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I will say this as bluntly as possible, wenye wivu wajinyonge! I have read and spoken to guys who have gone back and the horror stories I hear are nothing to take to the bank. Stay with me.
Before I got myself the visa to attend a wedding in North Carolina over 10 years ago, my life in Kenya was one helluva rollercoaster.
After graduating, first class honors, B.Ed. Mathematics/Chemistry from KU in 1998, the first thing that hit me was the lack of any teaching job in public schools. I remember very well billionaire Simeon Nyachae spelling doom for my ilk and myself during the 1998 budget reading in parliament.
“Government Suspends Hiring of Teachers!†Screamed the papers the following day. With those four words, my fate and thousands others was sealed. It was during the era of the infamous IMF/World Bank-led Structural Adjustments Program, for those old enough to remember.
You see, former President Moi and his cronies had fucked the Kenya economy so bad; it was by miracle that the country did not go bankrupt.
It was not easy to get any job, anywhere. Wherever there was an opening, a thousand would appear with their papers. Those who jot the places were well placed or had relatives in the right places. And don’t give me that shit that I could have started my own ka-biashara. Nilijaribu zote. But the Kanu youth and Kanjos made sure that I did not sell anything.
Those of us from the unknown, hard to pronounce villages were a despised lot. A potential employer only needed to look at your sir name to declare you unfit for the position. The Kalonzo Musyoka “Your name betrays you†mantra haikuanza jana.
Back at home, my widowed mother and my six siblings had eagerly waited for my graduation, then job then I would chip in and uplift them economically. That was not to be.
Staying at home was out of question. Which graduate would stay at home in a hard to pronounce village and watch his mother day in, day out pray to the God of her ancestors to send some dinner for her and her children?
After swallowing the bitter pill of hopelessness and joblessness, the next option available was to head to the City in the Sun to try and look for Lady Luck.
An uncle of mine was gracious enough to welcome me into his Umoja home. That is until my auntie started saying that she could not host vermin.
Me, the son of the late Mzee Wakiuru was a vermin? A whole Maths Econ KU graduate? I was now a vermin, sucking into my auntie’s benevolence.
My uncle’s place hence was unlivable. I decided to do what men do. Go out into the streets, o karima ngagua.
My friend, the frustration corner near the Hilton Hotel is one place I remember with a shudder. How many times did I sleep in Jevanjee garden I have lost count.
I would sneak into my uncle’s place to take a shower every three days. I discovered that with resilience, one could walk from New York to San Francisco on foot. Forrest Gump did it, right?
A little luck fell on me one morning when I was contracted to sell gutter press in matatus. Do you remember those ten bob eight pages of pure bullshit that people used to buy in the buses and matatus? I may have sold one to you.
Little did anyone know that all that was in the paper was a creation of very good imaginative writers. “The Woman Who Sleeps in State House,†“Raila Was In Koinange Last Night,†“Murungaru is a Devil Worshipper.†These were some of the screaming headlines of our gutter press.
As it is said, gutter press exists because there are enough pigs to feed on them. We thrived from the desire that Nairobians had of wanting to know useless stuff about others.
medianet_width=300; medianet_height= 250; medianet_crid=674419858;I mean, I have never seen such a bunch of gossipers as Kenyans. A simple story would have a life of its own once it leaves the confines of one person’s mouth. The most surprising thing is that even best of friends talk shit about their friends in their absence.
And so I moved from living in the streets to some shitty accommodation in Mlango Kubwa. At times I would trek to Baba Dogo to look for kazi ya mkono. The most embarrassing thing is that once the nyapara counted up to twenty, the rest of us would be locked out. It was until I realized that you needed to grease the hands of the nyapara with a twenty bob that I started getting regular vibaruas at Baba Dogo light industries.
Those who know say that when the right moment comes, no barrier is enough to prevent it. My meeting with destiny happened one morning as I reported at the confectionary factory I was working as a loader.
