Racism and the inferiority complex

I hate racism against any and all people. But the one type of racism that is most disturbing is when a population is racist towards their own, and elevate another. I saw this most clearly in Kenya than any other African country I've visited.

This past weekend I was denied entry into a hotel in Malindi, Kenya because I'm black. This has never happened to me before so I was caught off guard, and actually began making excuses for why the hotel guard was turning us back. I thought it must be because the hotel was full and he just didn't want to explain in detail his reason. My Kenyan friend, however, was fuming, and said if we were white he would never turn us back. She insisted that the guard let us in. The guard finally agrees to call his manager and ask for permission to let us in. While on the phone, he leaned down to get a good look at who was in the car as he spoke with his boss. He then said into the cell phone "No sir, they are all blacks in the car." I was shocked and dumbfounded. Never had I been so blatantly discriminated against in my life, and of all places, in Africa by Africans!

Its become clear that in this beautifully diverse continent, some populations have yet to shake-off the colonial mindset that elevates whites above all others, and as a result, they treat whites or other foreigners with far more respect than their own fellow Africans. Many, but certainly not all, Kenyans suffer from this inferiority complex, and its tragic to see in the 21st century.

a model: barefoot college

Click this link to see a great TED video about Bunker Roy, an Indian who started an extraordinary school that "teaches rural women and men — many of them illiterate — to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages."

I think this model could be replicated in rural areas of Somalia.

http://blog.ted.com/2011/10/17/learning-from-a-barefoot-movement-bunker-roy-on-ted-com/

Consciousness necessary for change

One of my favorite authors, Leo Tolstoy, once wrote the following in his diary:

"I was cleaning a room and, meandering about, approached the divan and couldn't remember whether or not I had dusted it. Since these movements are habitual and unconscious, I could not remember and felt that it was impossible to remember - so that if I had dusted it and forgot - that is, had acted unconsciously, then it was the same as if I had not. If some conscisoul person had been watching, then the fact could be established. If, however, no one was looking, or looking on unconsciously, if the whole complex lives of many people go on unconsciously, then such lives are as if they had never been."

On a personal level, these words can have a profound impact on an individual, forcing one to assess whether they act consciously in their lives, because, as can be gleaned from this quotation, to live unconsciously is to not live at all. As dramatic as that sounds, I tend to agree with the statement because to live unconsciously is to live without intention, and I believe intention is essential to making ones actions (and life) have any meaning at all.

I may be distorting Tolstoy's original message, but I think this lesson can be extrapolated to a national level, and that entire populations can live unconsciously. This could result from a culture that does not value change for the better, perhaps because they do not believe change is possible. Or a population that does not recognize all that is happening around them, the beautiful and the ugly, because they are so caught up in the routines of life.

In countries like Somalia, after years of instability - a government full of corrupt politicians, a stagnant economy with few jobs available, and frequent military clashes between dozens of different factions - it is no surprise that the population has developed a culture of pessimism and largely do not believe in positive change. This condition has left many Somalis in a basic routine, largely comprised of a focus on survival, the need to  find subsistence for family, and the effort to gain refuge in another country, preferably somewhere in the West. I'm no phsychologist, but based on what i've seen and read, and people i've met, I believe this condition is pervasive in Somalia, and has led to the living of unconscious lives.

Once the population lives more consciously, and takes every bomb blast as an abomination - not a common occurrence - and every act of corruption by politicians as inexcusable - not business as usual - then only then will they have the will to change their condition, and to truly live with consciousness and intention. This consciousness must first manifest on a personal level before it can translate into national progress.