Letter from Kenya #4
My dear Nsenga,
You have only been in America for three years, and you’re already starting to feel homesick? Homesick for what? You wouldn’t recognize Rwanda today. It is a shadow of its former self, the rot has set in. Only after the Popular Movement of the Revolution is victorious will there once again be smiles on every face in this country of God and hills and sun. You’re curious about the recent visit to Kenya by the American president, a black man who is the leader of what is said to be the most powerful country on Earth, while black Americans continue to be murdered in the streets—you’ll have to explain this conundrum to me… And you’re curious about the recent visit by the pontiff, the leader of the Catholic world who’s also the head of state of the smallest country in Europe and, indeed, the world—all 44 hectares of it!
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Letter from Kenya #5
My dear Nsenga,
I’m still waiting for you to explain how there can be a black American president while black people are constantly being murdered in the streets of American cities. Meanwhile, here are my impressions of the leader of the most powerful country in the world, a man still afraid of ordinary people who believe death is the gateway to paradise. It was Friday, July 24, 2015, as you’ll recall. On that day, Nairobi, which is usually a bustling city, was empty of people, even at night. All nature was silent. America was flexing its muscles, and the Kenyan police were out of a job. The presidential motorcade was made up of “beasts”: monstrous, misshapen, ugly cars. Black cars. Who knows, maybe the beasts will all be white when Daddy Trump comes to Kenya! Back to our younger brother’s visit. He was all smiles, as usual. He gave an eloquent speech. He had lunch with members of his extended family, in the African style, and then, as protocol dictates, with Kenya’s leaders. I’ll remember him as the man who said, “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” And he’ll always remind me of the sociological argument that environmental factors determine an individual’s destiny. Just imagine, Nsenga, if Barack Obama had grown up in K’ogelo, the land of his forefathers. I can’t help but think that today he would be repairing cars or boats along the banks of Lake Victoria, like many young members of the Luo, his ancestral tribe. I’ll give you my impressions of Pope Francis in my next letter. I need to concentrate my efforts on the Popular Movement of the Revolution. Time is of the essence.
Translated by Louis Greenwood Lüthi