The owner of the business, a plump Meru lady called me to help her load some wedding cakes. As we did the work, she suddenly asked me,
“You speak very good English, what is your background?â€
“I am a KU graduate Maths Chemistry,†I blurted out an answer. My innards were growling with hunger. I had lost so much weight and my almost tattered shirt made me look 15 years older.
For those celelack babies who have no idea, if you only own two shirts, one trouser and a pair of battered shoes, there are ways of looking smart and clean. I say this because when I visit Jamhuri, I often see some young jamaas who are so unkempt and emitting the foulest smell west of the Ruwenzori Mountains.
I used to buy one 20-liter jerrican of water for ten bob per day. I would use the water to bath, cook and launder my pants and shirt. Then I would use the heat of the stove as I made ugali to dry them. Never mind that I smelled of kerosene the following morning. But who cared. So long as I appeared clean and smart, in my own special way. And when my shirt collar would tear, I would sweet talk Kanini, the tailor to turn it in so that the torn part would be invisible. Nimetoka mbali.
Anyway, to cut the long story short, after the brief exchange with the lady owner of the confectionary factory, my life started making meaning. It was through her that I got my first decent job, salesperson for her cakes and short bread.
Mungu si Adhumani. After many days of hard labor, an opportunity to come stateside presented itself. How I raised money for the ticket is story for another day.
I have lived in these United States since. To say that my life would have turned better had I remained in Nairobi would be an insult. I did my time in the trenches.
Over the last decade, I am proud to have built a decent house for my mother. I have educated my siblings and helped others establish themselves. I am making my life in the transport industry in these 48 lower states.
But one thing is for sure. Sina haraka ya kurudi Kenya. wacha ikae. But for those who want to do it, be my guest. Ukifika msalimie Uhuru na Raila.
When I make my forays to Nairobi, the same problems I had those years are still there. There are so many jobless youth. Our people are dying from illicit brew while others are made cabbage by heroin in the Coast.
Nobody seems to care about social services like disaster management. If thugs visit you at night, less than a mile from a police station, the police will come the following day.
So many Kenyans are still dying from preventable diseases. Most hospitals are clueless as to how to treat cancer. The queue in Kenyatta National Hospital is one year long. Dialysis machines are unheard of in level five hospitals.
I am staying put!
By Wa Kiuru | wa.kiuru@yahoo.com
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Muacha Mila za Kwao Kenya na kuolewa na Mila za ugenini
Kihoria, uliacha mila when you decided to become a US citizen, why get the citizenship if you are a guy of mila? c'mon man. You have a US passport for a reason, watu sio wajinga.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tSpZ74wj5E Demon blocked her from going abroad
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWdQ9i14Rrs
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmqwOrGHtIc
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy1r7RPfpZc keep watching www.emmanuel.tv
I know many US citizens who live in Kenya.And they have no intention of going back to USA. Most of them are doing well.Some are business people,I don't know of any US citizen in Kenya who is looking for a job.They are creating jobs.i
@Wakiuru:
True umetoka mbali. True too you have done your time in the trenches. I perfectly understand where you are coming from; my personal story mirrors yours in a very big way. Apparently, the lesson you got from all this is to run away from Kenya as far as possible and to never go back. I think it's a wise idea to always have your options open coz stuff happens. What would you do if, for any reason, you found yourself back in Kenya today? Kill yourself? (some have done it) What if Trump succeeds in trumping 308 million Americans, gets to the White House and kicks all of us out as he's declared, legal and illegal? Or you got injured or sick such that you become a liability both to yourself and others around you? (So that you are unable to drive a truck anymore)
My bro, keep your options open, prepare accordingly and leave the rest to your Creator.
I concur with you @MLACHAKE, you don't wake up one day and just declare to the world that you will never go back to Jamhuri,circumstances can force you to go back whether you like it or not. Going back doesn't mean you will find yourself in the same situation you were 10 or 15 years ago.
