'Lost in translation'

The UAE has a substantial non national population. Depending on whom you ask the estimates for the non locals vary from 60% to as high as 90%. Proficiency in any language is not a requirement for getting a resident permit here. It is for this reason that you will find quite a number, of mostly South Asians labourers, who do not speak both Arabic and English – the two official languages. The South Asians actually make a significant portion of these ‘expatriate groups’, contributing more than three quarters of the foreigners in the UAE.

Sometimes, therefore, it is not unusual for one to seek services from certain establishments and fail to effectively communicate with the service provides. Like when I recently went to a barbershop – and I keep on talking about barbershops! The place was run by some Bengali youth. I could bet they were all teenagers. Or maybe their small stature belied their actual ages? Anyway, none of them spoke English or Arabic. And the whole incident looked like some scene from the Gods Must Be Crazy.

I had to gesture and utilize some other sign language - not that I am proficient in that - to tell them what I wanted. Based on the area the salon was located, it was evident it was meant for Bengali clientele only. It was probably because of this that they didn’t bother to employ a bilingual barber, speaking Bengali and either English or Arabic. However, besides this non technical problem, I was happy with the service and the charges were affordable – at least for my pocket.

Tonight, I had one other encounter with some more Bengalis. And I wonder why only the Bengalis. Anyway, I am sure the same would also apply to the Indians and Pakistanis, and some other South Asians as well. Maybe this is because I live not far from the Bangladeshi consulate in Dubai.

Anyway, I met some two Bengali nationals and they were looking for a certain clinic. I had just left the mosque when they stopped me. And they had a request form for a certain radiological examination. They pointed to a spot on the map they were holding implying that was where they were headed to. Their destination somehow corresponded to my former work place; a hospital that has since been closed. The hospital, actually, is more like what Museveni would call "Only fit for a museum". "Closed!", I thus yelled at them hoping that will easily understand. I could, however, immediately tell that they didn’t get what I said.

And, like some revelation, it occurred to me that I could tell where they were headed to from the forms they were carrying. It is then that I saw the name of the clinic they were referred to. I laid the map in front of my eyes and saw the name of a certain travel agency. The name was familiar but as usual with me, I couldn't instantly recognise it. And then I got the bearings correctly. The travel agency was in fact opposite the mosque I had just left. And the clinic was just next to it.

I directed them and they seemed so happy.

Why the number of Somalis in Kenya exploded

Early this year, rumours had it that the number of Somalis in Kenya have increased substantially. And that the results for the census that was carried last year were cancelled because of this. Actually, this story appeared in one of the tabloids in Kenya - The Star. Now, the results are out; Oparanya officially announced the Kenya Census 2009 results today, 31^st August, 2010.

Seems like they are not rumours anymore; the population of Somalis in Kenya which was just under a million in 1999 has more than doubled in just a decade and now stands at about 2.4 million. Is that possible? Yes and no. The new figures for the Somalis would not be possible if you base your analysis on natural growth alone, i.e. the net difference between births and deaths. But, there are many ‘non-natural’ reasons that could increase the population of a community.

Thus the question here is; what could have caused the exponential growth of the Somalis in Kenya? In my opinion there are many reasons underlying this seemingly doubtful growth rate that have nothing to do with immigration. And that the growth rate in essence could be a true reflection of the Somali population in Kenya. Therefore, these reasons include, but are not limited to, the following; changes in method of data collection and analysis, and changes in the pattern of intra-country migration – notably from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles. Other reasons could include inaccuracies, either deliberate or accidental, in the base population from which we found our previous assumptions. If, for example, the earlier census was not properly conducted or the results intentionally distorted, both of these would have an effect on the validity of our base population i.e. 1989, 1999 etc.

I know for sure the method of calculating Somalis in Kenya has changed. This, by sheer happenstance, I came to learn while a student at a certain college in Nairobi when we were given some assignments part of which entailed getting some figures from the census book. A friend of mine, he was a Turkana, decided for some reasons to compare the Somali population in Kenya to his community’s. He was shocked when he realized that the Somalis were indeed much fewer than the Turkanas. When I went back to the library with him, I was stunned too. The Somalis were divided into clans and each clan listed separately. Only a tiny minority were listed as Somalis. I later explained to my friend that the Degodias, Gurres, Ajurans and Ogadens he was seeing were actually Somali clans and not some distinct communities.

Why they decided to enumerate the Somalis in that manner is something that I have never understood. Now, if indeed the ‘Somali’ population, as listed in the 1989 census, was much lower than the Turkanas in Kenya, would the KNBS also be basing their analysis on inaccurate figures? Wasn’t it also easy for the guys behind these evil machinations to push the figures for the Somalis downwards? I have this feeling they not only could do that but they did. Why they did it is something that we would probably need to ponder on, for a long time to come.

Secondly, the Somalis in Kenya are predominantly nomads. We also know that the region mostly inhabited by these people has suffered from perennial drought and famine. This, I know for a fact, pushed many nomads to a sedentary lifestyle. Some of my relatives currently living in Garissa can attest to that. Also, it is only possible for government officials to enumerate settled residents. I thus, do not believe that the census clerks can exhaustively count nomadic tribesmen wandering in the expansive arid northeast, especially, when the census exercise is carried within a relatively short period of time. Therefore, the fact that many people now live in the urban centres in North-Eastern would definitely affect the number of Kenyan Somalis and of course push their numbers upwards.

