Kenyans in the Diaspora should know they are the ambassadors of the nation
The year 2017 brought out the ugly side of some Kenyans not only at home, but also in the Diaspora due to the elections.While it was still astonishing to see Kenyans fight over politics in both settings, it was least expected abroad, where they treat each other as family.Simon Ngugi, a Kenyan living abroad, has penned a lovely letter asking Kenyans to avoid such people this 2018 and focus on the ones who are after making their mother land a better place.Here is the letter:"As a member of the African Diaspora Community, I hail all talks, suggestions and efforts to advocate for change in the Continent. There has been a myriad of efforts aimed at lobbying for an end to the enslavement of African migrants in Libya, an end to President Yoweri Museveni's regime in Uganda among other causes."I applaud all who have put their energies to good use crusading against the ineptocracies crippling the African continent but I am dumbfounded by the very fact that we do turn a blind eye to the exportation of the same tendencies into the Diaspora by diasporians. "It is imperative to note that preaching water while drinking wine does little to enhance the reception of any messages relayed and knowledge sought to be imparted is lost in translation, so to speak.The desire to inspire change is a noble cause which can only be attained when charity literally begins at home for most Diasporas.
"I am saying this because we have seen a spike in internal wrangling in our social and faith based communities such as Churches. After a careful examination of the root causes of such feuds enmeshed in accusations and counter accusations, it boils down to the same habits we are railing against in Africa which we have imported here.The hypocrisy does not end with infighting in churches, it goes further into unscrupulous business dealings and corruption especially when seeking to bilk public tax payer funded coffers such as Masshealth and CMS here in Massachusetts. "We all can't say we haven't seen a spike in arrests and subsequent prosecutions of such offenders which illustrates that the desire to raid public funds for personal enrichment is not limited to Africans in Africa but has also been successfully exported to the Diaspora, a very sorry and sad state of affairs.On the flip side of the above, there are those hard working, visionary and honest business people who have ventured into the market and fueled their hard earned capital into these Medical upstarts which provide employment opportunities to the same community only to be back stabbed by vicious lies and rivals jockeying for positions who abuse the whistle blowing laws in the State to bog down these companies in State investigations and litigation."There are a few bad apples that corrupt the entire batch, bringing me full circle in calling for all of us to have desire to live and conduct ourselves in the same integrity we demand of others. "However, I must admit it is not all doom and gloom as there are those who engage in defrauding State agencies to make a quick buck will always be discovered here and dealt with to the fullest extent of the law because there are systems in place to track, nab and hold accountable those who abuse the system for personal gain. These systems are an integral part of any successful and civilized society and they are either lacking in Africa or present but already corrupted and compromised mostly for political and financial gain.
It might also be a great idea if State and Federal authorities move to hold accountable African immigrants who have knowingly given false information to investigators regarding their counterparts in the community with an intention to put them in trouble and pull the rug of advancement from under their feet.Such African immigrants deserve to be slapped with nothing less than perjury charges so as to serve as an example to others in the community who might be inclined to destroy the lives of their country men and women with malicious allegations while far away from mother Africa."I applaud those who have found a niche and embraced American Capitalism rise above the fray and put their skills to good use for their own gain and the community at large. The American system devoid of its pluralism provides enough opportunities for all to thrive and achieve their dreams."Sincerely,