I couldn't have said it better. It seems Wakiuru was seriously wounded by the kenyan experience. He seems to harbour pent up anger against the homeland and blames it for his traumatic experience. But he needs to understand that the same fate can befall him anywhere even in the States. If he decides to go back to Jamhuri, and plan for it appropriately, am double sure he will not go back to Jevanjee Gardens or Mlango kubwa to look for a job. If he really wants to, he can go back as that Mhindi at Baba Dogo and provide employement to the next desperate "first class honors, B.Ed. Mathematics/Chemistry from KU"
Please STOP with this fear mongering to begin with...about Trump. He is NOT going to deport any Kenyan..he is just digging at Obama as Trump has always maintained Obama is Kenyan!!! You cannot look at the US Presidential election and compare to the Kenya election. In the past, the politicians wanted to kick out the Asians..WHY? Populist, gets votes but does little else except scare Indians in Kenya...(how does it feel to be the recipient of this nonesense??)
I agree with the writer though. Listen to Kenyans talk about lack of jobs, lack of leadership with the idiotic, silver spoon in his mouth Uhuru Kenyatta...totally inept..and lets not talk of Ruto with his $1000 suits from Saville Row...do these people even KNOW that the ordinary Kenyan goes through???? I know more and I am Asian!!!
Wearing sharp clothes, posing for selfies like the worthless President and VP are doing is good for their own egos but does nothing for the country!!!
Woooow, Everybody has had different life experiences. The USA definitely worked out for you, better than kuteseka hapo jevanjee. I tend to think that the life one lived in Kenya before coming majuu has a lot to do with whether they would want to relocate back to Kenya. As for your Aunt, I wonder how she is doing today......especially that you are now on your feet....God bless you!
Ni kweli @curious lady.... i think the life one lived in Kenya before mayuu contributes a lot to this decision. It kinda amuses me to to see how people get worked up about others decisions.... some have gone back and want others to go back changuvu...and others who want to stay are almost shikwad mashati nawenye wanasupport kurudi. It's so funny..that one of hahaha! I read some comments and I just crack up! BaKenya!...nyinyi niwetu!
East or west north or south home is the best,alot of us here in diaspora went through the kind of hardships you are talking about they may not be the same but most us who came here in the nineties,we were economical refugees.My advice to you sir is never ever deny your mother land,its like denying our own mother.This is the time you should look back INVEST IN REAL ESTATE back home ,I tell people about real estate coz Iam doing it myself,its the only bussiness you can do and will take care of you in the near future.BUY PLOTS in plenty both residential and commercial in good LOCATIONS. you can borrow money against this plots and develop the rest.And brother you will never post an article like this again,will love it.Suppose trump become the head of the next government,Americans laws changes like their weather,you never know.Your coming to the US was a stepping stone to opurtunities to better your life.Now look back and help to develop your MOTHERLAND.
I didnt say we I said most of us ,if you understand english.
Wakiuru, that was one rough stretch you had in Kenya and you are truly justified in taking the position you have. In the least that was a hallowing and traumatic experience in Nairobi. Its true that millions in kenya today live below the poverty line, millions are jobless and desperate, health care is in shambles, insecurity is rampant... However this is one side of the coin, the-half-empty-glass side if you know what i mean. In the same Kenya, there are people who started in the same trenches that you so eloquently describe, met lady luck just like you did and made it in Kenya. So I refuse to believe that one cannot make it in Kenya unless you have the so called tall relatives. The irony is as you emmigrated to the states in pursuit of greener pastures and opportunity, there were Americans also emmigrating to kenya in search of the same! As you made it in USA, they were also making it in kenya. In short Kenya is overflowing with opportunities, just like any other nation, but it also has its own unique challenges. I encourage you to reconsider your decision although I know its quite difficult given your experience.
@Mkenya one, some people are married to Americans and some people moved their whole family here cucu, guka, aunties & uncles. If your whole family is here there is no need to go back.
You are right on that one. Not all kenyans have to go back home.
Iphone, dont get me wrong on this, I know your stand as you have frequently stated, "home is where you are". My point is simple, you can make it anywhere. you canont say that the reason you won't go back home is because you will fail, because that can happen anywhere. There are many homeless kenyans in the States too.
