We Kenyans are excited at the news that President Barack Obama will be visiting our country in late July and the impact the visit could have on how our two countries view each other.
Visiting the United States in June, I found many people with an impression that my country is dominated by terrible violence and an overflowing refugee crisis to which there are few good responses.
These important issues will be part of President Obama’s discussions with government officials. I hope your president will also take time to meet with ordinary Kenyans working to address these same issues at the local level. What we’ve learned in Kenya is that the most effective ways to prevent violence are often developed by churches and other local community efforts. Our communities have done a great deal.
As President Obama’s advisors plan his trip, here are a few suggestions for what he should do while he is in our country:
- Pray with us. I can’t speak for other faith communities, but I know that many of our Friends churches would welcome a chance for you to worship with us. Kenya has a rich and diverse community of people from different faith traditions engaged with worship, education and, in our case, hospitals and promoting local entrepreneurship. Our churches, meeting houses, mosques and other places of worship offer a great opportunity to meet with regular Kenyans, learn our concerns and experiences. You’ve written a great deal about your faith; I hope you will take the opportunity to worship with some of us “regular” people.
- Visit local community violence prevention efforts. In 2013, a broad coalition of local civil society groups, including Quakers, successfully created an early warning and early response system that provided alerts related to potential violence and reported instances of fraud and intimidation. The Friends Church Peace Teams that I work with, for example, helped in training 20,000 volunteers in civic education, citizen reporters and election observers in advance of the last elections. Our collective action was also intended to be a local rejection of the tribal talk that has dominated some of the political discourse and as a reminder to candidates for political office of the values that led to the founding of our nation.
- Focus on jobs, education and employment not guns. My Quaker faith leads me to believe that violence begets violence. But you don’t have to be a Quaker to understand that the heavy focus on military and police training, guns and force is not going to provide a long-term solution to the problems that are driving violent, extremist groups in Kenya. Why not visit one of the great job training programs on the Kenyan border with Somalia that are providing young people with alternatives to join, violent, extremist groups? A visit would reinforce the point that you regularly make that the United States doesn’t believe that military force is the solution to the violence in Kenya and highlight another kind of “counter-terrorism” work.
- Meet with Human Rights and Civil Society Groups. Kenya has a rich and vibrant civil society that includes Christians and Muslims, lawyers and doctors, and many other sectors. These non-governmental groups regularly report on human rights violations and misconduct by extremist groups, the security forces and the government. Yet these institutions are under attack right now by the same government. Standing with these institutions would demonstrate to Kenyans that your government always stands up for human rights.
- Visit with the electoral commission. The next elections are not until 2017, but for many of us they feel just around the corner. Now is the time to start working to ensure that the government and the people are ready for the 2017 elections. I hope you’ll meet with them as well. And share the importance of keeping the country peaceful despite our different political position, and reminder to the Kenyan leadership that the people are greater than the Nation.
We look forward to welcoming you back to Kenya, Mr. President.
