The Wagalla massacre was just the tip of the iceberg for the Somali people. Back then during the Kenyatta regime, they used to be referred to as shifters. Both young and old were disrespected, thrown stones at and even killed. Kenyans were made to believe that they do not belong in this country thus they needed to go back to Somalia.
It is a different chapter for them now, but the book is still the same. They are still marginalized and mistreated and the reason this time, terrorism. All people of Somali origin in Kenya are regarded as members of the Alshabab militia group. It is even worse if one is a Muslim. They are always associated with any form of terrorism within the country where Alshabab related or not.
Their troubles began when a group of terrorists with Somali origin pirated a ship on the coastlines of Mombasa. They went ahead to kidnap and kill tourists at a holiday hotel in Malindi. It became worse when they took Westgate mall hostage ending up killing several people. Kenyans started getting angry and pointing blame fingers. They began associating any Somali, or a person with Somali characteristics as Alshabab.
What Kenyans fail to see is that the Somali are also victims of terrorism. During terror attacks, they are not separated from everyone else. They also have other relatives back in Somalia who are killed every so often when Alshabab strikes.
But who is to blame for Kenyans’ reactions? One could say that it is the media due to the choice of words they use whenever talking about a terrorist. They would use words like “illegal aliens” or “Islamic jihadists” which is very demeaning both the Muslims and Somali community. The media knows that it has a great agenda setting power therefore what it talks about is what the people will believe to be true.
One could also say that the government is to blame. During Kenyatta regime, the Somali were marginalized. No opportunities were made available for them. They were isolated. Presently, they are also marginalized. The government treats them differently from the other tribes in Kenya. They even need to be vetted before being allowed to apply for certain necessities like identity cards. The leaders in the government of Somali origin do not even help their people that elected them to power from all the victimization they undergo.
At the end of the day after all has been said, it trickles down to the individual. An individual has the power to see and know that not all Somalis are terrorists. It is an undeniable fact that we have all interacted with a Somali at some point in time and those that we have interacted with should be what we judge the whole bunch of them with.
Anyway, Kenyans will always be Kenyans. We dwell more on our differences rather than similarities. We believe in separation rather than integration. We are always engaged in hate speech on a community that is not similar to the one we are associated with. This is a bad culture and eradicating it seems to be a tall order.
Terrorism is a new thing in Kenya. Everyone is trying to understand it but we end up doing so at the expense of a small community whose image has been tainted by a smaller minority in their community. We fail to look at individuals as themselves and associate them to an ethnic group. We need to actually join hands with the Somali to fight terrorism rather than considering the whole bunch as terrorists. All in all, no one would say it better than Sheikh Osman when he said in Pillars of Terror that, terrorism has neither culture nor religion.
By Christine Aseka
It is a different chapter for them now, but the book is still the same. They are still marginalized and mistreated and the reason this time, terrorism. All people of Somali origin in Kenya are regarded as members of the Alshabab militia group. It is even worse if one is a Muslim. They are always associated with any form of terrorism within the country where Alshabab related or not.
Their troubles began when a group of terrorists with Somali origin pirated a ship on the coastlines of Mombasa. They went ahead to kidnap and kill tourists at a holiday hotel in Malindi. It became worse when they took Westgate mall hostage ending up killing several people. Kenyans started getting angry and pointing blame fingers. They began associating any Somali, or a person with Somali characteristics as Alshabab.
What Kenyans fail to see is that the Somali are also victims of terrorism. During terror attacks, they are not separated from everyone else. They also have other relatives back in Somalia who are killed every so often when Alshabab strikes.
But who is to blame for Kenyans’ reactions? One could say that it is the media due to the choice of words they use whenever talking about a terrorist. They would use words like “illegal aliens” or “Islamic jihadists” which is very demeaning both the Muslims and Somali community. The media knows that it has a great agenda setting power therefore what it talks about is what the people will believe to be true.
One could also say that the government is to blame. During Kenyatta regime, the Somali were marginalized. No opportunities were made available for them. They were isolated. Presently, they are also marginalized. The government treats them differently from the other tribes in Kenya. They even need to be vetted before being allowed to apply for certain necessities like identity cards. The leaders in the government of Somali origin do not even help their people that elected them to power from all the victimization they undergo.
At the end of the day after all has been said, it trickles down to the individual. An individual has the power to see and know that not all Somalis are terrorists. It is an undeniable fact that we have all interacted with a Somali at some point in time and those that we have interacted with should be what we judge the whole bunch of them with.
Anyway, Kenyans will always be Kenyans. We dwell more on our differences rather than similarities. We believe in separation rather than integration. We are always engaged in hate speech on a community that is not similar to the one we are associated with. This is a bad culture and eradicating it seems to be a tall order.
Terrorism is a new thing in Kenya. Everyone is trying to understand it but we end up doing so at the expense of a small community whose image has been tainted by a smaller minority in their community. We fail to look at individuals as themselves and associate them to an ethnic group. We need to actually join hands with the Somali to fight terrorism rather than considering the whole bunch as terrorists. All in all, no one would say it better than Sheikh Osman when he said in Pillars of Terror that, terrorism has neither culture nor religion.
By Christine Aseka
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