TO GO HOME OR TO STAY, THAT IS THE QUESTION. This decision ultimately comes down to the individual. There's nothing wrong with going back for good or staying here for good. Personal reasons, experiences, finances, relationships, age, immigration status and more are reasons to consider before making either decision. If you are comfortable with where you are, may it be a 1 bedroom apartment in Houston TX or a 3 room house in Boston MA or a 3 bedroom house in Nyeri go for it! The worst mistake you can do is going with the crowd, reside where your heart wants.
I will never go back to Kenya dead or alive. That is my personal choice and I have bought my cemetery plot here. I have invested in kenya but one day I will sell everything I have over there.
I worked with different people with the State in Lowell MA, but I found few confused Haitians who don't know whether they are Americans from Miami Florida or they are Haitians from Haiti.actually they pronounce them as Asians. Now I see our few Kenyans soon they will not differentiate whether they are Kenyans from Africa or Diaspora from America. Kenya has everything
Very true. I am 23, lived in the US 14 years.
However, it is my goal to return and settle back home. All the things you mentioned are true problems. My resolve is to invest in solutions. Kenya is my one and only home. Although I've lived outside of it for a longer time period, it will always be where my heart is. I'm down to helping fix my home.
And what do you want to teach us? You just got permit to drink. What do you know about life in USA and Kenya? I assume you got her at 9 years old; just 4 years after you stopped hanging on your moms boobs. Give me a break!
All I can say is "Live and let live" - I'm not sure why anyone is condemning this gentleman , at least he knows what he wants. If he wants to live in the US, grow old and die here , si hiyo ni shauri yake jameni. He is an outlier with his own reasons so let him be, we are different and want different things. If he finds happiness and comfort in the US, his prerogative I say. I find a peculiar Kenyanese behavior of everyone assuming we are all one and the same, we want the same thing and we should all fuatana kama Nyayo . From my on humble opinion - like Kiarie you can live wherever as long as you are happy and at peace with it - Maisha iendelee.. We all left Kenya for various reasons and over the years only an individual determines where they want to end up.
Exactly. Thank you Formerly Guest 2 for echoing my comments earlier
Yeah @formerly guest2 that's all am saying too. To each his own...preach it sister!
Say anything but Kenya ni kuvisit tu, States ni maisha..What I learn in states even the dead seem comfortable..grass lawned and watered on cemeteries. Seen so many Kenyans saying they are going back for years but still here.
Been here close to 8 years now worth close to $300k and targeting $800k in five years nothing can beat that given that I landed in US with $80 dollars. I don't like here but I hate being broke. Gos bless America
This is the worst have ever heard. Its like Bill cosby comment , they (Africans) comes here with only $50.00 , we dont know how they succeed.
Do not forget that the thieves in Jamhuru will not let you turn into dust peacefully. They will come to steal the blankets and the coffin.
Having to watch my back all the time is what turn me off about returning to my homeland. My mother can't even keep chickens without being harassed by thieves at night. You go to the bank and you get out scared hoping not to be robbed. You drive a nice car, you get carjacked. You go to the bar,you get poisoned and all. Crazy crazy crazy. I'm happy where I am period.
Hmmmm....I was watching a sad documentary on adult children of elderly parents making the gut wrenching decision of placing their parent(s) into a nursing home or assisted living situations. The elderly parent(s) resisted it quite strongly with the most common reason being isolation, loneliness and loss of independence. These are Americans born elderly complaining about loneliness. I kept asking myself how horrible it would be for a Kenyan born American trying to navigate the elderly care situation.
My mother (now deceased) was diagnosed with a terminal illness while living with me for a while here in the States. She was given less than a year and at that point she made the decision to head home and live out the rest of the time she was here on earth. She told very few people about her situation as there were no obvious exterior signs of her illness. In Kenya, she returned to chamas, church activities and her usually many social activities. She lived with relative comfort for 6+ years...with only three tough months at the end of her life. An elderly neighbor from our shags was having all sorts of unexplained symptoms that quite debilitating while she was living in New Jersey but her kids wanted her here against her will. After much convincing, their mom finally went home and her health improved significantly and she swore never to return.
