Month: May 2019

Mid last year, I went to Savanis’ bookshop. The one along river road, around Odeon cinema. This was after trying severally to get there on time. Duty calls took most of my time. On this particular day, it was supposed to be my lucky day. I was supposed to get one of Chimamanda’s books. I had seen them on their shelves before. So I got in, relieved that I was on time. I scanned around to locate what I was looking for but I did not find it. So I asked one of the attendants if they had it in stock. He told me that they had stopped stocking all the books that Binyavanga supplies. Unless they find another supplier, that is when they will stock the books. I was surprised, I asked him the ‘whys’ to that action. He told me they don’t want any association with him because he had declared that he is gay. That was absurd. I was not pleased at all. I remember wanting to rant about it on social media, but on second thought, I ignored it.
I do not subscribe to gayism, but why should we be quick to judge and condemn. It is just an equal sin to fornication that a number of people indulge in. We all have our sinful tendencies. It is our personal obligation to fight them. For some, we overcome and for others, we succumb to them. We should always focus on seeing the good in people.
I describe Binyavanga with his boldness, to say his truth even if people will not agree with it. His realness, to face things as they are. And his ability to study what is going around and put it rightly in literature. Mr Wainaina, an author, publisher, journalist and commentator, was seen as one of the most important voices in African literature. He won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002 and went on to establish “Kwani” a literary magazine that offered a platform for new Kenyan writers.
At least for him unlike most of us not forgetting the elite and the politicians who should be the voice that Africa yearns for, he firmly condemned how Africa is being depicted to the world. In his satirical writing on How to Write About Africa , he said “Treat Africa as if it were one country,” he went ahead saying that the characters must include “the Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West.” We all know that this is not true, yet such are the narratives that describe Africa. This piece will remain to be a very canonical piece in the world.
My words are similar to those of Ellah Wakatama, when he stated that Binyavanga has given wings to a generation of writers. His writings will impact and last eternity. To writers and readers of literature, this is a big loss to us. Instead of getting ourselves in the unnecessary politics, we should honour this gentleman. All the national flags in the literary world should fly half in honour of his life.
My favourite line in his writing is “There is an ache in my chest today, sweet, searching, and painful, like a tongue that is cut and tingles with sweetness and pain after eating a strong pineapple.”

Through friends, Wendy, not her real name learnt of a travel broker in Nairobi-Kenya, who says that

he could get her a passport, a visa, and a plane ticket to Europe. Once Blessing finds work there, he promised, she would earn enough to support the entire family. She tells me that she wants to go to the land of honey and milk. They are suffering, life is a struggle for her and her family. More so being an urban refugee it is even worse. Life in the city is very expensive even to Kenyan nationals. Wendy is a brilliant girl. She performed highly n school and even managed to pursue a medical course. Unfortunately, due to her status, it is difficult for her to practice. Her education as per now seems as good as nothing.
At times, she gets locums where she gets some few cash that she tries to provide for her family and saves some. It is these savings that she wants to give to the broker. Will she get the help that she dreamed of or the broker will promptly disappear. This the question that I keep asking myself.
In case you are interested to know where I met her, she is my childhood friend. Back then when I was below ten. We lived in the same ‘landi’ not until I got an accident and my mum had to relocate to another place because she was scared of the incident. We later met on social media platforms and finally in church. We are good friends.
Friends in the west are sending messages through the social media platform, how life is greener on the other side. If you go to their Instagram accounts you will see how they are living life. You will, of course, come to the conclusion that they are having well-compensated employment in the respective jobs that they do abroad. This is something that I am a bit reserved to having such conclusions, more so after reading kinds of literature by Africans abroad (Americana and the likes) and also through a confession of a close friend who lives in the west. I am a bit skeptical about such hype of life abroad. But for Wendy, unlike me, she has to try. If she was a Kenyan national, she will have the possibility of making a life here.
Of course, they are several pathways to getting resettlement into a third country. This through the normal resettlement program offered through refugees and the complementary pathway which includes education, employment, and private resettlement. Wendy had applied for an education resettlement program through Windle Trust but instead, she got a full sponsorship to pursue her undergraduate. She is grateful for this. Her family members have not to be identified for the ordinary resettlement hence her only left option is to pursue resettlement through the broker option.
After several meetings with this broker, Wendy decided to balk when she discovered that this man wanted her to become a sex worker. She learnt about this after several questions that she would ask him about the nature of work that she was going to do. Soon afterward, her friend Anita introduces her to another woman who claimed to be helping people with nursing education to go abroad. This seemed a bit honest, we all know nurses are of high demand in the west. This time, I decided to accompany Wendy to visit this newly found agent. This Kenyan woman with European connections—she was elegant, well dressed, and kind. The woman promised Wendy and me that she could take us to Europe; she would pay for our journey and find us jobs, and then we would pay her back once we get jobs abroad. I acted like I was also interested. This was for us to gather as much information so that we can verify if this was true. Deep within I felt this was another hawk. But as my newly made up quote says, support them in their decisions until you have a better alternative for them. Our new found agent wanted 5000usd from her to start the process. Wendy did not have such a figure.
Wendy is just one of a million refugees who is trying everything possible to restart their lives. To put themselves in a platform that seems promising to them, so that they can finally get to realize their dreams. They cannot actualize such dreams back in their country because of the fear of persecution. In the countries of asylum, their economic capability is limited, they cannot get employed due to the policy measures in place by the respective government. They can also not invest in properties. They are left with no choice than to live a dependant from relevant NGO’S, UNHCR, well-wishers and the host government. Their only hope is to get resettlement which only less than one percent of the population get lucky to get such opportunities. A number of them get exploited based on their vulnerability. If you read https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/asylum-sale-refugees-say-some-u-n-workers-demand-bribes-n988351 you will have a picture of what they undergo.

A durable solution needs to be found to address this plight.