We are much more than the remittance’ – Kenya Diaspora
Kenyans in the Diaspora ‘those of the remittance’ are constantly reminded of their patriotic duty to support Kenya’s economic development by way of sending money (remittance) to our motherland to support our families meet medical , education , housing and many more. Services that are meant to be the business of government but for some reason, it is now the duty of the diaspora. As the pandemic continues to wreck havoc in the economies where most Kenyans reside, many have lost their livelihood , are alone and desperate for help.
To bring into context the important role of the Diaspora plays, we look at the value of their remittance from the data available.
The nation is ranked the 3rd highest recipient of diaspora remittances in Sub Sahara Africa by Migration and remittances brief(2018) by World Bank. The country received (usd 2.7 Billion) in Diaspora remittances, after Ghana(usd 3.8 billion) and Nigeria (USD 24.3 Billon respectively. This is more money than Kenya gets from Coffee and Tea exports, making the Diaspora a critical contributor to Kenya’s economy.
The relationship between ‘ those of the remittance ‘ and the various governments has always been ‘interesting’ for lack of a better word. Most of the Kenyans abroad ( over a million) left the country in search of ‘greener pastures’ which were not available in Kenya. 90% of Kenya Migrants leave Kenya in search of economic activity, with a small minority leaving for political reasons (mostly in the 90s ) during the draconian era of the late President Daniel Arap Moi.
Back to the point .
Since the pandemic began, most Kenyans in developed economies have lost their jobs and are faced with great challenges, many particularly those in China (Wuhan) have begged the Government to evacuate them as their lives were in danger. Many in China have spoken of racial abuse in shopping malls , homelessness after being thrown out of their houses and attacks on public transport .They have have begged the Government to help them out, repatriate them to safety as having survived COVID 19 now are in grave danger under the racist China. We have all seen online videos showing scores of African immigrants being treated like animals sleeping in backstreets and signs barring foreigners from many public places. Despite intervention even by the Africa Union, the Chinese have continued to mistreat Kenyans and Africans .
The closest to anything Kenyans in Wuhan got was some press briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was a complete train wreck, despite condemnation, the statement sounded like it was excusing prejudice against Kenyans.
Many were comforted by support from many Kenyans who took to twitter to call out the Government, reminding them to put Kenyans lives before Kenya’s debt to China.
Here are some reactions from twitter :