If you choose to live here in your productive years, my suggestion is to have a plan B for the twilight years just in case. Several people from my shags(very close to Nairobi) have gone back mostly at the 50-60 year mark and each has sworn to me that they wish they had done it sooner. Of course, they all have a pension or retirement that affords them a comfortable small flat in a decent neighborhood if they had not purchased a residential home. Also, most make an annual pilgrimage to the states for medical checkup.
I have been here a very long time and for the many that I have seen head back home, I can only recall two or three that cannot hack it....for two, it was an obvious lack of planning and they are "retooling" before they head back to Kenya.
In my younger years, I had sworn off Kenya until I decided to give it another "look" around the year 2000. I am glad I did and yes, I am dancing to my swan song before the fat lady sings in months signifying the time to say adios to stato which has been very good to me but it's time for my plan B.
Cheers folks....
Just because somebody is planning to return home, or is on his way home, or he just returned home, or its been months or years since he made that brave, does not mean that Kenyans in the diaspora should start running haywire with rants and panic. Is there is one thing that scares the hell out of Kenyans in the diaspora, is a mention or a suggestion to pack one's bags. And there are many reasons why every mention of it, especially to Iphone4G, formerly Safi wa Safi, and here they are:
- Cowardice.
- Fear of the unknown.
- Married a nyeuthi or a foreigner, and now one is stuck, confused on where where.
- Invested all his fortune in the US and the bills one pays will never pay off.
- Be seen as a celebrity every time he lands in Kenya.
- Got nothing to show decades after landing in "Canaan".
- Got married in US and NOW with a family and cant afford to take whole family home.
- The many bills, the size of Mau Ranges, doesnt leave substantial change to convert into an air ticket.
- No makaratasi.
- Some had bank debts that are still due. 11. The shame of meeting old friends who have made it decades down river road.
In all, if you decide to stay in the US, good, then dont bother people to changia upelekwe nyumbani. If you decide to one day join the native Kenyans, plan ahead. Thats it.
Excellent....verbatim! IdaVethi, what happened to your updates on your life in Kenya? I miss your flawless Kiswahili from them Jambonewspot days and then onto mwakilishi. Ndugu, mambo vipi? Umekimya sana. Hebu tupe mawaitha kuhusu maisha yanovyokubana huko nyumbani. All the best bro..
@ iPhone G - I support you on the statement that wealth is relative/subjective and to be wealth does not always translate to billion of dollars , simple life luxuries can make one wealthy .
M2 akitaka kuishi ughaibuni miaka yake yote, mwache. There are millions even in Jamhuri who moved from their hard to pronounce villages to live in the city. When they die, they get buried in Langata. Sijasikia m2 akisema ni makosa kuzika Mzee Ojwang in Langata even though he originally came from Muranga. So if one opts to retire in the USA ni shauri yake. Kwani kuna ubaya gani hata being taken care of in an elderly people's home here in the USA. Kwani si kuna Nymba ya Wazee in Nairobi. Why bother your children in your old and siclky age when the state can do that for them. Let people be!
@ ithaVethi......"In all, if you decide to stay in the US, good, then dont bother people to changia upelekwe nyumbani. " hehehe kwani those living in kenya don't changa harambees for each other? you seem to have kidogo beef with those who want to reside here based on that statement.
