To abandon citizens in a foreign land serious dereliction of duty

I am unhappy. I can’t remember the last time I felt offended so passionately by a decision of the government of the Republic of Kenya.

The government is sending a plane to evacuate Kenyans, some living out in the cold, who are stuck in China. I know for a fact that the circumstances of African people in particular, and foreigners in general, is very difficult in China today.

In some ways, I can understand why the Chinese are reacting out of fear towards foreigners. After the devastation they suffered from the novel coronavirus in their country earlier in the year, they managed to tame it through draconian measures.

But they are at risk of a second imported wave of infections. I watched a report on TV about a Chinese family refusing to sit in the same train carriage as foreigners. One can understand, if not necessarily condone, their desire to be safe given their experiences.

We have been told that there are many Africans living illegally in China who have not been tested and certified virus-free because of their immigration status.

These folks, it is alleged, are hiding among the Chinese and the government is smoking them out by leaning on landlords.

Out of fear of official censure, the landlords have responded by evicting African folks. We have seen videos of people living on the street, being attacked by mobs and denied access to public facilities.

SELF-INTEREST

I am not here to condemn the Chinese, even though I do hope that we are all observing what is happening rather than paying attention to Chinese government propaganda.

What I want to talk about is the reaction of the government of Kenya and what the reaction tells us about the thinking, or lack of it thereof, of some of the people in government.

I once read — I can’t remember whether it was in a respectable book or a Robert Ludlum thriller — how the KGB, the Soviet security organisation, evolved into a monster that existed to serve the interests, not of the Soviet Union or its ruling elite, but of the KGB itself.

So the KGB existed primarily to serve the prestige, influence and power needs of the KGB.

I fear that the postcolonial government has evolved into an organism that primarily serves itself and the elite within it and only offers service to the people as a PR gimmick.

Folks in the government may pay lip service to serving Kenyans but, at the heart of it, there is no ideological conviction that passionately motivates public servants to serve the people.

To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our relations with China are more important than the dignity and welfare of Kenyans living in the streets of Chinese cities.

CONSULAR ASSISTANCE

It is the responsibility of the Kenyan missions abroad to offer Kenyans consular assistance — that is, and I am using the Wikipedia definition, help and advice for citizens living and travelling in a foreign land.

Consular assistance, from the same encyclopedia, includes advice and support in case of illness or death, visitation in jail, loans to distressed travellers and help during crises.

The failure of the ministry and its officers in China to offer sufficient consular assistance to stranded Kenyans and to defend the dignity of the citizens is a disastrous and indefensible dereliction of duty.

If the government cared about our dignity as Kenyans, action would be taken against those who have failed to do their job. It matters not that the citizens are illegal immigrants and labourers. They are still our compatriots.

I feel that we the people of Kenya are able and willing to pay the cost of evacuating compatriots who have no way of coming home due to travel restrictions. The government should organise as many flights as required; we, the people, will foot the bill.

Secondly, the government says it will only evacuate those who are not infected with the coronavirus. The stigma and discrimination that is likely to arise from that has not been fully considered, I feel.

FOOLISH MISTAKE

Only the difficulty — and cost — of evacuating Covid-19 patients seems to have been considered. Again, this is the consequence of acting out of expediency rather than deep conviction.

Isn’t a Covid-19 patient a Kenyan? What is the difference, in terms of rights, between the patient in China and the ones we are caring for in our hospitals?

Before the virus came here, acting out of fear, we all bought into the argument that the interests of the majority are best served by leaving risky individuals where they were, in foreign lands.

That was a policy borne out of convenience rather than principle — but it was understandable. Now, in my opinion, it is indefensible to discriminate against Covid-19 patients just because it is more difficult and more expensive to manage them.

If we abandon these people to die or suffer in the streets of a foreign land, do we expect them and their relatives to be patriotic, love their country and pay taxes?

Will they not regard Kenya as that faithless construct that betrays and abandons you in your hour of need? I am very sorry but my personal feeling is that the person who came up with this approach might have made a very foolish mistake.

[email protected].