will loot, they will kill and they will rape in pursuit of what is rightfully theirs. They will make anyone who comes from a different community a target for their anger whenever they feel aggrieved.
All hope is not lost, though. When all has been said and done by the politicians, and agreements have been reached and deals brokered, we will have to examine the effect these eruptions have had on our children and by extension, on the fabric of the nation.
At the individual level, mental health professionals are involved in a crisis response that involves helping the survivors to integrate the traumatic events into a coherent, liveable worldview and reduce psychological distress.
The same process will have to be carried out at the national level, aiming at healing the nation’s wounds and creating a national vision that is coherent and liveable for all our people.
THE TASK OF HEALING THE NATION will fall on all of us, but must be led by individuals who have gained the trust and confidence of the nation, in much the same way that a doctor must inspire confidence in her patient for the therapy to work. A national healing and reconciliation process, by whatever name, must be instituted to embark on the difficult journey of helping Kenyans find themselves.
At the personal level, it will be important for us to make certain rules of etiquette when dealing with each other. For instance, use of ethnic stereotypes must be deemed taboo whether in public or in private. Use of insulting language targeting whole communities must be discouraged whether on the campaign platform or in the privacy of our homes.
Our children should be taught to appreciate the culture of others and not to hold one group to be superior to others simply because they belong to it.
The time to act is now.

Dr Atwoli is a consultant psychiatrist
© 2005 NationMediaGroup All Rights Reserved
18/01/2008