Kenyans we are a peculiar people. I don't know why we are trying to convince each other on where to reside. I mean, it's not like you gonn visit each other...who cares if he/she lives in Kansas or Kahawa? We bora ukiingia mwakilishi upate comment yake, where you will be logging in from me honestly i would care less. And there's another thing, even if we all got on a flight and returned to kenya...as soon as we shuka JKIA wewe utaenda kwako na shida zako me i go kwangu na shida zangu....same thing if we kenyans all agreed to reside here, me niko kwangu na shida zangu and you are in worcester or wherever you are na shida zako...so why get all shook up, all bothered up convincing others where to reside? It doesn't make any sense to me. You do you, lemme do me
Kiarie,
Advice and opinions are just that and you can take it or leave it. I don't know where I would be today if it was not advise of an older Kenyan (15 years my senior) who had been here 5 years ahead of me. He helped me navigate the education system and made sure I not only got my first degree but moved on to more training and advanced degrees. He didn't have to do it and I am eternally grateful to him because my life is much better because of his advice. When we were both in Kenya, I made sure that I introduced him to my folks and let them know that I am who I am because of him.
Fast forward; when I was busy swearing never to set foot or settle in Kenya, a friend told me to give Kenya another look. I was unconvinced for years. Fourteen years ago, I started doing my own independent research and with it contacted my dad and told him what I wanted to do. I am quite lucky because with dad's support, I have been able to accomplish a lot in Kenya. He never misused a penny of mine and watched all that I wanted done like a hawk. Between my two friends and my dad, I cannot imagine where I would be without their advice. I remind them frequently what they have meant to my life.
I have also mentored young Kenyans trying to navigate the system here and given advice to those trying to do something in Kenya. Many don't listen but then again, I get lots of satisfaction when some come back to me and say thank you. In a way, I have passed it forward.
I have seen Kenyans get ill or disabled and navigating the system here while trying to stay above water does things to your psychy. Majority have been forced to go Kenya where they can at least get some family support. It is quite easy to thump our chests when you are young, healthy and earning a paycheck. Think ahead folks...
Again, my cents.
@ Thuraku - One can advice without downlooking upon others or bragging about one success which is what most commentators here do. Telling others that they are not relocating because they have debts, have nothing saved up etc shows a high level of arrogance.Every individual circumstances and approach in life is different .
BTW money, shambas, etc are not everything , they are good to have but not the ultimate to find happiness and contentment, my 2cents!
@ Kiarie - I also senses some beef from the "going back crowd" on those who do not care to relocate back home. There is seems to be an underlying assumptions that if you reside in US or Europe , your life must be miserable , lonely and you need your people, plotis( You can buy your own ranch here too and plant carrots sukuam etc lol) and shamba to be buried in . Well , I 'm going to debunk the myth and say you can live your sunset years yes in those "nursing homes" and lead a good quality life. Not all those "nursing" homes are mediocre( I guess those are the only ones Kenyans work in ) There are some which like 5 stars hotel( Golf courses, Sauna's all sort of entertainments etc) , so lets not keep trashing those homes as if they are dungeons. Those who want to live on that luxury and not in Kakamega or Kiambu, well good for them
It is up to individual to find quality life where your life throws you, kama huwezi interact with locals, your adopted community and things that are fun around you, stop assuming this applies to all of us. Personally I find life in Kenya boring and that is just me . I do not know what I would do if I were to retire in Kenya since I'm not a chama kind of a person, nor do I like eating Nyama chomas and drinking, I do not like going to pre - wedding, weddings , belonging to clubs of house wife of Runda. One can only visit Coast , Masaai Mara and Nanyuki so many times before it gets boring , the usual visiting chags during Easter etc .. My siblings are all abroad soo.... I will visit Kenya till they cannot allow old aged woman on Planes , before then , not planning to relocate BUT THAT IS JUST ME.
The world is so open, there is lots of travel to be done, lots of other things to be done and for me USA is my anchor ground and I will spread my wings to different directions till I die. I love Kenya , I was born there , raised there but for now I prefer living here , not because I'm dead broke, have no life insurance so I will be changiwad and p/s if I have all those debts and decide to relocate = just file bankruptcy lol....... p/s there is good debt and bad debt depending....
@Formerly Guest 2, I support you. Not all retirement community in USA are pathetic. If you want to go to 5 star retirement community save for it. Most of the pathetic nursing homes are those that residents depend of social security and medicare. For those demetia patients who wander it is better to be in 5 star retirement community here that is locked than being in Kenya giving relatives hard time 24/7 365 days.