Thirdly, and slightly related to the previous point is that the enumerators could have done a brilliant job this time round. I have a feeling that with each subsequent census the sophistication of the whole exercise improves. And this would have a positive effect on the census. Therefore, this would most likely increase the population of a community and in this case the Somalis who usually were not counted would effectively be captured by the census clerks.

Fourthly, I have this feeling that someone somewhere has some vendetta against the Somalis. I say this because it was only early this year when we heard that there would be some audit of Somali owned properties in the city. I am convinced that someone, reeling from the failure of the anti terrorism bill fail to go through, wants to pass the same through the backdoor. Thus as Kenyans we need to be careful about this shadowy figures.

Conversely, the argument that immigration, too, has something to do with the increase of the Somalis could be true. And, in the case that this is true then the government should be held responsible for that. How, for example, should Kenyan Somalis be held accountable for the corruption condoned by the government? If any non Kenyan Somali has illegally obtained Kenyan citizenship then I doubt whether their accumulated numbers could exceed a few thousands. Thus, I doubt this last point could substantially increase the number of Somalis.

Lastly, most of the above would also be true for the Turkanas whose numbers have also been questioned. Or, is this some clever way of justifying the imminent downward revision of the number of Somalis in Kenya? By making it appear as though it’s not just Kenyan Somalis they have a problem with? Anyway, I pray that sooner rather than later we will come to bottom of all this.

The Kenyan Somali

"Do we really have Kenyan Somalis?" That’s a question I was once asked by a Somali man, while I was at work in one of the hospitals in Nairobi. Why he asked me that question still baffles me to date. I didn’t know the guy then. I didn’t even know he was a Kenyan Somali intellectual. I had previously heard of this particular person’s name but I hadn’t, up to that time, met him physically or seen his photo. Thus, I couldn’t know who he was and what his reservations, if any, were about that supposedly innocent descriptor of mine.

I was born in Kenya to Somali parents. We speak Somali at home and carry Kenyan passports. Thus, to me, Kenyan Somali correctly identifies me. I always saw - before the ratification of the new Constitution that grants dual citizenship - that one was just an ethnic identity and the other my nationality. And, the fact that there isn’t a Kenyan community that speaks ‘Kenyan’ as their mother tongue, it is, thus, standard for everybody to speak some other language besides the official languages (Swahili and English). Apart from the Swahilis who live along the coast of the Indian Ocean, most of the other Kenyan communities speak an extra language. In fact, there are over 40 language and ethnic groups in the country. Also, and more importantly, Somalis are strewn over many countries and are indigenous to the four neigbouring countries of Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Nonetheless, Somalis in Kenya have over the years suffered at the hands of state agents. Many atrocities, documented or undocumented, have been committed against the hapless Somalis in the country. The burning of Garissa in 1980 and the Wagalla massacre of 1984 are deemed as the worst that has befallen the inhabitants of North-Eastern Province – the Somali region in Kenya. Subsequent governments, starting from the colonialist, have discriminated against the province, preferring instead the more arable part of the country as ‘economically viable’.

As a result of this institutionalized marginalization, the province lags behind in almost all human development indicators. Ours has the unenviable distinction of being the only one devoid of tarmac roads. Our youth undergo tremendous hardships in trying to obtain identity cards and passports. We can’t move freely from our towns, in the frontier, to the capital or other parts of the country without some policemen stopping us to see our ID cards. Our schools perennially perform poorly. The list goes on.

Thus, all these maltreatments have had their negative toll on the Somalis, which somehow justifies their scepticism. It is, therefore, not unusual to meet some Somali lamenting about the abuses they constantly face in Kenya. And that the mess in Somalia is the only thing that forces them to begrudgingly accept their Kenyaness. For me, though, I disagree with some of these sentiments. I think even despite these atrocities, and other abuses against Somalis in Kenya, we have to fight for our rights right witin Kenya - rather than run away from our troubles.

Kenyan Somalis have on numerous occasions assumed high ranking leadership positions in the country. We have had, just to name a few, a Chief of General Staff, the highest military rank in Kenya, and the Minister for Defence held by two brothers at the same. Mark you these are some of the most sensitive positions in the country. And we have had a second minister in the same ministry who is currently at the helm. The Kenya police was at one time led by an ethnic Somali. The newly adopted Kenyan Constitution had two Kenyan Somalis prominently featuring in the process that lead to the ratification of the same; AbdiKadir Mohamed as the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee and Ahmed Issack as the chairman of the electoral body.

We have, unfortunately, not fully utilized these privileges for the advancement of the Kenyan Somali. We have rather looked the other way than emancipate the masses. And, this group has not positively used their influences and powers to help the community. It is for this reason that I am of the opinion that we need to first blame ourselves before we point fingers at others.

Coming back to that incident I had at the hospital. The guy in question actually happens to be one of the two gentlemen mentioned by name above. Though I may probably never know why he asked me that question, I will, all the same, remain a Kenyan and effective 27th August, 2010, a Somali national. Also, the recently released census result lists us as Kenyan Somalis. Therefore, we are Kenyan Somali or if you like Somali Kenyan.

( Edited on 14th September, 2010. )