The year 2009 witnessed an unprecedented influx of Kenyans relocating to their motherland from “the land of opportunities”. To many who have been left behind, the American dream has remained just that, A dream. The story of the American economic slump down is known to all and sundry. It has been told in the most explicit terms imaginable. Newspapers, TVs, radios and all manner of media have been screaming from the rooftops. What has not been told though, is that contrary to popular belief, Kenya’s prospects are looking very promising. As the American dream fades for many in the Diaspora, things seem to be going in the opposite direction in Kenya.
This issue of KEN takes a look at a side of Kenya that is often ignored. A country that a little over a year ago was engulfed in senseless election violence where more than 1,300 people lost their lives and over 600,000 others displaced seems to be systematically recovering. Like the proverbial ostrich, Kenya is rising from its ashes.
You will notice many changes the moment you set foot in Kenya. Before, one of the changes you immediately noticed the moment you landed at JKIA was always how dark Nairobi appeared. Of course with time, you would adjust and soon everything would look normal.
Now, Nairobi at night looks pretty much like any other metropolitan city in the world. Most roads in Central Business District (CBD) are just awesome. And it’s not just Nairobi, Mombasa or Nakuru or Kisumu, electricity has spread even into most remote villages, giving Kenya a new look.
Ten years ago, if you told a Kenyan in Kenya that he would one day drive on roads that are very similar to those found in European or North American highways and turnpikes, he/she would have called you a worse dreamer than Martin Luther King Jr. Yet, this is how some roads are in Kenya now.
Most Kenyans are engaged in nation building, ignoring politicians who seem to only worry about increasing their pay while others jostle in an effort to succeed the current president, who is legally barred from running for another term.
Kenyans have shifted into top gear on development issues as Infrastructure improvement has made it easy for many to do business. The relaxation of the lending policies by the banks has sparked a wild fire of projects. Almost everyone you meet has a project he or she is undertaking.
As a growing economy, opportunities in Kenya seem to be mushrooming right and left while the mature economies of the Western nations like U.S. are struggling, leaving many Kenyans in the west wondering whether it was not time they traded places. The Emerging of different sectors like the telecommunication, Tourism, Agriculture and housing are creating massive business ventures.
But why doesn’t the Kenyan media highlight these realities. We sought the opinion of a Kenyan American photo-journalist and KEN correspondent, BMJ Muriithi. “The answer is simple. These media houses are, first and foremost, business entities. You and I know that in this business, good news does not sell. Bad news does. period”, he said.
Ken caught up with Mukabi Giathi, who just relocated back to Nakuru Kenya, from Atlanta, Georgia. Mukabi repeated what many Kenyans who have relocated have pointed out. “The quality of life in Kenya is way better than U.S. There is no comparisons” adding that “Even a thousand dollars earned in Kenya is not the same as a thousand dollars earned in the U.S ”
There is a clear trend of reverse migration. According to U.S based economist Kanyari Muthoga who spoke to KEN, “This trend has been brought about by two things; One the ailing U.S economy has forced Kenyans who lost their jobs to relocate in search for greener pastures. Secondly the opening market has also created fertile ground for investment”.
What is shocking for many Kenyan in Diaspora is how quickly things have changed and the once economically sterile country is blossoming with opportunities. According to a research conducted by KEN many of them are in \’reality check’ mode. Taking stock of their lives and contemplating if they have achieved the maximum of their potential by staying abroad. There is a clear trend of reverse migration that is taking shape as the rivers of opportunities dry up in the west.
Most Kenyans who migrated to U.S in pursuit of the American dream; life in “the land of milk and honey” say that life has turned out to be tougher and worse than they had expected. Many believed that the streets in America are paved in gold while others depict it as the land of opportunity that has drawn millions to its shores across the borders. They have missed the bus and started to feel like the only difference between them and their cousins back in Kenya is that they walk and ride on paved highways and pathways, have clean running water, electricity and TV in their houses.
The money they are making is only enough to buy food, cheap drinks and cigarettes and of course once in a while, a movie ticket. Saving is a vocabulary that not very common.
Of course this story does not apply across the board. There are some people who have made it beyond their wildest imagination. They went to school, earned themselves scholarships and concentrated on their studies. After graduating they got good jobs that earned them high status. These are the ‘Obamas’ who will speak to you endlessly about the ‘American Possibility and Dream’. They have put up mansions and apartment flats back in Kenya, taken care of their relatives and once in a while, go for vacations.
Whichever way the pendulum swings, it depends on the kind of information one has. The basic reality, however, is that, life in America is a mixed pack of the good, the bad and the ugly. On the positive side, it leaves the feelings of excitement, freedom, opportunity, achievement and fulfillment. On the negative side, it leaves disappointment, anger and disillusionment in their lives.
Source: Kim Media Group
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