@ Kiarie Oh shut up! You do not deserve an intelligent response except that of "Assumptions are the mother of all -------------- Fil fill the gap please. If you have followed my comments here since day one then you would know I'm single - but shallow minds just show up and make assumptions to sound funny but you are not! If you cannot contribute maturely to an article , shutting up is usually recommended for your type!
@Kiarie - I may have jumped the gun with your earlier comment , I now see you were on my side ...*fist pump***. Pole in Mwakilishi you never know who is unleashing matusi. Apologies , apologies .....I feel stupid for my rxn...( Afro - American are not my preference :-))))).
@Thuraku,
I have a close friend, Njenga...a very close buddy we were inseparable since form 1 & to date we talk quite often. When i left kenya in 1995 to come here, he left on the same night for London, UK and has remained there ever since.
Now we agree on 99% of topics except this one of relocating to kenya. I am all for what you're talking about, investing and living my life there (thats why i jumped on a plane prematurely, remember?) but Njenga wouldnt want to touch Kenya with a ten foot pole. As i send money to invest like you, this guy is investing in the UK. This mambo of convincing others i tried over the years till i realised i have my own life, i need to support others even when we differ in opinion.
Here is another factor to motivate you to support formerlyguest 2 & akina iphone4G &no-matusi in their nursing home decision....when u come to U.S for ur medical checkup in ur 80's and u find urself with a little free time on ur hands to do some charitable work at the local state-run nursing home, won't it be grand to see some familiar mwakilishi faces, to remove their dentures & feed porridge to?
Even as we debate this elephant in the room (to return or to stay put) we are forgetting one thing; that many immigrants have children and some grandchildren here in the USA or wherever they have setled. Having said that, when the time comes to relocate back to Jamhuri, will these progeny accompany their old man to a country that they consider alien to them? I have Indian friends who tell me that their dads have build maisionettes back in Bangarole nd Hydrabad; huge retirement mansions. Yet their children are well established as doctors and engineers stateside. When the first generation Indians retire, their desire is to go back to their retirement homes. The only probelm is that, having spent their working lives abroad, it is so difficult to be re-integrated into the home culture. They end up being so lonely with huge empty houses. The worst is that some old mamas adamantly refuse to relocate back to India, making the lives of the old men so miserable.
And therefore it can be said that for those who have their children and grand children with them, making up their minds that they are here to stay will be of great benefit to them and their children. After all, aren't we encouraging guys to relocate back home so that they can be with their loved ones in old age? Tell me then, you who knows, have't you seen old men and women in the village living very solitary and lonely lives as their children live in the city? Haven't you seen in your village desperate old paople abandoned by their relatives? Now magnify that to 6000miles. Your children can only check on you via skype or Whatsapp. Hiyo ni maisha ya aina gani jameni?
Kwa hivyo mimi mchango wangu katika mjadala huu nyeti ni kusema kwamba, mustakabali wa mtu umo mahali roho yake itapata pumziko, iwe ni Kenya ama ughaibuni. Wasalaam!
Kiarie, ever heard of "Nuu WI nja nyume," or "Niuthire kwanika cuguo," Life for the elderly in Kenya is more pathetic than you think. In Nyanza, many are coming out of "retirement" to take care of the Aids orphans...Misha ya wazee ni magumu anywhere Q Q
Home is wherever you find comfort and satisfaction, be it in the U.S. or Kenya. Fact is that first generation immigrants usually have a very hard time living their new life with all manner of challenges - from issues with English (even if you were a secondary school English teacher in your previous life), "unacceptable" education credentials (whether from Nairobi University or wherever), individualism/loneliness, being demeaned and subsequent loss of esteem, name it. Psychologically, many start fantasizing about "home" (Kenya) My idea is to make myself as comfortable as I can wherever I am and most importantly, to keep my options open coz stuff happens
My "fiddy" cents:
- The construct of "home" is an interesting AND fluid construct. What is or constitutes "home"?
