U.S. sees "ethnic cleansing" in Kenya

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. sees "ethnic cleansing" in Kenya
30 Jan 2008 11:05:08 GMT

By Tsegaye Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - There is clear
evidence of "ethnic cleansing" in Kenya's Rift
Valley since a disputed Dec. 27 election, but it
does not amount to genocide, the top U.S.
diplomat for Africa said on Wednesday.

"There has been an organised effort to push out
people from Rift Valley...It is clearly ethnic
cleansing. I don't consider it genocide," U.S.
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Jendayi
Frazer told reporters.

"The cycle of retaliation has gone too far and
has become more dangerous."

Kenya's sudden slide into chaos -- with more than
850 people killed mostly in ethnic violence --
has horrified world powers, damaged the region's
most promising economy and shattered its image
as a stable trade and tourism hub.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30764049.htm

[dbt]

1. But misses it completely in New Orleans. eom

[bemildred]

2. And various other places. nt

[semillama]

3. "Oh, yeah, we see that. Sure, it's right over there."

"What, you expected us to actually do something? Come on, isn't it ENOUGH for you people that we actually acknowledge that we notice things going on? What more do you expect??"

:sarcasm:

[Bacchus39]

4. so what would you expect us to do???

post more sarcasm??

[semillama]

6. Might expect posters to recognize a critique of our foreign policy in joke form

Man, I even used quotation marks to indicate that it was to represent the general attitude of our government in getting involved in Africa! I guess we need a bigger sarcasm tag!

Unless of course you are responding as a member of the government who's looking for ideas on what to do about the situation. Then asking someone who's posting a sarcastic remark is probably not going to be fruitful avenue of inquiry for you.

[Bacchus39]

7. well, it wasn't very fruitful. this has come about quite suddenly as in the past month

I am not sure what you mean by "getting involved" either. Maybe you should elaborate.

Kenya was seen as an example of a pretty stable nation in Africa. So I am not sure what the US was supposed to be doing, or should be doing now.

[tuckessee]

5. I wonder why they can't see it in Iraq? n/t

[World Traveller]

8. I was in Kenya in 2005, as a volunteer with a non-profit

It was my second trip to Africa with a non-profit (first was in 2000 to Ghana). I did learn a few things by seeing them with my own two eyes, and talking and working with citizens of each country.

Imagine living in a country with no unemployment insurance, no social security benefits, no welfare benefits, no food stamps, no FHA mortagages, no credit cards.

Who do you fall back on for security and survival in good times and bad? Probably your family and your extended kinship group. Entended kinship would include actual relatives and your ethnic group. This is the type of world that many Africans live in. Many illegal immigrants in U.S. also live this way.

Another thing to remember is that each ethnic group usually has its own unique language and culture.

The borders of today's African nations were primarily drawn up by European colonialists, often without much regard for the ethnic identities and tribal systems that are so important in Africa.

So when there is compettion for scarce resources, often time the struggle ends along ethnic lines.

Africa is getting drier with global warming and the Sahara and Sahel dry regions are slowing moving southward. I spent time both in northern Kenya and northern Ghana, and water is a real problem in both regions.

For example, in cental Kenya, Masai that I spoke to were bitter that the Kikuye had driven them out of the fertile highland valleys and into drier, more marginal lands. Because northern Kenya is so dry, they cannot grow crops and mainly herd cattle and goats. Tribal warfare via cattle raids between the Samburu and the ethnic Somali tribes are a problem there.

My personal opnion is that ethnic tensions would decrease if more resources and true developmental help was extended to African nations. And not by the IMF and World Bank, which are the front men and collection agencies for predatory first world banking institutions.

For me, the most hopeful thing going right now is micro-lending by groups such as Kiva. But the scale is too small to make a real dent.

The best hope I see is when Africa throws off neo-liberalism (like South America is doing today) and goes back to developmental programs benefitting local populations. One or more charismatic leaders like Hugo Chvez would also be helpful. I do think that day will come, it's when the old ideologies (neo-liberalism, IMF, Shock Therapy, etc.) are thoroughly discredited and new systems and solutions are put tried out and put in place.

[OKthatsIT]

9. THEY OUGHT TO...they're behind it

[noonwitch]

10. I'd hate to see another Rwanda brewing in Kenya

Kenya had stability for a long time. As we've seen in Rwanda, these types of incidents can change for the worse very quickly.

Sooner or later, our country is going to have to show some leadership in helping resolve the problems in Africa. An entire continent is suffering from so many problems at once, and if Kenya is losing its stability, who's left? Benin?

[Nihil]

11. It will happen everywhere when the problem spreads.

As someone upthread said: when there is competition for scarce resources,
the end result is often civil unrest along ethnic lines. If the shortages
continue, this can bloom into full-blown "ethnic cleansing".

The reason why the rest of the world is largely just watching is that
the shortages hit the most vulnerable nations first so the recent reports
become an extension of the well-known "humanitarian tragedy in XYZland".

What the majority of the public do not recognise is that it not only *can*
happen here but it *has* and it *will* again. In the past, the problems
were largely confined to the country (or islands) involved but, due to our
global "civilisation", that will no longer be the case and instead of a
single failure event, there are ripples that spread out and trigger similar
events elsewhere.

All that is necessary is the shortage of food/water/fuel to "spread" from
the Third World into the other nations sharing this single planet and you
will get a front-row seat of the "African plight" ... or become a participant.

Suggested reading for all: Jared Diamond's "Collapse".