Rob Macaire

YOUNG BRITISH, KENYAN AND PAKISTANI VOLUNTEERS IN MOMBASA

A few days ago I was sitting in the Aga Khan High School auditorium in Mombasa, in a debate with a very unusual group of young people.   They were all volunteers working with various community organisations, and they were there as part of the British Council’s ‘Global Xchange’ programme, which helps to create ‘global citizens’ who look beyond the boundaries of nationality, religion, ethnicity and culture to strive for the improvement of society.    The addition of the contingent from Pakistan enabled the discussion to cover a range of issues affecting Muslims across the world, not just here in Kenya.  The title of the discussion was “what poses a bigger threat to peaceful co-existence:  poverty & exclusion, corruption, or terrorism?” 

For me, it was a chance to explain that people shouldn’t be taken in by propaganda that says Western governments are against Muslims, or equate Islam with terrorism.   But it was also a chance to hear the heartfelt concerns from Coast communities, particularly the youth, that they don’t get a fair share of the educational and economic opportunities in Kenya.   This isn’t the only country where Muslim populations feel that way.   But exchanges like this one help to address some of those issues and bridge cultural gaps.  I was glad to have a chance to take part.   And a particular cultural uniqueness was added that evening by the British and Pakistani students treating us to Scottish country dancing, in the rain!

Another  participant in the event was the admirable organisation Kenya Community Support Center (KECOSCE), who are doing great work empowering leaders in the youth community at the Coast:  I was delighted to see that we are supporting such an impressive organisation.   And I also paid my first calls on the Council of Imams Preachers in Kenya and visited an excellent organisation called Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) .   Worthy of support, and I commend them to anyone working in that field.

Posted at 16:01 25 August 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[0]

UK and Kenya: blogging

One of the participants at the Geneva conference this week was Ory Okelloh, who I gather was invited specifically because of her Kenyan Pundit blog, showing that the importance of online discussions and commentaries was recognised by the organisers.  I'm sure we'll see more of this sort of interaction, which can only be a good thing.   Ory's suggestion to me when we met at the conference was 'the more interaction the better'.  So I've looked back and tried to answer some more of the questions and comments in response to my first few blog entries.  As I said at the start, I'm not going to be able to respond to each and every comment, but where there are common themes I will try to do so.

• Why didn't Britain encourage a repeat election in Jan 2008?

This is quite an easy one to answer.  We judged that at that time, with killings and violence taking place, a re-run of the election would have been certain to lead to much more bloodshed.  I think that many people agreed with us - certainly that was the view of Kofi Annan as key mediator, as he made very clear at this week's conference. 

• Denying visas should be a last resort, because it will be unpopular

That is something I agree with.  We only do it as a last resort.  And there are very few countries where we do it.  But given that no senior figures have ever (repeat ever) been successfully prosecuted for corruption in this country, we feel we have to take this step simply to challenge impunity.  I agree entirely that it is a difficult and sensitive policy to implement, and we need to be very careful that we are fair and impartial in our actions.  If you think we are not being, post a comment.

• What efforts is Britain taking to ensure that the war on terrorism doesn't hurt innocent Muslims?

We don't use the term 'war on terror'.  Our counter-terrorism efforts are best described in the 'CONTEST' strategy document, a new version of which was launched last week.  If you have a look at that, you will see that our work in this area goes to great lengths to avoid associating terrorism with any one religion.  We seek to prevent terrorism and to pursue terrorists - and one of the biggest supports in that work is of course the hostility that communities feel towards those individuals who seek to commit murder and mayhem.   But any action that is perceived as targeting Muslims, rather than terrorists, is extremely counter-productive and something that we go to great lengths to avoid.

• What is Britain's engagement in the health sector?

I am going to duck that by passing on the link for DFID in Kenya, as that will be more effective than me trying to summarise it (from a very non-expert point of view)

• Foreign aid has good intentions but fails?

See answer above.  But I've seen that there is a lively debate on this subject in other Kenyan blogs, and it is something I would like to return to when space and time permits - watch this space.  And keep the questions and comments coming.

Posted at 15:43 01 April 2009 by Rob Macaire  |  Comments[3]