- The saying "don't judge me until you have walked a mile in my shoes" comes to mind as I read some of the comments. Everyone has their story. It is unfair to project the trajectory of one's life journey onto others - especially if it is different.
- Some of the folks who were quick to tell me that I should "go on the ground (in Kenya)..." or "let the rubber of my words meet the road on the ground (in Kenya)...." or "uproot myself and relocate..(to Kenya)..." and my favorite...my "talk is cheap"...are now the ones equivocating and explaining away why it is a personal decision whether one chooses to stay stateside or return home! These folks were offering their opinion without a scintilla of knowledge about the trials and tribulations of my life's journey - other than the little window I have (selectively) offered through my writings.
- I see in Kenyans, the same notion of American Exceptionalism i.e. Kenyan Exceptionalism that many foreigners I know find offensive. The fact is: Every country has its own charm - some more than others - and just because someone chooses one country over another does not make the rebuffed polity any more or less than the chosen one - unless it is!
- Live and let live - it is, after all, a free country!
@ Washington - Stop changing the context of this entry to be about you, your jubilee bashing /solutions to Kenya govt and yes some of us told you to go and change it instead of advocating change from a far or writing endless novels on huffington post about all that is wrong about Uhuru Government . This has nothing to do with why we called you out to go back and change it .
@Osiro,
I am sorry to say but you are full of it.
@Senator: That was short and sweet...Love it!!
I am a student of History and I know that as a fact, the Spanish and Portuguese Conquistadors who conquered the Americas and later the Puritans from Europe did not have an intention of ever returning to Europe. Actually some would burn their ships as soon as everyone disembarked; as a syombol of cutting ties with the old world.
Be that as it may, one may not have a ship to burn today, but I know of people who swear by the gods of Mt. Longonot never to set foot back in the homeland due to the many tribulations they faced there; be it torture by former governments, mungiki, tribal wars, etc. Therefore as Osiro has said, every diaspora is a story waiting to be told.
With a first class honors, B.Ed. Mathematics/Chemistry from KU, you do not go all that way to que in the employment line.
You have enough recources to start your own firm and employ others.
Thank you for your late advice. However, just like I had said ... don’t give me that shit that I could have started my own ka-biashara. Nilijaribu zote. But the Kanu youth and Kanjos made sure that I did not sell anything...(Am soory) I mean I tried selling eggs, green maize, goats and cattle broker etc, but the Kenya economy was so fucked up by Nyayo and small timers like myself were in the lowest pecking order. With the little capital I had, the Kanu Youth and Kanjos made sure I and many others did not make it a few months.
what is it about Kenyans wanting to hear that some one "will one day go back to the Jamhuri"?
as someone said, so what if he chooses not to go back?
You do you and let him do him.
All he is saying i sthat he will not wilfully leave the life he has set up in States to move to kenya. If something happened and he found himself to be inKenya, guess what? It is what it is, he will have to survive or find a way to another country.
kwani?
Fowarding this to Donald Trump
Nothing wrong with wanting to STAY in America where there are immigrants from all over the world chasing that AMERICAN dream. I left Kenya 11yrs ago, now a US citizen and still got love for the motherland but just like the majority of Kenyan-Americans here i'm not planning on living in Kenya but i'll be vacationing there frequently especially in my hometown of Mombasa. And this "DONALD TRUMP' dude will not do shit even if he becomes the president, US citizenship cannot be stripped away unless you do it yourself voluntarily but being a permanent resident (GREEN CARD HOLDER) is a different story coz one can still be deported if you commit a crime. GOOD LUCK to all Kenyan-Americans and Kenyans back home.
Most of you guys who are posting from diaspora,should stay there.Don't come to Kenya seeking to be politicians.We have enough of that filthy lot.
LOL!
http://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/DN2/Desperation-of-diaspora-returnees-who-cant-find-jobs/-/957860/2915758/-/uputy5z/-/index.html